KVR Audio

Karl the Hermit · Post by **Karl the Hermit** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 4:19 pm

I've always used wheels, but I don't seem to get on too well with them. So I'm looking for alternate ways to alter pitch and modulation. I've looked at sliders, joysticks, and even a Kaoss-style pad.

So I'd like to hear some thoughts on experiences with non-wheeled, midi keyboards.

askoan · Post by **askoan** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:18 pm

There's the Touché, but i presume you already heard about it :
https://youtu.be/9OoQsbFKC1Q

Karl the Hermit · Post by **Karl the Hermit** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:08 pm

askoan wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:18 pm There's the Touché, but i presume you already heard about it :

No, and it looks incredibly expensive. Nice, though.

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:22 pm

Karl the Hermit wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 4:19 pm I've always used wheels, but I don't seem to get on too well with them.

What do you mean by "I don't seem to get on too well with them"?

Karl the Hermit · Post by **Karl the Hermit** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 1:10 pm

thecontrolcentre wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:22 pm
Karl the Hermit wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 4:19 pm I've always used wheels, but I don't seem to get on too well with them.
What do you mean by "I don't seem to get on too well with them"?

I have problems physically moving the wheels to get the sound I want.

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:09 pm

Have you experimented with setting the range to your liking?
Set to 2 semitones is nothing like set to a whole octave.
(nb: needs to be done on the receiving synth)

I had an Arp Axxe that had pressure sensitive pads for pitch up, pitch down and modulation.
I don't think such things are made anymore. It worked well, but just like any other method you need to learn how to control it.

Breath controller (DX7 add-on) is another thing that comes to mind...

Karl the Hermit · Post by **Karl the Hermit** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 2:37 pm

Has anyone used slide strips? They look like they're easy to control. Thoughts?

JamelaBanderson · Post by **JamelaBanderson** » Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:15 pm

My Roli Seaboard Rise has 3 slide strips and an XY pad, all of which can be MIDI CC mapped. Love it and recommend, if you can get your hands on one. The Lumi and Blocks can be used the same way together.

I've been eyeing the Akai MPK because they've replaced pitch and mod wheels with a joystick at the top left.

Re: slide strips, they work very similarly to wheels, but have the added advantage of being more resistant to damage.

Karl the Hermit · Post by **Karl the Hermit** » Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:56 pm

JamelaBanderson wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:15 pm My Roli Seaboard Rise has 3 slide strips and an XY pad, all of which can be MIDI CC mapped. Love it and recommend, if you can get your hands on one. The Lumi and Blocks can be used the same way together.

I've been eyeing the Akai MPK because they've replaced pitch and mod wheels with a joystick at the top left.

Re: slide strips, they work very similarly to wheels, but have the added advantage of being more resistant to damage.

Mmmmm... Roli... I'm jealous!

The Akai joystick comes only with the mini, IIRC. I can't use anything without full-sized, semi-weighted keys.

BTW, I believe I heard the strips can be reprogrammed for controlling other, midi parameters, but I could be wrong.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Mon Aug 02, 2021 5:02 pm

There's this:
https://www.enhancia-music.com/product/neova/
Which can be used in addition with any keyboard of your choice. I do own this, but have yet to set it up. And in fact, current financial concerns have me considering to sell it before it becomes something I don't want to let go of.

I find strips to be a great idea, but the reality of them always leaves me desiring a better response from them.
I love my VMK joystick, and would love it more if it followed the Korg series of joysticks where the vertical axis triggered two different controls from center respective to up or down.
I like my SL88 Studio as well for adding more joysticks, but feel they went a little wrong by making them smaller and then putting them as far left to the keyboard as possible. My VMK joystick is closer to center which allows me to use with either hand. I've thought much about simply modifying the SL88-S to recenter those joysticks and making the sticks longer to compensate for what I consider their counter-intuitiveness.

riyakataria · Post by **riyakataria** » Tue Aug 03, 2021 8:45 pm

I don’t know if this counts, but I’ve always loved the touch strip in the Native Instruments hardware

Karl the Hermit · Post by **Karl the Hermit** » Wed Aug 04, 2021 2:28 pm

riyakataria wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 8:45 pm I don’t know if this counts, but I’ve always loved the touch strip in the Native Instruments hardware

I like the NI stuff in general, but the cheapest, NI keys I could find with sliders AND full-size, semi-weighted keys (leaves out the mini a32) is a used, S25 for $154 that they don't make anymore.

But yeah, that counts!

NO1 · Post by **NO1** » Thu Aug 05, 2021 2:14 am

I have a little M32 with touch strips, they're... different.

Pitch/Mod Wheels, Sliders, or Joysticks?