How Do You Store Electronic Music Keyboards?

If you are musician and use music keyboards such as synthesizers, workstations, MIDI keyboards or arranger keyboards, you must be taking utmost care of your gigs for storage and transportation for various shows and concerts. Precisely in this article, we are going to help our fellow musicians and enthusiasts understand the importance of storing keyboards safely for a convenient and hassle-free maintenance.

Electronic music keyboards need special storage cases (Hard and Soft Shell Cases) to store them properly preventing them from damage and exposure to dust, heat and moisture. Also, these music keyboards need to be stored horizontally or upright with proper safety precautions to be followed.

Let us go through this article to get deeper insights about storage of electronic music keyboards in a safe and convenient manner.

Table of Contents

What are electronic music keyboards?

Before we dive-in to the storage subject, we must understand about the types and nature of the electronic music keyboards which we are going to discuss about here.

Broadly speaking, the electronic music keyboards can be grouped into these categories:

Digital Pianos – Basically used as replacement of acoustic and grand pianos in digital sounds format. Example – Yamaha P5, Casio AP 470 etc.

Synthesizer Keyboards – Generate vintage analog keyboard synthesizer sounds. Example – Roland Juno, Moog, Korg Micro series etc.
Workstation Keyboards – Highly sophisticated, creative music keyboards with high quality sampled sounds. Example – Korg Montage. Roland Fantom, Yamaha MO, MX, Motif Series etc.
Arranger Keyboards – Used for band, accompaniment music production with recorded songs, rhythm patterns and voices. Example – Yamaha TYROS, PSR Series, Korg PA Series, Casio CTX Keyboards, etc.

Entry Level Keyboards – The beginner level cost affordable keyboards with basic functions and keys. Example: CASIO SA 75/76, Yamaha PSS Series, etc.

All music keyboards usually come with different OCTAVE SIZES as under:

Single Octave: 13 Keys (MIDI Keyboards, Toy Keyboards)

Double Octave: 25/26 Keys (MIDI keyboards, Entry level keyboards)
Three and Half Octaves: 42 Keys (MIDI, Entry level keyboards)
Four Octaves: 50+ Keys (MIDI, Arranger keyboards)

Five Octave: 61 Keys (Standard Music Keyboard size) (Digital Pianos, MIDI, Arranger and workstation keyboards)
Six and Half Octaves: 77 Keys (Digital Pianos, MIDI, Arranger and workstation keyboards)
Seven Octaves: 88 Keys (Digital Pianos, large format MIDI, Arranger and workstation keyboards)

How do you store Electronic Music Keyboards?

Electronic music keyboards need to be protected from shock, moisture, excessive heat and frost conditions to prevent damage to the circuit boards, speakers, display boards and switches.

Here are the most essential best practices which a musician must follow to store and maintain Electronic Music Keyboards:

Music Keyboard Protection / Casing:

There are soft keyboard covers and Hard-shell cases available for storage of your music keyboard.

Hard-Shell cases are the best way to store your music keyboard as they are highly reliable, shock proof and prevent your music keyboard from any form of damage, heat, moisture or foreign agents.
You can choose from the widely available options by GATOR, HARMONY and few other brands to choose from.
Soft covers for your electronic music keyboard are widely available and provided by the keyboard companies or locally by the dealer who has sold the music keyboard to you.

Soft cases provide an overall protection to your music keyboard and are low-weight and easy to carry as well.

For more details on the Hard-Shell cases please visit our article about the Top 10 Flight Cases for Music Keyboards.

Music Keyboard Posture / Alignment:

Here are the most common positions to store the music keyboard or synthesizer:

Horizontal Position

The best way to store your music keyboard is the horizontal sitting position with the keys facing to the top. It is the safest way to keep your keyboard to avoid any falls or slippages from the floor.

Furthermore, the horizontal position, takes up little more space for your gigs due to maximum surface area coverage, but being very safe it is the best way indeed.

Vertical Upright Position

In this posture, your keyboard is kept in a standing or upright position with support against a wall or any object/stand. The keyboard is placed at a 90-degree perpendicular shape against the leaning object.

This is usually used to conserve space and for places where space is extremely limited and you cannot keep on keyboard horizontally.

The best way to keep your keyboard in upright position in to keep it inside a hard-shell case and the store it to avoid any slippages, falls or injury.

Angular Upright Position against Support

In this posture you can store your keyboard leaning in an angle of 45-50 degree against a wall or a vertical support structure.

Such a position is also used for areas where there is space crunch is keeping your gears or music gigs. You must avoid smooth and slippery surfaces at all times as there is a high chance of slippage and keyboard tends to fall sometimes due to this position. Store with this position with a covered casing to avoid any damage to the music keyboard.

For more details about Music Keyboard positions, please visit our article – Can you store a keyboard upright.

Here is an infographic summarizing the Music keyboard storage with respect to positions and casing/protection.

Do’s and Don’ts for storage of Electronic Music Keyboards

Store your music keyboards away from excess heat and cold. Do not stack them outdoors, always keep them indoors in a dry and cool place.
Cover your music keyboard with a soft dust cover to keep it free from dust when in regular use.

Park your keyboard using a strong keyboard stand with strong legs. Do not use cheap and brittle stands for the sake of saving money.
When in transit or moving for concerts and shows, make sure to carry your music keyboard using special shock proof flight cases which will save your gig from any damage or extreme conditions during air and water travel.
Use properly rated AC Charger for your Electronic music keyboard for powering it up. Also, if your gig is battery supported, please use high quality batteries which are clean, new and leakproof in nature.

Avoid putting food or any forms of liquid on the surface of your music keyboard
For fine cleaning of dust or debris from the music keyboard surface, you are advised to use a piece of soft cloth only. Never use water, brushes or any cleaning liquid for your music keyboard surface for clean-up.
Keep your gadgets away from the reach of kids or small children. Also do not store them in kids room or play rooms.

Get an insurance cover (for damages and protection) for your electronic music keyboard with hassle free claim settlement process. You can choose among the available insurance providers for US and UK region based on your location.

Do I need to conduct inspection and servicing of my keyboards regularly by a music keyboard servicing company or my brand company?

Yes, you must conduct preliminary level checks after every performance session with your music keyboards. Check all buttons, sliders, display, speakers and sound quality of your electronic music keyboards or digital pianos to rule out any issues or malfunction.

Which is the best keyboard case for storing my 61/76/88 key electronic music keyboards?

If you are considering hard-shell cases, we recommend GATOR, HARMONY, SKB and CROSS ROCK Flight cases for your electronic music keyboards. To choose the best model for your needs please visit our in-depth article about 10 Best Flight Cases for your music keyboard <link>

Which is a better choice for my electronic music keyboard – Soft Keyboard Bag or Hard-Shell Case?

Hard shell cases are usually highly shock proof and provide a higher degree of protection against moisture, heat, dust and external damages. So, they are a better choice in comparison to soft keyboard bags.

How do I Insure my music keyboards against theft, damage or accidents?

You can consider musical instrument insurance options available from various insurance companies in USA and UK to insure your electronic music keyboard against theft, damage or accidents. For more details, please check our article on Top 10 Insurance options available for electronic music Keyboards in US and UK <link>

Summary

As a musician, you must take care of your music keyboard and other musical gigs for a seamless and hassle-free playing experience. You must protect your electronic music keyboards from dust, moisture, excessive heat and cold as well as shocks. Also, special casing needs to be done during transportation for concerts and shows. We hope this article has been an eye-opener for all synth and music keyboard lovers for storage and protection of your gigs.

For more insightful articles on Piano, music keyboards, VST Plugins and many more, please visit our website www.musicdetailed.com