Pitch stick broken?..

Discussion relating to the Korg Oasys Workstation.

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curvebender
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Pitch stick broken?..

Post by curvebender »

Hello,

I turned on my Oasys after a month or so of not playing it, and discovered a problem with the pitch stick: It seems that when releasing the pitch stick after doing a bend, the notes won't revert to their original pitch. This happens in combis as well as in programs.

I re-started the Oasys, but the problem is still there. Sometimes the pitch stick won't even react to my pushing it left or right.

Do you think that this is a mechanical problem, or a software issue?..

Not to happy about it.. :(

Thanks.
Paul: Don't be nervous.
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peter m. mahr
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Post by peter m. mahr »

Hi curvebender,

I am sorry to read that you are having problems with the pitch bender.

You checked the MIDI settings... if I was you, I would connect the OASYS via MIDI to a DAW and record a MIDI track by just pushing one note ant moving the Pitch Bender in all directions over a certain time. After recording I would look into the data and check if they were transmitted correctly.

Peter
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curvebender
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Post by curvebender »

Thank you for your reply Peter, I will try it out.

I'm hoping it's a software issue, but...

Anyway, if it's a question of calibration, is there anyway to access the service mode? (As there isn't a joystick calibration page in the global pages.)

Thanks.
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Daz
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Post by Daz »

That joystick is one of the really cheapo bits on the Oasys. Mine has always felt off and unconvincing in comparison to most instruments (including those from Korg). So the hardware has either failed (spring that holds the thing in place has an issue) or maybe the A/D converter that reads the position of the joystick has died.

Recalibration should be your first port of call. Contact your local distributor and ask for the calibration instructions. That interaction ensure they know you and you know them in case any problems occur.

Daz.
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curvebender
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Post by curvebender »

I just turned on the Oasys again, and now the pitch stick is hardly working at all..

Funny thing: I quickly recorded pitch bend data in the sequencer by moving it left and right, and the data gets recorded!! All the way from -8000 to +8000...  
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Post by curvebender »

Further discoveries:

If I push the joystick a few millimetres away from me (the Y-axis?..), the pitch bend works. But as soon as it's back in it's neutral position it fails.

So, I still can't see if it's software or hardware related...
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Post by X-Trade »

curvebender wrote:Further discoveries:

If I push the joystick a few millimetres away from me (the Y-axis?..), the pitch bend works. But as soon as it's back in it's neutral position it fails.

So, I still can't see if it's software or hardware related...

I believe the joystick is the same that is used in the TR. I often had a problem where the wiring would becomes disconnected from the PCB actually in the joystick, which would result in a inconsistent of no connection. This sounds like similar symptoms to those which I was experiencing with my TR.
Current Gear: Kronos 61, RADIAS-R, Volca Bass, ESX-1, microKorg, MS2000B, R3, Kaossilator Pro +, MiniKP, AX3000B, nanoKontrol, nanoPad MK II,
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Post by curvebender »

Hey X-Trade,

Thanks for the tip. I found a video where a guy is fixing a wire on a Korg joystick that has come undone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4weTHNvVmA

If this is my problem, then it's fairly easy to fix. (But I'm gonna wait until I've tried to calibrate the joystick.)

If I need a brand new joystick, I wonder if this one would work:

http://www.korgparts.com/products/1777/ ... SEMBLY.htm

It's quite cheap!!!
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Post by X-Trade »

curvebender wrote:Hey X-Trade,

Thanks for the tip. I found a video where a guy is fixing a wire on a Korg joystick that has come undone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4weTHNvVmA

If this is my problem, then it's fairly easy to fix. (But I'm gonna wait until I've tried to calibrate the joystick.)

If I need a brand new joystick, I wonder if this one would work:

http://www.korgparts.com/products/1777/ ... SEMBLY.htm

It's quite cheap!!!
I think that's the wrong joystick. I'm not sure. Just based on the picture. The entire unit is removable which is good.
Based on the external appearance though, the joystick you would need it identical to the TR and possibly the PA2XPro. Not sure though. You should notice that the older joysticks like on the other tritons have a cylindrical main section, whilst the TR, OASYS, and PA2XPro have a more egg-shaped main section with the top and tail cut off (being part of the external moulding instead)


Anyway, it should just be a loose connection. I believe on my TR there was a pin header and socket, and one or two of the wires had ripped out of the socket. Difficult to replace without a crimping tool. I took it to a tech several times and he kept on soldering the wire onto the underside of the pin header, which kept on breaking again. Eventually I stopped taking it to him and developed my own solution: I pushed the wires down onto the pins on the board (so that the insulation was around the pin. Then I booted it to check that there was hopefully contact from all three of the wires. Then I surrounded the wires with superglue so that the insulation was effectively glued to the plastic of the pin header.
Last edited by X-Trade on Sun May 02, 2010 1:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Current Gear: Kronos 61, RADIAS-R, Volca Bass, ESX-1, microKorg, MS2000B, R3, Kaossilator Pro +, MiniKP, AX3000B, nanoKontrol, nanoPad MK II,
Other Mfgrs: Moog Sub37, Roland Boutique JX03, Novation MiniNova, Akai APC40, MOTU MIDI TimePiece 2, ART Pro VLA, Focusrite Saffire Pro 40.
Past Gear: Korg Karma, TR61, Poly800, EA-1, ER-1, ES-1, Kawai K1, Novation ReMote37SL, Boss GT-6B
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Post by Daz »

X-Trade wrote:I believe the joystick is the same that is used in the TR.
Well that rather backs up my comments then. I don't understand why such a cheap piece was used. It's one piece of the instrument that gets heavy usage and mine has always felt like cr*p since day one. That is very poor indeed.
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Post by curvebender »

You're right Daz, mine never felt smooth, it always made a little grinding noise when used, in both the X- and Y-axis.. I wonder if some lubrication would help?..

Anyway, didn't have much success with the calibration, so I'm going to have a look inside later today.
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Post by Daz »

I played some other Korg instruments in store and they felt a whole load better and were much cheaper instruments. This kind of talk and talk of switches failing makes it seem that Korg didn't equip their flagship with correspondingly high quality parts.
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Post by curvebender »

Tell me about it.. I have it all: broken switches, faulty joystick, wobbly and unprecise jog wheel.
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Post by curvebender »

I just confirmed that the joystick is outputting pitch bend data even when it's not moved.

I put the Oasys in SEQ mode, hit REC, and don't touch anything. Then I look at the MIDI events, and it's full of pitch bend values.. :cry:

The question remains: calibration problem or physical malfunction.
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curvebender
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Post by curvebender »

So, I managed to take my beloved Oasys apart, and then put it back again!

As described in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnWAzlZ4iiQ

I couldn't see that anything was broken (as opposed to above video), so I cleaned everything as good as I could, and put it back.

Of course, the problem is still there, so my solution (after talking to a Korg tech) is to order a replacement assembly. It's not expensive, and I now have the training to swiftly swap joysticks!

It's silver, but I can live with that..

http://www.marshallparts.com/products/1 ... SEMBLY.htm
Paul: Don't be nervous.
John: I'M NOT NERVOUS!!!
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