Quote:


I also feel my MIDI keyboards don't do it justice, and so would some downloaded MIDI files, for, how were they created? With a good responsive MIDI keyboard or with a regular low-end one like mine?



Likely has to do with the amount of Velocity layers your particular keyboard is able to send.

For instance, I had a Yamaha plastic MIDI keyboard that only sent Velocity in three basic layers -- if you fingered in between any of the three, there was no difference in what came out.

This is one of the things that costs more money in a good MIDI keyboard whether it features weighted hammer action keys or not, its ability to send the actual Velocity data from each key rather than an approximation thereof.

When testing or checking out a piano keyboard, try pressing a key near the center of the board at as many different dynamic levels as you can play and see if the sound coming out changes with your amount of pressure (volume). With a bit of practice one can tell if there are three basic velocity levels or whatever. It gets harder to tell when there about seven layers, and, of course, the high end keyboards that send continuous velocity, using the entire range of 0 - 127 do it the best.

Also note that a lot of MIDI keyboards have internal menu controls for the Velocity CURVE.

Often is the case that the default Velocity Curve doesn't do justice, try some of the others and narrow down the Velocity Curve settng that works best for your playing style. Finding the right Velocity Curve to match your playing style can sometimes really make a difference in the way a low end keyboard plays and sounds. For example, having your Velocity Curve or Touch set to "Light" can end up with the thing sending high value Vel to the synth, which would make every note sound like it was pounded. Turn the Velocity Touch setting down then and try again. I've noticed that the majority of keyboards come with the default setting on the light side of things, Yamahas have been that way for years, but not all of them...


--Mac

PGmusic FAQs, Tutorials and Updates! click here

You must be Audiominds.
www.audiominds.com