Sensor (switch) placement in digital pianos

CyberGene

I've been discussing the Yamaha YC61 on the Musicplayer forum regarding requests for Yamaha to add high-trigger for organ sounds through a firmware update. I did some tests and concluded that the organ triggers somewhere around halfway through the key travel, or maybe slightly further, say 3/5 of key travel. And I always thought the sensors (switches) in digital pianos (and electronic keyboards) are placed in such a way that the first one is around the middle and the second one is close to the bottom. (And if there's a third one, it will be between the two). And so I said: see, there is high-trigger. However I was proven wrong and indeed making more tests it turned out that on the YC61 there are two sensors that are placed slightly above and below the middle, say at 2/5 and 3/5 of the key travel. This really surprised me and I started wondering if that's also true for digital pianos? Here's a quote from a post I made there:

I'm wondering how the triggering on the YC73 with BHS action is. I've always had this assumption that sensors (actually switches) in digital pianos are placed in the middle and the bottom for two-sensor ones. And to allow for repetition without releasing above the middle point, they added another sensor between the two, at 3/4 the key travel. I'm wondering if I was wrong all that time and the two sensors in digital piano are also located slightly above and below the middle, as on the YC61. And if that's the case, where do they put the third sensor in digital pianos, is it after the second one, closer to the bottom?

What do you think?

David B

One thing I don't like about my N1X as a controller is that the sensor activates a sample before the let off is engaged (when there is no silent key option). It seems very unnatural if you depress a key slowly.

CyberGene

Here's a diagram for the Kawai VPC1:

Taken from the following doc:

vpc1keyboardscanning.pdf

349kB

According to that diagram, the first switch is at 5mm (1/2 of key travel) and the third one is at 10mm (bottom), so maybe I was right about digital pianos after all. It's only some non-hammer action keyboards such as the YC61 and probably synths where they place sensors around the middle.

Theophilus Carter

My Roland VR-730 must have a few sensors, but I'm not sure exactly where they are placed. When playing organ sounds, it relies on the "quick trigger" sensor, which kicks in when you breathe too hard on the keys. 🙂 Piano sounds are different, kicking in closer to the middle of the keypress.

CyberGene

Theophilus Carter My Roland VR-730

I've heard great things about that Roland, so apparently it's a good emulation of the high-trigger Hammond keyboard 👍🏻

Frédéric L

There is the Pianoman Chuck comparison of two 3-sensors keyboard :

https://youtu.be/AnqHStIL02E

Note also that Nord pianos can select which sensor triggers the velocity counter. You choose between fast repetition and more accurate timing.

Del Vento

At the moment, I don't have any commercial product to test this on.

IIRC, all the ones which I ever had occasion to try with a organ sound and a very slow depress triggered toward the bottom. It's a easy and quick test that you can ask on any relevant forum, which I believe will provide you a good number of answers.