new Vox Continental - Some thoughts

[jejefunkyman]

What a shame 🤦‍♂️

[CyberGene]

Does anyone know if the 9 touch strips send continuous MIDI values 0-127 or there are just 8 different values? No mention in the MIDI manual and hardware-wise they look like 8 discrete touch sensors but who knows… Hopefully they are a continuous sensing strip and it’s only the LED-s that are 8. 

[drawback]

They send continuous 1-127 (ie: B-3X drawbars). Unfortunately, other than pedals, there are no other buttons or the side paddle that will transmit MIDI. 😖 

[CyberGene]

15 minutes ago, drawback said:

They send continuous 1-27

I hope you mean 1-127 😀 If that’s the case, it seriously makes me want it. I found a buyer for my CP88 and and am on the lookout for a lighter weight board. 
 

As for the MIDI, there’s also the pitch bend that sends continuous data (besides pedals). And I believe some of the buttons send discrete values about their on/off state. 

[drawback]

Lol. Fixed 😉
 

I have tried B-3X ‘learn’ for various switches and the paddle and no-go. Unless I’m missing something entirely, which wouldn’t surprise me. 
 

But I did receive this link which hopefully will help. 

[AnotherScott]

Even if B-3X drawbars are '1 to 127' they still only represent 9 values, because that's all drawbars can be (0 through 8). So it's not a test of whether the strips are sending out 128 values, they can also be sending out 9 values that are spaced along the 0 to 127 continuum.

[CyberGene]

@AnotherScott yeah I was gonna say that too. If I get the Vox I will use the touch strips for controlling a synth: cutoff, resonance, modulation, etc and those need continuous values. If someone with a VC can hook it to a DAW and record a few slow finger slides to observe the values that are sent, I will be thankful 👍🏻

 

I’m wondering if those work smoothly/continuously when controlling the on-board synth engine? Even if they produce discrete and spaced values, the engine can be programmed to smooth it out so that it doesn’t sound abrupt. 
 

P.S. Some virtual synths, e.g. Diva, have modulation processors that can smooth out stepped values, it’s called “Lag” in Diva. I have used it for smoothing out my Nektar GXP aftertouch input that is slightly abrupt and it becomes very pleasant, almost similar to how my Hydrasynth works. 

[niacin]

5 hours ago, CyberGene said:

 

I’m wondering if those work smoothly/continuously when controlling the on-board synth engine? Even if they produce discrete and spaced values, the engine can be programmed to smooth it out so that it doesn’t sound abrupt. 

no, for the internal engine the drawfaders step through 8 values, so you can’t do a smooth filter sweep.

[MelbaMike]

Hi everybody!

 

Being new to this discussion group I hope I am not out of line here. If so, please excuse me. Please also excuse my sometimes strange choice of words as english is not my main language (I am a french speaking Canadian from the province of Quebec).

 

I am having a strange problem with my brand new VOX Continental 73 Black which I bought a month ago : yesterday while I was playing it some notes went completly silent. These are the Ds, the Bflats and the Eflats which refuse to sound all over the keyboard.

 

I tried to shut down the VOX and start it again but that did not help. I also tried doing a complete reset as explained in the user's manual, once again without success.

 

The strange thing about it is that all the notes sound normally when I play the VOX from another keyboard via MIDI. So it is quite clear the problem is related to the Continental's keyboard, but that's all I know.

 

I bought my Vox directly from Thomann since it doesn't seem to be available here in Canada. To my knowledge no music store here has one in stock and many even say it is not available anymore. I really would hate to send it back to Germany as the original box it came in was not in very good shape and would have to be replaced by something else to sustain the trip (considering the elongated shape of the Continental, I don't know what I could use).

 

My Vox came with the 2.0 firmware already installed and I wonder if reinstalling it would help solve the problem. Does some of you guys have some knowledge of such an issue? Or a suggestion to help me? I really love this nice machine and I hope I will be able to enjoy it without any problem.

 

Many thanks for your kind help!

 

Melba Mike

[rgcm]

You could try contacting Korg Canada: https://korgcanada.com/

[CyberGene]

If the same keys throughout octaves fail at the same time, it's pretty much indicative of a problem with the scanning logic which can either be something trivial as a loose ribbon cable (I don't know if there's any but it's likely), a failed diode (they use those in keyboard scanning multiplexors) or something else. Certainly not a firmware problem, so you better contact the dealer.

[MelbaMike]

Thank you for your advice, rgcm and CyberGene,

Meanwhile I have kept studying the «problem» and I found out that it is intermitent. On some occasions the faulty notes are playing again like new and then, out of nowhere, stop working. It does not appear to be temperature related.

Also, even when the notes are silent, they still transmit the correct MIDI information to play other keyboards via MIDI.

For the moment, I don't know what I'll do with this very deceiving situation. I don't think Korg Canada will be willing to help me since I did not buy my VC in Canada. I guess I'm on my own.

[ProfD]

48 minutes ago, MelbaMike said:

I don't think Korg Canada will be willing to help me since I did not buy my VC in Canada. I guess I'm on my own.

Regardless of where you bought the VC, if it was brand new and still under some type of warranty, Korg [wherever] should be willing to help solve the problem even if it means sending a replacement.   Contact them.😎

[Adam Burgess]

On 3/17/2023 at 7:28 PM, ProfD said:

Regardless of where you bought the VC, if it was brand new and still under some type of warranty, Korg [wherever] should be willing to help solve the problem even if it means sending a replacement.   Contact them.😎

I'm in the Middle East and not much support around here, but Korg UK were really helpful getting one of my Kronoseses back on the road!

Definitely contact Korg Canada.

[MelbaMike]

Thanks a lot everybody. I will indeed contact Korg Canada. Take care.

[MelbaMike]

So I finally contacted Korg Canada. Their answer was short but not sweet : they don't honour warranties for products bought outside Canada. They could repair my Continental 73, but I would have to send it to them and pay for the work.

 

Meanwhile, I kept looking into the problem of the notes that won't sound and I am more and more convinced that it might be a loose or faulty connector inside the machine : sometimes the keyboard works perfectly, sometimes only the D's refuse to sound and some other time all of the three faulty notes (D, B flat and E flat) are involved. And it does not matter if the VC has been on for 2 or 20 minutes so I guess it is not heath related.

 

Since my warranty does not seem to be worth anything here in Canada, I'd be very interested to have a look inside the VC, just to verify if the problem is that simple. However, I don't know for sure how to open it. There are quite a few screws underneath the board and I would not know which ones to remove without causing any damage.

 

Does anyone would know the right procedure to do so? Like always, any help would greatly appreciated.

 

Best regards.

[AnotherScott]

I can't help you with what screws, but from past experience on another Korg, there will probably be a ribbon connector between the keys mounted to the bottom and the electronics mounted to the top... and if that ribbon connector isn't making a solid connection on every pin, you'll get exactly the symptom you describe. There's a good chance that solidly re-seating that connector will fix the problem.

[MelbaMike]

On 3/1/2018 at 5:05 AM, teashea said:

..... except for the knobs and the two cheap silver plastic logos (which I removed and replaced)

Hi Thomas ! Please excuse what seems like a very late question about this post, but I am looking for information about how to open my VC-73 to check a ribbon controller which seems to be loose (there are quite a lot of screws underneath this board and I wouldn't know which ones to remove without risking to make errors). When you removed the plastic logos, did you open your VC  ? And if so, can you tell me how you did it ? Thanks for your help !

[CNPCNP]

I'm considering a Vox Continental, so have been reading & listening.

So I saw the strong desire for reversed keys as well. And the general idea that it probably won't happen.
So I was pretty surprised to see this old picture of NAMM Show 2016, no idea if it has been posted here yet.

So there's at least one 'modern' Vox Continental which does have those reversed keys.
(seeing those stickers it's perhaps a dummy?)

[CNPCNP]

Just curious if any service documentation is available for the 'new' Vox/Korg Continental?
For many Korg/Vox gear those documents are available.

Anyone seen these for the Continental?
 

May for instance be of use when testing a second hand item, test procedure etc.
(I'm about to)
 

Thanks!

[CNPCNP]

On 5/6/2022 at 3:56 AM, Fleer said:

I’m now using the stand with 2 Conti 73s. Looks and plays quite nicely. 

Just wondering, are those nice dedicated stands mainly intended for seated playing,
or would taller & standing players still feel OK (without too much of bending over) ?

Thanks!

[CNPCNP]

And allow me another 'just double checking' question, probably best targeted @Fleer (=proud owner of 61+73+73 worth of VC keys 🙏 as I understood)

Assuming the internal soundmachines for the 61 & 73 are fully identical, right?

So for say an E1-sounding note I'd get exactly the same sound on a 61 - 1 Octave as I would on a non Octave-shifted 73, right?

Especially for a guitar/bass player like me, the 73 type, starting from E looks most appealing, but I don't see much usage of the upper octave, so Oct -1 it'll be, since the portability of the 61 would suit me better. But I'd rather not get munchkinisation etc in the lower octaves, so that's why I'd like to check.

Thanks/have a good weekend

 

[Fleer]

18 minutes ago, CNPCNP said:

Just wondering, are those nice dedicated stands mainly intended for seated playing,
or would taller & standing players still feel OK (without too much of bending over) ?

Thanks!

Definitely standing as well. And you can even tilt the boards over. Those are the greatest stands I know, beautiful and sturdy. I put two 73 keys above each other. I got a dedicated (nice) carrying bag for the third Vox (61) when traveling. 

[CNPCNP]

Nice, thanks, good to hear!
Being around 1.90m in length I'd hate to have to sit always, or to have to bend over
(I'd prefer to avoid to look like someone getting lost in space with MIDI CC #74 😋 )

BTW, I understood the horizontal part of those stands is tailor made for the Vox, right? Could you get that separately, or did you need to get two complete stands to obtain that second horizontal mounting thing?

[Fleer]

6 minutes ago, CNPCNP said:

Nice, thanks, good to hear!
Being around 1.90m in length I'd hate to have to sit always, or to have to bend over
(I'd prefer to avoid to look like someone getting lost in space with MIDI CC #74 😋 )

BTW, I understood the horizontal part of those stands is tailor made for the Vox, right? Could you get that separately, or did you need to get two complete stands to obtain that second horizontal mounting thing?

I think I read you can get it separately from Sequenz, but I got two stands back then: they were included when buying a Vox 73. 

[CNPCNP]

4 minutes ago, Fleer said:

I think I read you can get it separately from Sequenz, but I got two stands back then: they were included when buying a Vox 73. 

Ah I see, thanks, sounds perfect! Nice package deals.
I won't be getting a second Vox (let me start by getting the first); I now realize my question should actually have been how to get the universal horizontal mount, but I thought to have seen another thread about this here how to tackle that, OK!

BTW, I figure you're the most qualified for that octave-shift question of the 61 vs 73, did you happen to see that here a bit earlier up?

Thanks again, have a good weekend

 

[Fleer]

If I had to pick one, I’d go for the 73 first. It has a balanced width covering my preferred Rhodes key range. And there’s some extra space on top for an iPad to add your favorite Hammond emulation.
Between the 61 and 73 there’s not much weight difference (and you can get a matching Vox bag at Amazon for about the same price of $70-$80). But there’s another reason to get the 73: it looks way better on the stand. Not saying I don’t love my 61 Vox, though. It’s as sweet as it’s compact. 
Off to bed now!
 

[CNPCNP]

15 minutes ago, Fleer said:

If I had to pick one, I’d go for the 73 first. It has a balanced width covering my preferred Rhodes key range. And there’s some extra space on top for an iPad to add your favorite Hammond emulation.
Between the 61 and 73 there’s not much weight difference (and you can get a matching Vox bag at Amazon for about the same price of $70-$80). But there’s another reason to get the 73: it looks way better on the stand. Not saying I don’t love my 61 Vox, though. It’s as sweet as it’s compact. 
Off to bed now!
 

(Just from pictures so far) I'd fully agree with you. Point is, the red/orange one appeals more to me than the black version, and the only red/orange one I could find so far is a 61. The available 73 is black.

Perhaps there's a way around it: possibly a drawbar-controller would nicely fill up the empty space. I have one that's  25 cm wide, another hefty one that's 29 cm wide, would these fit the empty space next to a 61 on the dedicated Vox/Sequenz stand?

Have a good night!

[Fleer]

8 hours ago, CNPCNP said:

(Just from pictures so far) I'd fully agree with you. Point is, the red/orange one appeals more to me than the black version, and the only red/orange one I could find so far is a 61. The available 73 is black.

Perhaps there's a way around it: possibly a drawbar-controller would nicely fill up the empty space. I have one that's  25 cm wide, another hefty one that's 29 cm wide, would these fit the empty space next to a 61 on the dedicated Vox/Sequenz stand?

Have a good night!

IIRC there were some adjustment pieces available on the Sequenz site. 

[CNPCNP]

39 minutes ago, Fleer said:

IIRC there were some adjustment pieces available on the Sequenz site. 

Great, I'll have a look, thanks!