How to remove keys on a Roland XP-80?

Question

(I saw similar questions answered here, so I'm posting this one. If it's off-topic, please accept my apologies.)

Two keys are broken on a Roland XP-80 keyboard I play. I can see that the plastic is broken (in the same place: at the hinge on the end.)

Here's a picture:

http://i.stack.imgur.com/GHRBV.jpg

All I can see to do is one of the following:

• Remove the black plastic strip at the top (glued on) and the green felt strip at the bottom (also glued on) to remove the keys. The prongs on the bottom of the key (at the bottom of the image) prevent me from taking the key out without breaking it, which suggests that I can't put the new keys in without breaking them.
• Bend up a tab (just above the green felt) to allow enough play to remove it.

Has anyone done this before? I've looked all around without much luck, and the KB is fairly old, well past support, and probably not hiring someone to fix.

Answer 1

Removing the black plastic strip should allow you to slide the key toward the "hinge" end and it should come out quite easily from there. Any other method will be very difficult and risk breaking the keys.

You may be able to only partially remove the strip by peeling it only part way off. I seem to remember doing something like this when removing the keys from my D-50, but it has been quite a while.

The only worry here is that the strip will not stick back in place. You should be able to test this by peeling back only a small section and see if you can put it back again and get it to stick properly.