Its only plastic striping ...once a key penetrates the strip and makes raw contact that's it.....you'll know right away because when you press down a defective key it will BLAST at full volume!! Very embarrassing when performing on stage

Interesting discourse.

Luckily, my engineer friend was able to fix my PSR3000 last night. There was a loose wire.

Now I have to wait for my other one to get out of the repair shop. I might take it out and have my friend repair it as he charges me 1/2 of what the Yamaha authorized repair center charges - with much faster turnaround. He also seems to be more knowledgeable. With both keyboards that the repair shop technician fixed, he attached the Smart Media card drive wrong, and I had to go back for him to fix it. This happened twice!

Beakybird

Plastic is fine with me.......lightweight to haul around as much as 4 gigs per day.

What do you guys do? Heave your organ out the window like Lorraine Bobbitt

Really though i suspect it was more than probablly "hammered at"..it's like a customer saying these toyotas are garbage,the engines keep dying,yet he uses it for 4x4'n.Point PSR line was intended for in home use,not gig'd and hauled around,with the exception of the "pro9000 maybe,though i still think it is to delicate for roading.
I watched people play the demo models and man why the heck do humans think keyboards will last any amount of time punching buttons,banging away on it as though they're in some sort of swim stroke or something..just take care of things and reap the rewards is all my point is.

If the key contacts are failing, how is this in any way the fault of gigging it? Moving it around doesn't stress the keys, PLAYING it stresses the keys.

Are you suggesting that it just needs to be played less, and everything will be fine? ROFLMAO...

Maybe we finally have a definition of the difference between a 'home' arranger and a 'professional' one.... 'Home' arrangers are not meant to be played on for any length of time.

It's not so much that 'it's like a customer saying these toyotas are garbage,the engines keep dying,yet he uses it for 4x4'n' it's more like 'it's like a customer saying these toyotas are garbage, the engines keep dying, yet he uses it for driving to the next state instead of just around the block'....

Even a 'home' user should expect to get YEARS of trouble-free operation for something he payed for that has no label that says 'Don't play this too much'!

this topic of the key beds and other parts failing is definitely interesting but I think everyone here is forgetting the point that most Yamaha owners don't really care (its not such a big issue)...

We are extremely happy and proud of our instruments that its not the end of the world if a $60.00 key strip fails once a year or in some extreme cases twice a year... ( I have yet to see one of mine fail)

I mainly see people who don't own Yamaha's to be the ones complaining about it more often

there is absolutely NO difference to playing a keyboard in a hall in front of people than playing it in your bedroom.. you aren't going to be hitting the keys or pressing buttons any harder just because your on a stage??

I spend at least 3 hours a day on my keyboard enjoying playing music and what not (more on weekends), how is that different to someone who plays a few gigs a week or even per day?

so this nonsense about a keyboard only being made for gigging purposes or home use is meaningless.

i believe the only aspect being beneficial of a metal casing over plastic is that when it gets bumped around or dropped it wont be prone to break as easy or crack...

heres a tip - don't drop your keyboard and swing around hitting brick walls!

If a Roland's key bed or button strip wont break as easy as a Yamaha then yes thats a great plus and a good assurance of quality, it is obviously deterring people from purchasing Yamaha products. But every board no matter what brand will have something that another board does not have (mine is the superior sound quality of Yamaha).

Nick

Nick , i have to clarify a few points..First of all the PSR series have always had key contact problems..They are not as durable as competition in the same class..[Ask any honest technician]..

Playing for your own enjoyment in your bedroom and playing on stage..is different..it is called energy level, and believe me..the keys are subject to more abuse..

And 3rd..Superior sound is only one's opinion..I for one do not like the sound of Yamaha, even Tyros2..It is just preference and not demeaning..I prefer the "live" sound of Ketron, Roland, and even Korg ..over Yamaha..[Yamaha is too compressed sound for my taste]..

Fran,

I am not at all disagreeing with you on the point of durability. I am more of less saying, it really is nothing major for most people who own Yamaha Keyboards...

as for playing on stage being more energetic compared to in the bedroom. I have to disagree with you there because that entirely depends on the style of music you are playing...

if i play some songs at home and then the exact same songs on stage, there is no reason for me to press the buttons and keys any harder?

Nick, on stage Adrenalin takes over..

Pretty easy thing to check, Nick...

Press Record on your sequencer while you play normally at home, then do it at a gig... Then look at the files in a sequencer. Pretty easy to see if you are playing harder or not...

Now , maybe you are NOT playing any harder at the gig, but I'm fairly sure that MOST players (including myself if the audience is pretty!) do, so a general comment about playing live stronger than at home was a reasonable generalization.

Maybe that's what's happening here lately... someone makes a general comment, and then the one person that disagrees with it thinks it is a specific comment. All anybody is saying is that, IN MOST CASES (in their opinion) such and such is the case, or this or that.

Have we all got to start prefacing our sentences with some kind of disclaimer, or is everyone adult enough in here to start realizing that when someone gives their opinion, they are just giving their OPINION, not laying down the law, not saying you MUST do it this way, just stating an opinion. That's what forums are for.... to listen to other people's experiences and opinions, and to offer yours, if you want.

That's all... Unless a person is specifically addressed, all ANY of us are doing is making general comments and stating our opinions. Anything wrong with that?