Help: OASYS 76 at random shouts out velocity 127!

[Rav2]

Hi all good folks out there,

I have posted this note to gather some advice on an intermittent velocity issue with my OASYS 76.

I am currently mostly in the piano (EX2) program, playing this marvelous piece of gear for quite lengthy periods of time (2-3 hrs at once, regularly). While playing, the instrument would sometimes shoot out a note at max. velocity (127). I have been living with this issue for some time now, and do not see any pattern to it. Neither the instrument's on-time, nor the number of notes played before the incident, etc., nothing stands out that could evolve into a repeatable pattern.


So, as it stands now, the max. velocity issue seems to occur purely at random intervals.
And it is not only random, it's also quite real - I remember having recorded this once in my DAW.
A visible dark-red velocity spike on that random note! Visual proof of a velocity 127 in the middle of a ballad - yuk!


I first thought, well, that's got to be about those worn out rubber contacts, where one contact defines a key being depressed, and the other one signals the speed of the key press (thus delivers the velocity information to the instrument's internal MIDI).
Now as I've been reading on the forum and on the web, the OASYS 76 does not have rubber contacts for keys. Instead, it is built around a Yamaha FS keybed which relies on metal contact blades. And the further I read, the more I get the impression that these should be ever lasting, never wearing out ... .

So I now would have a couple of questions to the knowledgeable and helpful KORG forum members out there:
a) Did you ever experience weird velocity 127 incidents? Ever?
b) Is there a way to brick-wall limit the velocity output to a value around 100 (max. velocity MIDI setting?). A setting like this could help mitigate.
c) Do you have any pictures / instructions of how to clean the keybed contacts? That's what I would do next.
d) For the electronically knowledgeable, could it be an electrostatic issue? A bleeding resistor not working, or the like? I'm just guessing, you probably can tell right there ... .
e) Anything else that may come to mind?

I have purchased this OASYS only recently, after being resurrected from basement storage for about 10 years, or so. Despite it's age, the instrument is in mint condition, no dust inside whatsoever. And that velocity issue it it's only flaw right now.

I love it, and I like to play it. And I like to keep it!
Your advice will be most welcome!

-----------
OASYS 76 serial no: 000681
SSD HD (64GB)
2 GB RAM
OS 1.3.3
Silent replacement fan: NM-eLoop 120mm, 57.3 m3/h, 7.83 dB/A
no further mods, upgrades or flaws
-----------

Thanks / best regards,
Rav2

[jbeliz]

Have you tried doing a system restore or an update maybe that will help reset that issue.

[nitecrawler]

Rav2, I have that exact same issue with my Oasys 76. It only occurs with acoustic piano programs and is very intermittent. So much so, that I have basically ignored it and have not found a solution. Only been embarrassed once on stage. The rest of the time, numerous hours of use, without incident. A bit frustrating I'll admit.

[musician]

Happened exactly to me but on my Korg oasys 88 keys

Hi all good folks out there,

I have posted this note to gather some advice on an intermittent velocity issue with my OASYS 76.

I am currently mostly in the piano (EX2) program, playing this marvelous piece of gear for quite lengthy periods of time (2-3 hrs at once, regularly). While playing, the instrument would sometimes shoot out a note at max. velocity (127). I have been living with this issue for some time now, and do not see any pattern to it. Neither the instrument's on-time, nor the number of notes played before the incident, etc., nothing stands out that could evolve into a repeatable pattern.


So, as it stands now, the max. velocity issue seems to occur purely at random intervals.
And it is not only random, it's also quite real - I remember having recorded this once in my DAW.
A visible dark-red velocity spike on that random note! Visual proof of a velocity 127 in the middle of a ballad - yuk!


I first thought, well, that's got to be about those worn out rubber contacts, where one contact defines a key being depressed, and the other one signals the speed of the key press (thus delivers the velocity information to the instrument's internal MIDI).
Now as I've been reading on the forum and on the web, the OASYS 76 does not have rubber contacts for keys. Instead, it is built around a Yamaha FS keybed which relies on metal contact blades. And the further I read, the more I get the impression that these should be ever lasting, never wearing out ... .

So I now would have a couple of questions to the knowledgeable and helpful KORG forum members out there:
a) Did you ever experience weird velocity 127 incidents? Ever?
b) Is there a way to brick-wall limit the velocity output to a value around 100 (max. velocity MIDI setting?). A setting like this could help mitigate.
c) Do you have any pictures / instructions of how to clean the keybed contacts? That's what I would do next.
d) For the electronically knowledgeable, could it be an electrostatic issue? A bleeding resistor not working, or the like? I'm just guessing, you probably can tell right there ... .
e) Anything else that may come to mind?

I have purchased this OASYS only recently, after being resurrected from basement storage for about 10 years, or so. Despite it's age, the instrument is in mint condition, no dust inside whatsoever. And that velocity issue it it's only flaw right now.

I love it, and I like to play it. And I like to keep it!
Your advice will be most welcome!

-----------
OASYS 76 serial no: 000681
SSD HD (64GB)
2 GB RAM
OS 1.3.3
Silent replacement fan: NM-eLoop 120mm, 57.3 m3/h, 7.83 dB/A
no further mods, upgrades or flaws
-----------

Thanks / best regards,
Rav2

[Rav2]

Hi jbeliz, thanks a lot for your thoughts sharing, and the suggestion of a possible path forward:

Have you tried doing a system restore or an update maybe that will help reset that issue.

The system was recently set up from scratch, which however, unfortunately, did not resolve the intermittent velocity issue.


Why set up from scratch? Well, I've had the need for some component upgrades on the O76, and here's an exhaustive list of changes that I did (all the rest of the instrument looks original to me):

• 1) exchanged previous fan with a silent version (same air flow specs though, silence arises from "bionic", specially curved/toothed fan blades, plus some highly absorptive chassis mount system)

• 2) exchanged original hard disk (as it had developed that familiar but unhealthy clicking noise, so I suspected it soon to die) by a solid-state version. Successful installation after a few CD juggling events! No HD clicks anymore, but faster boot speed as an added bonus

Hi musician, nitecrawler, many thanks for leaving your comments. I feel no longer alone now

Happened exactly to me but on my Korg oasys 88 keys.

... I have that exact same issue with my Oasys 76 ... .

Any further thoughts are welcome! Keep it coming, anyone!
What about the aftertouch strip being the culprit? Yet another pure speculation from my end . Does anyone know how to access this aftertouch stip on the OASYS?

Thanks a lot in advance + shine on,
Rav2