MIDI Keyboard mod: Nektar SE61 to wood harpsichord

Almost all MIDI keyboards start and end on C. If you play harpsichord or other historical keyboards, you might rather have a keyboard starting and ending on F. Although you could get a 76-key keyboard starting on E, 76 keys are too many for historical instruments. 61 keys from F to F is an excellent range for a harpsichord (Bach's keyboard partitas call for such a keyboard, for example). Unfortunately, the action in most MIDI keyboards consists of individual keys with metal springs (Fatar action), which does not allow repositioning the keys to start at F. The Nektar SE61 is among those keyboards having a living-hinge action that does allow such repositioning (most Yamaha keyboards also use this system). Converting the Nektar SE61 to an F-F range can be done relatively easily, but there are a few tricky bits. If you follow the steps I show in the video, you can do it too. Building a wood enclosure and laminating the keys with real wood veneer takes some additional time, of course (in my case, a few weeks). I also show you how to do that. Playing on real wood feels so much better than plastic! Any questions: please ask in the comments. Thanks!

00:00 Disassembly
01:00 About the action
02:40 Dividing the octave
04:48 Body is cut
05:16 Cutting the keys
06:32 Planning F to F
06:57 Problematic last key
08:31 Mounting the main board
10:25 Checking the last key
12:35 Mounting the octaves
13:35 Problematic first key
15:25 Other keyboards
16:17 Tools and materials
17:21 Making the white keys black
18:25 Shortening the black keys
22:34 Pre-glued wood laminate
23:10 Laminating the white keys
25:09 Laminating the black keys
26:43 The smaller circuit board
27:26 I/O Panel
28:12 Making the wood body
32:50 Dry-fit assembly
35:39 Partita I in B-Flat, Praeludium, BWV 825 (excerpt)
36:28 Touch-ups
36:48 Waxing the wood
37:56 Final touch-ups
38:27 Aluminum bottom panel
39:04 Finished in place
39:31 Partita IV in D, Courante, BWV 828 (excerpt)

The harpsichord is the Mietke sample set from Sonus Paradisi, running on Hauptwerk 7.