[sdiy] Addition: surface of keyboards

[Dave Krooshof]

(yeah, in JH's case it his fingertips, I read that.
but just in case)

>No, as long as I'm editing, all is ok. The bottons for parameter 
>selection are really good
>(as is the display).
>
>When I start playing the keyboard, there's a slight uneasy-ness 
>because of how the
>surface feels. After 10 minutes playing my latest Rhodes creation, 
>the finger ache.
>This neither happens on my (real) Wurlitzer, nor on any other keyboard I own.
>But I remember a similar effect from an old Roland E-series consumer keyboard.

Maybe the key is too light to play.
Your fingers might ache off holding them up all the time,
preventing accidental key pressings.
This happens with computer mice a lot.
Take 2 connectors and a conductive cream, and measure the mVolts
in the muscles of your fingers, located in the underarm near the elbow.
You shoult measure less then -say- 180 mV.
It was 400 in my case, and I got it down to 100 mV simply with awareness.

Take care! the uneasyness is a much more serious warning for RSI then
the real pain. The problem is  getting lots of tiny injuries in small strings.
Imagine the same thing in your leg: in a leg the pain gets big enough
to stop you from walking. People ignore the tiny hints from the hand to easily.
Playing music is microscopic top sport.
If you feel a tinkling, take it as a warning, and stop playing.
I didn't do that, and was out of order for two years, and it still
is a problem daily (6 or 7 years now!)

The spirit 328 at my work is a problem for me.
The buttons are stiff, and snap down when pressed.
This snap is a problem, as the popping 'sound', traveling through my finger
hurts the strings in my underarm.

Ruud's description of  'key is hitting the bottom' is clever, and might be
solved easily.

I got very fond of cracklebox style contacts. Just place your finger
on two contacts, and let a darlington stage make a control voltage.

And the UW/SCSI in my neck is cool too. Might get firewire soon. :-)


Take care

Dave


-- 
____________________________________________________
And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles,
and all thy borders of pleasant stones. (Isaiah 54:12)

        <Please> no html-mail! html does not belong in email. </please>

http://www.xs4all.nl/~krooshof