[sdiy] Buy (bare) keyboard?

[Edward King]

In my original design (some 10-15 years ago), I was going to use the ones 
from Maplin electronics. Then they disappeared, so I was going to rip apart 
a commercial midi controlelr keyboard.
Then it dawned on me that using an existing keyboard mechanism and putting 
my own electronics in wouldnt be a bad idea, so I went on a shopping spree 
and bought a few secondhand keyboards.

Regrettably, not one of them was suitable. The usual issues were that - 
being proprietary devices - the manufacturers had used up all available 
space in the machines and used manufacturing techniques that prohibit 
re-using the mechanism.

Eventually I worked out that the only ones suitable were the more expensive 
ones, making it impractical to approach the problem this way.

Having said that, I didnt try every machine on the market, just 4 or 5 and I 
know that others on this list have reported some degree of success by 
re-using existing keyboards. If it were me, I would shell out the few 
hundred quid and get a fatar keyboard mechanism. Expensive maybe, but its a 
great starting point and certainly worth the investment.

EK


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "BR" <phonotron at yahoo.com>
To: "Edward King" <edwardcking2001 at yahoo.co.uk>; "Steve Moorby" 
<steve.moorby at ntlworld.com>; <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 7:50 PM
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Buy (bare) keyboard?


>
> This brings to mind a question Ive had.  I was
> planning on just taking a toy piano's keyboard and
> re-wiring it to whatever synth I end up making (havent
> made one yet).  Has anyone tried this?  would it work?
>
>
>
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