I have a MOTIF ES 7 and it’s pretty much working in perfect order except for one problem.

I have a Yamaha sustain pedal that I’ve had for about 3 years now.  I decided to play my motif today and when I did, I noticed I could not get sustain on a Grand Piano in Voice mode.

I unplugged the sustain pedal and plugged it back in.  This resulted in sustain being constant, and tapping on the pedal did nothing to stop it.  The only thing that broke the sustain was me unplugging the pedal again.  However as soon as I plugged it back in, the sustain was constantly on.

I tried another pedal that isn’t like the yamaha one.  This pedal always has sustain on until you press on the pedal and then it makes the sustain go off.  It’s the opposite, which is why I don’t use it at all because it doesn’t give the feeling of having a real sustain pedal on a piano.  However the fact that it did turn off sustain when I put my foot on the pedal is making me believe that my Yamaha pedal has shorted out?  What do you guys think?

I agree that the problem is almost certainly with the pedal, not the ES.

Good Luck,

Brad Weber

BradWeber - 07 July 2009 03:58 PM

I agree that the problem is almost certainly with the pedal, not the ES.

Good Luck,

Brad Weber

Even so is there a setting where you can change the sustain?  I know that you can remove sustain from a track in performance mode, but I don’t recall anything like this in voice mode.

I just tried the other pedal which is a PS-10.  I plugged in in an then turned on the motif.  I had no sustain what so ever when playing.  I put my foot on the pedal and play and still I have no sustain.  I then take my foot off the pedal and sustain is constantly on.  The only way it will go off is if I put my foot down on the pedal, switch to a new voice, or unplug the pedal.

I tried the Yamaha pedal again.  I plugged in that pedal, turned on motif and played.  No sustain.  Pushed on pedal and played, no sustain.  Held down pedal and then released pedal and still no sustain.  I unplug the pedal and plug it back in.  Sustain is now always on, pushing on the pedal doesn’t turn it off, and the only way to turn it off is go to a new voice or unplug.

So one pedal doesn’t work at all and mysteriously turns on sustain if I unplug it....

The other works backwards for some reason.

Are you sure there are no settings on the motif for the sustain pedal other then performance mode?  I can’t seem to find any but figured I would ask again.....

btw the yamaha pedal is a Yamaha FC4 Piano-Style Sustain Pedal.  not sure if the ps-10 is compatible with a Yamaha or not.  Either way I might have to hit the music store tomorrow if this pedal is done for....:(

I just tried the other pedal which is a PS-10.  I plugged in in an then turned on the motif.  I had no sustain what so ever when playing.  I put my foot on the pedal and play and still I have no sustain.  I then take my foot off the pedal and sustain is constantly on.  The only way it will go off is if I put my foot down on the pedal, switch to a new voice, or unplug the pedal.

This is the expected behavior for sustain pedals which have the wrong “polarity”. If the PS-10 does not have a switch that reverses the polarity of the foot switch, it cannot be used with the Motif ES.

I tried the Yamaha pedal again.  I plugged in that pedal, turned on motif and played.  No sustain.  Pushed on pedal and played, no sustain.  Held down pedal and then released pedal and still no sustain.  I unplug the pedal and plug it back in.  Sustain is now always on, pushing on the pedal doesn’t turn it off, and the only way to turn it off is go to a new voice or unplug.

It sounds like you have an intermittent short in the FC4. It might be something that can be repaired, but repairing might cost as much as just purchasing a new one.

Regards,

Brad Weber

Thanks for the detailed reply Brad!

[Edit] - Nothing to add. I just repeated something Brad said above without realising he’d said it :^)

Df.

I agree—I’ve seen this sort of behavior before with a sustain pedal.  The problem is that the innards of the pedal have broken, worn out, or shorted out.  If you’re good with electronics, perhaps you can take apart the pedal and see if there’s anything you can do to save it—the problem could be mechanical, and not electrical.  In one instance, I found that my M-Audio sustain pedal simply had a screw come loose at the hinge-point of the pedal, and caused the whole pedal to shift in such a way that it forced the contacts inside to remain closed, which created the constant sustain.  I simply put the screw back in (after treating the threads with a little Loctite) and the problem was fixed.  Your issue may be different, so it’s hard to say what’s wrong without actually seeing the pedal.

But it’s probably just as easy to invest in a new sustain pedal.  And if you’re a gigging musician, I strongly recommend buying a second pedal and keeping it within easy reach on stage as a spare.  There’s nothing more frustrating than to have a pedal fail in the middle of a gig and having no recourse (or time) to correct the problem.  Always keep a spare sustain pedal with you on stage.  I’ve learned that the hard way.

Good luck!

I had the same problem with the FC-4. Once in a while it happens, and requires some “fine tuning”. I open the pedal, and gently bend the small metal strip that gets pressed when you step on the pedal.
It’s quite a simple mechanism, so I recommend giving it a shot, at least before you decide to throw away the pedal altogether:
Open the pedal and try to understand the mechanism and what’s wrong there.

And for the other pedal which has the sustain constantly on until you step on it: there are pedals, like the FC-3, that have the option to reverse their polarity.

I don’t believe the FC-3 has a polarity switching capability, but there are other pedals which do.

Regards,

Brad Weber

The FC3 does not have a polarity switch. And is desigend for use in the Motif XS, S90 ES and Yamaha CP/P-series pianos. It will not work as a sustain pedal for a Motif ES, at all.

Phil, have you experienced that an FC4 switches polarity on an MMx
if plugged in AFTER power up?

;JOOP!

I use the FC-3 pedal with my Motif ES 6, and it works fine.
I have this switch at the bottom. In one mode, the sustain is on until I step on the pedal.
In the other mode, it operates as a normal piano pedal (sustain if off until I step on it). Of course I use the latter.
I don’t know, maybe it’s not called polarity, but it works.

The Yamaha FC3 does not have a polarity switch, sorry. And it will not work in a Motif ES. What you have may not be a Yamaha FC3. (Please do not buy and FC3 if you own a Motif ES, it will not work).

The MM-series will deal with polarity as follows:

If you notice the polarity of the footswitch is reversed. Make sure that the footswitch plug is properly connected to the SUSTAIN jack before turning on the power.

Yes, but why does it reverse when the plug is connected correctly
AFTER power-up?

;JOOP!

Why? Because the MM is designed to do so… what reverses is the the keyboards interpretation of the sustain signal. The pedal itself does not change…