Sustain not to good!

[shezza]

Hi all, I have just received my SX 900 and can't seem to get the sustain to work very well. I thought the sound would carry on until the sustain pedal was released but it doesn't. Any ideas.

[Janus]

Perhaps it changes from off to on or on to off
You can change that in the setup with change polairity
or by starting up use the pedal once to let the keyboard make the change
Or the pedal is keep hanging on and need to repair

[mikf]

For us to comment I think you need to provide a better description than 'doesn't work very well'. What voice and what does it do.
If you are talking about piano voice, I can tell you that none of the arrangers - even the CVPs- sustains as well as a regular piano. I have a feeling this may be related to the original sample.
Mike

[Janus]

For us to comment I think you need to provide a better description than 'doesn't work very well'. What voice and what does it do.
If you are talking about piano voice, I can tell you that none of the arrangers - even the CVPs- sustains as well as a regular piano. I have a feeling this may be related to the original sample.
Mike

The discription is goed|
The sustain keep hanging on
That is wrong polairity or the pedal is defect and keep hanging on

[mikf]

Janus - he stays it does not carry on. I read that to mean it dies away before he releases the pedal. Maybe your interpretation is correct, maybe not. Needs a clearer description.
Mike

[Janus]

Janus - he stays it does not carry on. I read that to mean it dies away before he releases the pedal. Maybe your interpretation is correct, maybe not. Needs a clearer description.
Mike

by fault the first thing to do is check the polairity that is easy works in 90 %
Not all voices have sustain check first the piano voice by sustain troubles it has always sustain
If you want sustain on a voice standaard with no sustain you can set in on in the controller section

[shezza]

When I play a string or organ sound without pressing the pedal there is no sustain at all, when I play the same sound and press the pedal it will sustain but not indefinitely.

[Janus]

When I play a string or organ sound without pressing the pedal there is no sustain at all, when I play the same sound and press the pedal it will sustain but not indefinitely.

Try the sustain with a piano voice it got always sustain
Check also the plug goes to the right input poort and the plug must be mono
There is a reserved poort for sustain look in your manual

[overover]

Hi shezza,

it seems that your Sustain Pedal is working normally.

Whether a voice is held for "infinitely long" with the Sustain Pedal depressed or whether it decays anyway depends on the internal programming of the Voice concerned.

Normally, when the Sustain Pedal is depressed, a Voice should behave in the same way as when you hold the key(s) down for a longer time without the Pedal. E.g. a Piano sound will decay even if the Pedal is depressed.


P.S.
In some cases it can help if you set the Pedal function "Sostenuto" instead of "Sustain". (Please refer also to page 112 of the SX900 Reference Manual.)


Best regards,
Chris

[Fred Smith]

When I play a string or organ sound without pressing the pedal there is no sustain at all, when I play the same sound and press the pedal it will sustain but not indefinitely.

Sounds like sustain is working normally.

On most keyboards, there is a sustain button you need to turn on if you want sustain without pressing the pedal.

To adjust the length of the sustain, you need to edit the voice.

Cheers,
Fred

[mikf]

Reading between the lines of the OP I thought this was most likely the case, working properly but not what he expected. Nothing to do with polarity.
In some case like Fred says you can adjust the voice to lengthen sustain. But in some cases it relates to the sample and cannot be changed much, piano being the most obvious example. Piano sustain/decay is a complex thing and it would take a huge sample to do it for as long and accurately as the best accoustic pianos and that just doesn't exist on most digitals, not only arrangers. 
Mike

[shezza]

Thanks for all your replies seems it is working as it should, I was expecting the sustain to carry on until I release the pedal.

[DerekA]

In general the panel voices behave as you say - they fade away even when pressing the pedal. But some voices, within the XG voice category, do sustain when the pedal is pressed. It's just trial and error to find them.

[blackpool]

My regular damper pedal seems to work when I hold the pedal down and releases when I let go. ( as you would expect )

I just tried my other pedal ( a generic make ) using sustain function and this holds continually until I press again and sustain is released.
The second pedal is a 'switched' type of pedal function on the opposite polarity.
Maybe this is the reason for the difference in the two?

Without trying several voices, I assumed sustain was 'global'

Keith

[overover]

My regular damper pedal seems to work when I hold the pedal down and releases when I let go. ( as you would expect )

I just tried my other pedal ( a generic make ) using sustain function and this holds continually until I press again and sustain is released.
The second pedal is a 'switched' type of pedal function on the opposite polarity.
Maybe this is the reason for the difference in the two?

Without trying several voices, I assumed sustain was 'global'

Keith

Hi Keith,

if you have to press the Pedal always two times for "ON" and then again two times for "OFF", this is a so called "latched" Pedal. These Pedals are normally NOT used with Yamaha Keyboards but e.g. for switching the Effect of an external Mixer on/off.

On Yamaha keyboards only "unlatched" ("momenary switch") Pedals are normally used. The recommended polarity is "contact  normally closed" (contact opens when the Pedal is depressed).

Pedals with the polarity "contact normally open" can also be used. If such a Pedal (as designed by Yamaha) is connected with the keyboard switched off, the correct polarity should be automatically detected. If a pedal still works "the other way round", this can be corrected in the Pedal settings.


Best regards,
Chris

[matrix1999]

I have experienced too.  I have a Yamaha Fc4a pedal.  I have used stage keyboards and I'm used to the sustain holding indefinitely until I lift off the pedal.  Some sounds fade automatically I understand but I like to hold pads with my feet to free up my hands and I haven't found a pad yet that will hold.  So far that's my only complaint.  I am really enjoying the keyboard so far.   

[andyg]

Stage keyboards and synths often have a 'hold' function operated by the pedal. Sustain on an arranger is a different animal!

Try setting the footswitch to Sostenuto. I regularly use this for holding a note, while playing others in another split zone on the keyboard - or on another instrument.