KVR Audio

Tonberry · Post by **Tonberry** » Tue May 05, 2015 5:40 pm

In Studio One once connected as a device, some keys can be played through a special window, but it has to be always on. Even if in the background or on the edge of the screen, this is distracting and multi-layered clicking just to get this functionality which I think is pretty much basic these days is a serious drawback for me in this DAW (as I don't have MIDI keyboard connected).
I understand it has advantages - a lot of keys free for keyboard shortcuts, but is there another, simpler way to have some keys permanently activated for quick synth programming, just like in Ableton and FL Studio? Hell, just one key for C3 would be a blessing compared to that qwerty window

qtheerearranger · Post by **qtheerearranger** » Wed May 06, 2015 12:27 am

https://youtu.be/aqn-zSXtRfg

you should be able to close your window. What you are describing is not normal. Let me know if the youtube video helps and if it is user error.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Wed May 06, 2015 12:43 am

Studio One's qwerty keyboard really sucks, additionally to the problem described above, it also only has one octave, so you can only use the upper half of your computer's keyboard... in Cubase you can activate the virtual keyboard one time, and it's always shown in the transport panel, and it always reacts to the keyboard input, if activated. This won't help you solve the problem, just saying how it's solved in other hosts the way it should be. I'd highly recommend to at least purchase a 25 key midi keyboard though if you have the money of course. So much more fun and handy. And you also work around the restriction of key input on your keyboard when playing chords or something. Most keyboards start to block when you press more than 3 or 4 keys simulataneously if they don't support "ghosting".

Tonberry · Post by **Tonberry** » Wed May 06, 2015 9:05 am

Thanks for your replies. So it looks like there's no workaround this issue

Qtheerearranger: perhaps I wasn't talking clearly, I meant qwerty keyboard, not MIDI keyboard.

toothnclaw · Post by **toothnclaw** » Wed May 06, 2015 10:20 am

http://www.kvraudio.com/product/midikey ... t-piz-here

untimelyman · Post by **untimelyman** » Wed May 06, 2015 12:06 pm

For Windows there are a couple of good virtual midi keyboards that can be used with virtual midi cables like loopMIDI or loopBe1. They work in all DAWs.

1. Vanilin- A simple midi keyboard that can receive keystrokes even if it is not focused. Since all keystrokes get redirected into Vanilin it allows you to setup a shortcut to activate/deactivate it.

2. Virtual Midi Controller - Now this is the real deal. It is insanely feature rich (full version) and customisable. You can custom define which keys on the qwerty keyboard should act like midi keys and which keys as normal keys. They both can coexist seamlessly. You don't have to activate/deactivate it constantly and it need not be focused. Whats more, you can create different keyboard layouts and assign shortcuts for them to toggle on the fly.

Tonberry · Post by **Tonberry** » Wed May 06, 2015 12:49 pm

Untimelyman, you're a blessing, half-God among men!

Studio One - playing notes on keyboard