blog

Piano & Keyboard Cleaning

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:21:42 +0000

:: Piano and Keyboard Cleaning ::

Whilst it's not the most exciting blog topic in the world, one of the most frequently asked questions is :

"How do I polish or clean my piano/keyboard?"

And it's a good question too, because there are few things to be aware of especially with upright/grand acoustic pianos due to the types of finishes that they can have.

You will notice that we haven't recommended any specific products below, this is because we don't want someone to skim read the blog, or have a internet search engine partially reply to a query. Using the wrong chemicals may result in a damaged finish - and there is no 'one cleaner does all' fix for all products.

Read on and if you have any questions, send an email to the Keyboard Department on our Contact Us page.

:: Cleaning your Piano ::

A piano is a major investment so taking care of this investment is important. When it comes to pianos, cleaning and polishing are two different actions. Polishing should be kept to a bare minimum. Dust is ideally removed by a feather duster.

Dusting with a dry cloth should be avoided at all costs; a dry cloth will allow the dust to scratch the finish!!! Not a good idea.

If dusting with a cloth, always use a soft fabric such as flannel or chamois. Never use rags or paper towels.

How often you would clean your piano keyboard is entirely dependant on how often you use your piano. For instance, piano teachers may need to clean off collected fingerprints regularly while a seldom used piano keyboard needs to be cleaned only once or twice a year.

Here are some instructions that may help with cleaning you Piano Keyboard.

Things you will Need:

*2 soft, clean colour free dry cloths
*Gentle dish-washing soap and warm water

1/ Make a cleaning solution in a small bowl. Mix warm water with a drop of two of gentle dish washing-soap

2/ Dampen a soft, clean, colour free cloth slightly in the cleaning solution. Rub the dampened cloth gently over each white key individually to remove dust and fingerprints. Then use a soft, dry cloth to wipe off any moisture left on the keyboard.

3/ Dampen a second soft cloth with the cleaning solution and wipe each black key in a similar manner.

Before polishing your piano you need to find out whether it has a polymer or lacquer finish; these two finishes must be polished differently to avoid possibly irreversible damage.

If you want to use a commercial spray on your piano contact your local piano tuner to see what they would recommend to use. They are typically the experts on pianos and can advise what they would use. Some households sprays are not suitable and can damage the coating and finish of the piano so ring before using them to avoid damage.

:: Cleaning your Electronic Keyboard ::

Electronic keyboards can equally be important to keep in good condition. Avoid chemical spray cleaners as they can damage keys and internal components - especially if too much is applied and allowed to drip into the internal workings of the keyboards.

Avoid abrasive scrubbing and brushing as this scratch the key surface and this may not be able to be repaired.

Before beginning, make sure the unit is turned off and disconnected from the wall power socket.

Below are some Instructions to help you

Things You Will Need:

*Water
*Mild dishwashing Liquid
*2 clean, white cloths
*Cotton swabs

1/ Mix warm water and a small amount of gentle dishwashing soap in a bowl

2/ Moisten slightly a clean, white cloth. Wipe carefully over the surface of each key and other exposed surface areas of the keyboard with the moistened cloth. Keep water out of speakers or other internal components.

3/ Wipe over the cleaned areas with the other dry, clean cloth to soak up excess moisture.

:: Additional Tips for both pianos and keyboards ::

Another note to add is to avoid placing objects on your piano or keyboard. If you use a piano lamp, make sure it has a cloth or felt base, or place it on top of a piece of fabric.

Never spray products directly onto your piano or keyboard. If you are using a product suggested by your piano tuner, spray the polish onto a cloth, and stand at least three feet away from the piano to prevent the particles from landing on your keys, strings or other delicate areas.

If you've never cleaned your piano, or keyboard, and don't know whom to contact ... get in touch with your nearest Rockshop or KBB store and they can give you advice on piano tuners in your area, or products specific to your keyboard.

Keyboards for Beginners - Where To Start?

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:21:42 +0000

:: Keyboards for beginners - Where to start? ::
*"I want to play piano/ keyboard what sort of instrument do I need?"* This is a question we hear a lot from parents and beginners alike. Because there are so many options, we need to narrow it down to the most suitable option for you. Have a look at these questions below :
-How old is the student? -What style of keyboard/Piano do you ultimately want to play? -Do you have a budget to work to? -Do you want it to be portable or a more furniture style piece? -Will you be sitting piano exams? -Will you be taking lessons from a qualified teacher? -Should you have an acoustic piano or will a keyboard or digital piano be ok?
Hopefully by the end of this blog you might have a better understanding of what you may need.
:: Keyboard Types and Terminology::
To help you I will summarize what sort of keyboard types there are: 1/ Beginner Keyboards 2/ Advanced Keyboards 3/ Digital Pianos 4/ Stage Pianos 5/ Workstations and Synths 6/ Digital Grands 7/ Acoustic Pianos Also, some terminology that keyboard salespeople will talk about regularly will be: *Touch Response* - volume of tone will change depending on how hard or soft the key is played. This allows you to play your pieces with expression. Graded Hammer Action or Hammer Action - keys feel and react the same way as an acoustic piano. The keys are weighted and respond in relation to how you are playing. Polyphony - this relates to how many sounds can be played at the same time. Tones - different instruments available e.g guitar tone or piano tone.
:: Getting Started ::
Ok, here is the first and probably most common scenario. You are a family that’s child or children are about to have keyboard lessons. You may walk into a Music store to look at what’s available and walk out with a minor headache. For many parents we want to get our kids started but don’t want to invest too much in case the initial enthusiasm wears off and they don’t continue. Having taught for over 8 years there are a few tips that I suggest. Invest in a reputable brand, from a bona fide professional retailer. Should you or your child not wish to continue, a reputable brand will get a better second hand sale price. Reputable brands also offer backup, parts and servicing that you will not get from other suppliers - especially internet-only based sellers. Buy the best you can afford at the time! Like any electronic piece of equipment the higher the price, the better the quality, sound and touch of the keyboard. This in turn can be more appealing to play and keep young beginners much more inspired early on. If budget allows make sure your keyboard is at least a touch response keyboard. This allows the student to play with expression which is a technique that needs to be learnt. Make sure the keyboard key is the same width as a normal piano key. There are some mini keyboards with mini keys out there that are cheap, but will confuse and frustrate beginners if every time they go to their lesson they find the keyboard or piano keys are a different size than the ones they have been playing and practicing on. For most beginners, a choice of tones is not necessarily a big factor. Most of the time they will use the on board piano sound for lessons and will use the other sounds for fun. An excellent beginner keyboard is the Casio CTK3000 (pictured below). It is a 61 note touch response keyboard with 400 high quality tones. The Retail price of this is $599 but is on special in any Rockshop for $399 (just to give you a guide of price). Beginner keyboards can start from around $249 to $1299. Casio CTK3000 - $399 ($599) Again many people will ask me “what is the difference between the one at $699 and the one at $899?”. This relates quite nicely to car buying. Will the car at $1000 be ok for a beginner to learn on? The answer would probably be 'yes'. Will the car at $2000 be better for a beginner to learn on than the $1000 car and the answer again will be yes of course. The higher the price of the car usually means that the car has better features and therefore would be a better car for a beginner to learn on. This is true of keyboards as well. The $399 keyboard will certainly be ok for a true beginner but the $699 keyboard will have more features, sound better and will probably last longer before needing to be replaced.
:: Digital Pianos ::
Above we have spoken about Beginner keyboards. There are now a growing number of people that prefer to buy a Digital Piano instead of an Acoustic Piano. Buying a digital piano certainly has some advantages over buying an acoustic piano. 1/ you don’t need to tune them 2/ you can put headphones on while practicing and not annoy the whole family 3/ they are easier to move and more compact than most acoustic pianos I have both an acoustic piano and a digital piano and whilst I wouldn’t trade my acoustic for anything, I play my digital piano much more than the acoustic. Digital pianos typically have either a Graded Hammer Action or Hammer Action. This is very beneficial when beginning to learn the piano. Anyone can play the piano but not everyone can play the piano well. Good technique is essentially being able to play the piano well and a good keyboard action goes hand in hand with this. As noted above, the Hammer action acts similarly to an Acoustic Piano. To achieve success in piano exams a good technique is essential and although at prep grades, grade one and two we may be able to get by with practicing with our small touch response keyboard at home, within a few years we need a larger keyboard (88 notes rather than the smaller 61 note models) with a better key action to achieve success at the higher grades. Casio CDP 100 with stand $999 ($1295) Digital Pianos such as the Casio CDP100 start at around $1000 (see picture above). Again as the price increases so do the features. Instead of a sustain pedal that attaches by a chord we get built in pedal systems (see Casio PX730 below). Cabinet styles change and improve. For instance if you look at the Casio PX730 you can see that this unit is very appealing in its look, has the pedal board attached and has a better speaker system than the CDP100. The PX730 also has 128 note polyphony while the CDP100 has 32 note polyphony. For a little more it certainly has a better feature set that ultimately gives a better playing experience and sound. Casio PX 730 $1695 ($1895) As mentioned before a quality key action is paramount to long term playing success. The Roland digital pianos have the best action on the market. For a seriously beautiful digital piano with the best sound quality compare this when looking around. They have an astounding new range out at the moment. The new F110 is a sleek style digital piano which comes in black or white (depending on the style of your home) and is on special from $2499RRP to $1999. This is hard to beat as it's features include 128 note polyphony, a quality sound source, built in three pedal system, key cover and Roland’s PHA alpha II keyboard action. (see picture below). Roland’s cabinets are all solid wood and pedals are metal rather than plastic. Roland F110 $1999 ($2499)
:: Acoustic Pianos ::
Acoustic Pianos for the beginner are another choice. If you are looking at this sort of purchase, try and take someone with you that knows a little about acoustic pianos and what to look for. Again key action and tone quality are very important. Older second hand pianos might need work done to them to bring them up to a workable level which can be expensive, so choose carefully. Acoustic pianos are also difficult to move so make sure you factor the moving cost in the budget as well as regular tuning costs which should ideally be done every 6 months. A good acoustic piano can not only take you through to Diploma level Piano but it can also be an heir loom for the family to cherish.

Rhodes Keyboard

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:21:42 +0000

:: Rhodes Keyboard ::

As a keyboard player there are only a few times in my life when the thought of a brand new keyboard reminds me of days gone by playing at the Gluepot corner bar in the late 80s on a Saturday night. There is a reason this happens rarely and this is no ordinary new product. It is the newly released RHODES piano.

Many of you will fondly remember the Fender Rhodes product. The 73 note suitcase model that required a couple of piano movers to get it into your car and to a gig. Who can forget the key action, the growl of the lower notes when struck correctly or the distinctive analogue sound made famous by the likes of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Beatles and Jazz musicians such as Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea.

For many people the only way to relive this is to buy a second hand model (usually very expensive to buy) and restore it which for many people has proven to be difficult. That has now all changed. You can now get a brand new one made like the original.

Harold Rhodes who created the original Rhodes was able to get back the rights to the name around 1996 which allowed him to get to work reproducing the original electromagnetic instrument and Rhodes Music Corporation released these new concept models at Namm 2007.

When these arrived into NZ, I was one of the lucky people to be able to unbox and view them for the first time. Believe me when I tell you it was like being a 5 year old on Christmas morning waiting to unwrap the biggest present!! Once un-boxed the cabinet design proves to be instantly appealing and tastefully done. It comes in 4 different finishes including black gloss, red gloss white gloss and a black Road Touch version. I have seen both the Road Touch version and the black gloss. Both are stunning and distinctive. Click to enlarge.


Black Gloss	White Gloss	Red Gloss	Black Road Touch

"it's just like the original
only new"

INSIDE
Opening up the unit reveals the genius of the new Mark 7 model. What is it you say? In the words of our Technician (he has worked on many of the original Rhodes pianos and fixed many old Rhodes) “its just like the original only new!!”. There are a few minor adjustments but fundamentally inside they are the same (without the dust, rust, cobwebs and other dirt an original Rhodes would have gathered by musicians on the road or in their bedroom studios).

"produces that distinctive growl digital products cannot reproduce effectively"

FEEL
Both models were instantly magic to the touch. Due to its original mechanical design it still produces that distinctive growl that digital products cannot reproduce effectively. Every chord played reverberates through the unit which can only come from hammer meeting the single metal tine. It is pure indulgence. The active model comes with a 3 band EQ and tremolo option. Both are excellent features that add more depth to the instrument.

There is an Active / Midi Rhodes I haven’t seen in the flesh as yet but you can view this through the Rhodes website http://www.rhodespiano.com/. There are many videos on this site which you can view but nothing beats playing it in the flesh. If you get a chance I highly recommend it.

FINAL THOUGHTS
All of the people that I know that had an original Rhodes and have seen and played the new ones are fizzing about these new models. The toughest decision is which colour!!

For some history on Rhodes check out this web site although there are many sites on this subject.

http://www.fenderrhodes.com/history/narrative.php

To view these items in person ring your local Rockshop and they will be able to let you know where the current models are. We have 4 models in stock.

$5995 - Rhodes Mark 7 - 73 note Standard in Black Gloss
$6995 - Rhodes Mark 7 - 73 note Active in White Gloss
$6995 - Rhodes Mark 7 - 73 note Active in Red Gloss
$6995 - Rhodes Mark 7 - 73 note Active in Black Road Touch