PC3 suddenly outputs almost only noise on every program after using PC3 soundEditor

[DrBlue]

Hi there,

I have owned my PC3x since 2009 and have had NO trouble with this unit whatsoever.

It has worked wonderfully every day up until tonight.

It has had Kore64 installed since the beginning.

What I did differently tonight, and for the very first time, was to try the Kurzweil PC3 SoundEditor (version 3.0.0 / March 5, 2020) on a MacOS Big Sur 11.6.

The app started, recognized there was a PC3 unit on the MIDI network, and automatically connected to it.

I did not do much, mostly configured parameters on the MIDI panel, and that's only it.

Then when I tried to play on the PC3x keyboard, I started to notice LOTS of noise instead of the beautiful sound I was used to.

Also, I could no longer select programs. I also noticed a weird thing, that all programs were suddenly using the same "trumpet sample" or something like that, no matter what.

I was baffled.

I stopped the PC3 soundEditor, and switched the PC3 off and on again.

No difference: noise was there again. I started to panic. What had just happened?

I tried to bypass FX by switching to Edit mode and pressing the "FX bypass", to no avail.

Eventually, I reinstalled the whole OS / Objects / Kore Objects.

But the unbearable noise was still there. Not just a little hum, but a huge noise that renders all music inaudible.

Have some of you heard something comparable before?

Should I expect that the unit's hardware has just crashed and that I should trash my up-to-this-morning-12years-beautiful-instrument ?

It could be a coincidence, but it is very strange is happens at the very unique time I was interfacing the PC3 with the PC3 Sound Editor. Sounds like the PC3 caught a virus and developed a terrible disease.

Will some of you have any advice as to what I should do or try at this stage? I'm feeling desperate :/

Thank you for your time.

Franck

 

[happyrat1]

My advice is to contact Kurzweil Support via email and explain it to them.

They are very good when it comes to legacy support.

Also, the Soundtower software has ALWAYS been crap.

Almost nobody uses it at all.

Two other forums dedicated to Kurzweil just oozing tech knowledge are:

Log in

Log in

forums.godlike.com.au

Ksetlist – A community of users of Kurzweil keyboards

ksetlist.com

Hopefully one of the experts can help you out there.

Gary

 

[delaware dave]

after you reloaded the OS, did you do a hard reset?

 

[DrBlue]

My advice is to contact Kurzweil Support via email and explain it to them.

They are very good when it comes to legacy support.

Also, the Soundtower software has ALWAYS been crap.

Almost nobody uses it at all.

Two other forums dedicated to Kurzweil just oozing tech knowledge are:

Log in

Log in

forums.godlike.com.au

Ksetlist – A community of users of Kurzweil keyboards

ksetlist.com

Hopefully one of the experts can help you out there.

Gary

Thanks, Gary, I will follow your advice, post on these forums, and contact Kurzweil support.

 

[DrBlue]

after you reloaded the OS, did you do a hard reset?

Yes, Dave, I did.

Thanks.

In fact, I started with a hard reset (no result), then reinstalled the OS/Objects AND performed again a hard reset, to no avail.

Some new hints tonight :
- Power on the PC3x --> lots of weird, loud pulsating noise (like the PC3x being a huge antenna catching EMF)
- Selected program 83 (old Jupiter) directly by punching the number 83 (not using CATEGORY/PROGRAM buttons) --> no difference
- Pressed "Edit", then pressed "FX Bypass" --> noise is OFF (waouhh). Sound is what it should be
- Toggle "FX Bypass" off --> Noise reappears, worst than before

- Select "CATEGORY/Piano 1" --> Harsh, loud noise, piano inaudible
- Select pianos 1 to 4 -> different kinds of noises (FX BYPASS does not do anything)

 

[delaware dave]

1-800 Kurzweil.....

 

[DrBlue]

Hello Dave,
Hello Gary,
Hello All,

I wrote an email to Kurzweil, via email and their site's form, to no avail... never got any answer :/

Looking up 1-800 Kurzweil and cannot find any such phone number for support.

In the mid-time my beautiful, most useful production PC3X has been rendered absolutely useless because of that incident while using PC3 Soundtower Editor that did something VERY VERY BAD to the synth, and I cannot figure out what...

Is there a way, one of you guys could help me finding that 1-800 number so I get a chance to talk to someone at Kurzweil who might be willing to help me solve that upsetting issue.

For information, I was in North America up to 2018 and relocated in North Africa (South Morocco) where there is NO Kurzweil dealer nor support at all :/

Any help will be much appreciated,

Thanks

PS. I have attached an mp3 audio file showing the noise that gets out of the PC3 while playing for instance the program 83 "Old Jupiter"... awful :/

 

[Tomysomy]

Buenas tardes , escribo desde Argentina en este momento tengo exactamente el mismo problema , el técnico donde lo lleve , una persona con mucha experiencia determinó que es la parte de efectos , no entendi bien si son memorias , integrados o micros, pero el problema es que se descomponen , según lo que me dijo por lo menos acá en Argentina es inconseguible , quedaría conseguir una placa nueva de recambio ....

 

[DrBlue]

[ES] Hola, y muchas gracias por tu testimonio. El problema es ciertamente complejo, y ciertamente diferente en cada caso. Sin embargo, entendí completamente, a través de los intercambios que pude tener con Kurzweil (vendido a young chang pianos), que Kurzweil no tenía ninguna intención real de diagnosticar este tipo de fallas para comprender su causa y corregir (en mi caso, un error obvio de PC3 SoundEditor, un software podrido, que habrá generado un MIDI Sysex que habrá alterado las EEPROM del procesador de efectos).De hecho, perdí mi sintetizador (un objeto muy caro), que quedó inservible, y nadie en Kurzweil se siente responsable.Yo boicoteo a KURZWEIL. Ahora estoy usando mi PC3x como teclado maestro, y es una gran pérdida, pero no le daría un centavo a esta compañía, que de todos modos está muy desactualizada en términos de tecnología en comparación con sus competidores.

[EN] Hello, and thank you very much for your testimony. The problem is certainly complex, and certainly different in each case. However, I fully understood, through the exchanges I was able to have with Kurzweil (sold to young chang pianos), that Kurzweil had no real intention of diagnosing this type of breakdown in order to understand their cause and correct them. (in my case, an obvious bug of PC3 SoundEditor, a rotten software, which will have generated a MIDI Sysex which will have altered the EEPROMs of the effects processor).In fact, I lost my synthesizer (a very expensive object), which became unusable, and no one at Kurzweil feels responsible.I now boycott KURZWEIL. I'm now using my PC3x as a master keyboard, and it's a big loss, but I wouldn't give a penny to this company again which is very outdated in terms of technology compared to its competitors anyway.

[FR] Bonjour, et un grand merci pour votre témoignage. Le problème est certainement complexe, et certainement différent dans chaque cas. Cependant, j'ai parfaitement compris, via les échanges que j'ai pus avoir avec Kurzweil (vendu aux piano young chang), que Kurzweil n'avait aucune intention réelle de diagnostiquer ce type de pannes aux fins de comprendre leur cause et les corriger (dans mon cas, un bug évident de PC3 SoundEditor, un logiciel pourri, qui aura généré un MIDI Sysex qui aura altéré les EEPROM du processeur d'effets). De fait j'ai perdu mon synthétiseur (un objet tout de même très couteux), devenu inutilisable, et personne chez Kurzweil ne se sent responsable. Je boycotte maintenant KURZWEIL. J'utilise maintenant mon PC3x comme un clavier maître, et c'est une grande perte, mais je ne donnerais plus le moindre centime à cette société très dépassée en termes technologiques par rapport à ses concurrents.

 

[DrBlue]

Shame to Kurzweil for being so arrogant in dealing with my particular situation.

 

[Tomysomy]

Lamento leer eso , me sucedió algo similar con un korg tr , motherboard muerta, teclado para adorno ....tengo una maldicion

 

[Tomysomy]

Hola alguien tendría algún firmware del pc3 anterior al qué está en la página de kurzweil para probar porque en la página solo esta el 2.02 creo y solo contiene 3 archivos no está el de diagnóstico, me gustaría probar una versión más antigua para ver si había alguna diferencia... Gracias