key problem on Rodgers 790

[macwnj]

I think the organ is about sixteen years old.
Each key of this instrument has a small weight glued into the underside. Due to its age and further aggravated by hot weather, the glue fails, the weight drops out, and the key jams in the "up" position and will not play. This has happened twice now...last September (2014) and now this week (July, 2015). My technician has performed a stop-gap fix by extracting the weight from the affected key (in the center of the keyboard) and swapping the key with the topmost one, which is much less frequently played.
I have been informed that, because this sort of key construct is no longer made, the only solution is to replace the entire manual (in this case, two of them) to the tune of $2400 apiece.
The question here is, what would be the next thing to go wrong? Is replacing the manuals a wise route or does it amount to "throwing good money after bad?"
We have started an organ fund, but have a long way to go.
Would appreciate the wisdom of anyone's experience here.....
RM

[rohrlover]

Seems like re-gluing the weights on the keys would be a do-it-yourself project that would cost nearly nothing but time. It may be possible, but a lot more work, to drill the weights and attach them with small screws if you don't trust glue.

[arie v]

Hi,

Would these keyboards be Fatar sourced? If so, it may be possible to get replacement keys from some internet source.

Probably the Rodgers replacement keyboards are the Roland made ones that they currently use.

AV

[geoelectro]

The dropped weight problem is a mess. This is a Roland keyboard and Roland products suffered the same fate. The "bad glue" is red. It becomes soft and the weights fall. This stuff is very sticky and even stains everything it touches. I service these products and have tried to clean them up and it's not something I would waste time on. I don't know why Rodgers charges so much for the new ones as they are outrageous. I had a church with a three manual version that needed all three manuals replaced. The estimate was so high they decided not to pursue it. I thought that was unfortunate since it is a very nice organ.

My experience is this problem is just a manufacturing problem localized to the glue on the keyboards. The organ otherwise is nicely made and worth saving.

BTW, these manuals were replaced under warranty way past the normal warranty from both Rodgers and Roland. It has been a couple of years since that program ended.

Geo

[macwnj]

Thank you. Anyone else experience the same thing? Would like to hear what you opted to do.

[jbird604]

I know that story well. Here in the south, those keyboards began dropping weights quite soon after the organs were installed. Rodgers/Roland replaced dozens under warranty, and even up until a couple years ago (as someone noted above), Rodgers would provide the complete new manual assemblies. We would charge the owner for the travel and labor, but that was a reasonable cost.

Now that the free replacement is over, Rodgers "might" be able to supply a replacement keyboard, though the last couple I got in were not "exactly" the right ones, and had to modified to fit the console. Or in one case, the console had to be modified (with a saw and chisel).

And they are indeed pricey, at least the price Rodgers is charging us. I think the price you were quoted is a tad on the high side, but then I'm in a different part of the country. But even at best, it costs a few thousand dollars to replace both manuals, which you should do because once this mess gets started there is no end to it.

A possible make-shift fix..... Out of frustration with the price and poor availability, I decided last year to "repair" both manuals on one of these organs. I removed all the keys from the frames, spent untold hours cleaning up the frames, replacing felt strips, repairing the piston rails, etc. I turned all the keys upside down on a table top, reglued the missing weights in place with epoxy. then I covered over all the weights and glue with a layer of silicone caulking.

This apparently sealed up the glue and stopped the dripping. No more weights have dropped out. But the organ is in a church just a few miles from the shop, and we have been back several times to fix just a key or two that started to stick. The sticking is due to portions of the felt that we failed to replace, and/or places where we didn't completely scrape away all the old pink glue.

But I feel somewhat confident that in the long run this repair will work out. Who know what kind of shape it may be in after 10 years, but the organ is at least in good playing order right now.

You might try this yourself, or find a tech willing to attempt it, especially if your organ is in the early stages of this.