diff --git a/examples/XTouchONE2.midizaprc b/examples/XTouchONE2.midizaprc
index 9a5a248..e2e242b 100644
--- a/examples/XTouchONE2.midizaprc
+++ b/examples/XTouchONE2.midizaprc
@@ -42,15 +42,6 @@ F8 SHIFT ^F8 RELEASE SHIFT ^F8
 ^A#4 C5
 ^B4  C#5
 
-# Pass through the shifted cursor keys. This assumes that they're already
-# mapped to something in the DAW; e.g., I have the shifted left/right keys
-# bound to the previous/next marker functions in Ardour.
-
-^C8  A#5 C8   # Up
-^C#8 A#5 C#8  # Down
-^D8  A#5 D8   # Left
-^D#8 A#5 D#8  # Right
-
 # Since the X-Touch ONE is a single-channel controller, I find it convenient
 # to have the bank and channel switches linked up with the channel SELECT
 # switch, so that the first channel in the current bank is also selected in
@@ -62,22 +53,37 @@ F8 SHIFT ^F8 RELEASE SHIFT ^F8
 ^C4  C4  C2   # CHAN< SELECT
 ^C#4 C#4 C2   # CHAN> SELECT
 
-# Other shifted keys in the CHANNEL and TRANSPORT sections are simply passed
-# through along with the SHIFT key. You can either assign these combinations
-# in the DAW, or edit them below as needed.
+# Pass through the shifted cursor keys. This assumes that they're already
+# mapped to something in the DAW; e.g., I have the shifted left/right keys
+# bound to the previous/next marker functions in Ardour.
 
-^C0  A#5 C0  # SHIFT REC
-^G#0 A#5 G#0 # SHIFT SOLO
-^E1  A#5 E1  # SHIFT MUTE
-^C2  A#5 C2  # SHIFT SELECT
+# NOTE: We use an explicit RELEASE sequence here, so that the SHIFT key (A#5)
+# is released last. By default, midizap will release MIDI key events in the
+# same order in which they are pressed, which may not work in some key
+# combinations, since the SHIFT key gets released too early. (At least I found
+# that this confuses Ardour in some cases, YMMV.)
 
-^C7  A#5 C7  # SHIFT MARKER
-^C#7 A#5 C#7 # SHIFT NUDGE
-^D7  A#5 D7  # SHIFT CYCLE
-^D#7 A#5 D#7 # SHIFT DROP
-^E7  A#5 E7  # SHIFT REPLACE
-^F7  A#5 F7  # SHIFT CLICK
-^F#7 A#5 F#7 # SHIFT SOLO
+^C8  A#5 C8  RELEASE C8  A#5 # Up
+^C#8 A#5 C#8 RELEASE C#8 A#5 # Down
+^D8  A#5 D8  RELEASE D8  A#5 # Left
+^D#8 A#5 D#8 RELEASE D#8 A#5 # Right
+
+# By default, other shifted keys in the CHANNEL and TRANSPORT sections are
+# simply passed through along with the SHIFT key as well. You can either
+# assign these combinations in the DAW, or edit them below as needed.
+
+^C0  A#5 C0  RELEASE C0  A#5 # SHIFT REC
+^G#0 A#5 G#0 RELEASE G#0 A#5 # SHIFT SOLO
+^E1  A#5 E1  RELEASE E1  A#5 # SHIFT MUTE
+^C2  A#5 C2  RELEASE C2  A#5 # SHIFT SELECT
+
+^C7  A#5 C7  RELEASE C7  A#5 # SHIFT MARKER
+^C#7 A#5 C#7 RELEASE C#7 A#5 # SHIFT NUDGE
+^D7  A#5 D7  RELEASE D7  A#5 # SHIFT CYCLE
+^D#7 A#5 D#7 RELEASE D#7 A#5 # SHIFT DROP
+^E7  A#5 E7  RELEASE E7  A#5 # SHIFT REPLACE
+^F7  A#5 F7  RELEASE F7  A#5 # SHIFT CLICK
+^F#7 A#5 F#7 RELEASE F#7 A#5 # SHIFT SOLO
 
 [MIDI2]
 
diff --git a/readconfig.c b/readconfig.c
index 3d58552..efb2b04 100644
--- a/readconfig.c
+++ b/readconfig.c
@@ -823,7 +823,8 @@ stroke **first_stroke;
 stroke *last_stroke;
 stroke **press_first_stroke;
 stroke **release_first_stroke;
-int is_keystroke, is_bidirectional, is_midi, is_nop, mode;
+int is_keystroke, is_bidirectional, is_nop, midi_release, explicit_release;
+int mode;
 char *current_translation;
 char *key_name;
 int first_release_stroke; // is this the first stroke of a release?
@@ -909,7 +910,7 @@ append_midi(int status, int data, int step, int n_steps, int *steps,
     *first_stroke = s;
   }
   last_stroke = s;
-  is_midi = 1;
+  midi_release = 1;
 }
 
 // s->press values in modifiers_down:
@@ -1427,7 +1428,8 @@ start_translation(translation *tr, char *which_key)
   }
   current_translation = tr->name;
   key_name = which_key;
-  is_keystroke = is_bidirectional = is_midi = is_nop = anyshift = 0;
+  is_keystroke = is_bidirectional = is_nop = anyshift = 0;
+  midi_release = explicit_release = 0;
   first_release_stroke = 0;
   regular_key_down = 0;
   modifier_count = 0;
@@ -1665,15 +1667,17 @@ add_release(int all_keys)
   if (!all_keys) {
     if (!*first_stroke) append_nop();
     first_stroke = release_first_stroke;
-    if (is_midi) {
+    if (midi_release) {
       // walk the list of "press" strokes, find all "dirty" (as yet unhandled)
-      // MIDI events in there and add them to the "release" strokes
+      // MIDI events in there and add them to the "release" strokes (unless
+      // there's an explicit release sequence in which case we output nothing)
       stroke *s = *press_first_stroke;
       while (s) {
 	if (!s->keysym && !s->shift && s->dirty) {
-	  append_midi(s->status, s->data,
-		      s->step, s->n_steps, s->steps,
-		      s->swap, s->change, s->incr, s->recursive, s->feedback);
+	  if (!explicit_release)
+	    append_midi(s->status, s->data,
+			s->step, s->n_steps, s->steps,
+			s->swap, s->change, s->incr, s->recursive, s->feedback);
 	  s->dirty = 0;
 	}
 	s = s->next;
@@ -2009,9 +2013,12 @@ read_config_file(void)
 	case '\t':
 	case '\n':
 	case '\0': // no newline at eof
-	  if (!strcmp(tok, "RELEASE"))
+	  if (!strcmp(tok, "RELEASE")) {
+	    // Suppress the default MIDI release sequence if there's an
+	    // explicit release sequence.
+	    explicit_release = 1;
 	    add_keystroke(tok, PRESS_RELEASE);
-	  else if (!strncmp(tok, "SHIFT", 5)) {
+	  } else if (!strncmp(tok, "SHIFT", 5)) {
 	    int shift = isdigit(tok[5])?tok[5]-'0':1;
 	    if ((tok[5] == 0 || (isdigit(tok[5]) && tok[6] == 0)) &&
 		shift >= 1 && shift <= N_SHIFTS)