Topic by simeonus

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  • simeonus
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  • Registered: 06-12-2020
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Topic: Kurzweil PC3K sends midi notes without key press

Hi all,

Talk about bad luck: yesterday I finally bought Pianoteq, today my digital piano starts sending midi notes on itself .
It's almost always the same notes:
note 22 - velocity 95 or 104 or 127
note 30 - velocity 95 or 104 or 127
note 38 - velocity 95 or 104 or 127
note 46 - velocity 95 or 104 or 127
note 54 - velocity 95 or 104 or 127
The problem must be in the piano itself (Kurzweil PC3K8), because it also plays the notes itself when it is not connected to any MIDI-device ('local' instead of 'MIDI'). Still, I already tried switching the cables (as was described in the other thread about someone with a similar issue).

I bought the piano second hand for a very reasonable price (later on I found out it had two broken components already: the screen sometimes gets dark and the USB-thumb drive connection was broken (the seller must have known, because I saw that he opened that part of the piano already, based on how the screws had been damaged, also many other people have this problem with the Kurzweil, it must be a design flaw)).

I found a partial workaround: in the MIDI mapping I'm mapping the notes with the specific velocities to a function such as redo (practically a 'do nothing' function). However, sometimes it still seems to receive the 'note on' event, and then I can't use these keys until it randomly sends the 'note off' event too. Also, it strangely doesn't help to use the panic-button then, nor restarting Pianoteq. When I do this, I can't use the transpose button on my piano, because otherwise it still comes through (because it sends different notes).

TL;DR: I don't really have a question for you guys. Just wanted to share how my piano randomly sends loud note on/off events, and how I partially solved it, for other people who also suffer from 'ghost notes'. Still, it is very annoying as it sometimes still comes through (loudly) and it often disables important keys. If anyone has a bright idea on how to fix this, or a good suggestion for a cheap MIDI-controller with similar action please let me know! (The Kurzweil has TP/40L. Right now I'm looking at the SL88 Studio, but it's a lot lighter, so I'm doubting whether the key action will be similar.)

Last edited by simeonus (06-12-2020 20:09)

Reply by sjgcit

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  • sjgcit
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  • From: Dublin, Ireland
  • Registered: 26-04-2016
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Re: Kurzweil PC3K sends midi notes without key press

I don't have that keyboard but at least try a factory reset, which would clear any odd settings that may be causing problems :

    Power ON while simultaneously holding the [EXIT] button until you see the boot loader menu
    Touch [SYSTEM RESET] soft button
    When a message appears on the display, touch [RESET] soft button
    you will be brought back to the main boot loader menu – press [RUN PC3]

Found these instructions from a simple web search, but if you have access to the manual then check it.

I'd also suggest a good hoover (vacuum) to try and remove any bits of debris that may be messing up contacts.

StephenG

Reply by simeonus

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Re: Kurzweil PC3K sends midi notes without key press

Thanks sgjcit for your ideas. Always nice how people try to help each other. Unfortunately, it didn't solve it, though .
On the other hand, I did find out that I could unplug the FATAR keybed, and still power on the Kurzweil: it still sent the same ghost notes. This means that I can confidently buy a new FATAR-based piano, cause the problem lies in the Kurzweil hardware. Or... I could try to midify this keybed. I saw this guy 'Florian' on another forum who did so before with the FATAR TP/40L. Can't make a lot of his instructions yet, but maybe I will if I put some more research in it. Would save a lot of money! Thanks for giving me the tip of opening the piano and vacuuming it .