Korg Forums

[Bitflipper]

Lately I've been having a recurring problem in which once or twice a day my Kronos just goes completely silent (not even any noise at full volume). There is no output from the main outs, the aux outs, or the headphone jack.

I reboot it and sound comes back.

* It does continue to have MIDI output and all controls appear to be functional. Haven't tested USB yet.

* It doesn't seem to be related to the swell pedal, as it's happened with and without the pedal plugged in.

* It's not heat-related, as sometimes it enters this state on initial bootup while other times it happens after it's been on for awhile.

* It doesn't matter if the instrument has just been transported or has been sitting in one place all week, making a loose connector seem less likely.

It's happened a couple times at gigs, but fortunately not during a set so it was no problem rebooting. But it's got me concerned that one of these days it's just going to crap out mid-song. Or worse, go dead and not come back.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[StephenKay]

I don't know if you have a computer connected to it running any MIDI software, but it's possible that something is turning "Local Control" off in the Global MIDI settings. That will definitely make the keyboard go "silent".
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[Rigel]

I wonder if the volume comes back when you change the program or combi you're in. Because it's a known issue here that inadvertantly touching the master lever takes the volume down..
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[JoeyL]

We recently got a new kronos 2 at our church. I have an original k. The problem you describe happened to me on the new one. I immediately knew to check the Master Slider to the left of the screen.

Check to see that the master slider is set to Max. If it is set to Minimum and you accidently bump it, you will lose volume. Maybe this is happening to you?

[GregC]

[psionic311]

What else is connected to your Kronos?

Next time it happens, press the COMPARE button to see if volume returns.

[19naia]

There are a couple of CC#'s that affect volume independent of the main and master volume controls. They can end up assigned to knobs or maybe any of the controls via controls settings and also Global Controllers where global VJS, Pads and Karma controls can be set.

CC#'s 11, 7 and 5 come to mind.
Just a thought where if you don't know where stray volume functions could be assigned, you may end up truning off global volume when hitting VJS or a knob or switch here or there.

Maybe your issue is happening without any control touching -while you are away from the board?

[19naia]

[Bitflipper]

A big Thank You to everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts on this!

The Kronos (2) is connected to a computer via MIDI (DIN) connectors, but only in the studio. On stage, it is not connected to a computer (I've stopped using Cantabile to simplify my setup). An errant CC11 or CC7 therefore seems unlikely, but still food for thought - so I tried a test.

I played back a MIDI track from my DAW in which I'd inserted a CC7 with a value of zero, while playing the Kronos in real time. It went silent and (surprisingly) the master volume control was disabled.

However, as soon as I switched to a different patch the volume immediately came back. It would appear that the programmed volume overrides CC7 until another CC7 is issued. So while that was a great thought, 19naia, it is apparently not the answer to the riddle. When the synth goes silent, changing patches does not help.

This does seem to happen most often after the synth has been idle for awhile. But in the studio it spends more time idle than being played, so that might just be the law of averages. Plus it has come up silent when first booted, too.

Yes, JoeyL, I too have accidentally bumped the joystick while adjusting the master volume control, so I'm acutely aware of that possibility (maddeningly happens when I'm turning up for a solo!). When this silent mode happens, wiggling the JS is the first thing I try. I also change patches and move the sliders, including the Master. Nothing seems to have any affect. Only a reboot consistently brings the volume back.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to duplicate this behavior at will so I can only wait for it to happen again. But thanks to all of you, I now have a few more things to think about when it does.

[JoeyL]

I said nothing about the joy stick

[Bitflipper]

A clue! It might be MIDI-related after all.

At the moment, the synth has once again gone silent.

Here's where it gets weird... if I start my DAW (or run MIDI-OX), sound immediately returns! Only to go away again after exiting the DAW (or MIDI-OX). The same thing happens if I unplug the MIDI IN cable: the Kronos goes silent as soon as the MIDI cable is disconnected, then comes back to life as soon as I plug it back in.

As long as some kind of MIDI-aware software is running, and the computer is cabled up to the synth, the synth doesn't clam up. Soon as I shut down the software or disconnect the cable, it goes silent again - until rebooted.

(NOTE: I am not monitoring the Kronos through my computer. I am using separate amplification. The state of the computer should have to effect on the synth's audio output.)


Question: any idea how I might go about monitoring MIDI data passing between my interface (Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 over Firewire) and the synth?

[Bitflipper]

[Bitflipper]

StephenKay had the answer in the very first reply, but I blew it off because I was sure I hadn't turned off Local Control. Now I feel like a dope because I didn't simply take the time to go and look before making that assumption!

Sure enough, local control had been turned off - by my DAW. That wouldn't be a big deal except that it then failed to turn it back on when I exited out of the DAW.

Seems that's the default behavior for SONAR: turn local control off on startup (good), but then leave it that way on exit (dumb), crippling the synth until it's eventually rebooted.

Thank you, Stephen!

[geoelectro]

I believe that function can be turned off in Sonar.

Geo
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