Dnj McGiver........................?

My last two gigs I started to realize since I sit so low when I play that the PA900 is a flat view KB per say,.....EG: the display although large and bright is horizontally flat with hardly NO Tilt up at all even less then the S950,......this led to difficulty viewing the screen from that low sitting angle....Soooooooooo what to do?
I put on my thinking cap and said now how could I raise the back of the KB on the X Stand so that my Viewing angle would be increased alot? Then it hit me on the way to LOWES Home Improvement center......at first I was going to put Pipe insulation foam on each tier but it didn't have enough height...........so while browsing around the Plumbing department I noticed these PVC open ended
"T" adapters with a threaded center extension...
so I bought 2 T fittings and 2 screw in extensions to raise the KB, sprayed them black too,.....then I went into hardware and saw an old lady with a walker and on the bottom of the legs were theses rubber caps like you see on a cane etc,.....Hmmmmmmmmm? I said to myself I'll get two of those and put them on the adapters so the KB will be protected and not slip down!!1 Brilliant.......but I still had a problem......
the front of the tiers has no stoppage to secure the KB frtom sliding down on the stand Hmmmmmmmmmmm?......my McGiver kicked in and remembered I has two quick Lock second tier extension bars from and old stand which has hard plastic tips to prevent slippage I removed them and put them on my New X Stand creation !!!!....
This contraption should work out nicely...
here's a few Pics,....

Or you could just sit higher, just saying.

Crowd could see you better too you handsome devil.

No way am I sitting higher I have to be comfortable after
50 years of playing......

I'm proud to say that I taught DNJ almost everything about gadgetry he knows.

All the best,

Gary

Good work, Donny. I love to see people's creativity in solving problems. Neat.

Thanks Graham...

I just finished it off by gluing the Front end caps inside the tubes with JB WELD Clear Epoxy!!

Will the angle still be right for NEXT week' s keyboard? Just sayin'.

chas

Like I said if your NOT in the trenches day after day you wouldn't understand. MY comfortblity is key, if things don't work out I dump it and move on no big deal!.......an arranger KB is just a tool for me to backup my singing. If you have the chops & the voice using different tools for the job doesn't matter.

I enjoyed your pics of the changes! I have a Psr S 710 and wanted it to tilt up, since I am very short so I bought 2 rubber door stops and mounted them at the back of my x stand. This added about 1/1half inches. the door stops are fastened to the stand with straps like the police use for handcuffs, only short ones! This works for me! Thanks for your pictures, I am sure many will follow your idea! Maybe some will experiment with their situation!

I actually tried that a whole back but in traveling around the door stops kept rotating around the pole not very secure...
but good luck with it. I forgot to mention the whole project cost me $9.00 US..

[quote=Dnj]No way am I sitting higher I have to be comfortable after
50 years of playing

Donny
Don't get so defensive , I was only half kidding. seriously though since you feature your voice wouldn't being a bit mor upright free up your breathing better?
You certainly know what's best for you but maybe give it a try at home and see if you can't project easier.

Bill no problem singing at all sitting when playing KB,....
I love sitting low in the pocket ....don't know how many of you guys sit so high?.....your arms should be horizontal to the KB not slanted down IMO...
it works for me, whatever makes a player comfy ...I stood for year playing but not anymore gigs are too long for that..especially two 4 hr doubles !

All Done, .....will take it out for a first test run on today's job.
preliminary tests so far are very good, display is much easier to read now at this angle. ......fingers crossed!

Hi - nice solution! Looks good, and seems it'll adjust the keyboard angle just right for your needs. I use the "doorstop" method, thanks to having read about it here, for the PSR-900 that I keep up North for when I visit family up there (Boston area). What you've done here looks like a great way to solve this issue of back-of-keyboard height and screen readability!

-Jim

Thanx Jim,...they sell all the parts, adapters, etc, in the
Plumbing PVC pipe section of Lowes or Home depot...rubber caps on hardware, & a can of krylon semi-flat black spray paint!

First thought that came to mind Professor Gary has had a good influence on DNJ. Thank God for old ladies using walkers too!

Nice job Donny!

Donny go for the Record 3 different keyboards in 1 week get a T 5 and your problems are over .

As my Uncle dave would say...."TYROS 5 is a mute KB = no sale for my needs'

Now, the only changes McGiver Gary would have made is to make it adjustable and have locking pins so it would stay in place during transportation or while playing. Not a big change, though, to do this.

Gary

For MY needs, all I had to do was take a 1" by 2" board, a little shorter in length than the kb, wrap some speaker cloth around it to make it look good, and place it on the top of the kb stand away from me ... makes the screen much more visible ... of course, I don't sit as low as Donny ...
One of these days I will use some industrial velcro and make it a semi-permanent part of the kb...

Sometimes at home I will set my kb up low so I can just sit on a regular folding chair, but after playing like that for a while, my legs start to feel cramped...

Sure miss the tilt screen on my 15 year old kn6000 !!!

Wouldn't be a record; I've had three at the same time before!

Me too, Don. Never considered the T anything, though, because of the weight and bulk. The speakers are a non-issue for me, mainly because when I use the Bose L1 system, I hear what the audience hears, and I have dead plugged the headphone jack so the onboard speakers are disabled. I made the mistake of leaving them on one night, and people in the audience kept asking me to turn it up. Then I realized that I had forgotten to turn on the PA and was only hearing the onboard sound system. (Yeah, it was a dumbass thing to do.)

Gary

I agree tilt screen manual or powered should be standard on all keyboards.

... so should a simple switch, button or screen to disable the internal speakers. Everyone has that except PSR.

Donny,
Great post! I need to do this with my SD7. Think I'll go shopping today. I even have the end tier extra parts that I tried with two keyboard a few years back.
Don is correct. Not a big deal to have multiple keyboards. I now have my Tyros 4s, the SD7, the Korg Microarranger, and Dan's vArranger that I use with my Roland 61 key controller. I actually use each in different gig situations. Got to have toys.are

Donny, are these screwed into your stand or do you remove them each time you tear down. If attached - how are they attached?

Deane

it was ment to be a Joke guys !!!!!!

Well, if it was a joke it was based on a good idea. What did I miss here?
Deane

I KNEW that.

Dean they clip on..... I leave them on when folded

What size pipe did you get?
Deane

dean I took the xstand into the store and tried a few fittings to be sure it would fit,......I also clip the PVC T adapter OVER the rubber end caps for a secure GRIP as the metal tends to slip a bit.

Whats next....maybe I'll get a electric saw and cut around the display and make my own freakin' TILT Screen !!!

Donny - thanks for sharing your ingenuity! Great solution to the "to tilt or not to tilt" conundrum! HA HA! Thanks again and enjoy the PA900!

Randy it's an easy cheap solution that really works well.....enjoy!!

Ok the verdict is in,...after 5 gigs I am sorry to say the Frankenstand I designed is Not working the way I had hoped to increase screen visibility on stage,.....oh well, I have disassembled it & back to the drawing board. I think my next idea will be to design some kind of Display HOOD out of cardboard or plastic to shroud the screen to eliminate the glare on the glass,......

to be continued......

I found this kool shroud that just might work attached with some industrial strength velcro as the Korg Pa900 display happens to just be 7" !! we'll see soon enough.. .....?

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...een_Shroud.html

or maybe a Do It Yourself version?....

http://www.diyphotography.net/avoid-sun-on-your-screen-by-building-a-diy-monitor-hood/

I did it myself 20 years ago, when I discovered that you could not read the keyboard's screen outdoors, even in the shade. I made it from black, construction paper and velcroed it to the edge of the display - worked great. Now, with the new, supertwist display of the S-950, I can see it just fine in anything but direct sunlight. I wonder when the other manufactures are gonna step up to the plate with this 10 year old technology?

All the best,

Gary

DNJ, why didn’t your invention work? How would a hood help give more slant to the screen? Are talking about outdoor use?

I remember having two large round rubber pieces with a hole in the center; they were made to fit on an X stand. It added about 3 inches to the back of the keyboard. When I purchased the Pa800 I need to slant the screen. I used two new rubber insulating the fit on the bottom of a garage door, they were 2 ½ wide. Wrapped them around the back end of the X stand; secured them with Velcro – worked fine; no sliding forward. I like your idea better, more professional. I tried using a small TV but that’s more stuff again.

In my home I am using my Ultimate stand; the two arms that support the keyboard have the non-skid material secured with Velcro. The back of the keyboard is raised 9 inches – I only use this setup when programing.

I love these types of posts, they make the mind work.

John C.

Hi John,.....although my creation lifted the back of the KB 4" my sitting so low and so far back still didn't give me the angle needed & I also have the screen brightness set at 100%. If I stand up and look down at the screen it's bright and very easily readable. I am trying hard to remedy this, we'll see how the hooded shroud works when it arrives,... this problem also existed on my S950 & SD7 also. I hope I don't have to sit higher.....I'm not comfortable that way playing at all if I was younger I'd stand like I always did for years..
Can you take a picture of your 9" back lifted KB stand sounds interesting?

ok so this morning I woke up and saw a black shoe box in my closet,....then it hit me ,....why not cut it and design a Display hood for the KORG while I wait for the Professional folding cordura one I bought yesterday to arrive in a few days.....here is the result it seems to work for now,.....we'll see on today's gig

to be continued.........

Dammit Donny, just sit up straight.



chas

No way gotta be comfy in the saddle baby!

I suppose the shoebox works - doesn't look very soul, though.

Hope the pro gizmo works out for ya.

It's just a quik temporary fix for now....

We play mostly out in the open field in direct sunlight. Sometimes I attach an umbrella on the sound trailer direct over the keyboard. I was considering something like this for awhile already, but never got around to making & testing one.

Would be interesting to hear your results.

Henni

Oh well it was a nightmare using it, .....yes the hood worked to a point BUT, I forgot it's a touch screen and it wouldn't allow me to get my fingers inside to manipulate the screen!! Arggggggggggggg!

Feeling disappointed....

You may as well call Frank and get a Yamaha.

You may be right Don..........

Donny - sorry to hear the 'hoodie' didn't work out. Decisions, decisions!

I KNEW the duct tape had to show up somewhere !!!