MikeRobinson Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 (edited) Today, with no notes being played, my Kross is now playing "F3" sporadically – in rapid bursts separated by several seconds. (It is four note bursts separated by about three seconds.) This just happened today. I can play any of the notes on the keyboard and hear them clearly but these "sporadic bursts" are now occurring. (And what is weirder yet, sometimes they sound differently.) And, F3 now acts sometimes like a "dead key" except that I can hear that it isn't. Sometimes it sounds clearly. So – what should I do with this unit? Sell it for parts? Is there any sort of "software reset" that I might try? Edited January 19, 2023 by MikeRobinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted January 19, 2023 Author Share Posted January 19, 2023 (edited) Okay, it looks like I now have a gently-used Korg KROSS-2 for sale, for which the F3 key has now become "dead." This key does not now consistently produce any MIDI events. If you know how to fix it, please feel free. A keyboard with a dead key – especially one that I know is "not really dead" – is of utterly no use to me and so far as I can see it must immediately be replaced. Shipping from near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Make an offer – private message. At various times this key does sound. But then it doesn't. As I've been fiddling with it, the "random sporadic bursts" first changed in tone, then actually stopped. For a while the key played, while the bursts happened on top of it. Then the key became dead (and the bursts stopped). (The key which was generating the "bursts" is exactly the one that is now dead. But I am quite sure that there's nothing wrong with the key mechanism.) I "reloaded the system software" twice. I literally don't have the option of dealing with this sort of thing right now. It's just like a car that suddenly broke down by the side of the road when you've got to get somewhere. With this particular dead key, the instrument is useless. Edited January 19, 2023 by MikeRobinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted January 19, 2023 Author Share Posted January 19, 2023 All right ... all right ... all right(!) ... now, this is just getting weird! Now it's working perfectly again. Well – almost. I'm still occasionally getting that "F3 burst," but the key is sounding normally again. WTF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
des99 Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 (edited) If it's doing it on it's own (ie not connected to Logic or the computer etc), and the problem key doesn't change when you transpose, then you have an intermittent key contact problem, by the sounds. It may be affected by dust moving around, or temperature, or moisture, but either way it's misbehaving intermittently. If it's not under guarantee, and you're handy and have the time, you might want to see if stripping the keyboard down and cleaning it fixes the issue. If not, then a service will probably take care of it, if that's feasible. Edited January 19, 2023 by des99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted January 20, 2023 Author Share Posted January 20, 2023 (edited) Right now it is once again working perfectly ... and even when it was misbehaving it didn't sound like a dirty key contact – because sometimes I could whack on the key and it sounded clearly. Also, once the problem went away, the key also worked as well as the others. I am very careful to keep this unit covered at all times ... (with a small tarp, actually ... I have many cats) ... so the only possible source of any "glitch" would be moisture. The problem was not related to the computer, but when it was occurring I did think to check to see if it was transmitting any MIDI data corresponding to the note – and it was not. Edited January 20, 2023 by MikeRobinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted January 23, 2023 Author Share Posted January 23, 2023 (edited) Suddenly, my trusty Korg KROSS-2 is failing ... and on these specific keys: F, A, C#. These specific notes are silent in each octave, as is the lowest "A" on the 88-octave keyboard. But this does not occur on the highest octave. Sometimes I hear the correct note when I repeatedly hit the key. I have just re-applied the vendor's latest "software update." And, this does not appear to be any sort of "mechanical failure" to me ... Edited January 23, 2023 by MikeRobinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
des99 Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 You already talked about the failure of the F key in a previous thread, and I suggested it sounds like an intermittent keyboard contact failure problem. Now the problem has grown to more keys... I'm curious why you determine this is not a mechanical failure issue? BTW If this is the same issue with the same keyboard as this one, I'm not sure it needed a separate thread for it. I'll merge the two threads together... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted January 23, 2023 Author Share Posted January 23, 2023 The problem for me is that the situation never remains consistent. For example, today the bottom-most "A" key did not sound – then neither did any C#, F, or A key in any octave – then suddenly it did. Right now there is only one non-sounding key: F3. But I don't know what will happen the next time I turn it on. Sometimes, F3 sounds just fine ... which tells me that it isn't a problem with the contact. All of this just started happening to me a few days ago. I immediately downloaded the latest vendor "software update" and applied it – as I had done before. What's really "vexing me" about all of this is that it specifically doesn't at as though "this or that mechanical contact is no longer working." Sometimes, I can play a flawless scale right past "F3." At other times, it is silent. And yet, sometimes when I repeatedly strike that key, I hear it. (And yet, not long before, I had played "a flawless scale.") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
des99 Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 1 minute ago, MikeRobinson said: The problem for me is that the situation never remains consistent But that's the very nature of an intermittent problem. For example, imagine there is a dodgy connection between the keyboard and processor. How the problem *manifests* may very - it's still a hardware problem. You've already reset your firmware and use the device on it's own, so it seems unlikely to be a software problem imo. 2 minutes ago, MikeRobinson said: which tells me that it isn't a problem with the contact I was being general when I said it was a keyboard contact problem - it doesn't necessarily mean it's one specific keyboard contact. What I mean is that it seems a mechanical keyboard problem, of some sort. It could be the sensor that reads the keyboard contacts, or the wiring between them, or dust and dirt - all kinds of things, but all of them indicate a hardware problem, not a software one, to me. If it was me, I'd strip it down and give it a clean, and check all cables are seated firmly, or if I didn't have the time, and had the money, I'd take it to a tech and get it looked at/serviced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted January 24, 2023 Author Share Posted January 24, 2023 (edited) And, in the next few days, "I plan to do exactly that." I'm not the sort of person for whom "A Home Depot® gift card" is an appropriate Christmas gift. I stick very carefully to the one thing that I do know – computer software expert – and pay other experts as required. But, I must admit that this particular failure does come as a complete surprise (after years of faithful service) and has exhibited "very strange symptoms" over the last several days, and not quite the same from day to day. (For example: "not just F, but sometimes A as well; sometimes just this octave, sometimes others too." Intuitively, "how can this be caused by a single 'key?'" But here my intuition powers fail me, because "this is simply not my wheelhouse.") I guess that this stuff is just "too damned computerized" by now.) 😀 ... And I should know about the many ways by which "computers" can screw things up ... It will very soon be "shopped." Edited January 24, 2023 by MikeRobinson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeno Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 Hello, I have the same issue. The F,A and C# key sometimes (not always) fail to play. Was this issue fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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