APC40 crossfader has a mind of its own!

[zurie]

Ok, I got a new APC40, its not more than a week old.

I was playing around with some tracks and I noticed my crossfader jumping from right to middle, kinda like a seizure. So i thought, well maybe I recorded automation.... So I looked, no automation.

Then I deleted the automation which wasn't there anyway, and its still jumping... Then I opened a new song, same issue..

the LEFT side of the crossfader (A) doesn't jump.. but when I fade to the right side (B) it seizures and jumps sparatically... If i wiggle it with my fingers up and down, not left and right.. it jumps a bit.. if i TAP on it from the top, it jumps a bit. If i move it to the left (A) and do the same, tap, wiggle, etc, it doesn't move at all. this happens in every song. its almost like the fader is loose or broken or faulty??? IF i tap it with my finger, sometimes it just starts sliding around on its own never going past 50% in the middle, but just sliding like crazy!!! Is there something I am missing??? it literally sits all the way right (B) one gentle tap on the top of the fader head and it starts going crazy!!!!

Even when the sound is off!!!! please help me. Thanks!

Zuriel

[zurie]

Here is a video of this bugger in action.. seizuring when I tap it with my finger on (B) but staying perfectly steady and strong when I tap on it on (A).

http://www.zadesigns.com/wtf.mov

sorry the movie is a little dark.. quicktime plugin is weird.. its brighter on my desktop.. but you can still see it and you can hear me tap it once and it goes crazy...

[outershpongolia]

I had a problem like that with a trigger finger, but it was because it was actually vibrating from being near the drumset AND a speaker so the knob would jiggle a little.. This seems like a completely different issue.

[zurie]

Yeah, I made a new song and it has 0 scenes and no sound and I can touch it without hitting any scenes and it does the same thing. I can also lift it off my table and hold it in mid air and it still does the same thing... bummer.. I have a gig on Oct 17th.. I am tempted to just return it to sam ash and get another one because I have no clue how long its going to take for ableton / akai to do customer server / shipments / etc / etc.

[[nis]]

Try running a MIDI monitor application and check if the crossfader is still sending random MIDI data. If so, then you can be sure that the APC is defective. Most likely a missing ground connection of the crossfader part.

Make sure that Live is not running when you test this.

Best,
Nico

[zurie]

I went ahead and contacted AKAI and they are sending me just the crossfader part since its under warranty in the first 30 days. So this issue is going to get resolved. Great customer service with AKAI (I understand its not abletons fault and its a AKAI product). When you say midi monitor application, can that be Logic Studio? I am very familiar with logic and can run a monitor in that. It is kinda interesting how it freaks out on that one side only, also if I go 98 percent, it doesn't freak out, but if i go 100% it does... neway.. I'll check it in Logic but I am getting a new crossfader anyway so I am happy about that.

[Blurr]

Are you saying the warranty on the APC is only 30days

[Dee Kool]

Hi Zurie,

Thank heavens I spotted your post! I'm having exactly the same problem, crossfader has a mind of its own! I also noticed that if I go in to midi map mode if I click on the crossfader and sit back it automatically asigns note CC15 to it??? Like midi mesages being sent from beyond the grave!! Please tell me you found a solution to this problem? Did installing a new crossfader part do the trick?

Many thanks,
(desperate) Dee.