Keylab 88 MKII: Noise when playing key (ie mechanical noise, keybed noisie)

[Amos]

I just ordered a Keylab 88 MKII and 3 of the keys are surprisingly loud. Sort of a crunchy sounding click. One of the keys almost feels like it sticks a little bit, and there's a noticeable second click when the key is released. Is this a common issue? I'm considering whether to return for a refund of an exchange.

[Peppe]

Hi,
I also have the same problem, but it concerns two consecutive keys. However, I noticed that by leaving the key pressed and applying a little force, the noise vanishes, and then reappears after a while of inactivity. I bought the keyboard for a week and this problem bothers me. Did you solve it?
Thank you

[Frake]

I also have the same issue. When the keys are pressed it's not that bad, but when they are released (especially if quickly, especially the black ones, especially in the middle of the keyboard), they hit smth inside quite loudly. The sound is as strong as if I would drum with my fingers on the body of the keyboard.

It was not that bad at the beginning (I have received my keyboard 3 months ago), but it becomes worse with time. Would appreciate any advice on how to solve it.

[flyjat76]

I'd contact Support - they're normally really helpful. It could well be a fault. I haven't used the 88 Mk2 but I understand that the keybed is one of the best weighted hammer actions available. That said, I have also owned another brand's hammer action keyboard & I found it noisier than my synth action & semi-weighted keybeds.

Re: a possible fault, I bought a KeyLab Essential 61 but one of the keys was 2-3mm higher than the rest. So I exchanged it for a Mk2 assuming it would be better quality but it had a similar fault - another key protruded by a few mm!

So I tried one more go & got another Mk2 & that's been fine.

So it could indeed be a manufacturing fault. Sadly things like this aren't limited to Arturia - I've also returned 2 keyboards from different brands in the last 6 months due manufacturing issues (one was a completely dead key, the other had a key that made a loud crunching sound!).

Perhaps I've just been unclucky... 🤣

[VPS]

I'm returning mine. Lots of the keys had this issue and F sharps have a scraping feeling sound/feedback. Some of the B, C, C#s click. Some keys felt really nice but I don't trust that they wouldn't all develop the same clicky fault in a matter of weeks and months. The Arturia Keylab 88 MKII seems to use a Fatar TP100LR which, on looking at one or two teardowns of this action as used in Studio Logic 88 and others, it seems to be designed with nothing to stop sides of keys clicking against the adjacent ones. Extremely thin foam is used to absorb the plastic hammer strike. People are posting videos replacing the TP100LR foam with something better but that shouldn't have to happen within a year. It seems like poor manufacturing/poor materials is to blame for the hammer action/rattle/click/crunch issues. Sounds like some shielding on the sides of keys and better quality materials would improve this. Apparently old 1990s TP10 action did not click in this way. It's a pity as otherwise this seemed like a good keyboard. Legs were far too high though for sitting and not adjustable. But one youtube video showed TP100LR sounding like a clicky disaster after a year in a Studio Logic 88 - but that was a studio logic 88 with this TP/100LR action if that is indeed what is used in the Keylab88 MK II. Shouldn't be this difficult to get something of quality though. I'd pay more to have something last 20 years rather than just 1 or 2.

[sharpnine]

I've been gradually having problems with my Keylab 88 MKii keys rattling. I didn't notice it when new, but over time more and more keys were getting noisy, Probably two dozen were bothering me with a rattle.
I contacted Arturia support and they sent me a 15 second video of how to fix it, and now all the keys are quiet!!
Basically, you just have to reseat each affected key. If you press down the adjacent keys with one hand (say B and D if you are fixing C) and with the other hand tightly grip the C key and pull out away from the keyboard (horizontal, not up!). It slips out about an eight or quarter of an inch (but does not come loose entirely). Then you push it back in. And now the rattle is gone. I did this to all my affected keys within about 2 minutes, and it sounds much better now.
I am assuming this is some design issue, and that I will simply have to do this procedure whenever a key gets noisy. It's so quick and easy that I don't expect it to be a problem now that I know. I don't know why this isn't better known.

[Lutein79]

I've been gradually having problems with my Keylab 88 MKii keys rattling. I didn't notice it when new, but over time more and more keys were getting noisy, Probably two dozen were bothering me with a rattle.
I contacted Arturia support and they sent me a 15 second video of how to fix it, and now all the keys are quiet!!
Basically, you just have to reseat each affected key. If you press down the adjacent keys with one hand (say B and D if you are fixing C) and with the other hand tightly grip the C key and pull out away from the keyboard (horizontal, not up!). It slips out about an eight or quarter of an inch (but does not come loose entirely). Then you push it back in. And now the rattle is gone. I did this to all my affected keys within about 2 minutes, and it sounds much better now.
I am assuming this is some design issue, and that I will simply have to do this procedure whenever a key gets noisy. It's so quick and easy that I don't expect it to be a problem now that I know. I don't know why this isn't better known.

Hello.
Thank you for your information. But it is joke? I tried this one solution on my Keylab49 MK2 and key can't take out as you described. Can you please share the video you told that it helped you?
Thank you.

[sharpnine]

Thank you for your information. But it is joke? I tried this one solution on my Keylab49 MK2 and key can't take out as you described.

This topic was about the Keylab 88 MK2, which has the hammer action keyboard, and the Keylab 49MK2 is a very different keyboard without hammer action. That solution I posted is only for Keylab 88 MK2 (and probably original Keylab 88) and will not solve a problem with non-hammer action keyboards.

[san]

Hallo

Vandaag mij keylab mk2 bij Baxshop afgegeven voor reparatie.
Was al bekend met workaround om de keys te resetten (email Arturia Jan 2021) maar werkt bij mij voor sommige toetsen niet en er zijn veel toetsen die nu bij het aanraken ratel geluid geven.  Verder wil ik gaan zitten en spelen en niet om de maand alle keys gaan resetten!
Te gek voor woorden na niet eens 1 jaar al problemen met de keys. Ik heb ook m-audio axiom gen 1 (2008) liggen nooit problemen mee gehad.
Arturia doe wat aan de kwaliteit !!! Fix this problem cause the keys is waar het om gaat.

[christoph_111]

I've been gradually having problems with my Keylab 88 MKii keys rattling. I didn't notice it when new, but over time more and more keys were getting noisy, Probably two dozen were bothering me with a rattle.
I contacted Arturia support and they sent me a 15 second video of how to fix it, and now all the keys are quiet!!
Basically, you just have to reseat each affected key. If you press down the adjacent keys with one hand (say B and D if you are fixing C) and with the other hand tightly grip the C key and pull out away from the keyboard (horizontal, not up!). It slips out about an eight or quarter of an inch (but does not come loose entirely). Then you push it back in. And now the rattle is gone. I did this to all my affected keys within about 2 minutes, and it sounds much better now.
I am assuming this is some design issue, and that I will simply have to do this procedure whenever a key gets noisy. It's so quick and easy that I don't expect it to be a problem now that I know. I don't know why this isn't better known.

Yeah that definitely doesn't work on my keylab 88. Being silly?  The front of the keyboard prevents the key from being pulled out horizontally.