Dear All,
I have an issue with my velocity. It is hard to control it No matter which Piano from Pianoteq I use. It can produce unwanted loud sounds when I play piano, and other times quiet when I play Forte. Anyone knows how to solve this issue? I can take the same note with the same strength but each time in Pianoteq it can sound differently loud.
Sounds like a problem with your controller. What keyboard are you using?
I suggest you need a hammer action keyboard. It's much easier to control dynamics that way. Lighter actions are far easier to trigger high velocity when you don't intend to.
Typical midi keyboard semi weighted and synth action are fine/acceptable for some sounds/packs (especially when using multiple sounds across different keyboards simultaneously but for a main keyboard you want to have something that reasonably closely resembles piano action to have much better control over dynamics.
My is Yamaha CVP 605 - a solid weighted keys e-piano
Besides the dpiano keys, maybe some Pianoteq settings can help too..
If dynamics are too unwieldy on your dpiano, my first suggestion would be to lower the 'Dynamic' slider (to closer to 30, to taste). When a keyboard feels too widely dynamic, that can help keep the range closer to something you expect.
You can get more out of your velocity curve too perhaps, by making some adjustments to it.. if dynamics seem to bottle-neck below and above 'mf', maybe put a dot in that range, and drag it down/right a little (so the middle velocity range is not so flighty).. you could get really fussy and create a soft convex [*edit: meant to say concave there] curve.. a little or a lot depending on your keyboard's key feel.
Hope that gets you toward your goal.
For sure keep posting about how you're fairing - maybe some others posting might have the same keyboard as you (or know of it) and may shed some light - cheers and welcome!
[*edited convex to concave]
My is Yamaha CVP 605 - a solid weighted keys e-piano
If the keyboard doesn't perform the same with the internal sounds, it could be due to a low-quality MIDI-to-USB cable. This happened to me; in fact, the cable worked flawlessly with some keyboards but did exactly what you describe (including skipping notes) with a Kawai MP11."
If the keyboard doesn't perform the same with the internal sounds, it could be due to a low-quality MIDI-to-USB cable. This happened to me; in fact, the cable worked flawlessly with some keyboards but did exactly what you describe (including skipping notes) with a Kawai MP11."
Marcos's suggestion sounds like a possibility.
Lara,
I'm at a loss what else to suggest. From what you describe custom velocity curves wouldn't help the random faults, so hopefully it is a dodgy cable issue.
This assumes the keyboard is consistent across the keys - not having those issues with the internal sounds.
If it's the cable other highly dynamic piano libraries would suffer the same issues too.
Oh! I didn't know that a cable may cause an issue. I would like to try another cable. Which one could You Suggest from amazon or any brand or link? there are a lot at the market , and it can take a lots of time to find a good one
Oh! I didn't know that a cable may cause an issue. I would like to try another cable
Before doing that, you should confirm that the issue does not happen with the internal sounds (which you probably have already done). If it doesn't happen, then it's not the keyboard but something else (likely the cable). If it *does* happen with the internal sounds too, then it's the keybed and some other actions/repairs might be more appropriate.
Which one could You Suggest from amazon or any brand or link? there are a lot at the market , and it can take a lots of time to find a good one
Unfortunately, in today's market, these recommendations are moot. There are a plethora of brand and products that look-alike or look different which are manufactured in the same (cheap) factory, and with the exact same (unreliable) tech. And on the other hand there are some look-alike product that are made with totally different tech. Often, even the same product sold on Amazon as "same", it's different when you purchase it twice (ask me as I know it). So it's a gamble, which is annoying. On the other hand, these things are so inexpensive, and Amazon return policy so lenient, that you can just try and see.
With that said, the one I have looks identical to https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08965KBCC but it is branded SODAL (could not find it anymore) and works fine for me.
Try it (this one or another) and send it back if it does not fix the problem for you. The only caveat these days is the minimum order to qualify for free shipping which has recently increased (if you don't have Prime): I don't think their return policy refunds shipping -- but even so you can always find other products to reach that minimum order, even in totally different categories, socks, food, whatever
Oh! I didn't know that a cable may cause an issue. I would like to try another cable. Which one could You Suggest from amazon or any brand or link? there are a lot at the market , and it can take a lots of time to find a good one
Sorry, I don't have any recommendation. In my case the adapter which does not work properly is an ESI MIDIMATE II (which is very well constructed, and came in a quite nice package, does not look bad at all).
I gave up on using the MIDI-to-USB adapter and just use a common printer USB cable, the connection is:
USB to host (piano) ====== printer cable ====== Laptop
Another setup I use is with 5 Pin DIN Plug to 5 Pin DIN Plug cable and a Berhinger UMC204HD, the wiring is as follows:
MIDI OUT (piano) ====== DIN5 to DIN5 cable ====== MIDI IN (UMC204HD) ====== USB cable ====== Laptop
Dear All,
I have an issue with my velocity. It is hard to control it No matter which Piano from Pianoteq I use. It can produce unwanted loud sounds when I play piano, and other times quiet when I play Forte. Anyone knows how to solve this issue? I can take the same note with the same strength but each time in Pianoteq it can sound differently loud.
hello Lara , these type of issues are not uncommon in the midi world , but difficult to solve remotely in absence of supporting data . The most typical issue in many DP is inconsistent midi output between neighbouring/ adjacent keys , which in your case is not the root cause of the issue , as you indicate that the issue happens with the same note played with same strength .
The kind of data which would useful to find possible root cause would be to test the whole keyboard and tell us :
How many notes exhibit the symptoms ? Is it a few keys , is the problem occurring consistently with the same keys ?
What is the delta in term of velocity between repeated notes ( you can save you session and export it as midi file with PTQ so midi velocity gap with repeated notes can be look at . If the velocity delta> 10 , I would consider the issue as important . Note that on some keyboards with bad let off simulation implementation, sometimes the gap can be important , but the CVP695 has got the Yamaha GH3 action which hasn’t got escapement simulation .
If the result of further testing so that it’s always a few keys that are affected , the likelihood that the sensors need to be cleaned first then replaced if problem persists . That would also rules out midi cable issue as the issue would be more random.
I figured I would share as I had a similar issue recently when I had my midi channels setup incorrectly causing double notes to be played.
In Pianoteq click on Options in the top right. Then go to the MIDI tab. Now, play a note and see what is recorded. If you see double notes appearing from a single press that is likely the issue, check your channel routing etc.
If that wasn't the issue, play notes until you experience the issue you mentioned. Then refer back to the log and see what happened at that time. If velocity is all over the place then that would, to me, indicate an issue with the physical controller or your audio/asio driver.
If you for instance play five notes in a row and they clearly audibly different but the log shows approximately the same velocity levels then I would suspect a filter or fx in your daw or mixer, or even something like "smart sound" options like you see in Windows audio settings which attempts to auto compress sound on the fly. Disable any and all such effects.
Best of luck