[10/2012 I'm trying to find the original pictures. Will dig through my old hard drive soon...]
I'm a bit of a piano player and I own a Clavinova, but the lousy keys on it keep sticking. Rather than paying ridiculous amounts of money to Yamaha for a tech/parts - I figured out how to fix it with Krazy Glue. I had to fix a few more keys recently (I'm up to 5) so I snapped some pics of the repair process.
Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for your screwups.
1) Unplug the power. Remove the 3 screws from the back
2) Pull Lid Forward then Upward to remove
3) Remove guards from the keybed cover track, then take it out. Once you get the top part out you'll have to turn the bottom half cockeyed to get it out - don't put any pressure on it!
4) Remove the screws holding the button board in place I believe there are two on either end and 3 in the middle
5) Remove the screws holding the key assembly in place, then push it back as far as you can to give yourself some room to work with in the front
6) Remove keys by prying gently underneath the back, once the key pops loose slide it forward and it should lift out.
7) If your key does this, it's time to fix it! (look for hairline cracks, etc.) If it's missing a chunk check where the empty key space is to see if it fell in there.
8) What I like to do is break off the trouble piece, then superglue it back at an angle (see below). I've also seen people get a small tack red hot and shove each of the pieces back into one another.
You may also want to buy some grease to lubricate - I never did this beacuse I'm lazy and my keys work well enough.
Breaking the trouble piece off
How I glue it back (top view):
9) Glue the key and let it set for a few minutes.
10) Replace key by hooking the front first and pushing the back. If it looks like an erection when you're finished you didn't hook the front well enough. Test the key. If it works, Reassemble the rest of it.
Random thoughts:
I had one key that still stuck even after rebreaking and resetting it. I decided to swap it out with the same key in the highest octave. After moving it to a different spot it worked fine - may be the lack of grease or technical knowledge on my part. Don't be afraid to play with it.
Also, of the 5 keys I've fixed 3 have been E's, 1 was a G and the other was a B. Does yamaha have a vendetta against E minor?
Finished product.
60 comments:
Yamaha will replace the action of your piano free of charge. It is a known defect and actually they will send you a GH3 keyboard if you are the original owner.
Thanks Steve, guess I'll have to give Yamaha a call.
The guy at the store I bought it from said the warranty was up after a year and it'd be $80 bucks just to get the repairman to my house. Guess he didn't know what he was talking about - lame.
As Steve Trawford Said, Yamaha will replace the keyboard as it is a known problem. My Clavinova CVP-207 is 7 years old, and I am not the original owner, and Yamaha UK have agreed to cover all parts and labour without any questions! The keyboard is on a 6 week lead time though!
hehehe
Thanks for the pics and intructions, they were extreamly helpful. I don't know if I qualify for a new keyboard since I have the CVP-105, but it is sure helpful to be able to fix the probems myself! I'm glad I found your wonderful site.
Glad I could help.
Thanks for the great instructions! I was in the process of replacing and/or relocating the "sticky" keys to the outside edge. They guy I purchased from gave me a couple new keys and said they are about $15 ea... I am going to try your repair first... Any significance to the numbering on the keys, as I don't see any logical pattern or maybe the guy before me also moved keys?... thanks again for your help, you rock!
I don't have a clue about the numbering. I've moved keys to different octaves and as far as I can tell there's no decernable difference.
Thanks, TJH. I have a CVP-205, purchased online from Canada 7 years ago, with a sticky key. Learned from your page, I called Yamaha. They are sending me the replacement keyboard with instructions on how to replace it.
Just one more thing. The volume control knob causes static noise every time I turn it. I've ordered the replacement part and am going to put it on myself. Do you have any experience on that? Thanks in advance.
Sorry, I have no idea about the volume control. Good luck.
Well written article.
I, too, had the sticking key problem, and Yamaha sent a new keyboard, no questions asked. I still have the old keyboard stashed, just in case the problem repeats.
Now ... new problem ... horrible distortion and static from one side speakers. Getting progressively worse by the day. Same problem on the headphone jacks. I suspect an amplifier problem.
Has anyone seen that problem?
CLP 840 - No sound, no nothin'
Plugged it in - have electricity and red LED 'on' indicator lights up but I have no program LED, no sound.
Any ideas?
Thanks a lot. Pictures and instruction were very helpful. You saved my piano and money:)
As of December, 2008, Yamaha will set you up with an independent repair company to fix the keyboard regardless of how old it is.
Call Yamaha Customer Service at the location appropriate for your country in the back of the Instruction Manual(US 714-522-9011, Canada 416-298-1311---then follow the phone tree appropriate for your make) and customer service will have a Yamaha rep specializing in the "key issue" call you back and determine whether the serial number on your instrument qualifies or not. If it qualifies, the company rep will then give you the name and number of a local repair company and you will then coordinate with the local repair company to effect the repair. It may or may not mean replacing the entire keyboard.
Local music stores likely do not know about this or, most likely, do not want you to know about it since it entails no revenue for them. In the burbs where I live the dude coming to fix ours is an independent instrument repairman who covers a very large geographic area.
Thanks for a great blog.
Just had the repairman over to fix my stuck key on our CVP-203. He took our serial number and said he would check with Yamaha to see if our piano qualified. he seemed to think that there was a 5 year limit on the replacement. He moved the stuck key to the highest octave and the replacement is working fine. I'll post again after I find out more
Thanks for the help. I have a clavinova CVP 103, keys stuck all of a sudden. Despite being slightly different instructions were great and matched closely. Note to others, don't try and remove the keys until you have lifted out the keyboard. They simply slide off the back when you free them at the front 1st. Once I pulled the problem keys off, all I did was remove the excess grease that came from the factory and the keys then worked great.
R. Brown
You have original way for removing the keys, it is very helpful if you want to break key during disassembling procedure
If you're taking your keyboard apart, chances are your key was already cracked before you tried to remove it. If a piece broke off you can still glue it back on. If there's a better way to get the key out let me know.
I'm glad I found this page. I had several stuck B's and E's. After reading comments about the hidden warranty on the keyboard, I contacted Yamaha Canada and they immediately acknowledged the problem and gave me the number for the local authorized repair company. I called them and the keyboard was replaced within a week, no charge.
I previously posted regarding the 5 year old CVP-203 (12/16/08 post). My keyboard was just replaced. I only paid for the 1/2 hour service call - about $70. still a deal. If you are having this problem - call Yamaha today! I wouldn't have know about this without searching the web and finding your site - Thanks.
Does anyone know what number to call for Yamaha in order to get them to replace the key?
Thanks so much for sharing. I've been dreading the cost of having someone replace it for me. I was done in less than an hour. You're awesome! Your info is saving people money. Thanks again!
Fixing a CLP-123 and this info has been helpful. I didn't have stuck keys, but rather needed to clean out the contacts on the 3 circuit boards under the keys. Before I started less than half the keys worked, now I am down to only 8 non working. However, I am starting to believe that the rubber strip which is sandwiched in between the keys and the circuit boards needs to be replaced and they want 70 bucks for it.. :-( I wonder if there is a way to squeeze more life out of the old one... I am going to try to give it a second and third cleaning I guess. So far I've only been using WD-40.
I am no Yamaha tech, but I believe that rubber(?) strip is how my CVP-8 detects the force of a played note. I suffer from not only a couple of sticky keys, but several that have changed drastically in sensitivity, from blasting away at the slightest touch to almost ignoring the double forte grand slams. This will be the second time I have dis-assembled the instrument for a cleaning. The first time I marked the position of problems before removal of the keys. Sure enough, I found a hair bridging the pc board contact for the bad key under the rubber strip. The rubber strip changes it's own electrical conductivity at the impact point of a blow from the weighted hammer when a note is played. The hammers are aligned to hit exactly on the rubber strip at the pc board electrical contact points, one for each key. The harder the hammer hits, the higher the rate of change in conductivity of the portion of the rubber strip between the pc board foil contact. This sudden change in conductivity is then rendered electronically by Yamaha magic into dynamically adjusted instrumental voice for your ears. This is a very nice piece of engineering, however it is very susceptible to failure by contamination, since almost anything that gets down in there and crosses the contacts will have more conductivity than that strip, effectively rendering it useless as a force transducer. Including hairs. This cleaning I am hoping to find the strip in good condition still since I do not want to pay $70 for that strip. However, years of pounding will wear anything down, that strip takes the most physical beating, it substitutes for the strings in a traditional piano. I have this blog bookmarked and will report my progress if anyone is interested. Right now it's just finding the time and the room to take my piano apart, I don't have a shop proper and just a coffee table in my small living room to lay it on.
I dont really care about yamaha coming to fix it, at the end of the day its just hastle, after reading this page i had my piano fixed in 30 min :):) thankkkk youuuuu
Thanks for setting up this blog. I was about to take my Clavinova CLP170 apart to see what was wrong with the keys. After seeing this, i called my Yamaha Canada, they confirmed a program to replace defective keys, but suggested that I call my original retailer for in-home service, since my model is a full digital piano. Italmelodie (Montreal) was quick to offer in-home repair (for a fee) and arranged with Yamaha to provide a free complete replacement keyboard - purchase was 66 months ago. Much appreciated!
Hi,
I have a CVP105. It is about 8 years old and everything works like new other than a heavy clunk as the keys go down and a click as they come up. Something to do with the felt system I believe. Is this easily fixed & something Yamaha provide free parts for ?
I would be grateful for your comments.
Thank you. I just performed a similar repair on a Technics following your guidelines.
To Bachelor: where I can find the contacts? My problem is - one key does not produce a sound. So I took off the key (as was demonstrated above) but I do not see any contacts to clean them off. Could you please help me with this?
thanks for your nice work and photos!
any idea about keys numbering?
tjejblab-
I don't know if they replace felt
gr-igor-is-
no idea about the numbering
I wish I could be more helpful!
I have a CLP-130 about five years old. Just recently my kids have been complaining about the middle C being stuck...I was also dreading calling Yamaha and having to pay someone to come out to fix it. Glad I'm not the only one with the same problem of stucked keys. Thanks for posting your fix and others about calling Yamaha first.
I have a CLP-130 that is about five years old. I also thought that the warranty had expired. My kids just recently started complaining about the middle C being stuck...I thought maybe something fell in or the kids did something to it. Thanks for your post on how to fix and others for letting me know this is a common problem. I will definitely call Yamaha first to see what action I need to take.
TJH, you're awesome.
Yamaha downunder is sending the replacement keys for my CVP-203 (bought secondhand but no problem with this issue). The keys that are sticky/stuck are the E&F right in the center of the keyboard. The only hassle is that there isn't a tech in town who can fix it. Might have to hide away from the kids to take it apart myself... (especially the one year old)
Thanks so much for your advice. Much better than paying for the repair guy. Mine was not covered under the recall or warranty. The key was sticking because of a penny that managed to get wedged under it.
Yamaha downunder sent the entire keyboard assembly free of charge to an electrician who I nominated and he installed it without any drama and disposed the old one as well. His hourly rate was very reasonable and best of all, we got our CVP203 going again!
Thanks again for your awesome blogsite!
Okay, I'm totally clueless about everything, but I have two older Clavinovas (a CVP-89 and CVP-92). None of the keys are broken, but I have had connectivity problems and when I push down one key, two notes will sound. In my area, there are absolutely no repairman that I know of. I will call the Yamaha number (thanks by the way) and see what happens. The last guy that looked at my piano said old pianos are un-fixable and you can't get parts for them. I was shocked because I paid thousands of dollars for these pianos. I am a teacher and need the pianos. Any ideas? I am desperate!
How was the static & no sound problem from Nov 08 resolved? Spouse has been debugging for days and thinks it's the main board and/or the two smaller boards that sit on top of it. He's getting cranky without a piano to play. HELP!
Hi, Thank-you so much for posting pictures on how to take apart the clavinova. My son this morning dropped a quarter in between two keys. After hitting the key it dropped down flat under the key. Just thought I would check with you. Is it best to open the clavinova the way you have posted to fix keys or is there an easier way to do it to access under the keys? Thank-you so much for your time. I greatly appreciate it.
CSSA,
After step 5 you might be able to lift the keyboard a bit and see if you can get the quarter out. Otherwise you can remove the whole assembly by tracing the bits of wire leading from the keyboard to the main electronics. If memory serves me right you will need to cut a few zip ties and then you can just unplug it from the main board. It's been a while since I've taken mine apart so this is the best advice I can give you off the top of my head. Good luck!
Dear TJH, Thanks for taking the time to post this. I bought my CLP930 used in 2002. I play it almost daily. The B by Middle C was sticking and thanks to your instructions we found a hairline crack. We put a good key from another less used Octave on the more used B and broke and glued the bad key (like you said) and put it in the less used Octave - both/all work great! Took about 2 hours (hard not to tinker around once your in there). Thanks again.
Wow thanks for having this Blog. My CLP 50 has stopped producing sound from one entire octave. From the C# to the B, two octaves below middle C. I believe that's the octave that you use to set transposition, but I could be wrong. They all went out simultaneously, and perhaps, when I moved it from one room to another, but I'm not sure. Any ideas mjspike@earthlink.net. Thanks in advance! Mike Johnson, Riverside, California
Amazing! Thank you for your wonderful information and pictures. The CLP 130 is in Trinidad. White goop between the keys was causing some problems, easily remedied by a simple wipe. Moved a few cracked keys, since I had no super-glue on hand. Your tutorial was priceless!
Nice post. I've been fighting the sticky key issue for a while and I'm getting tired of spending $18 a key to replace them. I'm going to try the superglue option. My wife found out from Yamaha that there was a material compatability issue betweent the keys and the grease, causing the keys to crack. The new keys are supposed to be a new material. Our CP-205 isn't eligible for the keyboard replacement because we ordered it from Belgium and imported it into the US.
Thanks for the directions. I followed your guide to open up my CLP-130 and to remove all the parts so that I could access the keys. I ended up being able to wipe off excess grease and move a few notes around in order to fix the problem. Thanks.
Thanks for the directions. I followed your guide to open up my CLP-130 and to remove all the parts so that I could access the keys. I ended up being able to wipe off excess grease and move a few notes around in order to fix the problem. Thanks.
The static you hear when rotating the volume knob is from a failing potentiometer (metal cylinder under the plastic volume knob). You will need to purchase a new potentiometer to fix this. You can take a Ohm meter to measure the resistance at min and max volume and replace the potentiometer with one of similar range and wattage. You can try ordering the specific part from Yamaha. Or you can just set the volume at one level and not change it (ie. use another amplifier/stereo).
Hi everybody! I do not know where to begin but hope this site will be useful for me.
Hope to get any assistance from you if I will have some quesitons.
Thanks in advance and good luck! :)
Thank you for posting this instruction! Very helpfull indeed as I was afraid to open my CLP.
I'm absolutely in love with my CLP-870 (japanese market model) and was so discouraged on finding A1 key got extra sensitive.
You may also find usiefull this wonerful site concerning varions clavinovas problems:
http://www.fixya.com/f/tags/yamaha_clavinova/page-1
and this part explaining sensitivity problem:
http://www.fixya.com/support/t1004118-yamaha_digital_piano_clp_170
Hello,
We have a Clavinoa CVP-105 (that we purchased used). The highest F key was restricted from full depression. We figured either something was lodged under the key, or the key was broken. Using your tutorial, we disassembled the keyboard only to find a guitar pick stuck under there. We used the opportunity to do some housekeeping (moist towel wipe-down and vacuuming) on the inside of the piano. Thank you for a great tutorial. The only thing that was slightly different, was the removal of the keyboard cover. But, given your directions, we were able to adapt. Thanks again, Tom and Sara.
Close but no cigar. I have a Clavinova CLP-820. The setup is similar to TJS's piano but just a little different. I got to the key but didn't want to force it out. If anyone has that model and was able to remove the key from that model, I would appreciate a little hint.
On the flip side, thanks TJH for giving me the confidence to go into the instrument.
A little FYI for all. I was able to order a service manual for $16 from the parts department.
Hi TJH,
thanks for this interesting story. I indeed opened up my wife's clavinova CLP130 this very morning because two E keys were no going up as fast as expected.
When I extracted the key (smoothly) one broke up as you show, the other one was still looking good, but once in place was somehow twisted in its back.
Coming back from work, I search for solutions in English and found your blog. Indeed, the good looking key was cracked, and the patch you proposed worked just fine. Anyhow, my wife is going to contact Yamaha just in case!
Thanks again, and happy keystrokes.
Fred
Hello to all,
I m from belgium.
I have a clavinova clp 970 with a gh88 keyboard built in. I bought it in 2001 or 2002.
Since a couple of months now i get sticky keys.
I called yamaha, and they offered to change the whole gh88 keyboard including parts and labour for free, and all of this in my house !
What a service !!!!!
They admitted to have problems with older pianos bevause of the lubrificant they have used. After a while (for me it took almost 10 years) the lubrificant weakens the plastic of the keys, and then some of them can break inside.
So now after 10 years i have a new piano. The keyboard feels softer, lakes less noise when playing on it.
Kind regards
Yves
Thanks for the tips - I got my clavinova dlp 820 open, cleaned it out, including the rubber strip under the boards under the keys - but still have my problem - two keys (E, just below middle C; and G#, one octave up from the middle C octave) make no noise when played. Suggestions? If I buy a new keyboard, would that fix it?
It's Feb 2013. I live in the US and my CVP-103 has started having sticking keys. I originally bought it in 1999. I contacted the yamaha 1-800 repair number to see if they'd be willing to replace my keybed, since this is a known problem (even though the warranty was up years ago, I'm the original owner, and I understand other people in the US have been successful getting a free keybed AND repair service with equally old CVPs). They turned me down, so I went back to the place I originally bought the CVP, since they're also an authorized yamaha repair center. They tried contacting yamaha separately, and got the same answer. The best they could offer was a new keybed at cost (about $500) plus another couple hundred for labor to replace it. At this point, I'll prob buy a new system, since there are other (more minor) issues that also need fixing.
I found the problem of 'sticky keys' is caused by a build up of the vaseline that is used to lubricate the key travel. When dust/hair/etc. is caught by the grease, the key sticks.
I followed the instructions above, although I found it easier to remove the pillars from the base (step 3 above) rather than remove the small screws from the bracket/panel junctions. Also it was necessary to loosen the floppy drive housing using the 4 screws. Once the control panel is moved out of the way, the keyboard becomes easily accessible. Remove the sticking key, clean excess grease from the front of the key, and also remove excess from the white pillar using a cotton bud.
I had three keys that had stuck - one quite severely - and now they all work perfectly.
Hi. New owner of a CVP-205 and three of the keys stick. I would like to try to fix it using your tutorial. Do you happen to have the rest of the pictures or a document available for download that has them? Many thanks for your time and consideration.
Many thanks! Only needed the two first lines, but they were helpful. My son had managed to put stuff in the piano (CVP 103) and the only guidance manual gave was "don't let anything get in the piano, it's extremely difficult to get it out"
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