MIDI Keyboard mod: Nektar SE61 to wood harpsichord

[@alexisfromhell]

I was looking for the quality of this controller. But Damn!!! I cannot believe in see your hablity to ransform a common instrument into a strange and mystic master piece!!!

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

You're very kind! In terms of the quality of the keybard, it's very cheap, but works okay for my purposes. It's velocity response is quite poor, so if you want to use it for piano sounds, I don't recommend it.

[@quentinbush]

It must be really satisfying when the end product looks and works so well. Thank you also for sharing this video for what must have taken hours to make the instrument and ultimately the editing of the footage which is a task in itself.

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Thank you. There are so many people making such high-quality videos on KZbin, my efforts in that regard are very amateur, but the editing was a learning experience and I hope my future videos might be better.

[@dezolatestation]

kinda thinking to conver this midi controller into my favorit korg m1 synth looks, thankyou for the idea!

[@Brokenforpurpose]

Absolutely beautiful.

[@p07a]

Looks cool! and seems like a fun project for the weekend. I'm tempted to do this to my old Microkorg.

[@vcrosato]

Fantastic!!!! Kudos!!!! Incredible!!!!!!

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Thank you :)

[@pianokeyjoe]

I have actual wood keybeds to build my own wooden custom synths and controllers.. This conversion looks to be much cheaper than what I have but since I do not have the right tools to make custom keytops, I have to settle for using pre manufactured wood keys instead. Not complaining.. AT ALL!! Wooo!

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Sounds nice! Actual wood keys are a lot better, of course. The plastic keys are still far too light. I added weights, which helps, and the feel is definitely superior to plastic alone, but it's not like solid wood. If you share your work online, please send me a link.

[@Mrs_Heyman]

so sick it looks beautiful

[@tryshchenko]

Looks gorgeous!

[@matthiaswilhelm9813]

Gut gemacht😂❤

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Vielen Dank.

[@jimmyfavereau]

very nice Aaron.. excellent playing also !

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Thank you

[@dom.mp3]

woah... i have that exact same midi keyboard i am tempted

[@drumbyte]

Beautiful job! The end screw hole on the right could have been filled and then re-drilled.

[@oliverfiedler8502]

Das ist wirklich sehr beeindruckend !!! Ich hatte mal für mich überlegt, ob es sich vielleicht lohnt meinen alten Eierschneider von Neupert (Cembalo von 1927) zu midifizieren, da ich das Spielgefühl mit dem präzisen Druckpunkt auch von sehr hochwertigen Klaviaturen bei DigitalOrgeln bisher unerreicht finde - leider bin ich handwerklich nicht so versiert und technisch auch bei weitem nicht so gut ausgestattet - tatsächlich versuche ich gerade die kleine Walcker Orgel in Dortmund Oespel (1902 pneumatisch II / 8) durch ein zusätzliches MidiKeyboard "aufzupimpen" und die Pedaltasten zu midifizieren - natürlich ohne in die Substanz der Orgel einzugreifen herzlichen Dank für das tolle Video

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Vielen Dank, Oliver :-) Falls du die Orgel dort mal richtig midifizieren möchtest, könnte ich da wahrscheinlich helfen (wohne in Bochum, also nicht so weit weg von dir). Schick mir doch einfach eine E-Mail, dann können wir darüber reden. Schöne Grüße, AAH

[@andrefogaca92]

Hello, I'm working on a project very similar to yours. I'm thinking of using a Nektar SE61 or GX61 keyboard. But unlike yours, I already have the wooden case built, I'm going to use an instapiano GEM electric piano from the 70s. Can you tell me the measure between the first and last keys? I have a space of 33 1/2 inches to use on my piano.

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

The keys of the SE61 from edge to edge are about 84 cm across, but the structure supporting the keys requires more horizontal room than that, which I can't measure because it's built into the wooden sides. You should probably allow for around 88 cm width. (Note that key widths are not consistent between different keyboard brands and models!)

[@FPSBach]

Pretty cool! Wish I had the tools to do this.

[@stephenebrandt]

What did you use for the dampening material at 38:50?

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Standard 15x2mm self-adhesive foam rubber. Not shown in the video: On both ends I added 0.5mm double-sided adhesive foam to hold the top piece firmly in place, because it was still making a little noise. BTW, I also ended up putting weights in the keys to improved the action.

[@Csharpflat5]

I have seen people put wood under the keys to increase the mass too.

[@ibendiben]

How did you cut the circuit board of the keybed? Been looking to do the same think. But wondered how destructive chopping an octave off would be to the keybed matrix.

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Circuit boards are not cut. All the electronics stay as they are. Only the plastic is cut and the plastic keys are moved.

[@ibendiben]

@@AaronAndrewHunt Alright. Seemed like chopped off some keys too. But I was wrong apparently.

[@Keyboardhugo]

welche software wird genutzt? What Sample you use? or is it Pianoteq Physical Modelling?

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Die Software ist Hauptwerk und das Instrument ist "Cembalo Mietke" von Sonus Paradisi.

[@Keyboardhugo]

​@@AaronAndrewHuntvielen Dank. Hab ich mir fast gedacht. Fand das Video u.a. deshalb interessant, weil ich auf ähliche weise mit einem günstigen Midi-Keyboard mein Elka-Midi-Basspedal retten möchte. Hab zum Glück das gleiche nochmal gebraucht kaufen können, aber das defekte will ich nicht wegschmeißen sondern umbauen. Liebe Grüße

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

@@Keyboardhugo das Projekt klingt ja spannend. Viel Glück bei dem Umbau!

[@Keyboardhugo]

@@AaronAndrewHunt Danke. wird aber noch eine Weile dauern. Nach einer Schulter-OP bin ich erstmal eine Weile als einarmiger Bandit unterwegs… Wenn ich das Projekt angehe werde ich das wohl auch auf meinem Videokanal veröffentlichen, wie ich das auch mit dem 3. Manual an der Kirchenorgel meiner Gemeinde gemacht habe. lg

[@csuhaitibor4339]

The key !?!? no FATAR product

[@haydenjonesmusic]

Very cool! Laminated and waxed pitch bend wheel, when? 😁

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Thanks! I made wood pitch bend and mod wheels on the Korg mikrokey 61 which you can see at 15:57

[@haydenjonesmusic]

Fair enough 😂

[@josephlittle-organist]

Do you do some for sale?

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

I would like to do that, but no, unless you're in Germany, it's not practical; sorry.

[@josephlittle-organist]

@@AaronAndrewHunt I would have paid for shipping though. I wanted wooden keys for a Hauptwerk project. But That’s okay. Thank you so much for the reply though. You are doing an amazing work!!

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

@@josephlittle-organist Thank you.

[@MrLuigge]

were harpsichords first key an F?

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

There was / is still a lot of variety, but larger instruments went / go down to low F or G.

[@principtabak2782]

Are you selling these?

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

No. I've tried to show how it's done so you can make your own. If you have questions you can contact me through the contact page of my website (search my full name). Best wishes

[@seok84]

Man..can you sell me one....? Im trying so hard to find a keyboard f to f...

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

Roland used to sell a sampled harpsichord F to F (very expensive). I'm not selling these, but if you don't need the "wood conversion", moving the key-tops is not too difficult, so maybe you can manage it yourself using the video as a guide. I would recommend starting with a better keyboard than this one.

[@seok84]

@@AaronAndrewHunt thanks for the reply! Would the interiors be similar on other keyboards in your opinion?

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

@@seok84 The trick is to find one that doesn't use springs. That's not easy to know in advance, but if you have a keyboard in mind, search KZbin for "teardown" or "repair" on that keyboard and you may be able to see inside. Many if not most Yamaha keyboards will work.

[@seok84]

@@AaronAndrewHunt thanks for your kind replies!

[@AaronAndrewHunt]

@@seok84 You're welcome, and good luck!

[@carloko08]

nice job but the sound of the keys at the end is very loud, I thought you would put rubber or silicone on the stops of the keys so that they would not have any knocking sound but no, the keys have a dry wooden knocking sound, wow