knudsen@ihwpt.UUCP (mike knudsen) (12/02/85)
I'm looking for an electronic keyboard with MIDI-- originally to use as a "player piano" from my computer, but now I'm getting more concerned with playing by hand as well. I had already decided on no less than 5 octaves of full-sized keys. Now I'm getting concerned about the really fancy stuff. So I'd like your opinions re: (1) How important to you is touch sensitivity? I use it a lot on acoustic piano, so I probably already know the answer for me. But how long could I play a non-sensitive keyboard before I felt really limited, bad enough to go out and buy another synth? (There are a lot of non-sensitive synths on the market at high prices. Are these used mostly by graduates from organs and Moogs?) (2) Which is more useful, velocity or pressure ("after touch")? Piano experience would imply velocity, but pressure seems easier to control and gives you control of the note as its sound evolves -- you can swell a note, wah-wah, pitch-bend it etc (provided your synth has the patch flexibility). I tried an AKAI AX80 with velocity, which can patch it into most anything. I found the velocity a little hard to control on the lightweight keys. I also played a Casio CT-6000 with after-touch pressure -- it seemed easier to control, but the range of volume control was limited, and couldn't be patched to anything else (strictly a preset machine). Someone else also asked question (2) recently, and I hinted at (1) in yesterday's posting, so I hope some opinions will appear. Thanks, mike k PS: the salesman with the AX80 said that if I got a box without touch-sensitivity, I'd be back in the store within a year. TS is impossible to retrofit to a keyboard (?).