I have a Fatar waterfall instrument (Nord electro) and it is way too heavy to be proper organ action.
It seems piano players don't like light keyboard action so they make organ keys with a heavy action - duh!
If you want piano action, buy a fechin' piano !
I just got an old 70's Farfisa console organ to play with. It's diving board keys are much nicer and faster than the Fatar waterfall.
One trick they have now to make any type action seem a little faster/lighter for organ is top contact triggering. When you hit a key there's 2 electrical contacts in play. First one operates near the top of key travel and one near the bottom. Velocity is measured by the counting the time between top and bottom contact operation.
Ordinarily, an instrument waits for the bottom contact before sounding the note. Organ doesn't need key velocity information, so it can play your note the moment the top contact operates.
One thing I wonder is - why do piano keys have an overhang lip? To stop you hammering the key down too far?
Waterfall keys - what is that?
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- KVRAF
- 3080 posts since 17 Apr, 2005 from S.E. TN
A few weeks ago took a set of gram scale calibration weights and measured various keyboards around the house. The old hammond L definetely feels like the fastest lightest keyboard of the bunch, but discovered that it takes more grams weight to push down the hammond keys than the old ESQ1 or the roland fa06.
However, the hammond keys bottom out at a shallower distance than the ESQ1 or the fa06. I think the ESQ1 is shallower than the fa06, and the ESQ1 had the lightest grams of key pressure. But the hammond L feels lighter/faster even though it takes more grams keydown force.
So maybe the L feels fast because of shallow key movement rather than light keydown force? Clavinets typically feel fast and those are also rather shallow actions as best I recall. Been awhile since I played a clavinet.
A lot of classical/liturgical organs tend to have fairly deep keys and required some force to properly play so far as I recall. I assumed that the keys were made thataway because fast accurate athletic classical players like it thataway.
So the ideal of "light fast" action might be properly named a "hammond like" action rather than "organ action"? If you just asked for a righteous fine organ action you might get something that is a bear to play unless you have classically trained fingers of lightning and steel!
However, the hammond keys bottom out at a shallower distance than the ESQ1 or the fa06. I think the ESQ1 is shallower than the fa06, and the ESQ1 had the lightest grams of key pressure. But the hammond L feels lighter/faster even though it takes more grams keydown force.
So maybe the L feels fast because of shallow key movement rather than light keydown force? Clavinets typically feel fast and those are also rather shallow actions as best I recall. Been awhile since I played a clavinet.
A lot of classical/liturgical organs tend to have fairly deep keys and required some force to properly play so far as I recall. I assumed that the keys were made thataway because fast accurate athletic classical players like it thataway.
So the ideal of "light fast" action might be properly named a "hammond like" action rather than "organ action"? If you just asked for a righteous fine organ action you might get something that is a bear to play unless you have classically trained fingers of lightning and steel!