Topic by SteveLy

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  • SteveLy
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  • Registered: 16-11-2015
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Topic: touch screen interface ?

Using Pianoteq on a regular laptop with a mouse makes me wonder if a touch screen is something that might be worth investing in. I enjoy playing around with the Voicing, Design and Effects settings but using a mouse is a bit cumbersome. If anyone has experience with using a touch screen or has better ideas (control via midi perhaps?) I'd appreciate any advice. The main parameters that I'd like to be able to easily change on the fly are the Spectrum profile, Hammer hardness, and some of the Resonator and Effects settings.

3/2 = 5

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Reply by GRB

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Re: touch screen interface ?

I have a 15" Dell Laptop with a touch screen.  I run Linux and the touchscreen works fine, but I prefer a mouse for editing.  On the other hand the touchscreen comes in handy if you don't have your mouse.  I move the Laptop between my desk and the piano so sometimes i neglect to transport the mouse from one location to the other.

Pianoteq Pro 7.x - Kubuntu Linux 19.10 - Plasma Desktop - Hamburg Steinway

Reply by derapao

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Re: touch screen interface ?

I am trying Pianoteq with a 11" touchscreen hybrid notebook and unfortunately I must say that it is not comfortable to touch; the controls are too small for fingers.
Stage version is much better in this respect because the UI can be zoomed more than the Standard version.
One problem with changing presets is that very often you unintentionally click the "title" (where it says "pack" and there is an "i" icon) instead of the instrument, and that annoyingly causes the web browser to launch. This happens both in Linux and Windows.

While I think that it's now time for Pianoteq to think about providing a touch-optimized UI, I suggest Modartt to please at least add an option to disable the web browser opening on titles, or even better remove the titles completely and leave the instrument names alone.
Is there a feature request/suggestion section in the forum?

(tested with Pianoteq trial versions; I will soon buy the Standard version for features even though the UI is less usable with my gear)

Reply by SteveLy

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Re: touch screen interface ?

Thanks for the useful feedback. Sounds like a touch screen interface is not ideal.

How about mapping things like "Spectrum profile" to a generic midi controller? The manual briefly suggests that this may be possible but before I invest in extra hardware I'd like to know if it's feasible to connect a basic piano keyboard as well as another midi input device and have them working together.

I am looking for on-the-fly control of parameters, like e.g. drawbars on a Hammond organ provide, to use with electric pianos.

Last edited by SteveLy (29-11-2015 01:35)
3/2 = 5

SteveLy's Website

Reply by derapao

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Re: touch screen interface ?

I have just realized reading your other topic that it would be possible to implement a nice touch-friendly user interface for Pianoteq using a software like Ctrlr.
I quickly tried it and it works OK, it will take some time to design the UI but it seems very promising.
Unfortunately, AFAIK PIanoteq doesn't work bidirectionally with a controller, so the parameters won't be synchronized in the controller when loaded from a preset. This is a real shame.

I found an older thread on Ctrl in this forum:
http://www.forum-pianoteq.com/viewtopic.php?id=3963

Has anyone implemented a Pianoteq panel?

Reply by SteveLy

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Re: touch screen interface ?

Thanks for the handy tip @derapao. I guess I'll first try an inexpensive MIDI mixer/controller and see how that goes. But hybrid interfaces are definitely worth considering as well.

3/2 = 5

SteveLy's Website

Reply by derapao

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Re: touch screen interface ?

derapao wrote:

One problem with changing presets is that very often you unintentionally click the "title" (where it says "pack" and there is an "i" icon) instead of the instrument, and that annoyingly causes the web browser to launch.

I have just bought a license and was happy to find out that licensed instruments don't have the "title"... very nice! :-)