Anybody had issues with the sustain pedal connecting? On one song the sustain pedal works just fine. On a second song, the sustain pedal does not work at all. What am I missing?
I suspect that is happening because some presets are meant to have sustain pedal while some others don't. There is an option however, that you can activate/deactivate pedal on purpose.
First, keep in mind this:
ALICIA'S KEYS will not work properly if you transpose it using KONTAKT's Instrument option MIDI Transpose (Instrument Options > Instrument > MIDI Transpose): pedal noises will not sound, and 'pedal down' samples will not be released, but play until end.
Then, check the pedal option:
The settings in the Pedal tab let you adjust how the piano pedals will respond to pedal action. Alicia’s piano has the Sustain (Damper) and Sustenuto pedals. The Sustain Pedal causes the dampers to be lifted off all strings of the piano, allowing them to ring out while the pedal is depressed. The Sustenuto Pedal has the same effect, but only on the notes that are played before the pedal is depressed, and afterwards are released. These notes will continue to ring out after they have been released.
If you play a note with the pedal up and then press the pedal afterwards, the triggered pedal-up sample will gradually change into a more pedal-down like one This is simulated using the Impulse Response. However, if you play a note while the pedal is down, releasing the pedal afterwards will not cause a gradual change of the sound.
Finally, it is an excellent idea to take a look at all basic controls here: