Novation SL61 II - velocity problems on one note

[Guest]

Dear All... wasn't sure if this was the best place to post this... however, I would appreciate any ideas.

I have a Novation SL USB keyboard (the mark 2 version) which has been great. But, very recently, I've noticed one key has started to trigger a lower velocity than any of the others - it still is sensitive, but at a lower level. It's not a software issue or a calibration issue (as far as I can tell) so I'm poised to open her up and delve inside... any ideas on how I might put things back to normal?

[resistorman]

Under the keys are circuit boards that run the length of the keybed. They have carbon traces underneath the row of plastic strips that look a bit like octopus suckers. These are the switches with corresponding carbon traces or conductive plastic. They’re held to the board with integral “pegs” and can be carefully pried up, and re-installed with a small screwdriver if you’re careful not to poke through... I actually ground down the end of one for this job. Pull up the affected section... often there will be hair or crud underneath. I usually clean the board and the membrane with 91% alcohol. Sometimes the pad is just worn out, and you need a new strip. More rarely, the board is damaged.

[Guest]

Thanks Resistorman. That sounds very detailed but rather scary (to me)... I'll give it a go.

[Guest]

Resistorman... Just feeding back that your advice was spot on. An hour and a half later... plus rather a lot of deep breaths and head scratching (the hardest part was putting all the casework back together again), I now have a fully working keyboard. Yeh! Many thanks indeed.

[resistorman]

Happy to have been of help! And good on you that you did it, they don’t make it easy to get those things apart