[microKEY Air] Keys don't always register when pressed down

BICEPS · Post by **BICEPS** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 1:19 pm

Hi guys,
This has been a very frustrating issue for me such that I put off using this keyboard for 2 years and left it gathering dust in the store room. Only recently I dug this out and thought I should seek help and make use of it.

The problem I'm having is that an input is only made if I put in a lot of force into pressing it down. I use FL Studio and in the settings I am using the Korg nanokey controller type and linked the notes to the velocity so no matter how hard or soft i press, it makes the loudest sound. However, this is not the case and I need to press it down hard or even slam it to make an input. I have already installed the USB MIDI Driver as well.

Is there any fix for this? I just want it to detect the input without having to slam my keyboard. Thanks in advance everybody!

voip · Post by **voip** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:06 pm

Not too familair with FL Studio, but might it be possible that the software has been set to respond only to the highest velocity keypresses?

Might be worth winding back the velocity setting to see what happens. Just a thought.

BICEPS · Post by **BICEPS** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 1:47 am

Input wasn't being made unless I was slamming the keys down even in default settings. How did you configure your device? Did everything work perfectly for you?

voip · Post by **voip** » Sat Feb 02, 2019 5:10 pm

No issues here, but that was for a relatively new keyboard. Velocity seemed OK, though it needed quite a bit of effort to hit the top velocities, but that's to be expected.

A couple of things to try. Use something like MIDI-Ox to see the MIDI output from the microKEY. This will help to determine if the issue is with the keyboard or FL. If MIDI output occurs reliably over a wide range of key playing velocities, then perhaps the FL setting needs to be changed. If MIDI output only occurs with high velocity keypresses, or requires strong pressure, then the issue is with the microKEY. A factory reset is worth trying, in case the settings have been changed. Velocity curve 1 requires quite determined playing to get reasonable velocity values in the MIDI data coming out of the microKEY.

BICEPS · Post by **BICEPS** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 6:46 am

Thank you for coming back to me! I tested MIDI Ox as you said and it seems it is the keyboards problem. If I softly press the keys down all the way, no input is shown. On the other hand, pressing it down hard shows it being pressed and released. I am not sure if this is the normal behaviour of this keyboard but if it is, this really sucks. I know it was cheap, but if I had known about this problem, I'd rather have shelled out double the price I got this for.

voip · Post by **voip** » Sun Feb 03, 2019 10:45 am

It's not normal behaviour. Seems likely that the keyboard contacts have deteriorated. Might be worth contacting these guys:

https://syntaur.com/korg_micro.html

They don't list the microKEY specifically, but are an enthusiastic bunch of folks, so might be able to point you in the right direction.

There's also this stuff, but not cheap:

http://www.oaktreevintage.com/parts/key ... at-kit.htm

Or look on eBay for: keypad repair kit
.