Sound problem with voices on SX900

notebleue · February 10, 2023, 02:26:31 PM

Hello all,
I wonder if anyone has experienced something similar. I had this problem with my S950, and now it occurs on SX900.
Suddenly, the sound of voices becomes kind of muddy, not clear and not crisp anymore. It's especially noticeable on higher pitches, e.g. pianos, trumpets, violins, etc. I don't know how to explain better but I can clearly hear the difference. Previously I thought maybe it overheats during playing but I'm not sure. My S950 sometimes sounded muddy right after turning it on. My SX900 initially sounded good but last night it sounded wrong to me. I don't know if it matters but I installed two expansion packs recently.

My second question is why the bass sounds very different when you play it or record it but when you try recording it for a style, the same key sounds thin and high pitched.

Thanks in advance.

Graham UK · February 10, 2023, 05:44:04 PM

notebleue. I do understand your problem because when I make adjustment to (example)a style on my keyboard it sounds very good that day, the following day I think to myself why does it not sound as good today.
Human hearing can change from day to day, but not everyone can detect these differences. Due to my many past years working in sound my ears are very critical, which is good in some ways but not others.
Think yourself fortunate that you have better hearing than average.

notebleue · February 10, 2023, 05:48:34 PM

Thank you, Graham.

notebleue · February 16, 2023, 10:47:32 PM

I forgot to mention: when it happens, it also sounds louder. It's not my subjective impression, I can see it in the peaks of the audio recording.
My observation is it happens after playing it for a while.

BogdanH · February 17, 2023, 04:50:25 AM

hello notebleue
I believe you what you're saying and it's probably not only your imagination. But the thing is, things don't just happen by itself... it happens because you did "something", what maybe you're not aware of. Or let me say it this way: if you select some voice, and you don't change anything during playing, then that voice will sound the same all the time. And if you select the same voice in next day, it will sound the same again.
When I say "the same" voice, I don't only mean it's name, but also it's location. For example: you can pick a preinstalled voice, you can pick the same voice with OTS and you can pick the same voice with registration. Although they're "the same", they can (and usually do) sound differently. Means, when you're checking sound related things, always work with preinstalled voices -because they're guaranteed not modified. And also make sure, that voice settings in Mixer [Panel] are always the same.

Quote from: notebleue on February 10, 2023, 02:26:31 PM
... why the bass sounds very different when you play it or record it but when you try recording it for a style, the same key sounds thin and high pitched.

I assume you mean using the same bass voice when creating a style? It's hard to say why that happens without actually seeing what's going on... Does that happen no matter what bass voice you use? Are you creating new style from scratch or are you modifying existing style?

Bogdan

notebleue · February 17, 2023, 09:01:40 PM

Hi BogdanH,
Thank you for responding. I don't know but maybe (just maybe) there's some electronic problem with the keyboard? I was playing tonight and all sounded good. But suddenly when I switched to the saxophone voice (which I used earlier) it didn't sound the same: it was louder with a great deal of reverb. I checked the panel setting, the reverb knob, other settings... I couldn't find anything wrong with them. I let it rest for a while and did a soft reset. It kind of helped. My old S950 sometimes sounded so wrong (the low frequencies would become more pronounced and the overtones were obviously distorted), and a soft reset helped only occasionally. When I recorded a song, I sometimes had to wait for a few days until the keyboard was "in the mood" so I can record the audio. I clearly saw the difference in the volume level of the audio recording depending on whether the keyboard sounded wrong or right to me. It was the same song, the same presets, so I think it's a valid comparison.

Regarding the bass, yes, I was creating my own style from scratch. The bass I used was EDM Dance Bass 2 which was a preset voice. I didn't modify it in any way. Tonight I was recording 80s Retro Pulse Bass in another style. It didn't sound too high pitched but still it wasn't the same sound as when I play the same key on the keyboard.

Thanks again for trying to help me. I would appreciate any ideas, guesses, etc.

LaHawk · February 17, 2023, 09:32:49 PM

Sounds like a registration you last loaded has changed your voice settings. It could easily mess up your EQ, Harmony, volume, reverb, assignable, etc.
So when the keyboard sounds right to you, save it to a registration, name and use that registration to fall back on.

notebleue · February 17, 2023, 10:47:54 PM

Thank you, LaHawk. Is there any way to avoid a registration messing up the settings? The problem is that some of these settings are in the background and not easily noticeable.

BogdanH · February 18, 2023, 05:13:31 AM

My suggestion at this point would be: don't use registrations until you don't solve the issue. Registrations is a nice feature, but can also cause a big headache, if you don't 100% understand how it works. That is, if you are using registrations, first thing you should to is, to create "blank" registration, which contains default (start-up, power-on) settings. Then you call this registration first, before you start working on new song (style).

Bogdan

notebleue · February 18, 2023, 12:55:28 PM

That what's I was going to do after reading your and LaHawk's comments. Thanks for confirming.

LaHawk · February 18, 2023, 01:18:07 PM

Quote
Thank you, Larry. Is there any way to avoid a registration messing up the settings?

I suspect perhaps EQ settings are changing with registrations
Find the EQ you saved or create a new one to your liking. Check your Parameter Lock Settings and be sure EQ is checked on to save.
Reverb type and other Parameters can also be saved. EQ settings do make a difference.
Menue 2 > Utility > Parameter Lock > EQ

colas musique · February 18, 2023, 02:31:13 PM

Good evening,
If the problem persists, I advise you to do a RESET which will return you to the factory settings.
Consider making backups first.
See page 132 of the Reference Manual.
My friendships
Christian

TiasDad · February 18, 2023, 04:16:12 PM

I had a very similar problem with my S970 when I had it, playing would be fine for a while, then voices would distort and drums would sound empty and shallow. I narrowed it down to a corruption of the midi data by a few 3rd party styles. I isolated the offending styles and ditched them but occasionally the problem would reoccur. A restart would be enough to reset it all so it was bearable.

overover · February 18, 2023, 09:23:22 PM

Quote from: LaHawk on February 18, 2023, 01:18:07 PM
I suspect perhaps EQ settings are changing with registrations
Find the EQ you saved or create a new one to your liking. Check your Parameter Lock Settings and be sure EQ is checked on to save.
Reverb type and other Parameters can also be saved. EQ settings do make a difference.
Menue 2 > Utility > Parameter Lock > EQ

Hi Larry,

You probably mean the MASTER EQ here. The Master EQ settings cannot be memorized in Registrations (and therefore of course cannot be changed by Registrations).

I still recommend ticking the "Master EQ" checkbox in "Parameter Lock". (This checkbox is ticked by default anyway.) This prevents the Master EQ settings from being changed by MIDI files containing Master EQ Sy***.

Best regards,
Chris

notebleue · February 19, 2023, 11:14:56 AM

Yes, I looked at it last night. "Master EQ" box was checked.

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

LaHawk · February 19, 2023, 04:33:46 PM

QuoteHi Larry,

You probably mean the MASTER EQ here. The Master EQ settings cannot be memorized in Registrations (and therefore of course cannot be changed by Registrations).

Yes, right you are Chris that's what I meant. However, I did not know it was ticked by default. Maybe reverb, which would change the overall sound of the keyboard should also be ticked?

overover · February 19, 2023, 05:22:02 PM

Quote from: LaHawk on February 19, 2023, 04:33:46 PM
Yes, right you are Chris that's what I meant. However, I did not know it was ticked by default. Maybe reverb, which would change the overall sound of the keyboard should also be ticked?

Hi Larry,

The settings of the System effects (Reverb and Chorus blocks as well as the Variation effect block, if configured as a System effect), are always made by loading a Style or MIDI song file. If desired, you can of course change these System effect settings manually and then memorize everything together in a registration.

It is only recommended in special cases to lock the Effect Type and/or the Return Level of Reverb, Chorus and Variation (System) effect blocks in "Parameter Lock". Normally these checkboxes are not ticked.

Best regards,
Chris

LaHawk · February 20, 2023, 01:15:06 AM

Thanks Chris. More good advice. Appreciate it

tomsx700 · February 21, 2023, 02:04:40 PM

Hi, I don't think it's your imagination. Recently I experienced that with my PSR-S710. It happened more than once. I turned off the keyboard and then restarted it and the problem went away. Not sure what's triggering it. Somewhere the processor is interpreting the sound differently. Perhaps an edit that you did to that voice wasn't registering. I'm not sure. Sorry I can't be more help, but know you're not alone.
Good luck, TOM