Kurzweil Music Systems K2500, K2500X, K2500R User's Manual

Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

Setup Mode

Chapter 7 Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

Setup Mode

In Setup Mode, the K2500 can take on the identity of eight distinct instruments and eight distinct MIDI transmitters, each of which can use the same set of physical controllers, or any subset of those controllers. For example, you can create a keyboard which is split into eight different regions, each of which has its own instrument (say, drums, bass, piano, sax, guitar, percussion, violin, and organ), and each of which also transmits on its own MIDI channel, so that eight different internal programs and external MIDI instruments can be played individually on different parts of the K2500 keyboard.

Selecting setups in Setup mode is much like selecting programs in Program mode—just use one of the normal data entry methods to scroll through the list of setups. Standard program changes select the correspondingly numbered setups while the K2500 is in Setup mode.

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LocalKbdCh parameter on the MIDI RECV page to match the transmit channel of your MIDI

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There are some important differences between a program and a setup . A program comprises several layers, but plays on only one keyboard region, called a “Zone”, and only one MIDI channel. A setup enables you to use up to eight keyboard (or MIDI controller) Zones, each of which can have its own program, MIDI channel, and control assignments. The parameters you deﬁne for each setup only affect programs while you are in Setup Mode . The only exception to this is the Control Setup, which we’ll cover shortly.

SetupMode||||||Xpose:0ST||||||||||||||||

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@|221|Friday|Gig|||||| Chan/Program|Info|#|222|Bop|Rock|Reggae| 1||||9|Cool|Traps|#| 301|Jazz|Trio||||||| 2|||18|Sly|Acoust|#|302|All|Percussion|| 3|||22|Izit|Jimmy|#|303|Heavy|Metal||||| %%%%%%^%%%%%%^%%%%$|304|To|Sequencer|||| Octav-| Octav+| Panic|| Sample|||||||||||||

Press the Setup mode button to enter Setup mode. You’ll see a list of setups that you can select with any data entry method. For setups containing three or fewer Zones, the box at the left side of the display shows you the programs assigned to each Zone in the currently selected setup, and the MIDI channels on which they’re being transmitted. An “L” or an “M” next to the channel number indicates that the Zone transmits only to Local or MIDI programs, respectively. “Off” indicates that the Zone has been turned off completely.

The lines beneath the program names represent the approximate key range of each Zone, and let you know whether any of the Zones overlap. For setups with four or more Zones, the box displays only the lines representing key range information.

You can transpose the entire setup up or down with the two Octav soft buttons. Press them simultaneously to set the transposition back to zero. When you transpose a setup, the split points between Zones remain in place; each program is transposed within its respective Zone.

7-1

Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

Setup Mode

The Panic soft button sends “all notes off” and “reset all Controllers” messages to all Zones. The

Sample soft button provides convenient access to the K2500’s sampler. Refer to Chapter 15 for

complete information on the sampler. When you select a setup in Setup mode, the K2500 sends a number of MIDI messages, on each

of the MIDI channels used by the setup. Some of these include: Program Change commands, MIDI Bank Select messages, Pan and Volume messages, and Entry Values for physical controllers. The values of all these messages depend on the parameters you deﬁne in the Setup Editor.

Loading Older Setup Versions

You can load K2000 setups, or setups which used a previous version of the K2500’s software, into the Version 2 Setup mode. You can then edit your older setups to take advantage of the K2500’s expanded features. Keep in mind though that once you save these setups in the new version of Setup mode, you won’t be able to play them on a K2000, or on a K2500 with preVersion 2 software.

K2500 Rack Models Only

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With software version 2.0 or higher installed, the rack version of the K2500 offers the same

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splitting and layering capabilities as the keyboard version. Even if your MIDI controller can

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transmit on only one MIDI channel at a time, you can use the K2500’s setups by setting the

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Local Keyboard Channel parameter on the MIDI mode RECV page to match the channel you’re using to transmit from your MIDI controller. This will enable you to play the setup’s eight Zones, and send the MIDI information from your MIDI controller to the K2500R’s MIDI Out port, on the channels used by the current setup.

Once you have properly set the Local Keyboard Channel, the K2500R will remap Controller messages from your MIDI controller. Some examples of these Controller messages include: Modulation (01), Foot (04), Data (06), Mono Pressure (32), Sustain (64), and Sostenuto (66). By sending preset controller numbers, you can remap them to the controllers assigned within the Setup Editor. For these preset numbers, along with more on using a MIDI controller with the K2500R, see the discussion of the Local Keyboard Channel in Chapter 10.

If you send data on a channel other than the Local Keyboard Channel, no remapping will occur. You will only hear the program assigned to the channel your MIDI controller is transmitting on.

For the remainder of the chapter, we’ll cover topics that apply to both the rack and keyboard versions of the K2500. However, any references to the sliders, ribbons, wheels, buttons, or other physical controllers are intended primarily for K2500 keyboard owners.

The Control Setup

In addition to Zone splitting and layering, Setup Mode is a powerful way to take advantage of the K2500’s programmable sliders, ribbon controllers, and assignable buttons. However, you may wish to modify the behavior of those controllers in Program mode as well. The Control Setup deﬁnes the controller assignments for programs in Program Mode.

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In previous versions of the K2500 operating system, the MIDI mode XMIT page contained several parameters for controller assignments. However, with the large number of features newly available on the K2500, it has been necessary to put physical controller parameters in the Control Setup.

The default Control Setup is "97 Control Setup", but you can choose any Control Setup you want. To do this, enter the MIDI mode XMIT page and use any normal data entry method to change the CtlSetup parameter. When you re-enter Program Mode, all programs will now

Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

Setup Mode

respond to the controller assignments deﬁned in Zone 1 of the Control Setup (Zones 2–8 are not relevant in Program mode, because a Program can only occupy one MIDI channel).

To edit the Control Setup, press the EDIT button while the CtlSetup parameter is highlighted on the MIDI XMIT page. This brings you to the Setup Editor, which is described in the following sections. The table below shows which Control Setup Parameters will affect programs in Program mode.

Control Setup–Setup

Editor Page, Zone 1

Parameters Affecting

Program Mode

Parameters

Program Mode

Not

Affecting

CH/PROG ZoneArpeg LocalPrg, Channel, MIDIBank,

MIDIProg, Status, Destination, MIDIBankMode, EntryProgChg,

KEY/VEL VelScale, VelOffset, VelCurve LoKey/HiKe y , Transpose,

NoteMap, LoVel/HiVel PAN/VOL None BEND All COMMON None ARPEG All RIBCFG All Continuous Controller

Dest, Scale, Add, Curv Ent and Exit assignment pages (SLIDER, SLID/2, CPEDAL, RIBBON, WHEEL, PRESS

Switch Controller assign-

SwType, Dest, On, Off Ent and Exit ment Pages (FOOTSW, SWITCH)

In summary, physical controller destinations, their curves and states, and the Arpeggiator parameters all deﬁne controller assignments for programs in Program Mode. The other parameters have no effect; this keeps Program mode from being too complex. Program mode lets you change values for transposition, MIDI Channels, and programs independently of the Control Setup.

Once you save changes to the Control Setup, those changes will affect all programs when you are in Program mode. For example, programming the Large Ribbon in the Control Setup to have three sections will mean that in every program in Program mode, you will have a threesection Large Ribbon.

You may ﬁnd that it’s a good idea to program several different Control Setups, and switch among them for different applications.

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Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Setup Editor

From Setup mode, press the EDIT button to enter the Setup Editor, and you can make changes to the currently selected setup. The Setup Editor consists of pages that you access by using the K2500’s soft buttons. The upper line of each page displays the usual mode reminder, the current Setup Editor page, and the current Zone. Use the CHAN/BANK buttons to select one of up to eight different Zones, each having its own Setup Editor page.

The parameters on the Setup Editor’s pages deﬁne what each of a setup’s Zones sends, both to internal programs and to the MIDI Out port. They also determine how the K2500 responds to MIDI signals received from a MIDI controller connected to the K2500’s MIDI In port (when the Local Keyboard Channel matches the transmit channel of your MIDI controller).

The Channel/Program (CH/PROG) Page

This is the ﬁrst page you see when you enter the Setup Editor. Here, you can select programs, MIDI channels, and MIDI bank numbers for each of the setup’s eight Zones. You can also solo or mute each Zone, and assign Zones to be controlled by the K2500’s Arpeggiator.

EditSetup:CH/PROG||||||||||||||<>Zone1/1

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| LocalPrg: 1|Acoustic|Piano||||||||||||||| Channel|:1||||||Destination|:Local+MIDI| MIDIBank:0||||||MIDIBankMode:Ctl|32||||| MIDIProg:1||||||EntryProgChg:On||||||||| Status||:Active|Arpeggiator:Off||||||||| <more|| CH/PRG| KEYVEL| PANVOL| BEND||| more>

PARAMETER RANGE OF VALUES DEFAULT LOCAL PROGRAM Program list 1 Acoustic Piano

CHANNEL 1-16 1 DESTINATION Destination list Local+MIDI MIDI BANK None, 0-127 0 MIDI BANK MODE MIDI Bank Mode list Ctl 32 MIDI PROGRAM None, 0-127 1 ENTRY PROGRAM CHANGE On/Off On STATUS Status list Active ZONE ARPEGGIATION On/Off On

Local Program (LocalPrg)

This selects an internal program to play on each Zone. As you change the Local Program, notice that MIDI Program and MIDI Bank match the Local Program and Bank numbers. If want to transmit different program and bank numbers over MIDI, highlight either MIDI Program or MIDI Bank and select a new value. Note that changing the Local Program parameter again will reset both the MIDI Program local program and bank numbers.

and MIDI Bank parameters to match the

7-4

Channel

The Channel parameter deﬁnes the MIDI transmit channel for the currently selected Zone. You can set it to any of the 16 MIDI channels. Normally, you will want each Zone on a separate MIDI channel. This is necessary if you want to combine different programs in the setup.

Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Channel/Program (CH/PROG) Page

If two Zones have the same MIDI channel (and destination), but they have different Program settings, there will be conﬂicts: no MIDI device, including the K2500, can respond correctly to two different simultaneous Program Change commands on one channel. The result will be that only one Program Change will be recognized, and every note played will sound double (if Note Maps are on). This can create unpredictable odd timing effects, and will reduce polyphony by 50%.

There will, however, be occasions when “stacking” Zones on the same MIDI channel might come in handy. Suppose you want a physical controller on the K2500 to send data out for two different numbered MIDI Controllers on the same channel. In this case, you must create two Zones assigned to the same channel, but with different controller assignments.

Here’s one example: if a receiving synth is using Controller #1 for modulation depth and Controller #13 for modulation speed, you can increase both the depth and the speed with Slider A. Start by assigning that slider in Zone 1 to MWheel and in Zone 2 to MIDI 13; then assign both Zones to the same MIDI channel. (You may want to make sure you aren’t sending doubled notes. Use the Note Map parameter on the KEY/VEL page to set one Zone’s Note Map to "Linear" and the other Zone’s Note Map to "Off").

Another example: create two or more Zones that are identical except for their transposition settings. Now you can play parallel intervals (or chords) with single keystrokes.

MIDI Bank

The K2500’s programs are divided into ten MIDI banks, numbered 0-9. Program 22 in Bank 1, for example, is 122 "Treble Flute". The MIDI Bank parameter displays which Bank the current program is assigned to, and automatically changes to match the Local Program value you set.

You can send Bank Select messages to external MIDI devices as well, by setting Destination to MIDI or Local + MIDI, then changing MIDI Bank. Some instruments may have more than ten banks; the MIDI Speciﬁcation says a device can have up to 16,384(!) banks, and the K2500 gives you access to every single one of them. Bank switching over MIDI makes it easy for the K2500 user to select sounds on external instruments, no matter how many banks they might have.

If you select an empty Bank (like Bank 16, 383), the Zone will still produce sound on the K2500, provided that Destination is set to Local or Local + MIDI. The LocalPrg parameter will display whatever internal program you set, but the bank number transmitted over the MIDI Out port will be different from the internal program’s bank number.

MIDI Program (MIDIProg)

MIDI Program deﬁnes which program number is transmitted out the MIDI Out port on the current Zone’s MIDI channel.

Status

This parameter deﬁnes whether the current Zone is Active (sends and receives normally over MIDI), Muted (sends and receives program changes but doesn’t play notes), Soloed (all other Zones are muted, but the current Zone plays), or Solo/M (the current Zone is both soloed and muted; when the Zone isn’t soloed, it won’t produce sound).

The K2500 features a set of eight buttons, located above the programmable sliders. Each button mutes, un-mutes, or solos its correspondingly numbered Zone. A green light means the Zone is active; press a Zone’s button once to mute it, and the light turns orange. Unlighted buttons indicate empty Zones.

To solo the current Zone, ﬁrst press the "SOLO" button, located to the left of the eight sliders. The SOLO button will turn red and the current Zone’s button will turn red, indicating that the Zone is soloed; all other Zone buttons will remain green. While the SOLO button is lighted, you

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Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Channel/Program (CH/PROG) Page

can solo any other Zone by pressing its button. Press the SOLO button again to un-mute all Zones.

You can change Status by using any normal data entry method; buttons 1–8 will light to correspond with the values you select.

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K2500R owners can mute and un-mute Zones by using the ﬁrst three mode select buttons:

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PROGRAM (Mute 1), SETUP (Mute 2) , and QACCESS (Mute 3). For setups containing up to

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three Zones, pressing each button mutes or un-mutes Zone 1, 2, or 3. For setups containing

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four or more Zones, pressing Mute 1 will mute the current Zone; pressing Mute 2 or Mute 3 will solo the current Zone. You can then press the CHAN/BANK buttons to solo each Zone.

On the K2500R, each button turns only one color (red); a system of lighted/unlighted buttons lets you know that certain Zones are soloed or muted. When you use the CHAN/BANK buttons to scroll to other Zones, the buttons will light according to each Zone’s status. The illustration below explains how to interpret this system.

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Press Mute 1, and the current Zone is Muted.

Press Mute 2 or Mute 3, and the current Zone is Soloed; press  CHAN/BANK buttons to solo each Zone.

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The K2500 keyboard’s mode select buttons also light as shown above. However, buttons 1–8 provide a more convenient and useful way to mute, un-mute, and solo Zones.

Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Channel/Program (CH/PROG) Page

I Don’t Hear a Zone: Is It Active (But Not Soloed), Muted, or Empty?

There are important differences between a Zone that is silent because a different Zone has been soloed (green light, when another Zone is red); a Zone that is muted (orange light); and one that is empty (no light).

A Zone not soloed (but otherwise active) doesn’t send notes or controllers, but will send exit and entry values for its programs and controllers when you enter or leave the Setup.

A Zone that is muted behaves just like a Zone that is not soloed; notes and controllers are not sent to internal programs or to MIDI. A muted Zone does have a program number and a MIDI channel, as well as a complete set of other parameters, all of which come into play when the Zone is un-muted.

A Zone that is empty has no MIDI channel. It generates no data until you create it by pressing the NewZn soft button (see the New Zone section on page 7-41).

Color:

State: Active Active

Data Generated:

Notes √√

Controllers √√

Program number √√√√

Entry and Exit values √√√√

You can quickly disable and enable an individual sound or a MIDI instrument by changing a Zone’s status from active to muted. This can be very useful for live performance, to bring layers of sound in and out quickly. When you save a Setup, the mute and solo statuses of the Zones are stored along with the rest of the parameters, and when you recall the Setup, those statuses are automatically enabled. So, you could call up a Setup that has one Zone Soloed, and instantly add instruments by turning off Solo. Or you can select a Setup that has one or more muted Zones, and un-mute them as you play.

Green Green

(but another is Red)

(not Soloed)

Red Orange None

Soloed Muted Empty (no

Zone Present)

Destination

This determines whether the currently selected Zone transmits only to the K2500 (Local), gets sent only via MIDI (MIDI), controls both the K2500 and connected MIDI instruments (Local+MIDI), or is disabled (Off). Setting Destination to "Off" turns the Zone off completely; no MIDI data will be sent and no local program will sound.

MIDI Bank Mode

The MIDI Bank Mode you choose determines how bank numbers will be sent over MIDI when the Setup is selected, and in what format. It also affects how many MIDI banks you can choose.

None means no bank number is sent, just the program number. Ctl 0 means that the bank number is sent as a MIDI Controller #0 message. Ctl 32 means it is sent as MIDI Controller #32. Ctl 0/32 means it is sent as a dual-controller (two-byte) message, with the MSB of the bank number sent as Controller #0 and the LSB as Controller #32. Single-byte Bank Select messages (either 0 or 32) allow you to specify banks numbered 0-127. Two-byte messages allow you to specify banks numbered 0-

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Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Channel/Program (CH/PROG) Page

16,383. With 128 programs per bank, this allows you to access 2,097,152 different programs on one instrument.

The MIDI Speciﬁcation is a little ambiguous when it comes to Bank Select messages, as to whether they should be only Controller 0, only Controller 32, or both Controllers sent as a pair. Different manufacturers design their instruments to respond to different schemes, and if you send Bank Select in a form an instrument doesn’t like, it may ignore it or interpret it incorrectly. This K2500 parameter is designed to allow the greatest ﬂexibility in addressing other MIDI instruments. Usually you can look on the MIDI Implementation chart in the user’s manual of an instrument to determine how it likes to receive Bank Select messages, and then set this parameter for each Zone to suit the instrument that is receiving data from it. The default setting, which will work with the largest number of other instruments, is Ctl 32.

There are two other options, which will be of special interest to owners of other Kurzweil instruments. The K2000 Bank mode is designed to work with the K2000 or the K2500. The Bank Select message is sent as Controller #32, with a value between 0 and 9. Remember, the K2000 and K2500 only support 10 banks and 99 programs per bank, so Program Changes 100 or higher are sent as Bank Select 1, followed by the last two digits as a Program Change. For example, if Program 124 is assigned to the Zone, this will be sent out the MIDI jack as Bank Select (Controller #32) 1, and then Program Change 24.

K1000 is used with any of the 1200-series keyboards or modules, or any of the 1000-series instruments that have version 5 software installed. Those instruments pre-date the adoption of standard Bank Select messages; instead, they use Program Changes 100-109 as Bank Selects. If you select Bank 5: Program 42 for a K2500 Zone, for example, it will send out Program Change 105 followed by Program Change 42. K2500 program numbers over 99 are not sent.

Entry Program Change (EntryProgChg)

This enables or disables bank and program change commands sent to internal programs or to the MIDI Out jack when you select setups. If it’s set to On, then the program numbers for the programs in the eight Zones will be sent via MIDI when a setup is selected. By setting this parameter to Off, you can select a setup on the K2500, without changing the internal programs or those on MIDI devices receiving from the K2500. This is useful if you want to send only controller data to the K2500 or to MIDI devices, without changing program assignments.

Zone Arpeggiation (ZoneArpeg)

Zone Arpeggiation determines whether the Arpeggiator will play notes in the selected Zone. Turning some Zones On and not others means that some programs will be Arpeggiated and some will not. If all Zone Enables are Off, then the Arpeggiator won’t transmit to the current Zone.

The notes that are generated by the Arpeggiator are restricted in each Zone to that Zone’s Key Range. If the Arpeggiator, for example, tries to play a C#4 in a Zone, but that Zone’s Key Range ends at C4, the note will not sound. However, another Zone whose Key Range ends at C5 will be able to play the C#4 from the Arpeggiator. Therefore, setting a Zone’s Key Range can be important in deciding how it will respond to the Arpeggiator. (A separate Key Range, found on the ARPEG page, deﬁnes which notes the Arpeggiator will recognize.)

7-8

The Key/Velocity (KEY/VEL) Page

The Key/Velocity page allows you to set key range, velocity range, transposition, and Note Maps for each Zone.

EditSetup:KEY/VEL||||||||||||||<>Zone1/1

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| LoKey:C|-1||Transpose:0ST||||||||||||||| HiKey:G|9|||Notemap||:Linear|||||||||||| ||||||||||||VelScale|:100%|||||||||||||| LoVel:1|||||VelOffset:0||||||||||||||||| HiVel:127|||VelCurve|:Linear|||||||||||| <more||CH/PRG|KEYVEL|PANVOL|BEND|||more>

PARAMETER RANGE OF VALUES DEFAULT LOW KEY C –1 to G9 C –1

HIGH KEY C –1 to G9 G9 TRANSPOSE -128 to +127 semitones 0 semitones NOTE MAP Note Map list Linear LOW VELOCITY 1-127 1 HIGH VELOCITY 1-127 127 VELOCITY SCALE ±300% 100% VELOCITY OFFSET -128 to +127 0 VELOCITY CURVE Velocity Curve List Linear

Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Key/Velocity (KEY/VEL) Page

Low Key (LoKey), High Key (HiKey)

The LoKey and HiKey parameters deﬁne the note range of the currently selected Zone. The easiest way to change these values is to press the SetRng soft button, which you can access by pressing either of the more soft buttons. You’ll be prompted to trigger the notes you want to be the lowest and highest notes for the Zone. When you do, you’ll return to the Setup Editor page, and the notes you triggered will be reﬂected in the values for LoKey and HiKey. They’ll also be represented by the lines beneath the program names in the box at the left of the Setup mode page. You can set these values with normal data entry methods as well.

You can create “negative” ranges as well. To do this, select the HiKey parameter and set its limit lower than the LoKey limit. This results in the Zone being active at the top and bottom of the keyboard, but being silent in the range between the two limits. This lets you create a layer with a “hole” in the middle, which you can then ﬁll with a different sound on another Zone (either an internal or on an external program).

Note that using the SetRng soft button won’t allow you to create a negative range, since it always deﬁnes the higher keystrike as the HiKey value. If you want to set HiKey lower than LoKey (or vice versa), use a normal data entry method. Unfortunately Intuitive Entry is not a good way to set note ranges (see the discussion on Intuitive Entry in Chapter 3).

The limits of MIDI are C-1 to G9. The untransposed 88-key range is A0 to C8. The untransposed 76-key range is E1 to G7.

Transpose

This changes the pitch of the Zone, without changing its position on the keyboard. It changes the MIDI note numbers generated by the keys in the Zone, without physically shifting the Zone. The range is ±127 semitones. Since there are 12 semitones (or half steps) to an octave, you can transpose up or down over ten octaves. If you transpose out of the range of the active voice, however, no notes will sound; MIDI note numbers will transmit, but notes will not.

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Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Key/Velocity (KEY/VEL) Page

Note Map

Note Map lets you change the way notes are sent from the K2500. The default setting is Linear: all notes go out as played. Moving decrementally takes you to Off: no notes are sent, but controllers and other non-note data are.

Next comes Inverse, which turns the keyboard upside-down, with the highest key being A 0 and the lowest C 9. If you set Note Map to Constant, all of the keys on the keyboard will play the same note. The note defaults to C4, but you can change this with the Transpose parameter. This comes in handy when you’re laying a ride cymbal over a bass, or a wood block over a ﬂute.

Next are the alternating Note Maps, which let you divide the keyboard up in some unique ways. If you are using two or more MIDI devices (including the K2500), you can expand polyphony by assigning each Zone to a different alternating Note Map. For example, if you have two K2500s, you can assign two Zones to each play the same program on a different K2500, thereby doubling polyphony.

To split a Zone into one of two alternating Note Maps, set Note Map to "1 of 2"; now the Zone plays on every second key, starting on C, but won’t play on any other keys. Set another Zone to "2 of 2", and this Zone will play on every second key, starting on C#, thus covering the remaining keys.

Three- and four-zone alternating Note Maps work the same way, but cause each Zone to play only on every third and every fourth key, respectively.

White and Black allow you to compensate for the differing velocity responses of white versus black keys on some keyboards. By choosing White for one Zone and Black for another, you can modify velocity curves and limits independently for the white and black keys.

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Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Key/Velocity (KEY/VEL) Page

Velocity Scale (VelScale)

This lets you amplify or diminish velocity response. Normal response is “100%”. Higher values make the keyboard more sensitive (you don’t need to play as hard to get higher MIDI velocities) while lower values make it less sensitive (playing harder doesn’t change MIDI velocity as much). You can also set the scale to a negative number, in which case the velocity response is turned upside-down: playing harder produces a softer sound and vice versa. See the following section on Velocity Offset for ideas about negative scaling. A neat thing to try is to set up two Zones with opposite scale factors so that key velocity acts as a crossfade between the two sounds. Maximum scale values are +300% and -300%.

The illustration that follows shows what happens when you change Velocity Scale. Note that Velocity Scale is the only parameter changed in this example; the other parameters are set to their defaults (offset = 0, curve = linear, min = 1, max = 127).

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Velocity Scale: 100%

as you strike the keys harder (increase the velocity) MIDI velocity increases proportionally

Velocity Scale: 200%

MIDI velocity reaches maximum on medium strike velocity

Velocity Scale: 50%

MIDI V elocity

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MIDI velocity never reaches maximum, even on maximum strike velocity

Strike V elocity

Velocity Offset

VelOffset also changes the response, but in a more direct way, by adding or subtracting a constant to the key velocity. For example, if this is set to 25 (assuming a scale of 100%), then 25 is added to the velocity of every keystroke, usually making the sound that much louder. The softest possible keystroke will have a value of 25, while a keystroke with velocity of 102 will produce the same sound as a note with velocity 127 (102+25=127). Negative values diminish the response: a setting of -25 means the loudest velocity available will be 102, while any keystroke 25 or below will produce a velocity of 1 (a velocity value of zero has a special meaning in MIDI and cannot be used for note-ons).

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Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Key/Velocity (KEY/VEL) Page

You can think of Scale as being a proportional change to the velocity, while Offset is a linear change. The maximum values for Offset are ±127. The illustration below shows the effects of Velocity Offset. Note that Velocity Offset is the only parameter changed in this example; the other parameters are set to their defaults (scale = 100%, curve = linear, min = 1, max = 127).

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MIDI V elocity

Velocity Offset: +64

low velocity keystrikes produce medium MIDI velocity and greater

Velocity Offset: -64

low velocity keystrikes result in MIDI velocity of 1; maximum MIDI velocity reduced

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Strike V elocity

Offset and Scale work together. If scaling takes the velocity out of the ballpark — for example, you want to set it to 300% but that puts all of your notes at maximum velocity — using a negative offset, say around -60, can make it possible to still play at different volumes, although your curve will still be a lot steeper than normal. If you use a negative scaling, then you must use an offset: otherwise all of your velocities will end up as zeroes (well, ones actually, since a MIDI note-on with velocity zero is something else). So to get true inverse scaling (that is, minus 100%), you must set an offset of 127 to get the full range of velocities. Setting the offset to 127 and the scale to -100% produces a slope like this:

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MIDI V elocity

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Strike V elocity

Note that Offset and Scale only affect MIDI velocities; that is, these parameters don’t change Velocity Tracking in the programs themselves. Therefore, some programs (such as organ sounds, which often have low VelTrk values) may respond only subtly to Offset and Scale, or not at all.

Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Key/Velocity (KEY/VEL) Page

Velocity Curve (VelCurve)

VelCurve lets you taper the velocity response. The default setting is Linear, which means that the output velocity changes directly proportionally to the played velocity. Expand sets the taper such that a “dip” occurs as the velocity increases from 1 to 64: the change in response is slower than normal as you approach the velocity midpoint, and then increases faster than normal as you play harder.

Compress sets the taper such that there is a “bulge” as the velocity increases from 1 to 64. If you start playing softly, and then progressively louder, the response will increase more quickly than normal until you reach the middle of the velocity range. If you keep playing harder, the sound will continue to get louder, but the increase will be less than it would be normally.

Crossfade (Xfade) is designed to be used in tandem with the Reverse Crossfade curve, enabling you to perform smooth crossfades between different programs.

Bump tapers velocity response to resemble a bell-curve, making its response greatest at medium strike velocity, and progressively weaker as strike velocity increases or diminishes. If you start playing softly, then progressively louder, the response will increase from 1 to 64; if you keep playing harder, the sound will get softer.

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Velocity Curve: Linear

as you hit the keys harder (increase the velocity) MIDI velocity increases proportionally

MIDI V elocity

Strike V elocity

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Velocity Curve: Compress

MIDI velocity is greater at medium strike velocity than with Linear curve

Velocity Curve: Expand

MIDI velocity is less at medium strike velocity than with Linear curve

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Setup Mode and the Setup Editor

The Key/Velocity (KEY/VEL) Page

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Velocity Curve: Linear

as you hit the keys harder (increase the velocity) MIDI velocity increases proportionally

Velocity Curve: Bump

MIDI velocity is greatest at medium strike velocity

Velocity Curve: Crossfade

MIDI V elocity

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Below medium strike velocity, MIDI velocity is less than with Linear curve; above medium strike velocity, MIDI velocity is greater than with Linear curve

Strike V elocity

The next ﬁve velocity curves are Reverse Linear (revrsLin), Reverse Expand (revrsExp), Reverse Compress (revrsCmp), Reverse Crossfade (revrsXfd), and Reverse Bump (revrsBmp). These taper velocity in reverse of the ﬁve curves we just covered. For example,

Reverse Linear’s response is such that striking a key harder will produce a lower volume, striking it softer will produce a higher volume, and so on. This provides a convenient way to achieve negative scaling, by letting you set one parameter instead of two.

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Velocity Curve: Reverse Linear

as you hit the keys harder (increase the velocity) MIDI velocity decreases proportionally

MIDI V elocity

Strike V elocity

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Velocity Curve: Reverse Bump

MIDI velocity is lowest at medium strike velocity

Velocity Curve: Reverse Crossfade

Below medium strike velocity, MIDI velocity is greater than with Reverse Linear curve; above medium strike velocity, MIDI velocity is less than with Reverse Linear curve

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