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Chordana Play software


GrizzledGeezer

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I'm reviewing the LK-265 for Amazon Vine. There's a significant problem with Chordana Play (v1.1.5, the most-recent).

 

When a song is playing (in this case, one of the 50 pieces supplied with Chordana Play), the keyboard is supposed to light to show the next key to be pressed. It doesn't.

 

Casio doesn't support Chordana Play, and I've run out of troubleshooting ideas. Thoughts, anyone?

 

Thanks in advance.

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3 hours ago, BradMZ said:

Have you tried resetting the keyboard to factory defaults?

Yes.

 

3 hours ago, BradMZ said:

Tried a different cable?

No. This one is okay. When I connect a stereo source, both channels play correctly.)

 

3 hours ago, BradMZ said:

Have you confirmed the tablet headphone out works correctly with headphones?

With headphones, I get sound from both channels, at the same level.

 

3 hours ago, BradMZ said:

A different tablet?

Not practical.

The Casio compatibility page recognizes the make and models of both my phone and tablet, and says they're compatible. (For what it's worth, I'm running Marshmallow 6.0.1.)

 

I continue to get App Vol + and App Vol - error messages. No amount of fiddling with the level gets rid of them. The level is always too low or too high.

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The idea behind using a different tablet is to eliminate the possibility of a flaw in that particular tablet.  But since you also have a phone, that will suffice.  Another possibility is the keyboard itself may be malfunctioning.  Have you called Casio tech support?  They have access to these products and can walk you through the process.  Sometimes they send people to this forum for assistance, but in this case, we don't have anyone here who has access to an LK-265.  

  • For Technical support in USA at 1-800-435-7732 during regular business hours (currently Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. - 8:00pm EST for all products, Saturday / Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m)
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Of course I contacted technical support. They had no answer, and sent me here.

 

It's unlikely the LK-265 is malfunctioning, as the App feature is presumably software-based.

 

I've been servicing electronic equipment on and off for 60 years. (I'm a degreed EE, a technical writer, and hold an amateur license.) The most-important thing I've learned is that the answer to most problems is staring you in the face, but you don't recognize it.

 

When I plug headphones into the tablet with Keyboard Link turned off, both channels play the music at the same level. When I turn Keyboard Link on, the music comes mostly from the right channel. (It's still on the left, at a much lower level.) The control data are supposed to be on the left channel, but I don't hear anything "digital". (It might be at too low a rate to have significant audible components.)

 

Therefore, as both the left and right audio outputs of the tablet are working correctly, the problem seems to be that Chordana Play isn't outputting the control data. QED.

 

I will try downloading Chordana Play  to my smartphone.

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When headphones are connected to the smartphone (a Samsung Luna), and Keyboard Link is activated, buzzing noises (presumably the control data) come from the right channel, with the music on the left. And I continue to get level-error messages -- both plus and minus.

 

Despite a great deal of experimentation, I still can't get the keys to light. I'll have to report this failure in the review. It's particularly annoying, because Casio explicitly states that my smartphone is compatible.

 

Now I'm going to get on my high horse, because I'm entitled to. I worked for Bendix Field Engineering almost 40 years ago. I was on a team installing new klystrons and their step tuners at various sites. Though the klystrons had been aligned before they left Varian, they didn't begin to meet their specs. No amount of fiddling -- by our team or the NASA engineers -- could make them meet specs. We had to get "dispensation" from NASA so that some of the klystrons could be used.

 

Then, one day I saw one of the techs toss an HP point-contact diode into the trash. "It's no good." The light suddenly went on. Maybe the klystrons were properly tuned, but we weren't measuring them properly. When I switched to an HP thermocouple meter, every channel of every klystron was dead-on, or needed only minor adjustment.

 

Was I smarter than the NASA engineers? Of course not. I simply took less for granted and asked better questions.

 

I work nights at a chain store to supplement my income. Our cash registers' IBM software is thoroughly screwed up. It's sometimes hard to use, and doesn't always behave in a consistent or "logical" manner. It even steals money from customers, as it did to me the other day. (I have to report it tonight.)

 

Competition is a good thing, but most companies rush products to market, then leave it to user groups to pick up the pieces when said products don't work right. (Sony had major problems with the Android software in its 930D series TVs. I consider myself lucky that mine works, and have no intention of "updating" the firmware.) This is inexcusable. I long ago grew tired of buying ill-conceived or poorly executed products, then having to troubleshoot them. I don't get paid for this.

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Everything is Android -- tablet, smartphone, software.

The Chordana Play page explicitly states "This app is compatible with all your devices." -- and names them, make and model. So... Why doesn't Chordana Play work?

I'm not perfect; I make mistakes. So what am I doing wrong?

Edited by GrizzledGeezer
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That compatibility message you are getting is coming from the Android Operating System, and is only accurate insofar as the internal features of the device (your phone) on which it and the app in question (in this case ChordanaPlay) are running, but neither the Android OS nor typical app have the ability to look beyond the device's I/O ports to report on compatibility with connected devices (in this case, the LK-265).  When you attempt to download/install an app, the GooglePlay site checks the OS on your device to see what hardware features it is configured for, and if there is a problem, the app refuses to download/install and generates an incompatibility message.  For instance, if an app requires GPS capabilities, but your device (phone/tablet) does not have GPS capabilities, the app will refuse to download/install; the same if the app requires a 10 inch screen, but your device only has an 8 inch, and so on, but these are all internal features.  If GooglePlay were to check compatibility between the device (phone/tablet) or app and any connected device (keyboard, etc), it would require you to have that device connected prior to starting the download.  I am not aware of any current apps that do this.  In this case, you have to rely upon the compatibility lists from the hardware manufacturers and app authors.  This situation is exacerbated by the typical practice of each Android device manufacturer running their own particular "flavor" of a given Android OS version.  Where PC/MAC devices use updatable "drivers" to interface the hardware to the OS, Android device manufacturers modify their device's OS, or pay to have it modifed, to run with their devices' particular chip sets.  This is the current fact of life, of Android technology, that has kept it from achieving the widespread acceptance, in the music production field, as that enjoyed by Apple iOS technology, but such are the differences between a "well controlled", but oft maligned, architecture (Apple) and a "free-reign/every man for himself", popularly praised, environment (Android).

 

I have spent the past several hours reading through user reviews of the LK-265/ChordanaPlay system.  The pros/cons were pretty evenly split. Interestingly, all of the cons were for reasons other than the problem you are having - such things as: didn't like springy feel of keys, lack of backlighted LCD screen, no USB MIDI port - but the LK-260 does have, sound from the LK-265's speakers, during App Play mode, is only mono, because the right stereo channel is used for signaling/control, and so forth - basically, design features.  From the pros side, it was immediately obvious that most of these users were new to music keyboard technology and did good to know how to plug the thing in and turn it on, but yet they had it up and running with ChordanaPlay.  To me, that was an imperative to discount "user error" for someone of your experience.  So, that leaves either defective equipment of a compatibility problem.  Yes!  It could be a bad audio cable, or bad audio connector on the keyboard, etc, but I checked the compatibility for ChordanaPlay on the GooglePlay site and came up with this:

 

arrows F-01H
arrows F-02H
arrows F-03H
arrows F-04H
AQUOS SH-01H
AQUOS SH-02H
AQUOS SH-04H
Galaxy SC-04F
Galaxy SC-04G
Galaxy SC-05G
Honor 4X CHE1-L04
K3 note K50a40
Nexus5
Nexus5X
Nexus6
Nexus6P
Redmi2
Xperia SO-03F
Xperia SO-03G
Xperia SO-04G
Xperia SO-05G
Xperia SO-01H
Xperia SO-03H
Xperia SO-04H
Xperia Z2 Tablet SGP512

 

The accompanying Casio disclaimer is:  " It is recommended to check the operation on the above smartphones / tablets and use them.  Please understand that we do not guarantee the operation on smartphones / tablets not listed."  You will notice that the Samsung Luna is not on this list.  There is every likelihood that the ChordanaPlay app is not fully compatible with the Luna's particular "flavor" of the "Marshmallow" OS, but just enough so as not to generate a compatibility error message, or there is an incompatibility between the Luna's audio I/O and the LK-265's I/O - most likely at the app or OS interface with the Luna's audio I/O port.  I know this is not at all what you wanted to hear, but I currently have four Android devices (3 tablets, and a phone), the oldest, a 10 year old Samsung Galaxy 10 Tab 2; the newest - a phone approx. one year old, and I have continually fought these problems throughout it all. I have never had anywhere near these kinds of problems with my iPad-3, but another fact of life with any tablet/phone, other than the full Windows based devices, is that the more you try to interface it to the outside world, the more problems you are going to have.  These things really were intended to run primarily stand-alone.

 

I wish I had better words for you, but as BradMZ stated above, with the exception of Casio's Mike Martin, we are just a bunch of "civilian" volunteers, here to help out as best we can.  When Casio Support refers users here, they have no way of knowing our current knowledge of, or experience with, any particular device - particularly newer technology.  With the LK-265/Chordana system, you are probably the only user currently accessing this forum that has had any experience with it.

 

BTW - This forum is privately owned and administered and has no financial or corporate connection with Casio-US or Casio-International - other than permission to use the name.  Casio-US' Mike Martin checks in from time to time in the guise of a technical advisor or support consultant.  While there may be other members, who are Casio employees, there participation here is strictly that - members.  Their presence here has no official connection with Casio.

 

 

 

 

 

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You don't know how much I appreciate your putting out so much effort to supply a "rational" explanation.

 

In the case of the Samsung Luna, it appears the headphone channels are reversed. (The data appear on the right channel, not the left.) Whatever the installer can or can't do, it apparently isn't able to evaluate headphone wiring! (No, I'm not going to wire up a reverser. (Come to think of it... I might have one I created for my ASUS 3D glasses.))

 

I didn't want to tell you the name of the tablet (because it would cause a violent negative reaction) but it's a Polaroid, designed by Southern Telecom. I work for a store that sells it, and bought it on impulse for $40. There are a few good things one can say about it, but "elegant operation" isn't one of them. One must be patient.

 

I'm going to let this drop for the time being. There are more-important things to do, such as learning to play -- starting with the Casio Music Academy lessons.

 

Again, thanks.

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Geez !

 

You are most welcome !  Sorry we could not come up with a better answer for you, but you seem to have come up with your own solution, if you want to pursue it.  Perhaps you are headed down the right path and that is to go do something that you do have control over - enjoying playing ! ! !  Best wishes with that.

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

My greatest fear and greatest tendency is that I get a keyboard, practice some, then find some technical issue to explore or find a solution for, and devote all my waking hours to THAT instead of carrying out my PRIMARY mission which is to learn to play the darn thing.  But isn't that part of the fun?

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  • 3 years later...

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