Semi weighted keys question.

I am a guitarist but also play some keyboard for sequencing.I have a Motif ES & a Yamaha PSR S 710 .I find my fingers at ease & flying on the PSR so I feel it's a lot more easier to play on,& good for speed & precession .The Motif is not one with weighted keys but I can say it's semi weighted or at least heavier than the PSR touch.While using plugins I kinda feel that the Motif is more appropriate to get the best sound out of plugins.But the disadvantage is that I hit a lot more wrong notes on it! Is the Motif a better keyboard to get the best sound out of plugins or the PSR can do the same job? What do you keyboardist think? Which would be better for midi input?

Your thoughts please.

Honestly, "it has to be up to you." You've got to decide on a unit that gives you the expressiveness that you need in your performance. Weighted keys are nice, but on some keyboards you can also use "velocity mapping" to simulate it fairly well. (This is a feature that maps the actual velocity with which the key is struck to a possibly-different MIDI Velocity that is sent.)

 

(You don't say why you think that "the Motif gives better sound out of plug-ins ...")

 

If you "hit wrong notes," just try to hit them in proper time and feeling: you can always drag them up or down to become the right notes! You can also highlight a short section, and record any number of "takes" of that section until your performance is finally perfect. Then discard the flubbed takes and nobody will ever know.

Thanks.The PSR does have a way to raise the velocity.Is the velocity mapping also available in Logic? My question was actually if I would be missing anything on the quality of the tone by switching from Motif to PSR ( like after touch,response etc) since its not a pro level work station like the Motif.

I know of it only as a hardware feature but of course I fully expect that Logic can do it in software.

You can do it easily in Logic, but be aware that this will always cost you velocity resolution. If you compress 1-127 into 64-127, you'll be left with 63 steps.

Fuzz, the hardware feature that I'm referring to was a "curve based" mapping of "key velocity received from keyboard device" to "MIDI velocity transmitted." Some keyboards have three or four fixed "touch" settings, while more-sophisticated models actually let you set the points. But, the key point – indeed, the purpose of it – is that the mapping is not linear. "Yes, it's a 'hack,'" but it's actually a pretty effective one.

Thanks guys.But back to my primary question which an experienced keyboardist would probably know the answer to: 'My question was actually if I would be missing anything on the quality of the tone by switching from Motif to PSR ( like after touch,response etc) since its not a pro level work station like the Motif.' .Is there something special in using these bigger workstation pro keyboards when compared to using a semi pro like the Yamaha PSR S 710 or a basic midi keyboard? I am curious about the 'aftertouch' thing apart from touch sensitivity & velocity. Thanks.

As you know, different keyboards are "sensitive" to different things – particularly pressure and velocity. And of course some of them actually have a "piano-like" hammer action. But there is no standard as to how they actually do these things. Of course the number of keys is also a factor: for me, "88 keys" was a deal-breaker.

 

Interestingly, I notice that some units seem to feature "knobs, switches and dials" – every square inch is stuffed with doo-dads – but then sometimes the keyboard assembly itself (to me) ... feels ... lacking.

 

This is one case where I really think that you need to go to a music store where you can actually sit down and play the thing for more than just a few minutes. You're gonna be married to it ... spend time on the honeymoon.

 

To me, the most important consideration is how the keys feel under your hands. Do they offer the right-for-you amount of resistance? When you try to "play expressively," or "pound the keys," does it let you do what you want?

To answer your [OPs] question about tone - if you are using a software instrument then the will be no difference - ‘pro’ keyboard, cheap one or even typing the notes in from the computer keyboard.

A ‘pro’ keyboard will generally allow greater expression as it will respond to things like velocity [although it is usually present on all but the absolutely cheapest] and after touch [on a channel basis except for some rarities which will do it by note]. If your using the keyboards internal sounds you will probably find that the ‘pro’ keyboard has much more and better quality sounds than a cheap one.

But overall the major thing is how it feels to you - spend time playing one before you buy.