S88 Aftertouch Issue (for NI Staff please!!)

Hi there,

Am posting here in the hopes that a NI dev or staff member reads it and can give me some advice as I posted a support request almost a week ago and have heard nothing back from that.

I took delivery of a Kontrol S88 the other day and all working great apart from one thing that I need to find out if it's a hardware replacement issue or is something that can be reset/fixes by some kind of firmware update or some button trickery.

Basically, whenever pressing down a key - hard or light, the keyboard spits out a bunch of constant aftertouch. This isn't me pressing on the keys - it's clearly malfunctioning but wanted to see if there was some kind of software fix before I arrange a hardware replacement with the music store.

Fingers crossed an NI staff member reads this and replies quickly as I'd love to get this resolved one way or another as currently - I can't use it as I use aftertouch quite a lot in my playing.

Thank you!

Michael

 

I'd rather try to get hold of their support staff via phone to arrange for a replacement.

 

Thanks, appreciate the heads up!

 

I encounter similar issues and opened a ticket with support. Whenever I press down a key, the S88 sends a lot aftertouch messages alternating between high and low (nothing in between) which causes organs where aftertouch is mapped to e.g. "swell" to stutter. Reproducable at almost every key. I sent an old trusty Triton via MIDI through the S88 and everything worked as expected with they Korg's keybed.

Did you get it sorted out?

Best regards
Tim

 

Hi Tim, on the kind advice of MickeyL above I got in touch with NI over the phone and they were much more helpful (and quick) than I found via the support emails or this forum. I'm currently in the process of waiting on a reply. I downloaded an NI Support App which sends a bunch of diagnostic information to them to ensure that it's not a computer issue - I'm sure it isn't, I plugged in another controller keyboard and that's absolutely fine - as is my Maschine so the only controller that's having issues is the Kontrol. Weirdly enough, I actually got a replacement from Andertons and would you believe the new one is doing the same thing - not QUITE as bad. It's only giving out bad aftertouch when I push down (rather than continuous on the first one). The support guy sounded baffled and admitted that it was certainly incorrect behaviour.

I chased him up - he's very polite and helpful I must say but whoever's checking through the files is going a little slow. I'm convinced I need to send my keyboard back but haven't submitted the RMA yet as I'm waiting to hear on the final word from NI.

I shall post on here and let you know what my solution/outcome is. Anything else I can do to help/share info - just post up here.

Cheers and good luck!

Michael

 

Michael and Tim,

I'm having a similar issue. Mine is acting a bit different though. All of the black notes send aftertouch at a velocity of 127 even if I barely press the key. The white notes are fine. If I bring up a patch with aftertouch, the the aftertouch is always on. My other controller doesn't do this so I know it's the keyboard. I pretty much only use piano and orchestral instruments so it's not affecting what I do, but still, it shouldn't have this problem.

Aaron

 

Hey Aaron,

Agreed, certainly shouldn't exhibit this behaviour. Am still waiting to hear back from NI Support - will post up on here the reply as soon as I do.

Cheers,

Michael

 

Michael,

I'll open up a ticket as well. I'm also concerned about some noisy keys.

Thanks,

Aaron

 

Definitely worth doing Aaron - they've been super helpful!! Good luck!

 

Sweetwater sent me a new keyboard and the problem still exists. I still get aftertouch on the black keys regardless of how hard I press the keys.

Aaron

 

That gives me the uneasy feeling that we might deal with a construction problem, then. How could that slip through QA?

 

I've had the same issue, black keys only on the S88 sending erratic aftertouch data. I started a ticket with NI and have received a reply. Support believes it is a software issue and have forwarded the problem to engineering. With luck we will see an updated firmware release or software fix soon.
Mikee

 

I got this from NI today.

The aftertouch issue will be resolved with a new update to the firmware. This
update will be available soon. We will inform you once it is available.

Tech support has been great.

Aaron

 

They published the device updaters for updating the firmware of the S88 today.

Scroll down to "komplete kontrol" here: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/support/downloads/drivers-other-files/

 

Thanks Henry. The update solved the aftertouch problem. NI is really on top of issues. I'm impressed.

 

Can you confirm aftertouch reception is still smooth or has it just been dampened (thus indicating a hardware failure that has been worked around with software)?

 

I can confirm that aftertouch is smooth. Works nicely with firmware updated to version 69. Great teamwork between customer support and engineering! Communication was superb.

Cheers
Tim

 

Lucky you guys if the new firmware fixed the issue, I still have the same behavior. Most of the white keys generate aftertouch properly while at least 3/4 of the Black Keys generate continuous aftertouch even with a slight press of the key. I'm off to send support ticket.

Guys, can please check your aftertouch again using MidiOX? I just want to confirm as I may have a faulty unit.

 

Yep, I can confirm: unit is working flawlessly on every white and every black key. Aftertouch is smooth.

 

Thanks Tim, I must have a faulty unit then.