Aside from the (user error)mic debacle of 2013, I have had a recurring issue with my 900. On 3 separate occasions, about 1/2 way through a 4 hour show the Keyboard locks up, sends a single high tone pitch out through the speakers and the outputs and needs to be shut down before i can proceed. It happened the first time about a month ago, and I said "Maybe it's the house ... maybe it's a fluctuation in the AC current"
Second time ... happened in a different venue, so I thought ... "hmmm, maybe cables, connections?" So I changed them all.
This weekend, with new cables, different venue again, same thing happened. The only commonality that I can recall is that I'm usually pushing buttons when it triggers the lock-down. (changing sounds, loading styles etc) - Never from the touchscreen, just the buttons.

So, scientists ... thoughts? Any precedents out there? Before I call the judge, I wanted to toss it in front of the jury.

Other than that - I'm still on the honeymoon with this little baby. Best fit I've had in ages ... maybe the best fit to date.

That has happened to me with my Korgs also many times....I feel its the quick button changes that collide and "cant be processed fast enough" by the operating system that causes the lockups.
Not a good thing while performing. When this occurs You have to fade out gracefully looking like nothing is happening (Smile),... then reboot, and meanwhile turn to a backing track off the laptop while it reboots. The show must go on.
So Dave what next for you, ..

Dave,

My Pa900 has done that twice and it is the same as your PC and the OS is crashed.

I am not sure what I did to cause it to happen, but I was using imported styles at the time and one of those may have been corrupted.

Pay attention to which style you are using when that happens - and it could be more than one.

Keep us posted on your findings please!

Bill G

Perhaps this could be fixed by a simple OS update?

Ian

Ian this has happened on many of my KORG units thru the years....maybe the OS processor sped needs to be increased greatly to accommodate the quick changes. I hope they correct this in future models

I don't know if this will help or not, but I had a similar 'lock-up' problem early on with my Pa600, but without the high pitch sound ... My dealer got in touch with KORG and they let me swap for a new one but the same thing happened ... after a few back and forth e-mails with KORG customer service, it was suggested that I get a new USB drive, format it on the KORG and then use it only for KORG files (song specific styles and STS that I had set up) and midi files loaded from a pc onto the USB drive ... fortunately, no problems since ...
I found KORG customer service to be very responsive and helpful at that time ...

Sounds like a software issue, Dave, but maybe the folks at Korg could shed some more light on the problem.

Gary

It is OS problem.I don't know what is Korg doing with this and why.My pa600 locked few times.Not like Dave explained.My would lock when I edit some style.I can still play but I can't change the screen .I don't know if they fixed with new OS.I still have to install it.

Usually the last "note" played before this occasional LOCKUP occurs will "HOLD" until you reboot the KB if it happened while playing.
It always left me unsecured & less confident worrying something could happen at anytime,....
I hate embarrassing moments on stage.

Dave, as the 'stuck note' is sounding, hold 'shift' and press the 'start/stop' button. That's always been the get-out-of-Dodge manoeuvre for the problem ever since i30 days, afaik. Beyond that, I don't know. Far be it from me claiming to be a techie.:) Hope this works for you.

yes that may be ok.....but try doing that while singing a song lets say and your doing the eg: the big "MY WAY" etc, Ending and it locks up...OMG!!

I had a new Roland E-70 many, many moons ago, that would lock the left hand sound on the last chord played, with the new chord only changing thew style. It was totally a random thing. The only way to stop it, was turning the instrument off, and back on. I was working at a music store in Newfoundland, so I sent the keyboard back to Roland Canada, and it was replaced with a new one. The second one worked perfectly.

This was in the days before OS upgrades could be user installed.

Outstanding service by Roland Canada, but at the time, the glitch was very irritating, as are all random problems.

I hope this issue with Dave's PA-900 can be rectified as soon as possible, as, like Donny said, it doesn't give you a very secure feeling knowing it can happen at any time.

Ian

Stuck notes, while being pretty rare (I've only had it happen twice in ten years - and, ideally, shouldn't happen at all, but it's not an ideal world), what are the realistic odds of it occurring at a crucial point such as you mention, Donny? It must be one in billions.

You can, with cool judgement and good timing, make it unnoticeable by hitting a dead stop at an appropriate point and utilising that as if it were intended. Even if it did occur in the '"big ending", you could still pull it off.

It was most likely inhabited by some sort of spook during the Halloween party. Perhaps you could get Deacon Fran of the great Church of Roland to say a few words over it.
DonM

Thing is, what's the buzz over at Korgforums about this issue? I would have thought that's the place to find out if this is common, if there's a repeatable way to produce it (hard to get action from Korg until you can spell the problem out in a way they can get it for themselves), and whether anyone has figured out a workaround.

From having run the Roland-Arranger.com Bug Forums for some years, my experience is that the more information you can give them to reproduce the bug, the better your chances of them taking it seriously and fixing it. So, I know it's bit of a chore, but if you can write down quickly as much as you can remember from any lockup happening, the style used, the Performance, the Songbook entry, RH sounds, and then what you were trying to do, with any luck and a bit of perseverance, you can get it to happen again at home.

Once you have a repeatable bug, the manufacturers take you FAR more seriously, and a fix should be coming, with any luck, or at least a workaround.

The thing is, most of our modern arrangers have Songbooks, Performance Lists, MusicFinders, etc.. and fully using these can save you a ton of button pushing between (and during) songs. If that's the issue (too rapid button pushing), making full use of these features should cut back on the need to do that so much. Many of us came from the 'Free Panel' days, and still tend to do much that way, but more modern ways now exist, at the cost of more preparation at home.

If a fix doesn't appear quickly, perhaps using these more fully can help?

Thanx for all your input, but I may not have described the issue correctly - the sound emitted is NOT a stuck note - it's an electrical drone signal and it's the same pitch each time.
More thoughts came to me from your many comments ...

I will take out the "freebie" styles that are not native to the PA series(they didn't work perfectly anyway), and I will reformat my USB drive for starters.

This lockup is not the same as a note freeze - the instrument is rendered useless and must be powered down to proceed. Mic shuts off sound blares until powered down.
A puzzlement, for sure.

Dave,

That is an OS crash for sure and it is very likely one of the things you have loaded into the keyboard from outside source or defective USB device.

You're on the right track and please keep us informed of your progress because we too have this keyboard.

Bill G

Dave ... how did you make out with this problem?

This is the same lockup they had with the PA2X which drove me crazy and into a T4

If it is so hard to find a repro, it can't be all that common...

You say it happened only three times. In how many performances? And you can't make it happen at home?

I think one of the things I'd suggest you try is a small, inexpensive UPS. House power can vary radically, not just from venue to venue, but at different times. If, for instance, the house A/C and the house freezers/walk-in fridges all power up at the same time, the power browns out a bit, and that's not something you are likely to ever encounter again.

On the whole, a UPS is the first thing I'd try. If you can't get it to lock up at home with a whole bunch of button pushing, it may not be the issue. But a whole lot of different things, from computers, to DVR's, to modems etc. can be VERY intolerant of drops in voltage. $30-40 ought to be enough to get one, and even if it doesn't cure this particular problem, you can still use it at home for your rig there...

The specs say 100-240V, 50/60Hz.

100V is not that much of an under swing (10% or so) from house 110V in the US. I have seen swings bigger than that in some venues (I used to carry a meter when playing new places when I was in a band with a lot of lights!) when things like the A/C kicked in.

Has it happened again since you penned this topic?

I also had that same problem with the 800. I actually had to stop a show and reboot - and I'm not a comedian in the interim.

Intermittent problems are damn annoying...

It's the loss of confidence in the keyboard performing properly that spoils an otherwise relaxing and fun gig.

Maybe someone on Korg forums will have an answer or a fix.

Ian

Actually what Diki says is certainly worth a try. I've had that happen in years past.
DonM

I agree with Don and DIKI - it only takes one quick flash of the AC to cause that - happens here every Sunday morning about 8 AM when the power company swaps generators I guess.

But - my UPS saves me every time.
I bought the UPS to save me from needing to reload the memory in my T3.

Bill G

It was my drama week at school, so I haven't even touched my own stuff for about 2-3 weeks. I'll fiddle more and touch base with results!
DIKI - I like your suggestion.