external pitch bend wheel

[bajtucha]

Is it possible to control pitch of digital piano via external pitch wheel from midi controller like Novation launch key 25 (https://novationmusic.com/keys/launchkey) ? Does DAW like Ableton allows it? I need an answer to this question before I invest in midi controller. I want to use my full size keyboard and midi controller functionalities at the same time. One think I don't need is its keyboard but there is no such gear on the market that would have buttons, triggers and pitch wheel only.

 

Thanks for answer in advance

Bartek

[Synthoid]

It is considered heresy to pitch bend a piano sound.

 

 

[AnotherScott]

Is it possible to control pitch of digital piano via external pitch wheel from midi controller

It depends on the digital piano. You'll probably find its MIDI Implementation Chart in its manual.

 

[CowboyNQ]

It is considered heresy to pitch bend a piano sound.

Although I found my SV-1 severely lacking in that regard a fortnight ago when I had to play 'The Great Gig InThe Sky'.

 

Bass player did it for me. He went way too early though.

 

 

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Does DAW like Ableton allows it?

I know Mainstage usually allows you to assign controls to different patches; if it's not achievable through hardware MIDI, software should do the trick.

I've been using the Behringer X-Touch Mini for a low-profile tactile control of knobs, switches, and triggers in Mainstage, but it doesn't have a dedicated pitch bend wheel. Might be able to map one of the rotary encoders to pitch bend, though... I'd have to experiment.

 

[bajtucha]

You don't get it. I'll treat piano as midi keyboard but better full size, full response keyboard that none midi controllers could give me. The problem is my piano doesn't have control switches and buttons and.... pitch or modulation wheel.So the question is can I combine my full piano keyboard with Novation Launchkey and treat my piano as a form of external keyboard ?

[bajtucha]

Does DAW like Ableton allows it?

I've been using the Behringer X-Touch Mini for a low-profile tactile control of knobs, switches, and triggers in Mainstage,

 

That is the idea. I think Novation can do this trick also. Thanks.

[AnotherScott]

You don't get it. I'll treat piano as midi keyboard but better full size, full response keyboard that none midi controllers could give me. The problem is my piano doesn't have control switches and buttons and.... pitch or modulation wheel.So the question is can I combine my full piano keyboard with Novation Launchkey and treat my piano as a form of external keyboard ?

From your first post, if you want to "control pitch of digital piano via external pitch wheel from midi controller" as I said, that depends on your piano. Some digital pianos respond to external pitch bend commands, some don't. You'd also need a way to connect the controller to the piano. There would be a way to do that by connecting both boards to the computer. If you wanted to do it without a computer, both boards would have to have MIDI jacks. I don't know about your piano, but the Launchkey does not have them, so you'd have to at least pick a different controller.

 

Though now I'm thinking that maybe you don't want to use the controller to bend the pitch of your piano, but rather you want to use a combination of the piano and the controller to bend the pitch (and do other similar operations) on sounds that you have on your computer, is that right? In that case, yes, you can do that.

[kalpajazz]

Korg Nanopad can do it with a ribbond instead of a pitch wheel

[bajtucha]

Though now I'm thinking that maybe you don't want to use the controller to bend the pitch of your piano, but rather you want to use a combination of the piano and the controller to bend the pitch (and do other similar operations) on sounds that you have on your computer, is that right? In that case, yes, you can do that.

 

Yes, I want to assign some midi instrument like say organ in Ableton and play it with my piano and modulate or change pitch in Novation (with left hand:) So I have best of both worlds, good keys from true digital piano and buttons, switches and wheels from cheap midi controller.

So I get that answer is yes I can, right?

 

Sorry for not being clear I'm new into this music making stuff.

 

[zeronyne]

Any two keyboards (or ten keyboards) can be combined into functioning like a single controller. It may require a merge box or some software configuration, but I do it all the time with several DAWs.

 

[AnotherScott]

Yes you can do that. But assuming your piano as the typical piano weighted action, organ will feel better to play from your non-hammer MIDI controller than from your piano. So ideally you want both kinds of actions available to you. I'd pick a controller that has, not just the controls you want, but also nice keys for organ/synth playing, preferably with aftertouch if you're using synth sounds. Maybe a Samson Graphite 49, for a low-cost option.

[bajtucha]

Any two keyboards (or ten keyboards) can be combined into functioning like a single controller. It may require a merge box or some software configuration, but I do it all the time with several DAWs.

Thank you!

[bajtucha]

Yes you can do that. But assuming your piano as the typical piano weighted action, organ will feel better to play from your non-hammer MIDI controller than from your piano. So ideally you want both kinds of actions available to you. I'd pick a controller that has, not just the controls you want, but also nice keys for organ/synth playing, preferably with aftertouch if you're using synth sounds. Maybe a Samson Graphite 49, for a low-cost option.

 

You're right. Thank you. It seems that I know less that I thought I knew. Always thought that "after touch" or any synth keys are more primitive version of true piano hammer weighted action. I figured that playing organ/rhodes/finger drumming or whatever you can imagine during live looping would be much more precise and musical with piano keys. In fact I thought that professional organs and elecric pianos or synths have piano like keys. It seems I'm wrong.

Thanks for recommending Samson. Anything else with good keys?