Korg M1 sticky keys

Hi,

I recently acquired a lightly used M1 in a pristine condition but the keybed is sticky and the keys don’t move lightly. Any know solutions ?

Sorry to say this will need to take the keybed apart and clean all the keys, probably in hot soap water.

It’s not a difficult task, I’ve done this serveral times already and is based on a Yamaha design. However you do need to be careful with the contacts they can be easily bent if disassembled incorrectly

Regards Darren

I see. That’s the conclusion i came to. It is what it is, will take it apart then. I came across a lot of keyboards with similar keybed and i believe this is the first one i notice with this issue. Very robust and high quality keybed though.

I know what you mean about the contact. I learned the hard way :sweat_smile:.

Thank you for your time.

No worries, pleased to be able to help. I think it’s the same keybed as the Yamaha DX7 if that helps

Hi,

I recently had the same issue with a Wavestation that has the identical keybed. Follow these steps

  • place upside down on a soft surface and remove all screws
  • make photos, many of every connector orientation and screw location.
  • if the layout is the same as a WS, then you’ll need to remove the PCBs to access the screws holding shielding to the keybed. Not hard to do but be careful removing cables, segregate all the screws so you know what goes with what. Be wary of static, don’t wear slippers, wear a wrist strap if you have it
  • remove the shielding screws and fold the shield back.
  • unscrew and set aside the contact strip on the bottom of the keys and set it aside. While not strictly necessary, it will protect the fragile contact strips as you remove and work on the keys.
  • unscrew the large screws holding in the keybed and gently remove it. Watch that you don’t break the fragile aftertouch wires on the left side. They have no strain relief.
  • remove the plastic locking strip from the back edge of the keybed. It prevents the keys from coming out. It just pries off the metal edge. Don’t forget to reinstall it or the keys will fall out every time they’re bumped.
  • flip it over, face up and start removing keys. White keys with adjoining black keys need to be removed together with the black key. You simply push the key towards the rear and it unlatches and lifts out. Don’t fret if the flat spring pops out. You can just reinsert it, but note how they go in.
  • set them to the side, in order
  • You’ll find petrified grease on black plastic piers on the keybed frame, and on the rear hinge point, and on the corresponding areas of each key. Remove all of it with IPA and swabs.
  • Relubricate those same areas. I used WD40 PTFE dry lube, again using a swab so it doesn’t get everywhere.
  • Start reassembling, the same caveat about installing white keys together with their black keys applies.

It’s a long process, several hours at a casual pace, but it will be like new again.

2 Likes

Thank you for your time and the efforts in elaborating about the repair process. That is what I’ll be doing for sure. I can see the design concept of the M1 is not the greatest hence a little annoying to work on repairs. I had to replace the push bottoms and it was a nightmare to remove and out the keyboard back together.

Note, i saw your respond earlier and i thought i replied but it looks like i didn’t properly post it.

Thanks and Kind Regards