Can this issue be caused by something in MIDI?

To be honest mate, without a good look at it close up, I wouldn't really know what to suggest. (Keyboards aren't really a great area of my knowledge)

From what I've read, the big springs are the return springs so they should be fine. The smaller springs at the under-front of the keys look like they stretch and make a circuit with the parallel rod or make a connection to the diode at the back. So I would assume something in that area is the deal breaker. A few of the springs in this picture below are not looking the best. That would be what I would pay most attention to. (Possibly switch it on and play a few notes with the keyboard upside down to see what's happening with those keys)

Image00001.jpg

What I would make sure of before doing anything is, knowing exactly what keys are faulty, or at least the range of keys (mark them underneath if necessary) and can those small springs be removed and changed around easily. Say, take 12 (or however many are needed) from the end of the keyboard and replace in the middle where the faulty part is.

I've tried finding more info about the keyboard but there is very little out there. I found the Owners Manual and Service Manual but couldn't see anything of help in there.

You can get the manuals here - Ensoniq ESQ1 Hacker Page (They're safe, I've downloaded them)
 
To be honest mate, without a good look at it close up, I wouldn't really know what to suggest. (Keyboards aren't really a great area of my knowledge)

From what I've read, the big springs are the return springs so they should be fine. The smaller springs at the under-front of the keys look like they stretch and make a circuit with the parallel rod or make a connection to the diode at the back. So I would assume something in that area is the deal breaker. A few of the springs in this picture below are not looking the best. That would be what I would pay most attention to. (Possibly switch it on and play a few notes with the keyboard upside down to see what's happening with those keys)

View attachment 90331

What I would make sure of before doing anything is, knowing exactly what keys are faulty, or at least the range of keys (mark them underneath if necessary) and can those small springs be removed and changed around easily. Say, take 12 (or however many are needed) from the end of the keyboard and replace in the middle where the faulty part is.

I've tried finding more info about the keyboard but there is very little out there. I found the Owners Manual and Service Manual but couldn't see anything of help in there.

You can get the manuals here - Ensoniq ESQ1 Hacker Page (They're safe, I've downloaded them)
No problem, if you don't know much about keyboards. I thought sure I knew what the problem was, only to find another kind of system when I opened the keyboard up. Oh, it's not an ESQ1, it's an SQ1 Plus (which is basically the same as an SQ1). I think the ESQ1 is a late '80s keyboard. The SQ1 is old but about mid 90s, if I remember correctly. I bought it new. I have the owner's manual, but would like to have the repair manual. I can't find one.

And those springs you have in the red box...I did that before I knew how fragile they were. That was done a few days ago, while I was looking for the rubber pads. Unfortunately, those springs aren't that easy to move around. They are each soldered to a post on the circuit board, and have a small resister there, too. I just might end up getting the guts of the keyboard from the web site that has them. That would include each of those springs and the circuit board with the resisters on it. I have the larger springs that are on the end of each key that returns it to home position. I also have all of the keys. The problem is the guts are from a used keyboard. I'd be taking a risk of getting more of the same problem, or worse than what I already have.

But, I can also get those little springs and the larger ones that are at the end of the keys and all of them are new. The problem is, those little springs are almost $4 each, then I have to remove the one I have and then solder the new one in its place. I'm wondering if there is suppose to be any tension on these springs, or not. I'd have to see a new keyboard to know if any of mine need replacing.

I do need to put the thing back together to see if there are any keys that fail consistently or if it's random. I'm pretty sure there is at least a section that is involved most of the time. If I can pin it down to specific keys, I could look at the springs to see if they are loose or damaged or what. Even those that have messed up the ends aren't any looser than the others, nor do they seem tighter.

Of these springs, they all do seem to be tarnished or what ever, because I think they are copper. If they are suppose to make some kind of electrical connection with those contact bars, that would be quite a chore to try and clean them all and a little pricy to change them all with new. But, I guess the next step is to see if I can decide on what keys are involved.
 
I had a feeling the damaged springs weren't like that originally, I just had to check.

As you mention the springs are tarnished, I would firstly try giving them a spray with an electrical contact cleaner like De-Oxit. As it is definitely a contact issue, that would be my first thought.

If you wanted to try the route of de-soldering the spring and changing, (depending on your confidence with a soldering iron) I would try it first on the last key, either end of the keyboard, where it doesn't get used so much. Try taking it off and then putting it back in the same place. Practice run kind of thing. If you can do that easily enough, you shouldn't have a problem doing as many as needed when you know what keys are definitely affected.

I would certainly try to ascertain the problem keys first and foremost. Mark them underneath with a marker or something.

The only other thing I would do is take photos along the way and post your results here as it may help someone else along the way with a similar problem. You never know.

Good luck with it, keep us posted. :thumbs up:
 
I had a feeling the damaged springs weren't like that originally, I just had to check.

As you mention the springs are tarnished, I would firstly try giving them a spray with an electrical contact cleaner like De-Oxit. As it is definitely a contact issue, that would be my first thought.

If you wanted to try the route of de-soldering the spring and changing, (depending on your confidence with a soldering iron) I would try it first on the last key, either end of the keyboard, where it doesn't get used so much. Try taking it off and then putting it back in the same place. Practice run kind of thing. If you can do that easily enough, you shouldn't have a problem doing as many as needed when you know what keys are definitely affected.

I would certainly try to ascertain the problem keys first and foremost. Mark them underneath with a marker or something.

The only other thing I would do is take photos along the way and post your results here as it may help someone else along the way with a similar problem. You never know.

Good luck with it, keep us posted. :thumbs up:
I have no issues with a soldering iron. I've done quite a bit of that, on circuit boards, cables, etc. My problem is none of them really seem to look any different than the others so if there is a tension connection to this, it's very minute. I do think the tarnish could be part of the problem, as, like you said, this is a connection situation. I'm not familiar with De-Oxit, but will make a visit to the local electronics store to see what they have for such things. I don't want to get the wrong thing and have it end up damaging something underneath.

Like I said, I can get the full guts of this keyboard for about $45, less shipping. But it's used, so I'd just get replacement parts, if I mess something up. I can get these springs new, but they're about $4 each and that could get too expensive. Cleaning would be ideal, if I could get something that works well. And everything is going to come down to finding out if there is a section that is involved, or if there are specific keys. I wonder if once this happens to one key, could keys that are normally OK become involved, because I seem to remember times when it would be a series of keys, once one was affected, leading me to think it was a virtual memory issue or something similar.

I'll document this in pictures, even with my crappy camera. Another issue for me is money. I have none. And I mean none when I say none. I was hoping to get a portable setup so I could play gigs and make some extra money. If this can be fixed, I'll be able to do that. I have everything I need...except this "full note on" thing is driving me nuts.

I do appreciate the suggestions. I know they might not pan out, but help is always welcome.
 
I did my best to clean off any tarnish on the contact bars, both upper and lower, where the spring hits them. I did my best to leave each section above and below the springs shiny. It didn't take much, which tells me the discoloration isn't that thick. I couldn't do much with the springs because the electronics store I went to (a major store in my city--not a chain) didn't feel secure enough to sell me something that would remove the tarnish on the copper springs while not damaging the other components of the circuit board as well as the felt, plastics, etc. I explained the situation to them and they thought something that would remove the tarnish might damage something else. So, if I do need to go that route, I'm going to have to either remove the springs and spray them, or see if I can find a way to remove the section of board they are on from the rest of the circuits.

I also took the time to replace the battery, as well as solder a holder in there. Why companies solder a battery into a consumer unit, I'll never know. The original battery lasted a very long time. I'll be interested to see if this new battery lasts as long.

I'm going to play the keyboard for a few days, to see if I experience the one loud note or not. I did clean out some dust, lint and other things from this area as well as remove the tarnish or whatever it was. Other than that, I didn't do anything else. I can only hope what I've done will make a difference. I'll reply with what happens.
 
Fingers crossed for you. You never know, maybe just a good clean up was all that was needed. I think that was the biggest problem with mine.

Hope it's sorted. :thumbs up:
 
Well, so far, so good. I did nothing but clean off the two contact bars above and below the spring on each note. Arrows point to some of these contact bars. The tarnish wasn't very thick, and was pretty easy to get off. Because I couldn't see the under side of one bar, I just used the same amount of pressure and time as I did when cleaning the other bar. But, I couldn't do anything with the springs, because they are made of very thin gauge copper wire. And they aren't being used as springs, although they are coiled like springs.

This is the way I see this keyboard working, without any external info about it. When the note is at rest, the spring is making contact with the upper contact bar (note that in this pic, the keyboard is upside down). When a note is played, the amount of time it takes for the spring to leave the contact of the upper bar and make contact with the lower bar is how the velocity is measured. And because of the tarnish, that time wasn't correctly noted, resulting in the "full note on" response in some keys. Obviously, when the spring leaves contact with the upper bar and returns to the lower bar, the "note off" command is given.

So, just cleaning off those two contact bars with a small screwdriver was all that I needed to do. If necessary, I might get me a small emery board and do a more thorough job of it. I'll hold a vacuum hose beside it to suck up any debris that comes off.

Because Murphy's Law has followed me around my whole life, I'll reserve making any comments that the keyboard is fixed, but after playing for a few days, I've seen no problems. I'll reply back after a week or two of playing, before taking the risk of saying it's fixed. And now I have a plan of attack, if it comes back. I could also replace those springs, but that would be a long and laborious task, and also expensive. New springs are $4 each. And, being such light gauge AND FRAGILE copper, they are easy to damage with human touch. See the pick where you have the two springs marked.

Thanks for the help. So far, so good on the result.

arrow marks the spots.JPE
 
Nice one. Fingers crossed but even if you only can minimize the times the problem occurs it's a bonus. If it goes away completely, all the better.

:thumbs up:
 
I'm going to go out on a limb and say my keyboard is fixed. It hasn't been that long, but the frequency of the problem was often enough that I'm sure I would have experienced it by now. I don't know how long it will stay fixed, but I can do more cleaning on those contact bars, if necessary. I'm thinking it might be a good Sunday afternoon task to do a more thorough cleaning of them, when it's bat shit cold outside and a couple of feet of snow on the ground.

On this Thanksgiving day, I'm thankful for all the help I've received on this issue. I've been pulling my hair out trying to find the cause of this and I don't have much hair left. Playing music is a joy and your help has assisted in bringing that joy back. LOL, I still cringe when I play, assuming it will come back, but with time that will go away.

Thanks again, for all of the help.

If you're interested, here's some of my music. (This Keyboard and VSTi programs)
https://soundcloud.com/just-another-old-musician
 
That's great to hear/read. Mine is still goong strong as well. Not a single hiccup since I took it to bits and cleaned everything. It's fun to play again now I'm not expecting full on hits on some notes.

Hope it continues to work for you. Another clean or a refular clean can't hurt :thumbs up:

I'll check out your music later. :thumbs up:
 
I was re-reading some of the posts in this thread and when I got to the end, I didn't realize it's been so long since this issue was found and resolved. Yes, I do say resolved, because I've not had any issues what so ever with anything, since cleaning off those contact bars. I keep telling myself that I should get in there with maybe an emery cloth and do a good job on those bars, so the situation doesn't come back unexpectedly. I can be king of the procrastinators, at times.

I just wanted to thank those involved again, because I'm back to playing without any worries of if or when that full volume note will reoccur. Being a musician is very special. It's a way to relax, create and communicate. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have music. Playing music sometimes rivals sex. OK, maybe that's taking it too far.

One of my more recent creations. I hope you like it. I call it "Haunted".
https://soundcloud.com/just-another-old-musician/haunted
 
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