Just to add a bit more detail - I can hold a note down (with max sustain / release values) and instead of it playing indefinitely, it will sometimes just cut out (to silence) at a random moment.

Still not enough information.

Any sound, even piano (the acoustic kind, the one for which sustain pedals were originally invented) do not sustain indefinitely. Whether or not a sound sustains indefinitely is a function of the ENVELOPE (on the reface CS this is the Amplitude ADSR). When the S (Sustain) slider is equal to or greater than the D (Decay) slider you have situation where the sound will sustain indefinitely (as long as the key is held or the sustain pedal is engaged. All Percussion instruments are defined by the fact that they cannot sustain indefinitely. The piano can delay the inevitable but cannot prevent it. The piano is clearly a percussive family instrument. You are delaying or lengthening the DECAY TIME.

In other words, all percussive instruments are initiated by hammering, striking, or plucking a mechanism to place it in motion. Due to gravity, air friction and laws of physics the vibrations put in motion by that event, die out.

Only instruments that are blown or bowed can sustain indefinitely. (There are a few exceptions - in a situation where energy can acoustically be feedback to the instrument like an electric guitar in feedback or an electric Organ with its fixed AR (no ADSR) just AR)...

On a synth like the MOXF or Motif XF when DECAY 2 LEVEL is 0 you have a percussive instrument envelope. In the CS or any ADSR based instrument - if S is equal to or greater than D you have a situation where the sound will sustain as long as held. If S is lower than D the sound will eventually die out.

Based on this information - look at what you are doing and see if it helps solve your mystery. If not... then when you post back please include your reface CS version - as there have been 2 Updates already - we can then eliminate the issue being because you have OLD firmware.

Thanks.

Quoting your response:

"When the S (Sustain) slider is equal to or greater than the D (Decay) slider you have situation where the sound will sustain indefinitely (as long as the key is held or the sustain pedal is engaged."

When I hold a key or keys down as per the setting above (e.g. for atmospheric drone / pads and not percussive sounds), there are random times when the sound cuts out completely and times when it doesn't (with the same setting).

I have not updated the firmware since purchase and it shows as V2.0.0.

Thanks very much for your help - much appreciated.

We are talking about a reface CS, correct? The latest firmware is 1.30 (not 2.0.0)
If you have not downloaded and updated your firmware please do so. This way we can eliminate the fact that your unit has old firmware. Not sure how you are determining its at V2.0.0 but it's not.

http://download.yamaha.com

The reface CS has eight notes of polyphony, if you trigger and attempt to sound more than eight notes, yes, there will be an audible change as notes drop out. Those "random times" only seem random but probably can be directly linked to the number of tones sounding at that moment.

We are talking about the reface CS, apologies I had read the version from the capture app I have been using to save sounds to. I will update the firmware and report back accordingly.

Also, please be patient with me, I have had the reface cs for a couple of days and am trying to describe an anomaly via a forum. It will therefore be a question of working through the words I use to describe what I am hearing (or not as the case may be). I am only playing one note when I get the issue I am reporting.

Thanks for your support and understanding - best wishes.

Hello

I have updated the firmware to v1.30 and still get the same issue.

I do have a short movie clip I recorded to illustrate the issue - I can send this if required. I have also now contacted the retailer from whom I purchased the synth.

Many thanks

Zaheer, I'm having the same issue. My first instinct was that it had something to do with the CS' eight note polyphony, but if I hold down one note (let's say middle C) with attack and sustain sliders both all the way up, at some point the signal will simply stop (as if the note was released with the release slider all the way down). This still happens when the release slider is only half way up.

To clarify to others, I understand that the note will of course decay if I release the key, but this is a sudden stop, and it happens when simply holding down a single note. I don't see any reason why this should happen when I'm not lifting my finger from the key, and its only one note.

Obviously this is extremely annoying because I produce drone music, I'll let you know if/when I find a solution and/or explanation.

Hi there - so glad I am not the only one.

Anyway, UPDATE - I took the reface CS back to the synth retailer in central London and they replaced it as THEY ALSO thought this was not right (they replicated the problem in-store).

BAD NEWS - the replacement synth does the same as you have described / I tried to describe.

PERHAPS Yamaha will take note of this now? I hope so - Like I said, proud owner of Yamaha synths but the reface is likely to singlehandedly change my opinion, unless we get a plausible explanation.

Instead of long stories trying to suggest the OP might do something wrong or might misunderstand something, why not play a CS and first try to reproduce the issue that is described clear enough. It would save the OP a lot of unnecessary trouble.

As suggested by the lack of response/empathy to other users' comments (including my own), it appears there is no real interest in providing any suggestions for resolution via this forum - therefore, as a loyal customer of Yamaha, I will be lodging a formal enquiry/complaint via Yamaha customer service in the UK / Europe - thanks for your support.

I think that would be best. I cannot reproduce your issue here.

I'm having the same issue. I would love to hear about a solution. It's especially concerning because I play ambient / drone music, and when a note with long sustain suddenly cuts out it's quite jarring. This makes this synth unfortunately quite useless in a live scenario if I'm trying to create an atmosphere, which is a shame because it's otherwise a great sounding synth!

Yamaha, please take note!

To describe it accurately, when playing one single note with long sustain, it will occasionally, seemingly randomly, jarringly cut off even if sustain and release are set to the longest settings. It SHOULD NOT do this, it's not a function of the settings but a glitch!

It might be that you can't reproduce the issue because it only seems to occur after several minutes of playing / droning. But when it does occur, it's pretty problematic. And it's definitely not a problem of going over 8 notes of polyphony, as it happens when only one note or two notes are held down / sustaining.

I uploaded a sample recording of this issue to soundcloud (private link). You can hear one note sustaining (in this case I'm using the FM setting), and then a second note is played, which suddenly cuts out. To be clear, only TWO notes were being played.

https://soundcloud.com/seabatworldwide/reface-cs-issue

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