Sound errors with Korg TR-Rack

saxmeister · Post by **saxmeister** » Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:19 am

I have just purchased a used TR-Rack and absolutely love the thing. I have been wanting one for years. The issue I'm having is that, when playing specific patches/combis, I hear a static sound that winds up being run through the reverb effect along with the rest of the "good" sound.

I have a link to an audio file so that you can hear what is happening. The very first part of the sound you hear is the static noise that has been run through the internal reverb effect. It happens again around 11.5 seconds and then again at around 28 seconds and then again at 39 seconds.

http://www.myersmedia.net/media/audio/k ... errors.mp3

This was recorded using patch D37: Lost Words from the Cat: Complex set, but also does the same thing on other combi patches. It should simply be the piano and pad sound and randomly the noise creeps into the performance.

Another sample of D68:Nylon Clouds
http://www.myersmedia.net/media/audio/k ... rors02.mp3

Any suggestions or possible solutions from you Korg experts out there? Any help is greatly appreciated!

synthjoe · Post by **synthjoe** » Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:35 pm

Welcome to the forum, Saxmeister!

I'd suggest to try two things:
1. check programs instead of combis
2. try to bypass all effects in combi mode (start with master effects, then go to inserts so see from where the noise originates)

I think that would be it for a start. If you experience the problem also in program mode, even without effects, then the oscillator might have a problem. Next step would be to check different waveforms, to locate the problem in the waveform ROM access or the envelope generators/filters.

Let us know of your experiences!

saxmeister · Post by **saxmeister** » Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:39 pm

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for the tips. I"ll try these out and get back to you on the results!

sintrade · Post by **sintrade** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:07 am

I posted the same question back in June with no response. I am getting slight distortion on drum and bass patches on my TR-Rack and I am also getting it now on my T3, which never happened before. I was wondering if this was typical for older korgs.

saxmeister · Post by **saxmeister** » Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:48 am

I read through that post, and several others, before I posted this question and thought this to be a different issue. Maybe it's not. Do you have any audio samples of that distortion as well for comparison?

saxmeister · Post by **saxmeister** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 3:04 am

Okay, so I finally wound up completely dumping all of the sounds that were built into the TR-Rack (which is a shame since I didn't get the install discs when I purchased it) because the samples and waveforms were apparently corrupt. I reset to factory standard and reloaded the standard patches and I am no longer having this static/corruption in my audio.

This doesn't point to issues in the future, does it? Just curious. I absolutely love this box and, once I can get sample loading working 100% in Vista with my Firepod, I will be swapping sound sets out frequently and designing my own patches for sound design work.

Thanks for your help, all!

synthjoe · Post by **synthjoe** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:39 pm

Is it possible to load samples into the TR rack? I thought the PBS option cannot be installed into the TR.

I'm glad for you it worked, finally!

saxmeister · Post by **saxmeister** » Wed Sep 08, 2010 12:33 am

Patches can be edited/loaded from a PC but samples cannot. When I said samples I meant the PCG files. Sorry for the confusion.

saxmeister · Post by **saxmeister** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 3:34 pm

Okay, I read through the manual and did the whole RESET ALL process and worked with the PROG settings for a while and never had any sound issues. Once I reloaded the combi settings and switched over to playing those is when I noticed the sound problem all over again. Only when using COMBI mode and only when using specific effects. Which ones, I haven't figured out yet, but I'm walking through the troubleshooting process.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

Azazel · Post by **Azazel** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 12:02 pm

synthjoe wrote:Welcome to the forum, Saxmeister!

I'd suggest to try two things:
1. check programs instead of combis
2. try to bypass all effects in combi mode (start with master effects, then go to inserts so see from where the noise originates)

I think that would be it for a start. If you experience the problem also in program mode, even without effects, then the oscillator might have a problem. Next step would be to check different waveforms, to locate the problem in the waveform ROM access or the envelope generators/filters.

Let us know of your experiences!

What if the clicking is to do with master effects? I have this problem, and have posted on another thread, but my sounds are similar to these clips.

synthjoe · Post by **synthjoe** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 11:20 pm

Azazel wrote:What if the clicking is to do with master effects? I have this problem, and have posted on another thread, but my sounds are similar to these clips.

It might well be. That's why you should make sure by switching off all effects. When you do so, the sound will avoid the effect DSPs, which in turn should eliminate all trouble with the DSP chips (3 in total - 2 for insert FX 1 for master FX) or associated RAMs, in case they are the culprit.

Azazel · Post by **Azazel** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:32 am

Well I did that system check a few years ago (can;t remember how) and the first two produced a constant tone, while the thrid created some crazy noise type sound, I was pretty sure this was wrong but had no reference so it may have been normal?

When I turn off the master effects everything is fine, modulation and rev/del both seem to create these clicks.

Could this be anything to do with a poorly installed solo board or something simple like that? I take it you can't get replacement DSP chips?

Thanks in advance for any help

synthjoe · Post by **synthjoe** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 11:25 pm

I'm pretty sure you have a problem with the master effects DSP or the RAMs attached to it, then. If some master effects (e.g. ensemble or phaser or EQ) are fine and only certain type of effects (e.g. long delays) are affected, then you're likely to have a problem with the RAMs. RAMs might be a problem also, if you're experiencing the same type of noise constantly.

I think if your DSP was dead then you'd hear nothing or just terrible digital noise when you set the master effect to 100% wet. I'm sure DSP chips can be found and bought, but replacing them is all but easy. You must have the right equipment and experience to work with SMD components to do that. I think RAMs are far easier to replace (and more prone to failure), but you need a test bench and the right equipment to troubleshoot this kind of problem.

If you think it is the SOLO board, try to remove the ribbon cable, by all means. It won't hurt and you'll notice the result right away. However, I doubt it would be the culprit.

Azazel · Post by **Azazel** » Fri Oct 08, 2010 12:12 pm

Cheers for the advice Joe, I'll have a fiddle later and see what I can find. I'd probably get a pro to do some serious work if needed