S88 Mk3 SUSTAIN PEDAL NI FAILURE!

Question

I have had it with NI!

The unending issue their top of the line keyboards have in identifying and working a sustain pedal make the instrument useless for any kind of performance or studio use.

The NI forums are replete with hundreds or complaints from customers aboutthe keyboard sustain feature simply fails to function, or if it does, fails eventually and becomes inert.

Why did I spend $1,500 on a keyboard that has zero customer support, and a fatal flaw that NI simply refuses to admit to or fix??

I have tried multiple sustain pedals, tried changing the polarity,tried in in stand-alone Komplete-Kontrol, tried it through LogicPro (where once it did work, meaning there is somewhere in the NI software a function that functions), but once the flaw crops up, the instrument is fatally handicapped … AND NI DOES NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING about it at all.

Shame on NI for selling a deffective product, for NOT standing by its customers, and for their abject FAILURE in addressing the issue FOR YEARS!!

I am done with them!

Uwe303 · Answer

Have you tried to calibrate the other way around, means pressed at the start and depressed for the second measuring point (it's just measuring a voltage on both ends/min max). If that's not working change polarity, re start the keyboard and try to calibrate again both ways (pressed or depressed at start), of course until one way works. And if it is working but the other way around you can set Start as 127 and end point to 0. At least that worked perfectly with my nektar pedal as continuous controller. And of course always set a continuous controller as auch, if you need it to act as a switch you do that by defining a (threshold) value in your midi application.

conrad caldwell · Answer

Hi  @Jeremy_NI ,

Thank you for your input.

In answer to your question, yes, I have been addressing the pedal settings directly in the S88 MK3 pedal settings, using exactly the method you described. But the pedal is functionally inert. It does not recognize the pedal information, even though IT DOES receive the pedal signal.

The pedals I attempted to use are the following:
Kawai MP9000 sustain & mute pedal (3 ring configuration)
Kurzweil KP-1 Sustain pedal (2 ring configuration) I also re-soldered this pedal to reverse the polarity, but it still would not work.
Roland DP-2 foot switch (2 ring configuration)
Roland DP-10 sustain pedal  (2 ring configuration)
Yamaha FC-4A sustain pedal  (2 ring configuration)

Rather than describe again the process I have been through, I will redact,  copy and paste a descriptive email I sent to your tech support recently:

"Hello Mert, thanks for getting back to me.

As I explained in my previous email, the initial problem which relates to a non-functioning 'sustain pedal' port, remains.

I earlier had the problem with this same keyboard and I took it to Advanced Music Engineering in Los Angeles, and had it fixed at my own expense. The tech there told me she had found no issue with the physical sustain port, nor was the motherboard cracked or compromised, however upon reassembly, the sustain pedal functioned correctly. All she did was clean the terminals inside the sustain port, nothing else.

Now the non-functioning issue has returned. I have tried a variety of pedals, and tried switching the polarity, both with various pedals and in the S88 MK3 menu, but there was no change.

I tried changing the mode on the sustain pedal menu to 'continuous' instead of 'switch', and limited the MIDI  readout in that mode to CC64 and CC65, trying to get it to function as a simple on/off function when the pedal was activated. It did not work, instead it completely screwed up the S88 interpretation of all MIDI signals, and the unit stopped sending or receiving MIDI, and completely distorted ALL MIDI instructions, velocity, sensitivity, and aftertouch were badly distorted.

I tried re-loading the default template to the keyboard functions, and reloaded the firmware and hardware control software several times, but the keyboard continued to misinterpret all MIDI commands. The ONE useful fact I was able to obtain from this was to determine that the Sustain Port WAS/IS receiving pedal information. But the problem is the S88 software misinterprets and fails to transmit the correct instruction when it is activated.

I went through the entire assignment menu on the S88 and made sure the MIDI signals were assigned correctly, then reloaded the firmware, and also reloaded the Hardware control software. That returned the S88 to its normal operating functions, EXCEPT that the SUSTAIN PEDAL still DOES NOT WORK. No amount of instructions change gets the S88 to read and interpret the sustain function correctly. The problem IS NOT MECHANICAL, the problem is the NI SOFTWARE misreads the signal.

The NI forums are replete with dozens of complaints from users about this EXACT SAME PROBLEM, yet NI continues to ignore them, and responds with generic instructions that FAIL TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. Some users have had this issue for years, making their master keyboard useless for performance or studio work."

I also observed that the keyboard 'misinterpreting" MIDI signals seemed to resolve by switching the MIDI mode to MIDI 1, instead of MIDI 2. I have not tried to revert to MIDI 2, because I want to avoid screwing up the remedial work (hours) I have done.

Thank you, Jeremy, I hope this sheds some light on the issue.

Better yet, I hope this HELPS US RESOLVE the issue.

Thank you.

Jeremy_NI · Answer

Hey Conrad.

There were a few issues and misunderstandings with sustain pedals with the Kontrol MK3 keyboards, a lot of those have been fixed. There is still an incompatibility with the Yamaha FC3A pedal when wanting to set it up as a half damper pedal but I doubt this is the issue here, judging by the description.

You didn't explain what is going wrong exactly. What model/brand is your pedal?

Please note that the sustain pedal needs to be set up per template on the Kontrol mk3 device itself, not in the Komplete Kontrol standalone application or your DAW.

Have you checked all of these steps? https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/fr/articles/115005166305-How-to-Configure-Sustain-Expression-Pedals-on-Kontrol-Keyboards

Have you tried to set a new default template on the keyboard (this resets all settings, incuding sustain pedal options?

If input 1 is not working, have you tried to set up pedals in the other inputs?

I found the request you submitted only yesterday, so I'm not sure what you mean about zero support. My colleagues will get back to you as soon as possible.