Hi,

I play in a classic rock band that does mostly summer festival and “concert in the park” work in the Chicago area. Chicago summers bring high heat and humidity situations which lead to sweaty fingers sticking to keys.

Earlier this year I moved from a Motif ES7 to an s70XS.  Maybe it’s me but I don’t recall having this issue as much with the ES7. 

I keep a cotton towel near me to wipe the keys and my hands throughout the set and this helps a bit but not enough. 

Does anyone have other suggestions? - Some things I’ve read on line are ....
1) Powder on hands (talc, baby powder etc)
2) Spray antiperspirant made specifically for hands and feet
3) Light wiping of keys with furniture polish
4) Two spoonfuls of honey if nervousness might be the cause of sweaty hands! 

My hands “slide” smoothly over the s70XS keyboard in our air conditioned rehearsal room.

Thanks for any suggestions!
Kevin

kevin - 05 September 2015 11:10 AM

Hi,

I play in a classic rock band that does mostly summer festival and “concert in the park” work in the Chicago area. Chicago summers bring high heat and humidity situations which lead to sweaty fingers sticking to keys.

Earlier this year I moved from a Motif ES7 to an s70XS.  Maybe it’s me but I don’t recall having this issue as much with the ES7. 

I keep a cotton towel near me to wipe the keys and my hands throughout the set and this helps a bit but not enough. 

Does anyone have other suggestions? - Some things I’ve read on line are ....
1) Powder on hands (talc, baby powder etc)
2) Spray antiperspirant made specifically for hands and feet
3) Light wiping of keys with furniture polish
4) Two spoonfuls of honey if nervousness might be the cause of sweaty hands! 

My hands “slide” smoothly over the s70XS keyboard in our air conditioned rehearsal room.

Thanks for any suggestions!
Kevin

Hey Kevin, it’s been maybe the worst year I’ve seen for humidity in the northern states.

My experience with talc or powder has been a disaster and results in the kiss of death for any keyboard action. Resolution of the results of such is extremely time consuming.
The antiperspirant seems to have merit, certainly worth a shot.
I do clean my keys as needed and apply a light polish to a rag and wipe the keys, it seems to make future cleanings easier.
Not sure about the honey.

A decent fan and loose clothing with a bit of shade are my best friends in these conditions. AC is my best friend forever, although Led lighting ranks high as well.

Stone

Stone,

Regarding the worst year for humidity, I agree.  Maybe that’s why this issue didn’t seem to bother me as much with the old ES7. 

As for the talc, I had the same feeling about using any power near the keybed.  I won’t be going that route. 

I kinda like the fan idea. Maybe a small inconspicuous clip-on fan mounted to my mic stand blowing across the keys would help. Can’t hurt .... I’m gonna give that a try!

Thanks for your input.

Kevin

PS - Any other suggestions still welcomed!!

dont spray, powder, spill or otherwise put anything on your keys unless you want to distroy the contacts and/or gum up the action.
I have lots of horror stories from my repair tech days that start with “so I used WD-40/Hairspray/furniture polish/contact cleaner/talcum powder/gold bond powder/etc/etc on them and now one/several/all of my keys dont work no more” When you clean them but ONLY spray the cloth and WIPE the keys.  The round brush thing for your vacuum hose will help (somewhat) get the glitter out that the bimbo sprinkled on you last new-years.

I sweat like something that REALLY sweats when it is hot.  I’ve found that little computer “muffin” fans and batteries placed at either end of my keyboard (or taped under the top one in a two tier setup) work wonders.  a 12v fan won’t run at full speed from a 9v battery, but it will quietly move some air and you can get free batteries from the OCD guitar player that changes the one in his distortion pedal every set.  Having one pointed up at my face was nice too - and it didn’t blow my set list away.

I’ve also heard of folks that keep wrist sweatbands in the freezer or beer cooler and stay cool that way - just dont drip water inside the keyboard. 

Cheers,
Reggie

This is an update to the original “sweaty fingers” question I posted here almost a year ago. 

I played several outdoor high humidity gigs this year and experimented with a few things. Here’s what I found:

1) I tried using a small electric fan clipped to my mic stand and blowing across the keyboard.  This seemed to work ok but wasn’t strong enough to keep my hands dry for a whole song. I had to keep going to it between songs. (kinda like the fan in the ball return at a bowling alley)

2) At my last high humidity gig (temp at 92dg – heat index at 102) I used a 20” round metal floor fan placed about 8 to 10’ behind me off to the side blowing across me and my rig. This, combined with a loose shirt, kept me, and most importantly my hands, pretty cool and dry for the entire set.  I also had a small cooler next to me with icy water and a small washcloth that I’d go to that every so often for a quick refreshing cool off wipe.

So it seems that keeping the entire body cool is the way to go. (Thanks to Stone for that suggestion) Hope this helps anyone else having the “sweaty fingers” issue.

Best to all,
Kevin

kevin - 07 August 2016 09:20 AM

This is an update to the original “sweaty fingers” question I posted here almost a year ago. 

2) At my last high humidity gig (temp at 92dg – heat index at 102) I used a 20” round metal floor fan placed about 8 to 10’ behind me off to the side blowing across me and my rig. This, combined with a loose shirt, kept me, and most importantly my hands, pretty cool and dry for the entire set.  I also had a small cooler next to me with icy water and a small washcloth that I’d go to that every so often for a quick refreshing cool off wipe.

Hope this helps anyone else having the “sweaty fingers” issue.

Best to all,
Kevin

Hi Kevin, thanks for the update.

The ice water sounds like a “cool” idea, good solution. Air circulation is a definite plus in this brutal heat we’ve been through. Winter will come and we’ll hope for no snow but that may leave us like the Sahara next summer. Very little rain here in CNY.

Just noticed you’re a fireman. People develop a deep appreciation for your services when needed. I know I have, thanks man. Best of luck to the Cubbies.

Stone