Thanks - I hope it worked for OK you

I’m sorry you’ve come up with a problem - that’s a hassle you can do without. I don’t have any specific suggestions re the Clavinova itself, but from an electronics perspective I would double check any component that has been disturbed. If no keys at all are working, then the connection from keyboard to motherboard would be my main suspect. (I suspect from your comment you have already tried all this, but working on the troubleshooting basis of “what’s changed” that are has to be the main suspect). It’s worth checking wires inside their plastic sleeve as it may look connected but actually be fractured. If you have a Multi meter you could perhaps check continuity between the terminals around that connection. Are there any other components, e.g. chips or capacitors etc. that could have been dislodged? Please let us know how you get on. Good luck!

Merci bien!

Hi. Thanks for the comments; we’re pleased you liked the video. Sorry about the extra noise from the TV! We did the repair in the lounge, where the piano is normally situated, and the TV was on to keep my granddaughter occupied. You can see her briefly having a look inside the piano when the cover is off. It was only an amateur video to show what we did, and I was not expecting it to have been seen 175,000 times over a period of 13 years! To answer your question, yes, the new felts made a lot of difference. There are also many comments on this thread which confirm that. Regards. Geoff

Good news - thanks for the feedback!

It’s nearly 12 years since we made this video, so I don’t know whether the parts are still available, but we got ours from Yamaha UK. There are several more recent comments on this post which may give you a better idea of what is still available in your location. Good luck with the repair! Geoff

The parts that were changed were the upper and lower felts. The keys rest on the lower felt, and hit the upper felt when depressed. The wear on the felts is probably common to all keyboards, but the models obviously differ so access to the felts may be different for your model.

Thanks for the reply. Good luck with finding the clunky note!

The lower felts wear more than the upper ones so you may be able to manage with just the lower felts replaced. As you have the keyboard disassembled, though, it seems worth doing both at the same time.

@@GunwharfVideo thank you again for all your help

Thanks for the feedback and the information about Becketts in the UK supplying the felts. I agree about the top felt being so sticky - it took us over half an our to get ours off using a sharp knife and pliers to lever the felt off. I don't know why the adhesive is so different to the lower one, which came off easily.

Thanks for the comment. I really have no idea as to how long the new felts would last. If you are using genuine Yamaha replacements, they should last as least as long as the life of the piano so far. I would have thought it also depended on how heavily you play the keys. As a guide, we made the video in 2011 and our piano is still OK, but to be honest it doesn't get played for an hour every day. Can anyone else help out? We have had comments back for ten years now, so other people maybe able to answer.

Yes, you are right and that may help folk who cannot find replacements. We thought of doing it but decided to get the new ones to be sure. As the video shows, the old ones were very worn and may not have lasted long anyway. The top one also took a lot of getting off!

Excellent news, and it is nearly ten years since we put this up on KZfaq so it's good to know it's still helping folks. Thanks for letting us know.

Good news! Well done. Several people have asked where the replacement felts came from - where did you get yours?

@@GunwharfVideo since I live in Germany I ordered both felts by synth-parts.com. - Yamaha GH3 Stopper Lower 88 Yamaha GH3 Stopper Lower 88 - Yamaha GH3 NL2 Stopper Upper 88

I'm pleased it helped.

Our pleasure!

I'm afraid I don't have the part numbers, but they are the upper and lower felts for the Yamaha piano model (whatever you have). Ours were available from the UK Yamaha customer service office, but if you look down the comments on this video, several people have put the name and address of their local stockist from different parts of the world. Note that this video is now ten years old, so the parts may not be available for old model pianos. Good luck!

Thanks for the tips - I am sure some folks will be relieved as there have been many responses on here asking about sourcing the felts. It is ten years since we made the video so it isn't surprising if the parts are difficult to get hold of. Hope it plays well!

@@GunwharfVideo I noticed on mine there are also small felt pads in groups of 2 and 3 keys in between the upper and lower strips, further back inside the keypad assembly, but only on the lower 44 keys. Im typing from memory, I think they are in play when the key is pushed down. I dont know if they were put in there during a previous repair, maybe people hit the left side keys harder than the right side? also there is a felt strip above the keys under the control panel - maybe just to keep dust out, maybe so the keys dont click against that panel on release It occurred to me that all pianos have these key dampers and it must be normal piano maintenance to replace them over the years. Piano technicians must have a source for generic felt in rolls or strips in various sizes, so even if you cant find one pre-cut and glued together with sticky tape for your specific model number, it should still be possible to refub these Clavinova keyboards for many years to come. I got mine for free. The previous owner got a grand piano and didnt want it anymore. I have a Yamaha digital piano that I got new about 10 years ago. Its hard to say which plays better. The Clavinova has far more voices - they are well worth the effort to maintain.

I hope it helps - good luck with the repair.

Sorry, I do not know. I suggest you ask your Yamaha dealer or local office.

Well done - and thanks for letting us know.

Yes, it is a CLP-950. I will ask my son about the part numbers, but I would suspect that if you ask for the upper and lower felts the Yamaha customer service would know what you mean.

sorry, but it wasn't a studio environment - it was a ballet programme on tv keeping my granddaughter busy while we worked.

Good to hear the video is still helping people! Thanks for the comments.

Hi Rubén. There are several comments in this list that give details of where the strips can be bought, covering quite a few different countries. If you have a Yamaha Customer Services organisation in your country, you could start there, otherwise look at the various dealers mentioned below. Good luck!

Thaks for the comment - glad we were able to help!

Good idea to have a backup for the felts, but there are several addresses for getting the strips buried in all these comments. Good luck anyway!

Wow - that stuff certainly comes in useful for so many different jobs! I think we would probably try Sticky Stuff Remover or one of the similar solvents if we tried it again, but I would be worried about it going over all the parts. Thanks for the note, though - much appreciated.

well done for recycling the keyboard! Thanks for the comment and best wishes for the nursery - and its contents!. Regards Geoff

It's good to hear that the video is still being useful, and that you have identified a source of the parts. Other folks will value that web address: we get quite a few enquiries as to where to get the two strips. Regards Geoff

Hi, we rang Yamaha UK and asked to speak to their spare parts department

Good idea! It would have saved us half an hour or so of scraping the old felt off.

Your piano sounds like a job for The Repair Shop! (UK TV programme where they renovate much loved family treasures). Well done for getting it going again. The felts are not that expensive so it might be worth getting the real thing as it will ensure the keys lay level.

@@GunwharfVideo The keys being level was one of my concerns. However with some elcheapo draught excluder they are all level and importantly, quiet. I know this isn't the answer but it'll do in the short term. Not a big job to pull it down again when I get the proper stuff...

Thanks for the note, but we are in the UK, on the south coast near Portsmouth. I fear we are too far away to be of much help, but a local Yamaha dealer may be prepared to offer advice. Regards Geoff

@@GunwharfVideo Thank you for the reply. You are amazing handyman. I am not that brave to fix piano myself.))

@@GunwharfVideo Thank you for the reply. You are amazing handyman. But I am not that brave to fix the piano myself.))

@@LenaTerletsky It is my son, Alex, who masterminded the repair - I just helped!

Thanks for the comment. Good to hear the video is still helping people.

Thanks for the comment. Good to hear the video is still helping people.

Thanks for the comment. Good to hear the video is still helping people.

Thanks for the comment. Good to hear the video is still helping people.

Thanks for the update: that is certainly great value for a super keyboard. For the beneifit of others, could you advise where you got the replacement felts? Some people have had trouble sourcing them. Thanks.. Geoff & Alex

How did you get on? Were you able to replace the felts?

Well done, that's good news and will help others have confidence that it can be done.

What are the names for those parts??

Well done, it is good to see that our video is still useful.

Bonjour Pascal. Je suis en Belgique et je cherche où je peux acheter les feutres pour le même modèle que vous avez, le CLP-840. Pouvez-vous me dire où est que vous vous avez dirigé en France pour acheter ces pièces ? Avez-vous contacté ces vendeurs plutôt par téléphone ? Merci d'avance. Eladio

@@eladio1468 Bonjour Eladio.J'ai acheté ça chez shop.audiotronic.fr/fr/ les liens sur les pièces nécessaires : artaudioparts.com/vu34210r-stopper-felt-u88-for-yamaha-clp-150-920-930-cp-33-cvp-105-107-109-203-207-209-mo8?ref=1 artaudioparts.com/felt-stopper-foam-for-yamaha-clp-150-230-240-265-270-cvp-203-307-motif-8-es8-xs8 Bon courage !

​@@pascal3086 Un très grand merci, Pascal ! Désolé pour mes remerciements tardifs. J'ai appelé Audiotronic aujourd'hui et ils m'ont dit qu'ils peuvent faire des envois à la Belgique, même dans cette période bizarre du Covid. Le tout va me coûter 56,70€ TTC (avec le coût de transport aussi inclus). Pour si jamais ça peut servir aux autres, la référence Yamaha pour la mousse d'amortissement haute du Clavinova CLP-840 c'est la VU34210R, et pour la basse c'est la V764010R. J'espère réussir avec la réparation de mon piano une fois j'aie reçu les mousses. À bien tôt !

Thank you for your note. We made this video in 2011, so I don't know if Yamaha still provide parts for older models. However, if you look down the comments here there are recent examples of folks purchasing the parts successfully. The most recent comment used a Scottish company, Broken Chords, and they have Clavinova felts on offer at brokenchords.co.uk/epages/950001384.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950001384/Products/%22FELT%20KIT%22. I don't know whether these are compatible with your model but they seem to be generic, and our experience is that there was little about the felts we bought that made them unique to the model we have. I am sure they would ship to the US if asked, or you may find other comments below relevant to a US purchase. Good luck! Geoff.

@@GunwharfVideo Thank you for the information. Broken chords didn't have the felts but Syntaur suggested alternatives that might work. I'll order them and will see. Thanks again.