Scratches on black plastic

[Darkthorn]

Hi all,

New to the scene, just purchased a Genos. Love the keyboard but has anyone else noticed how easy it is to scratch the black plastic finish. I am very careful with it but have managed to put several fine scratches from my nails on the plastic near the OTS buttons. I also have an ELC 02 Stagea which is a black finish but isn't anywhere near as fragile to touch.

Regards,
Simon

[Toril S]

The fragile finish of the Genos has been discussed several times here. Scratch marks and shiny spots appear. Too bad with Genos being such an expensive instrument!

[EileenL]

On all keyboards always best to keep your nails very short because the keys will also scratch, and this is on any keyboard. Some people managed to scratch the top surface of the keys on Tyros 2 and 3.
  I will never let anyone play my keyboard if they have long nails and large rings. I have no shiny marks on my Genos but I do have a dry skin. A lot of the shine is due to a build of of grease from the skin.

[kla4]

Perhaps this helps?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w15mo5abxOY 

[Rick D.]

KLA4,

That looks great, but I know from experience, that they are not as easy to install as it looks in the video. But someone did a nice job making that. If I gigged out I would definitely have one.

Rick D.

[Darkthorn]

Thanks for the replies, I will try and be extra careful from now on.

Simon

[Lee Batchelor]

There's no doubt that Yamaha dropped the ball on the Genos case design and production, or let's say, the company to which the cases were subcontracted.

Eileen is partially correct. Grease from fingers and hands will appear as shiny spots but the matt finish of the Genos is so delicate that it just simply wears off over a short period of time, leaving the shiny raw plastic underneath. Like Covid, there's no cure . The Tyros cases were 10 times more robust.

[Toril S]

Yes, I suspect that the matt part of the finish is very thin. I got shiny spots near a couple of buttins that I press often, and I know that I have rested my fingers on the surface near those buttons. I tried to wipe of the shiny spots by using spectacle cleaner and a soft cloth, as people suggested, but the spots are still there. They can be seen only when the light falls at an angle on the surface, but still the same, I am not happy with that. To confort myself and others I can say that the spots show that we have really used the instrument, that it had a good life. But many people sell their old keyboards to get the next model, and in that case the marks only decrease the price, so not good....

[Ingar]

I have informed Yamaha about problemes with fragile surface on Genos, and they thanked me for the information and said that they should look in to it for a possible successor.

[musicman01]

Hello, The Genos has very good sound quality and technology but like all tyros models it ends there! Material choice is the same as a Casio, Medelli etc .... That is a shame for Yamaha. For example, if you look at a Korg PA4X, the finish quality is much better. Here aluminum and metal are used for the outside and at the same time it looks very robust! In terms of sound quality, the 5 year old Korg PA4x is not inferior to Genos. Sounds & styles are very good, and cheaper than Genos.
Yamaha will have to think very carefully in the future!

[Normanfernandez]

Could a Ceramic Coating cover up the scratches?

[Lee Batchelor]

Hello, The Genos has very good sound quality and technology but like all tyros models it ends there! Material choice is the same as a Casio, Medelli etc .... That is a shame for Yamaha. For example, if you look at a Korg PA4X, the finish quality is much better. Here aluminum and metal are used for the outside and at the same time it looks very robust! In terms of sound quality, the 5 year old Korg PA4x is not inferior to Genos. Sounds & styles are very good, and cheaper than Genos.
Yamaha will have to think very carefully in the future!

I don't think it's necessary to use a metal case. They're too heavy. The entire Tyros series had plastic cases and were very robust. When I traded my T5 for the Genos, the T5 had a small circle of wear around the volume knob only. The rest of its surface was pristine. The store salesman even asked if the T5 had been out on any gigs. If memory serves, it had been out on a least 150.

Yamaha cheaped out on the Genos cover, plain and simple, not to mention the button covers that are already starting to fail. If I trade it for a Genos 2, it will have probably played 50 gigs or less (largely due to this darn Covid thing) and look like it had been on over 200 gigs -and that's with lots of care in between. Whoever is in charge of outsourcing at Yamaha, they have soured the milk. It's either that or the accounting people are ruling with an iron fist !

[Lee Batchelor]

Could a Ceramic Coating cover up the scratches?

Interesting. I wonder if it would be possible to remove the top cover and spray it with some sort of dull finish plastic coating. Has anyone ever removed the top cover?

[musicman01]

Hi Lee, I have a genos and above that a PA4X for 5 months and the difference is very clear in the quality of the housing and keyboard.
The Genos and the PA4X are linked via midi in both directions with 1 volume and sustain pedal. The combination works perfectly, such as sending the chords in both directions.
The choice for my next keyboard will be difficult !!

[Lee Batchelor]

Good to hear, Musicman01. I've seen YouTube videos of the PA4X. It's an interesting keyboard with a different architecture than the Yamaha breeds. I guess you have the best of both worlds owning both !

[musicman01]

Hi Lee, I was able to buy the PA4x very cheaply from someone who has never done anything with it. It was still in new condition, I bought it out of curiosity. I had been following "Alois Muller" and "Andre Schurna" on YouTube for a long time. These men also demonstrate Genos, and I was surprised by the warm sound of the Korg. Just visit these people on YouTube, very interesting !!

[Janus]

Yamaha keyboards the sounds are better with the years
The keyboard keys with rubber contacts knobs and plastic case worser
The last good one was the psr9000Pro
Metal case, piano metal spring contacten
After 20 years still running never had any trouble
Use it dayly as master keyboard

[Ingar]

Could a Ceramic Coating cover up the scratches?

A ceramic coating for plastic, probably. I read the fact sheet for one of those that could be relevant, but so that they contained naphtha compounds, and then I come to think of the screen printed letters. The ink can be dissolved. This must have been tested beforhand.

[Janus]

Perhaps an auto wax
When it get dirty remove it and set a new layer

[Ingar]

Perhaps an auto wax
When it get dirty remove it and set a new layer

Maybee auto wax contains component which affect the ink as well. Important to be careful with this.
 

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

Hi
Best to shoot the cat!!

[Toril S]

Or the Genos😀 But then there will be no music😀😀😀