Patches and discussion for Ensoniq VFX family

Hi, I am new here, but I had the same problem with my VFX-SD. and could successfully fix it in my way and without the detalied knowledge I gained after having been granted access to this group. I now learned that there are several versions of the Fatar-based touch sensitive keyboard in the Ensoniq synths. My VFX-SD has the one with the "reference coils" and without the "foam pads" beneath the keys. You might understand my cryptic writing when you take a look at the files\service and repair -section: the keyboard service bulletin...  I consider that your SD-1 has the same version.  

There might be a more elegant solution to your problem, which might be described in further follow-up to this thread by others, but my personal solution also worked. That is why I want to share it with you:


- In my older Ensoniq EPS (year 1988) the aftertouch always worked like charm! I figured out that the EPS has a "grey foam pad" keyboard. I swapped the keyboard with the VFX-SD, and see: the VFX-SD had gained a wonderful soft and controllable aftertouch response: What a great modulation for the VFX/SD sounds, unheard by me before!

- Now, my EPS wanted "his" keys back, so I decided to have a more close look to the VFX/SD keys: I found that they do not quite dive so deeply into the keybed as the EPS-keboard's keys.

- There is a differently designed rubber-stop at the newer VFX-keyboard which the EPS-board does not have and which prevents the keys to come close (enough) to the sensor coils. They ma have become brittle and hard over the years. 


- Now for the hard part: I removed EVERY key from the VFX board and by that a lot of dirt and dust from the past decades... On the stripped keybed I removed the upper rubber stopper and turned it simply around in place so that the stopper side faced downwards to prevent its movement limitng effect to the keys.

- By that I had removed the limitation resulting in a full aftertouch response with every note played. That was no surprise. I only had to install a new limitation for the key diving into the keybed:

- This I effected in the same way as it was done in the old EPS-keboard: By gluing foam pads to each individual key on the lower side facing the sensor coil.

- The EPS-keyboard has a circular foam pad of approx. 3.5 millimeter thickness installed on the very tip of the metal plate facing the sensor coil of each key. By that when a key is depressed the downward movement is softly stopped when the foam pad of the key touches the underlying coil board  leaving another 3 millimeters or so for forcing the keys deeper into the keybed - for a soft and controllable aftertouch response. 

- to mimick the EPS foam pads I tried a polyurethane based self-adhering insulation foam stripe for window and door sealing from the nearest hardware store. It had a thickness of 3.2 millimeters and was easly cut in to pieces and attached to the metal stripe on the low side of the keys. Now aftertouch works perfect for me - and for my keyboard stand which before that "operation" always denied its service when I tried to engage aftertouch on my VFX.


- I you decide to do the same tedious work on yours, 
the foam pad you want to install has a good elasticty and mechanical resistance. Standard foam rubber is way too soft; some newer sealing foams do not expand fast enough after compression. The foam pad should behave like a metal coil spring with no delay or hysteresis in the mechanical response. 

- I have tried to attach some pictures in the files section to illustrate what I mean:

Pic.No.1 shows the (grey) foam pad in place in a EPS-keyboard; my VFX had no such rubber foam 
Pic.No.2 depicts the hard upper rubber stopper in its original position on VFX (left key) and after swapping positions to remove that limitation (right key).


Now, after all I went through, some other guy will post that there is "pot 2" or something which increases the "bias of the sensing coils" or something to properliy adjust aftertouch response...


But the feel of the keys and the controllability of the aftertouch on my "FOAM PAD RETROFITTED" VFX/SD keyboard is second to none - (and believe me I have tried many aftertouch "sensitive" keyboards of the 80ies and 90ies (the Korg's are IMHO the "not so good ones" - even after cleaning the contact stripe) 

Have fun,
Mondovermona



  



   
--- In Ensoniq-VFX-SD@yahoogroups.com, "Fabio" <johnrozz_bc@...> wrote:
>
> Hi there, I have an SD1/32 and the aftertouch is barely usable (black keys works a little better)... is there a potentiometer or something inside the synth that can be tweaked? my kawai k3 has 2 "screw" type potentiometers inside that I tweaked to obtain a decent feel with it...
> 
> Sky
>