Ever want to see inside a PX-350?

[Display Name]

Great shots of the PX-350 innards.. see what makes it tick!

http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2546355/And_so_it_begins_Paint_project
 

[Jokeyman123]

Hello Scott-I never mentioned it to you before but after studying this website I had disassembled my PX-350 and posted my results on this forum (no pics, just info) about speaker placement internally, keyboard construction and I was able to add piano felt underneath, where the PX keys hit rather hard on key bottom, like the XW-P1 mod I also did. Wasn't easy but was worth it to me. This effectively quieted the rather loud "clunk" when playing the PX, and also is less damaging to my hands when playing, as the rather hard shock of hitting the keys at the bottom of their travel can lead to all kinds of physical problems if playing and practicing alot, especially the PX-350 where my tendency is to lay into the keys as I would an acoustic piano. I imagine the PX5S and other Privias are no different. So thanks for this post, it was very helpful.

[dc2k]

Wow, you were able to add felt and make it quieter! 

I've been hoping there was a solution for this but I'm not brave enough to open my px-5s up and I'm guessing there would be warranty issues. 

Unfortunately I can't play it at night as the person who sleeps in the room below me says it sounds like an army of mice when I'm playing because of the noise the key strikes make.

I insulated the stand with foam tubes on all four "feet" (for want of a better word) so that there is foam between the floor and the stand and the keyboard and the stand.

While the person in the room adjacent the room directly below me can now longer here me playing, the person directly below me still can.

I was going to make a post asking for potential solutions.

I was wondering if there might be something I could maybe attach to the plastic case that would sort of absorb the noise. I'm picturing something like a suction cup, not really sure. 

I bet someone out there would have a clever solution.

I still play it at night of course, but the issue has given me the impetus to explore and learn the synth side of the board and try to create cool sounds with arpeggios etc....so every cloud etc

[Jokeyman123]

An external solution is tough. You're right you will void the warranty. I can't recommend anybody taking your PX apart although it not hard if you know a good keyboard tech. Warranty issues were less of a concern to me than playability, and I've done alot of technical work on other instruments for quite awhile so I was willing to try it. The noise is coming from 2 areas-there is a very thin piece of felt under the keys, directly glued to the bottom of the rather empty case, so this amplifies the key striking the bottom, and doesn't give much of a cushion when you play. This is the main source of key noise so adding more felt there reduced but didn't completely eliminate the noise.

 

The other noise source is key return-not as loud, but it clatters when the key springs back, I was not able to solve that problem (yet). I have a post somewhere in this forum that describes how I did this-I'll check around and see if it's still here. As far as external solutions-you would have to "damp" the entire case. Some kind of damping material on the bottom might help, underneath primarily. It would have to be pretty substantial to damp the entire keybed. Maybe even upholstery-type foam used for cushions.  And since the insides are open to the speakers, the sound is coming through there as well which you will notice if you tun off the PX and listen for the key noise. Other digital pianos I've played have the same problem, most are not sufficiently designed for playing in a confined indoor environment but rather in a pro setting were key noise is the least of my problems.

[dc2k]

And since the insides are open to the speakers, the sound is coming through there as well which you will notice if you tun off the PX and listen for the key noise.

 

Was wondering what you meant here, then I realised you were talking about the 350. The PX 5S has no speakers.

[Jokeyman123]

Right. Mine is the PX-350. I'd guess the key mechanism in both is identical.

[Jokeyman123]

The other possibility if you are willing to partially disassemble the PX-you could probably get some kind of damping felt and line part of the case inside, which should quiet it down a little, sort of like felt damper strips mounted inside acoustic drums for muting and deadening an overly resonant drum.Now if I can only mute my overly resonant brain...the collander hat with the earmuffs isn't working too well anymore...yeah I know I'm a wise guy.