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I bought a Yamaha MX61 keyboard from PMT in Bristol, England on 18/10/2014. It is a great little keyboard, but from the start I noticed that the black keys played quieter than the white keys. I emailed Yamaha Services about this and Dusty replied and said that, yes, this is indeed the case, but that Yamaha were not intending to correct the problem with a firmware update because the MX61 is a budget keyboard. The firmware in the MX61 I bought was V.1.00, which I subsequently updated to V.1.01, but although this increased the audio output level by 6dB (much needed), as expected it did not correct the black/white key issue.
I visited PMT a few days ago and briefly played the new MX61 they had on display. I immediately noticed that the black/white key issue seems to have been resolved, with the black key response now matching that of the white keys! I checked the firmware version and, as I suspected, it had been updated from V.1.01 to V.1.02, which seems to include a fix for the black/white key issue. Of course I would now like to update my MX61 to V.1.02, but the current update on Yamaha’s website is still V.1.01. I am wondering why the latest update is not available yet. If new MX61’s have had a hardware upgrade that make it impossible to update older MX61’s to V.1.02, maybe this is why Yamaha have chosen not to make the update available. If so, this is really bad news for owners of older MX61's and MX49's.
I hope you can help me to update/upgrade my MX61 so that it is running OS V.1.02!
Many thanks,
Kind regards,
David Kear
Cabot Music Productions, UK
Posted : 19/07/2016 5:14 pm
I have not heard of any issue with a difference in volume between white keys versus black keys. Sorry, I've simply never heard of such a thing. If you have an issue you should contact Yamaha UK. They are better situated to help you directly. I can help with issues concerning operating the keyboard.
Posted : 21/07/2016 10:59 am
Topic starter
There is a problem with the black keys playing quieter than the white keys on earlier MX49/61's with the glossy black keys. Later run MX's with the flatter profile, matt black keys are fine (I was wrong about firmware V.1.02 fixing this - this version just fixes an issue with auto calibration of the pitch wheel). The new MX49/61 version 2 has this new keybed. Dusty at Yamaha has confirmed this problem and other users have also noticed this. There is a similar but opposite problem with the Roland FA-06 where the black keys play louder than the white keys!
Posted : 22/07/2016 7:55 am
Topic starter
Here is an extract from a review on the Musician's Friend website by a user who has also noticed the problem with the early MX61 keybeds:
"I have been hauling a Kurzweil PC3X around which weighs a ton and I was looking for something with quality sounds that didnt break your back- or your bank. The MX61 sounds great . . . I find the flat and sharp keys on the MX dont have the volume output that the white keys do, but it is consistent playing the sounds via the Kurzweil . . . Overall, it was a great choice for excellent sounds and true portability. It even has a handle built into the back of it. It will also be great to use with my computer sequencing program played through the Kurweil without having to buy a full Motif for thousands more."
Posted : 22/07/2016 8:32 am
A US synth manufacturer had the same issue back in the early 90's with the keyboard assemblies they were purchasing from Fatar at the time - it was quickly updated and fixed- funny how I was the first one to notice.....
Posted : 09/08/2016 10:47 pm
