Mounting the Fantom At An Angle

[PaulGreen]

I've always thought about tilting my Fantom 6 up a little to be able to see and touch the screen better.
I tried 20 degrees but ultimately settled on 45 degrees with the tip-of-the-keys-to-the-floor measurement of 34 inches (86.5cm).

That much of a slant on the key bed is not for the faint of heart, and classically trained musicians will scoff, but so far my back is thanking me and my hands and arms are not complaining (yet) + it enables longer sessions.

I'll report back in a month or so to update on stresses this may have placed on my hands and shoulders but for now I'm enjoying a positive experience and faster workflow.

[FGM]

Lovely...many thanks.
Could you tell as something each week, please ?
I am deeply interested, thank you.
The only issue I see is the signal from your speakers being slightly affected by Fantom itself, acting a bit as a curtain.

I am still having 71.5 cm (28,15 inches) to the top of the keys, as I play sitting.

Are you using any pedals ?
Is it true that one should play always standing while at a synth, always sitting while at a piano ?
Are you planning, if standing, using a bar stool or similar behind you to lean against ?

[St8kout]

There's no real rule for standing or sitting at keyboards. It's a personal choice. In all the instructional Fantom videos I watched, half of the players are sitting, half are standing. When sitting, you do tend to lean over to better see the controls until you are used to them. At a live gig, you'd probably want to be standing along with the rest of the band, to dance around a bit.

Regular acoustic pianos, not on stands, would require you to sit as the height is not adjustable.

My Fantom is on a "Z" stand, and I've put some padding under the back end to raise it up a few inches. Nothing radical, just a bit better view.

[PaulGreen]

Well, I'm not a performer so sitting on a soft comfortable chair with narrow back and height adjustment fills the bill for me:))
Monitors don't care if you nominally bloc their woofers.
By the way, those monitor stands are also home grown. If you 3D print, I can post the files and particulars.
P

[FGM]

How nice of you...
I am currently using floorstanders, but if needed I will surely ask you to post them. Great. Thank you.

Speaker performance is affected by everything, everytime and all the time.

Even moving the axis a little bit shows differences.

Axis on the tweeter center...?
Axis where subwoofer and tweeter waveguide meet...?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/foru ... iew.12844/

.

[FGM]

Not wanting to make it yourself....?

Variable angle and height.jpg (2.07 MiB) Viewed 2625 times

[PaulGreen]

45 degrees possible with this?

[FGM]

No idea for sure... doesn't look like that much, does it ?
But it allows varying the angle till finding a good one.

How are you doing ? Any pains ?

[PaulGreen]

Since I'm not leaning over any more, I don't have the lower back tightness plus viewing that screen up close is really a joy. The arms and shoulders are also none the worse for the wear.
Yeah, I thought about an adjustable one but this was quick and dirty to see if it's even a good idea. So far it's a keeper.
P

[FGM]

Great.
Thank you.

[FGM]

Any further achievements to try...?

https://www.cmuse.org/piano-playing-upside-down/

[PaulGreen]

Well, yes now that you mention it.
I found mounting peripherals to the top of the Fantom helps get song ideas down quickly before they disappear into the ether.
As I get older I am starting to feel the industry's lack of interest in ergonomics:)) CAD and 3D printing came along just in time.
P

[FGM]

Yupiiii...

Remember to keep those designs of you at hand; sooner or later all of us will start feeling our need for them.

I see Fantom is not enough for you...

When I was a child I remember seeing on TV a player interpreting a whole Haydn symphony on a keyboard that was covering some 270 degrees around him. It was so outstanding !!!! A single keyboardist, a concert.

[PaulGreen]

Update:
I have kept the 45 degree angle but lowered it 3 inches to a height of 31 inches from the edge of the white keys to the floor. This brought the elbows just slightly above the hands which increases comfort without losing the excellent view.

[FGM]

Good to know.

You are just 7.54 cm (2.9685 inches) above Steinways before adding any wheels (71.5 cm).