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Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

  • 1.  Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Posted 02-15-2023 14:30

    I received a call from a client to re-glue a natural on their 10 year old Yamaha U1. This would be  the 2nd I've done for them and a 3rd had been done by another technician. Piece of cake!

    So why do I need a replacement? As I removed the fall board to get access to the keys… crack! The keytop had been placed on the cheek block and I had failed to move it to a safe place! I thought I had learned to always keep parts, tools and anything else in a safe and organized way, but I guess I needed another lesson.

    I went ahead and made the repair; the break is almost invisible, but promised the client that I would replace the broken keytop as well as another cracked one (I didn't do it!). So I have two questions for the forum:
    1) Is it unusual for the keytops to be coming off a 10 year old U1? I've measured the relative humidity on both occasions at about 40%. Also, this piano was made in Japan.
    2) I would like to get replacements from Yamaha. How does one order parts from them and how might I contact them to set up an account?

    Thank you all - Carroll



    ------------------------------
    Carroll Arbogast
    Piano Technician
    CMA Piano Care, LLC
    Needham, MA
    (617) 283-0443
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-15-2023 15:25

    Carroll,

    Yamaha parts number is 800-854-1569. You will need to advance through the phone tree by entering the digit number 1 and then the digit number 2 to get to acoustic piano parts department. You may need to include a serial number to order the keytop, although from my observation all U1's through the last 25 years use the same keytop. Without the serial number of the piano , use this part number: T0490910 for an octave of keytops. If you need either the top or bottom key use T0490911 for that part number. You can use a credit card to purchase parts. As for establishing a credit account, you may find it very difficult and time consuming, if they will establish you an account.

    Roger



    ------------------------------
    Roger Gable RPT
    Gable Piano
    Everett WA
    (425) 252-5000
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  • 3.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Posted 02-15-2023 17:01

    Thank you, Roger! That is very helpful - Carroll



    ------------------------------
    Carroll Arbogast
    Piano Technician
    CMA Piano Care, LLC
    Needham, MA
    (617) 283-0443
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-15-2023 16:40
    Carroll

    You might want to talk with Dave Durbin at Yamaha. There are a dozen P22 at my university with keytops coming off. Yamaha has accepted responsibility for that and replaced all the keytops on that piano. I have several more that are ready to have that done, too. Your U1 might be a candidate to have them all done. 







  • 5.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Posted 02-15-2023 17:09

    At school we were taught "The Rule Of Seven"; if you need to attend to seven of a particular part, then consider the entire set. We're not quite there yet, but I have a feeling I might be giving Dave a call in the near future. Thanks for your help, Wim.



    ------------------------------
    Carroll Arbogast
    Piano Technician
    CMA Piano Care, LLC
    Needham, MA
    (617) 283-0443
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-15-2023 21:19

    Carrol --

    I second Wim's suggestion. Yamaha had one factory that, for a while back then, was using an unconventional method of glueing on keytops. They are failing. Give David a call and talk to him about the problem. Make sure you have the serial number. There is a chance this could be a no charge warranty repair. 



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    Geoff Sykes, RPT
    Los Angeles CA
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  • 7.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-16-2023 09:57

    Carroll,

    Considering the fact that typically keytops of any sort last several decades longer than this, you should have the entire set replaced under warranty (even if the piano is technically put of warranty).

    I believe Mike Kurta has done many Yamaha keytop jobs under warranty. 

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



    ------------------------------
    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-16-2023 10:48
    Yes, Mike does them. He did an excellent job for me last year. 





  • 9.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-16-2023 11:07

    I find this thread strange, as I own 21 Yamaha U1 spanning new from 1990 to 2021; no gray market pianos and I have not experienced any keytop problems. Seattle is a mild climate area that may point to the problem of expanding keysticks as the source of delamination. Just a thought.

    Roger



    ------------------------------
    Roger Gable RPT
    Gable Piano
    Everett WA
    (425) 252-5000
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-16-2023 11:42

    At my school I've been having keytops come loose on C2 Disklaviers from 2012 made in Japan and a P22 made in China.



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    John Pope
    University of Kentucky School of Music
    Lexington, KY
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  • 11.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-16-2023 17:00

    Could be a specific country of origin and/or adhesive case lot issue. 🤔 

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



    ------------------------------
    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Posted 02-16-2023 21:59

    The serial number of this U1 is 6346721, so it would have been manufactured in Hamamatsu in 2012.

    -Carroll



    ------------------------------
    Carroll Arbogast
    Piano Technician
    CMA Piano Care, LLC
    Needham, MA
    (617) 283-0443
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-16-2023 17:07

    As I remember, it was in the mid-'80s that 10-y-o Yamaha keyboard were going grey, and Yamaha service personel were running around the country, replacing one key set after another. 



    ------------------------------
    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-16-2023 19:52

    That's what warranties are for. 😀  Stuff happens.

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



    ------------------------------
    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Posted 02-21-2023 10:33

    Thank you everyone for your advice and contact info. Chris Storch from the Boston chapter very kindly gave me some spare Yamaha keytops, so I'm all set on that. For the moment, I'm going to consider the situation with some circumspection.... if they continue to fall off, I'll have a discussion with the client.

    - Carroll



    ------------------------------
    Carroll Arbogast
    Piano Technician
    CMA Piano Care, LLC
    Needham, MA
    (617) 283-0443
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Posted 03-15-2023 08:07

    I have a newer customer with a Yamaha GB1X Grand made in 2012. She phoned yesterday and said 3 keytops had come off. My understanding is that this piano may have been manufactured in Indonesia. Has anyone on the list encountered this model with this problem? Customer has the piano sitting next to a large southwest-facing window in an arid environment. Just curious - I plan to contact Yamaha though.



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    Barb Bernhardt
    Montrose, Colorado
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  • 17.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-15-2023 08:17
    Hi Barb

    Yes, you should contact Dave Durben at Yamama, (DDurben@Yamaha.com). There are a dozen 10 year old P22 at the university I service that have had this problem. Yamaha is paying to replace the tops on all of them. 






  • 18.  RE: Yamaha U1 Keytop Replacement

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-15-2023 18:05
    At my school the 2012 Yamahas from China and Japan have had keytops come unglued. Our Indonesian Yamahas from a few years later have had no problem.