Topic by Matt.H.

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  • Matt.H.
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  • Registered: 20-06-2007
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Topic: Basic midi question: accessing full expression range

Hi, I want to have everything in place before downloading the demo. My Technics sx-p30 keyboard has what sounds to me like 4 levels of velocity sensitivity when playing its onboard piano sound.

When used as a midi controller will I be able to access the full range of touch sensitivity in the Pianoteq with this keyboard?

For people like myself new to midi, what is the terminology used to describe the above process?

Thanks for your time,
Matt

Reply by rented

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  • rented
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  • Registered: 07-06-2007
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Re: Basic midi question: accessing full expression range

It's called note velocity, and your keyboard will transmit a value of 1-127, the full MIDI scale. How the keyboard responds to your playing is another matter (i.e. how hard do you have to press to get a value of 127, how soft to get a value of 1).

You can always use a tool like MIDI-OX to see the values as they are received.

Reply by torontobrian

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  • torontobrian
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  • Registered: 13-06-2007
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Re: Basic midi question: accessing full expression range

Hi Matt,

I had the same type of question regarding a cheap Fujiyama 88 key piano I use as a controller for Pianoteq.  Using a free utility called midimon, I found that the Fuji's 3 "touch" settings were each putting out restricted midi velocities.  Full 0-127 range was not available on any of the 3 options.  (Eg. its "soft" setting puts out around 10-60, and the "hard" allows around 35-110, and you have to use a down feather dead slow touch to get 35, and karate chop it to get above 110).

What I do, is leave the Fuji on "hard" (probably similar to one of your 4 settings), and, in the PC, I go through a software utility called a midi interpolator (the chap who made Pianotuner - Joachim Elen - gave it to me).  It has a pane where I set the incoming midi to match the Fuji hard setting (35-110) and interpolator's outbound midi field to 0-127.  It passes this onto Pianoteq - via midi yoke 1 NT - as 0-127.

If you don't have interpolator, simply go straight from keyboard to Pianoteq, and use the midi velocity pane in pianoteq to setup the same thing.  You can flatten the first part of the curve so that it doesn't start to rise until "35" and you can pull the full 127 part back along the top line to 110 (for my case).  Your curve then starts later along the bottom & ends sooner at the top.

You'll notice when you do this, that the clarity and dynamic range is far greater.  You can also "sag" (bow downwards) your rising curve in that pane (so it rises slightly slower) - but be careful, as just a touch is enough.

-Hope this helps!  -Brian.

Reply by Jake Johnson

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  • Jake Johnson
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  • Registered: 04-05-2007
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Re: Basic midi question: accessing full expression range

Thanks so much for making me aware of Pianotuner. Since it adjusts the velocity ratio of each key, I'm getting a wider variety of sounds. (My keyboard apparently has a fairly fast response, no matter how I set it up.)

However, I do wish it, or some other program, allowed me to change the ratio of velocity to amplitude for each key. Now, given the way that PianoTeq's parameters respond to velocity, I can control the timbre much better key by key. However, it is at the expense of volume. Often, I find myself getting a timbre I like for a key, but the drop in amplitude that results means that the note is not as loud as I would like.

Of course I've tried just raising the volume of everything, but the volume of low strikes is still not as loud as I would like.

I've also adjusted the Dynamics setting in PianoTeq, so the low velocities are louder. This, too, helps, but I'd still like to control the volume of low strikes note by note.

Does anyone know of a program that lets one do this?