Great work! I have been promoting this type of keyboard for 20 years now and it is great to see it finally catching on. How long will it take for manufacturers to pull their fingers out? Have you thought of making a design for sale on Shapeways?
@brilliantcorners I need good machines in order to make a useful product. It would be neat with all the features of today's keyboards out there but with Janko layout instead.
That is quite impressive. How are the keys organized? I like how you included slightly different heights for each row, I've been looking at just a few similar keyboard designs on Youtube to yours and others seem to not take that into consideration. Also very clean looking.
could you please tell me where you sourced the switches and the caps? i built a custom b-system chromatic midi keyboard and used sanwa arcade buttons, but they require too much actuation pressure to play very quickly. i'd like to do it again probably with the materials you used.
@goldenhelix The switches are Cherry MX1A series with linear movement. Check out the Cherry Corp. homepage.
They were bought from DigiKey and the keycaps were specially ordered from DataCal. The hexagon tops are punched from a plastic sheet and glued onto the keycaps. One disadvantage with pc keyboard keyswitches is that the keys tend to be somewhat sloppy. Hope this information helps.
I'm also building a Janko but I still need to add the keys. My idea was also using hexagonal keys, inspired by the Axis. In my case I used and old midi keyboard controller and modified every key to have 3 keys per key (similar to Chromatone). Regarding keys, did you use injected molding plastic? I was about to do it with acrylic cut by laser, but rounded keys are better for glissandos! Yours look a bit wide, what is max interval with a extended hand? You did an excellent work, congratulations!
These plastic keys are punched from plastic sheet. They are then attached with double sided tape to keyboard caps. The distance between each key is between 22 and 23 mm i.e. about the same as on a typical portatone keyboard. Max interval is precisely one and a half octave with my hand fully stretched. I love playing this keyboard. Your's will outperform this if you use velocity sensitive keys and inject molded caps.
I'm planning an axis 64 / sonome clone myself using hexagonal keycaps and the problem is that using injection moulding is not an option at all. I've asked several companies and the cheapest I can get it for is 1100 euro or 1600 usd. It's ridiculously expensive.
I'm planning an axis 64 / sonome clone myself using hexagonal keycaps and the problem is that using injection moulding is not an option at all. I've asked several companies and the cheapest I can get it for is 1100 euro or 1600 usd. It's ridiculously expensive.
@misterstarshine Amazing job! So you're saying that the handspan is about 1 1/2 octaves or like...18 semitones? Where did you get a hexagonal "puncher" for the keys? I've been unable to find hexagonal cookie cutters or anything like that. What kind of keycaps are under the hexagonal keys? Some ones that you found online that go with cherrys? Also, the edges of the keys look beveled so I'm wondering how that came about with a puncher...I'd really love to have some of those keys.
Looks good. I bought a Chromatone from Japan coloured like a Janko, but I would much prefer a real Janko piano. I also built a two-row 6-6 and I'm building a keyboard myself with 6 rows. Good work!
Digital synths suck in comparison to the real thing. But some imitations are of course better than others.
Hexagonal is an intresting shape of a musical keyboard key. In fact it's a fusion between rectangular and round. You've got straight edges sideways but also to the diagonal neightbour key. This enables you to do diagonal glissandos over half notes.
You're absolutely right about everything. However the key noisiness is somewhat dependent on several other circumstances. I hit the keys a bit hard here. Moreover the recording of this video picks up the noise quite much. Still since they are keyboard keyswitches they are of course way noisier than piano or analog electric organ keys. This keyboard has no sound engine. I do plan to build an analog unit that is MIDI triggered though. I totally agree that digital synth sound sucks bigtime.
@misterstarshine What do you mean? That the tonewheel organ sound displayed here sucks, or that any virtual instrument does?
By the way, GREAT keyboard. Wouldn't it have been better to use rectangular, or at least less edgy key tops? These ones look great, but not too comfortable to play. Of course, I may be mistaken!
Great work! I have been promoting this type of keyboard for 20 years now and it is great to see it finally catching on. How long will it take for manufacturers to pull their fingers out? Have you thought of making a design for sale on Shapeways?
brilliantcorners 1 month ago
@brilliantcorners I need good machines in order to make a useful product. It would be neat with all the features of today's keyboards out there but with Janko layout instead.
misterstarshine 1 month ago
That is quite impressive. How are the keys organized? I like how you included slightly different heights for each row, I've been looking at just a few similar keyboard designs on Youtube to yours and others seem to not take that into consideration. Also very clean looking.
Zylstra555 1 month ago
Great job! I just found your site, and I'm very impressed with this project, I'm considering to build one myself, thanks for sharing this
serdasteclas 2 months ago
could you please tell me where you sourced the switches and the caps? i built a custom b-system chromatic midi keyboard and used sanwa arcade buttons, but they require too much actuation pressure to play very quickly. i'd like to do it again probably with the materials you used.
goldenhelix 4 months ago
@goldenhelix The switches are Cherry MX1A series with linear movement. Check out the Cherry Corp. homepage.
They were bought from DigiKey and the keycaps were specially ordered from DataCal. The hexagon tops are punched from a plastic sheet and glued onto the keycaps. One disadvantage with pc keyboard keyswitches is that the keys tend to be somewhat sloppy. Hope this information helps.
misterstarshine 4 months ago
@misterstarshine You should have got cherry blues.
raymangold22 2 months ago
im about to build a janko PVC pipe organ.. i have all the ideas ready on my mind, and i have tested the pipes and the lever system i intend to use.
the only problem is i dont have the money for buying all the material!
even making most parts of pvc, and some wood, it still costs :/ maybe i build a 2 octaves prototype with high notes only (smaller pipes)
ericoschmitt 7 months ago
Bravo. Well done, amazing work.
I got a chromatone via ebay but ended up selling it due to hand cramps, you'r looks much roomier.
Well done!
Mark
MothraDeSuave 7 months ago
I'm also building a Janko but I still need to add the keys. My idea was also using hexagonal keys, inspired by the Axis. In my case I used and old midi keyboard controller and modified every key to have 3 keys per key (similar to Chromatone). Regarding keys, did you use injected molding plastic? I was about to do it with acrylic cut by laser, but rounded keys are better for glissandos! Yours look a bit wide, what is max interval with a extended hand? You did an excellent work, congratulations!
sukrat69 1 year ago
These plastic keys are punched from plastic sheet. They are then attached with double sided tape to keyboard caps. The distance between each key is between 22 and 23 mm i.e. about the same as on a typical portatone keyboard. Max interval is precisely one and a half octave with my hand fully stretched. I love playing this keyboard. Your's will outperform this if you use velocity sensitive keys and inject molded caps.
misterstarshine 1 year ago
@misterstarshine
I'm planning an axis 64 / sonome clone myself using hexagonal keycaps and the problem is that using injection moulding is not an option at all. I've asked several companies and the cheapest I can get it for is 1100 euro or 1600 usd. It's ridiculously expensive.
KojiroGanryuSasaki 11 months ago
@misterstarshine
I'm planning an axis 64 / sonome clone myself using hexagonal keycaps and the problem is that using injection moulding is not an option at all. I've asked several companies and the cheapest I can get it for is 1100 euro or 1600 usd. It's ridiculously expensive.
KojiroGanryuSasaki 11 months ago
@misterstarshine Amazing job! So you're saying that the handspan is about 1 1/2 octaves or like...18 semitones? Where did you get a hexagonal "puncher" for the keys? I've been unable to find hexagonal cookie cutters or anything like that. What kind of keycaps are under the hexagonal keys? Some ones that you found online that go with cherrys? Also, the edges of the keys look beveled so I'm wondering how that came about with a puncher...I'd really love to have some of those keys.
geoffreyefloyd 1 month ago
@geoffreyefloyd I made the puncher from a modified spark plug. Had to remove the ceramic part and fix it in my lathe. Round keys work well too.
misterstarshine 1 month ago
Beautiful job!
31416erre 1 year ago
Congratulations you've arrived... I'm looking forward to hearing/seeing more explanations!
c33r0k33 1 year ago
Looks good. I bought a Chromatone from Japan coloured like a Janko, but I would much prefer a real Janko piano. I also built a two-row 6-6 and I'm building a keyboard myself with 6 rows. Good work!
spectralmusic 1 year ago
Digital synths suck in comparison to the real thing. But some imitations are of course better than others.
Hexagonal is an intresting shape of a musical keyboard key. In fact it's a fusion between rectangular and round. You've got straight edges sideways but also to the diagonal neightbour key. This enables you to do diagonal glissandos over half notes.
misterstarshine 1 year ago
Great looking but the keys are too loud and digital synths suck. Silence the keys, use analog piano samples and then learn how to play it... well.
xylenz 1 year ago
You're absolutely right about everything. However the key noisiness is somewhat dependent on several other circumstances. I hit the keys a bit hard here. Moreover the recording of this video picks up the noise quite much. Still since they are keyboard keyswitches they are of course way noisier than piano or analog electric organ keys. This keyboard has no sound engine. I do plan to build an analog unit that is MIDI triggered though. I totally agree that digital synth sound sucks bigtime.
misterstarshine 1 year ago
@misterstarshine What do you mean? That the tonewheel organ sound displayed here sucks, or that any virtual instrument does?
By the way, GREAT keyboard. Wouldn't it have been better to use rectangular, or at least less edgy key tops? These ones look great, but not too comfortable to play. Of course, I may be mistaken!
eFFeeMMe 1 year ago