the difference between Aftertouch and Velocity Sensitity

[MrMark]

Almost got this MIDI stuff all sorted out. I've been hunting around the net researching keyboards, and I'm not sure what the difference between Aftertouch and Velocity Sensitivity is. Also how do you tell a good Aftertouch / Velocity Sensitivity from a bad one.

 

Oh another thing, how many keys do I need ? Obviously the more the merrier, but why is it you can only get hammer action 88 key controller's ? Do only piano players need so many keys ?

 

 

[tarkus]

After-touch = pressure sensitive (The old Kawai K3 had the best "pressure sensitive" key-bed IMHO.)

 

Velocity = speed in which the key is struck.

 

You need as many keys as you want.

 

 

 

 

[RABid]

How hard you hit a key affects velocity.

 

Pressing on the keys after playing a note or chord affects after-touch.

 

In general use, velocity may determine how loud a note is. After touch can add some virbrato.

[tarkus]

With a really good synth you can program the After Touch to do a whole host of things, not just vibrato.

 

You can open and close filters, pitch-shift, trigger effects etc...

[Tusker]

Most synths/controllers allow you to set velocity sensitivity and aftertouch sensitivity to taste. One key difference between velocity, and aftertouch is that velocity information is associated with the note, while the aftertouch we are referring to (plain old aftertouch) is associated with the midi channel. That means that in normal use each unique incident of a struck note can have a different velocity value, but at any point in time, all notes that you are holding down are having the same aftertouch value (similar to how wiggling the pitch bend will affect all held notes).

 

There is a different aftertouch parameter called poly-aftertouch that is associated with each note, but very few controllers transmit this anymore.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Jerry

[MikeNZ]

Most mid to high end synths have aftertouch. The feel varies a lot from one keyboard to the next, as does what you can control with it. On a good synth aftertouch is just treated like any other knob, slider, or switch and you can assign it to any MIDI parameter. How useful aftertouch actually is depends also on how the sounds are programmed, or how they can be edited, and how you like to play. On most synths, aftertouch is only assigned to a limited range of factory sounds, most often to vibrato, swell or crescendo, or some tone parameter or filter on some string, wind, and synth sounds.

 

The feel of aftertouch is very important. Some trigger too easily, so if you hit the notes hard aftertouch triggers whether you want it or not. Ideally you have an aftertouch that is nice and progressive so you actually have good control from MIDI values 0-127. On some synths (particularly cheaper ones) you dont have fine control over aftertouch, basically all you can do is off, full on, and something somewhere in the middle. With a good aftertouch you can, for example, do nice crescendos or swells, or have fine control over pitch bend.

 

You really need to decide if you need aftertouch or not. Some keyboard players use aftertouch a lot, some hardly use it, and wouldnt miss it. If you are a piano player playing keyboards you may not find you want to use aftertouch. It is of more use to synth type players, or players that want to use string and wind type sounds extensively (in which case why do you want hammer action?). If you spend most of your time banging away on piano, vintage key, and organ sounds then you probably wont have much use for aftertouch, and can probably do what you want using other controllers, like the mod wheel, a knob, or expression pedal. Aftertouch can only be used when you are actually holding a note, which limits its usefulness.

 

You are right that hammer or fully weighted action is usually only available on 88 note boards. The Kurzweil PC1SE has a fully weighted action on 76 keys, and StudioLogic makes a hammer action controller in 88, 76, and 61 note layouts. A few older synths have hammer or weighted action in 76 or 61 notes. There are also some 88 note synths with hammer actions that are as short as some 76 note boards as they have the pitch and mod wheels above the keys, not next to them. The Alesis Fusion 8HD, Alesis QS8.2, the Yamaha S08 (no aftertouch), and Casio pianos (no aftertouch) are like this.

 

Speaking as a piano player playing keyboards I much prefer a hammer or weighted action, and 61 notes is just not enough. 76 notes is ideal, but hard to get in a weighted action. If you are a piano player then you will probably be happy with an 88 note hammer action board, with or without aftertouch.

 

Michael

[Bob Rinker]

Oh another thing, how many keys do I need ? Obviously the more the merrier, but why is it you can only get hammer action 88 key controller's ? Do only piano players need so many keys ?

 

The lack of hammer action on (almost) anything less than 88 has been lamented many times in this forum. But Studiologic has recently come out with the VMK161 and 176 - I have one of the 161's and I really like the action. Also, it appears that CME is coming out with the ZSC series - although they have been notoriously slow in getting new products out the door. I also wonder about the validity of the info on their site - a 64 key board, really?

 

How many keys? Sort of like asking how many golf clubs do you need?

 

- Bob

[Prague]

Velocity = instantaneous value

Aftertouch - continuous controller

[MrMark]

Right, so basically I want both Velocity and Aftertouch. I'm not a piano player, so I don't want the hammer action; it costs more and you can't play as fast right ?

 

 

Okay let me reprase the question. What is the advantage of having more key's ?

 

I"m going to be doing sythn work, with sting and wind instruments, which is the best type of keyboard ? (for lack of a better word) Weighted, unweighted, semi-weight, some other thing I havent heard of yet ?

[MikeNZ]

Great! Now youre thinking about what you really need and you will get much better advice.

 

I suggest you try as many actions as you can. Most modern unweighted actions are horrible, especially on cheaper boards. Some of the semi-weighted actions are very good and would probably be the best all around choice for you (some are horrible though, like the M-Audio IMO). Many of the 76 note synths have a semi-weighted action. Check out one of the recent Keyboard mags for a review of loads of different controllers to find out something about their actions.

 

More keys gives your more room to play, especially if you are playing keyboards splits or combinations when 61 notes may often not enough. It really depends on how you play. A second board is a good option too.

 

For string, synth, and wind instruments a ribbon controller or X-Y pad controller can be very good. Try some synths or controllers out that have these if you can. For example, you can do a proper finger controlled vibrato using a ribbon controller in much the same way that a string player does. Sounds much better than the fixed vibrato that most synths do.

 

Michael

[MrMark]

what is a ribbon controller, and what is an X-Y Pad. Do they do the same thing as the two wheel things, the mod wheel, and the something wheel ? If they don't, do i need the two wheels as well ?

 

 

All the online stores seem to carry M-Audio, so I kinda figured they must of been a good brand. lol. What are some good brands ?

[MikeNZ]

You have some homework to do!

 

A ribbon controller is touch sensitive strip that you run your finger over to control. An X-Y pad is like a ribbon controller but is square and works in 2 directions, like the Korg Kaos pad. They are just another control surface, and have some advantages over a wheel, knob, or slider.

 

M-audio is a cheap brand, making mainly cheap gear. Some of their gear is very good, some is very cheap and nasty. They mainly target the home-studio market. If you want a controller for playing live music you will probably want something that is nice to play and durable, so look at the top end M-audio gear and other brands. There are so many brands I dont even know where to start. Look up that Keyboard mag article I mentioned to get started, then try as many as you can. In general you get what you pay for.

 

Are you looking for a keyboard for live use?

 

Are you looking for a synth or just a controller?

 

You really need to get out and try some of this gear.

 

Michael

 

[MrMark]

Are you looking for a keyboard for live use?

 

Are you looking for a synth or just a controller?

 

Just looking for a controller for studio use; I'm going to use a software synth, and by the time I'm good enough to play live, it'll be time to upgrade anyway.