From a player standpoint a third wheel that is just an extra Modulation control isn't all that handyBBFG# wrote: Mon Jan 26, 2026 8:31 pm Well, not from a player stand point.
Like a guitarist, the "whammy" bar should be relative to the hands reach and not the arm. And never secondary to the board. Because I've also played with left-hand thinking keyboardists, I also know the left side is always a problem since that's the hand they prefer for playing. The only logical position is as close to center for these.
If you use them like a keyboardist, then it's okay where they are. If you use them as part of the instrument and have a left/right locus different from the majority of right/left locus. Then it is short-sighted.
Using your whammy bar analogy that is what aftertouch is perfect for as you don't even have to move your hands off the keys, beyond that of course is poly AT, and MPE controls
The third wheel that you just move up and down is also easily replaced in functionality with a fader/slider and many controllers have 8 or 9 of those
You can also replace it in functionality with silicone "drum pads" that can be assigned to a CC and have aftertouch which are more and more common
With a complex multi-timbral synth like the SY77/SWAYED you can also take that a step further and implement something like the Novation Launch Pad Pro MKIII that has 64 pads that you can make any color you want and that have aftertouch. Each one can be on whatever MIDI channel you want, and output whatever CC you want with both velocity and polyphonic after touch, has hardware and USB MIDI also
