Panic button or "all notes off"

[Tuna]

A couple times I have had to turn the power off and on again because of stuck notes and strange behavior. Once I was in the middle of previewing sounds while in sequencer mode and all of a sudden it acted like the sustain pedal was stuck. All I could do was power off and on to fix it. Another time I was trying to record another track on the sequencer and I don't know what happened but after recording one track it wouldn't let me select track 2 to record or play. What I mean is I recorded track one and then when I went to select track 2 to record it just wouldn't change to track 2. It was stuck on track one! I had to power off and on again. Luckily I hadn't spent too much time on the first track so it wasn't a big deal to start over. But I am worried it might happen again after spending lots of time and losing data.

This is another reason I don't want to have to fool with recording from scratch with this sequencer. (see my other post "Importing MIDI files into Triton")

Thanks again in advance,
Greg

[jg::]

Stuck notes (typically from an external computer sequencer) can be fixed on any Korg workstation by switching modes. Seq>Combi>Seq, for example.

The "stuck on track 1" issue is likely caused by a controller in a "hung" state at the end of the recording. Most often, it's the sustain pedal. If you have it depressed when you Stop the recording, this can happen. Make sure the damper pedal is up, and joystick is centred, etc., before you stop recording.

jg::

[shrike]

There were users with similar problems and, as far as I recall, all were caused by other brand damper pedals. Use Korg's damper pedal and you want have any issues any more.

[Tuna]

Hmmm. I have read that on this forum as well about sustain pedals not being Korg brand. But that can't be it because one time it locked up and I didn't even have the sustain pedal plugged in! Also, it has never acted like this while in Combination or Program mode during performance at the club.
And wouldn't depressing and releasing the sustain pedal once again send a new controller message thus clearing the previous one? This has only happened to me while trying to record a sequence if that helps.

Thanks,
Greg

[jg::]

I don't think that non-Korg pedals will, typically, cause this problem. Re-read my post, which relates to other controllers as well.

jg::

[jetrocker]

I have this stuck note problem on my Extreme while in combi or program mode, without a sustain pedal plugged in, using the board live, with no midi hookups. It can happen while I'm playing, but mostly if the board is just sitting for a few minutes and I'm not playing. When I do play, all the notes "stick on" like I was holding down a sustain pedal. I have to switch to another combi or program and back again to clear the sounds and then it play again fine for a while. This is fairly ramdom in nature. I guess until it gets worse, I'll live with it but it's a bit disquieting while playing on stage when that happens! -Mark

[shrike]

Now I wonder why do you experience such issues.

Only thing that crosses my mind (if not damper pedal) is faulty RAM. If it's not due RAM, then it's keyboard itself.

My Extreme is, in terms of usage, heavily abused. He's used for live gigs twice a week, moved here and there, programmed all the time, used with few different samples and .pcg sets, midi controlled by another keyboard, but I never experienced such problems. Thanks Good for that.

Maybe there is some production line (certain serial number group) which came out faulty. Since there is no Korg support in my country, I would be stuck with bad unit.

But since you guys are from Australia or USA or any more advanced country (with Korg support services) why don't you overthrow them with mails describing such issues?

Extreme is discontinued, but those things shouldn't happen and should be solved by Korg. It's peak of the Triton production, with latest OS, so should be 100% reliable, especially in live play.

Every board errors can be tolerated in studio environment, where timing isn't crucial, but if keyboard isn't reliable in live gig, musician depends on luck. And that's bad for the business, while gigs are mainly certain source of income, at least in my case.

[scooterboy]

Hi! did ayone manage to resolve this problem? I have been gigging regularly with my Extreme for about 2 years without a problem, and recently it has begun to randomly sustain notes. This is happening WITHOUT a sustain pedal being plugged in.
Thanks for any advice.
David

[dimitris]

Mine was caused by the damper pedal. It was on wrong polarity!!

Regards,
Dimitris

[dkeys63]

I'm getting this problam now on my extreme. Has anyone figured the problam out yet?

[scooterboy]

Hi! I have still not sorted it out. I ahve taken it to a repair guy who spoke with the head Korg technician in Australia and they denied knowing anything about it. I will take it to another guy asap for another opinion. Please let me know if you find a resolution.
Cheers

[billbaker]

The midi event chain goes note on-[note no., velo, CC, etc.]-note off. If you leave off that last step the note hangs. So the issue primarily is that missed "note off" message - it can arise from using the internal or external sequencer or even the keyboard itself depending on age and condition. An in line panic button "fixes" the problem by sending a general all-notes-off message via midi.

For those with monophonic synths and perfect pitch the solution is to play the exact note again. But high-polyphony patches mean you can play the correct note and never cut off the oscillator that's sustaining.

Early in midi-history a company called "Anatek" (I think - possibly Canadian - Possibly out of business) used to make a Midi Panic Button. Anatek made a number of smallish midi gizmos including Panic Button, Midi Merge and Midi Splitter.

Panic Button was a small black box affair w/ midi in and out and a single button on the front labled, appropriately enough PANIC! - and a chip inside that sent an all notes off message.\

With the correct EPROM chip, DIYers could probably gin one up pretty quickly.


Set up was:

Local off - Midi Out - PANIC BUTTON - Midi In

Look around, you might get lucky and find one.

BB

[scooterboy]

hi Bill,
thanks for your thoughts. I am interested in teasing out your first comment about the "not receiving note off message". I do not want a panic button because it will only mask the problem... Do you have any thoughts on why a keyboard would begin to not receive a note off message randomly and after a period of time - could be 15 mionutes, could be an hour...?
Thanks again for your contribution.

[billbaker]

Scooterboy,

The first thing that springs to mind is playing OVER a sequence. As you play you're sending note on/off messages - as is the sequencer. Depending on the complexity of the sequence YOUR playing can interfere with the midi stream of data that is, normally, fixed and steady. You're actually fighting the sequence for the space to squeeze in your on/off events.

Arps are played on different channels so there should be no interference there between played (g1) and arped (channel 2 or 3) voices -- but again playing a combi against a sequence doubles or triples the chance of a hung note - especially if you've got a controller/computer/keyboard hooked up in a complex set-up.

BB

[billbaker]

Second possibility has to do with the physicality of the board.

Of the synth is not supported, there may be just enough sag after 15 minutes to an hour to change the shape of the keybed.

The keys depend on a certain degree of recovery to generate the note off. I'm not sure of the tolerances involved but that could be affected by a physical change (sag/warp) that's time related.

Loose screws in the key bed, humidity, environmental factors (smoke), previous incidents (liquid spills), all could contribute. They would all vary as well.

Is the "stuck" key predictable? Same every time? Does it happen on the same song (i.e., ever time you play that particular sequence, arp or realtime sequence key?

Those can all be clues as to the actual cause.


BB