From schwartz.adan@epa.gov Mon Jan 21 14:54:46 2002
Subject:Re: How do you like the VK-7's action?

Writing about keyboard action is a little like trying to describe the
colors in a painting, it simply can't substitute for seeing (feeling)
the real thing. I owned a VK-7 for awhile and, once I got used to the
action, I rather liked it. I would think that organ players who go in
for heavy smearing and the like may (or may not) have issues with the
synth-style keys. Aside from that consideration (which, in an
objective sense, really does favor waterfall style keys), I think that
one can get used to playing just about any keyboard and, if it meets a
certain minimum level of quality, make it rock.

A "physical" issue I consistently run into has to do with the width of
keys. With some concentration, I can get used to having one hand
playing a weighted action keybaord and another playing an organ
keyboard. But when the key widths of the boards in my rig are
significanty different, my hands tend to get confused, having to
recalibrate their reach every time they switch boards. The VK-7 has
rather narrow keys -- narrower than just about any other keyboard I've
played. That's not a problem when you're just playing the VK-7, but
when you're consistently switching between it and a board with more
standard widths, it can be a problem. It was for me anyway.

Of course one learns to compensate for something like this. The way I
think of it though, you only bring so much brain capacity to a gig,
some of us more than others, and some of us find ways to diminish that
even further between the time we arrive and the time we start
playing. How much are you going to devote to thinking about setting
up your gear? To thinking about the busine$$ aspects of the event?
The cute girl sitting at the bar? And so on and so on. It adds up
cumulatively. Having to think (even subconciously) about playing
keyboards with different key widths is another (perhaps rather small,
I'll acknowledge) drain on these intellectual resources. I just try
to preserve as much as I can for thinking about the music.

> one in a long time and can't remember what the action feels like. I
> know it is not waterfall (VK-8 fixes this), but is it like their
> synths (XP series) or something different? Is it smearable? Any
> comments for and against this action would be appreciated!
>
> Thanks and have a great one,
> Eric