Akai4000s Midi settings???

Comments

• Stefano Lucato

  January 2009 edited 4:04PM

  Shanti,
  
  Optimum setting of Buffer Size is 512kb (12ms at 44.1kHz _ 6ms at 88.2kHz).
  
  Have you tried with midi keyboard to see if the same problem occurs?
  
  Can you send to us a MidiFile with a sequence played with WindC?
  
  If you haven't a midi sequencer I think you can find several of it (free) in KVR site.
  
  
  
  Best
  
  
  
  Stefano
• jorgitosax

  January 2009 edited 4:04PM

  A little help with the ewi... I finded that my latency seems more aceptable when I use a "key delay" of zero or very low on it. The key delay is used to adjust the response of the keys, when is high it will ignore false notes you would play when trying to switch between two fingering positions (two different notes). As it is hard to move many finger exactly on time with each other, it is hard to avoid fingering false notes between them. So more latency: smoother playing, and less latency: harder playing (in my opinion)
  
  If you would like to give it a try go to page 27 of the reference manual to see how setting this
• Firebird

  January 2009 edited January 2009

  jorgitosax wrote: A little help with the ewi... I finded that my latency seems more aceptable when I use a "key delay" of zero or very low on it.
  If you put the key delay to 0, it will be easy to get a response, but very difficult to articulate.
  
  
  jorgitosax wrote: The key delay is used to adjust the response of the keys, when is high it will ignore false notes you would play when trying to switch between two fingering positions (two different notes). As it is hard to move many finger exactly on time with each other, it is hard to avoid fingering false notes between them.
  How long you have the EWI? In order to avoid the "false" notes between notes ( especially while changing octave) it needs practice. To be able to play the saxophone is not sufficient for this. The EWI is a real different instrument by itself, which has to be learned in order to play it. Sorry, if this sounds "professoral", but I did hear your problem already very often. Normally practicing scales, in all 8 octaves, for about two months makes you get rid of the "false" notes.
  
  
  jorgitosax wrote: So more latency: smoother playing, and less latency: harder playing (in my opinion)
  
  If you would like to give it a try go to page 27 of the reference manual to see how setting this
  The latency has, theoretically, nothing to do with the key delay. You will experience the same with the internal sounds of the EWI, where there is obviously no delay. My key delay is set to about 50% and I do not experience "false" notes. Also you can experience with the breath settings. More resistance gives more control, but is more difficult to get used to.
• jorgitosax

  January 2009 edited 4:04PM

  Firebird:
  If you put the key delay to 0, it will be easy to get a response, but very difficult top articulate.
  Sorry, I´m not sure about what you mean, my ARTICULATIONS don´t seem to be afeccted by a 0 key delay
  
  
  How long you have the EWI? In order to avoid the "false" notes between notes ( especially while changing octave) it needs practice. To be able to play the saxophone is not sufficient for this. The EWI is a real different instrument by itself, which has to be learned in order to play it. Sorry, if this sounds "professoral", but I did hear your problem already very often. Normally practicing scales, in all 8 octaves, for about two months makes you get rid of the "false" notes.
  I own the ewi for a year now, but I recognise I play it much more offen since I own "the trumpet" software, as it has get funnier. I´m pretty ok with my false notes, they are very difficult to ear, even with a key delay of 0. I just wanted to warn others what might happen doing so, but right now they are not a big problem for me. In fact I think that playing the ewi has helped me to fingering better the sax. Don´t worry about sounding "professoral" I try to have an "eternal student" attitude, and I´m sure I can learn a lot from you
  The latency has, theoretically, nothing to do with the key delay. You will experience the same with the internal sounds of the EWI, where there is obviously no delay. My key delay is set to about 50% and I do not experience "false" notes. Also you can experience with the breath settings. More resistance gives more control, but is more difficult to get used to.
  
  You are probably right, when I play the internal sounds with a high key delay, I can just notice an acceptable slower response (in example with trill notes). However, when playing the trumpet software, a high key delay makes the instrument response quite slow, taking away some of the fun. It might be MY own appreciation, I just wanted to point it, but people should try by themselves. I´m not a midi or computer engineer so I can´t explain why I experiment this (maybe it is all in my mind).
  
  I´m quite happy with my breath settings, since I play sax I put my resistance quite high to get the extra control. In fact I miss a bigger mouthpiece opening, I allways end with a lot of air left, wich could be used for an even higher control... Still any specific setting would be much appreciated.
• Firebird

  January 2009 edited 4:04PM

  jorgitosax wrote: Firebird:
  
  Sorry, I´m not sure about what you mean, my ARTICULATIONS don´t seem to be afeccted by a 0 key delay
  Accents, staccato, etc..... Mine is affected if the key delay is 0.
  
  especially while lifting the fingers, the reaction seam to be slower to me. On the opposite, if I put the key delay to high, then it will not respond to fingers down. But maybe it's only psycho.....
  jorgitosax wrote: You are probably right, when I play the internal sounds with a high key delay, I can just notice an acceptable slower response (in example with trill notes). However, when playing the trumpet software, a high key delay makes the instrument response quite slow, taking away some of the fun. It might be MY own appreciation, I just wanted to point it, but people should try by themselves. I´m not a midi or computer engineer so I can´t explain why I experiment this (maybe it is all in my mind).
  
  I´m quite happy with my breath settings, since I play sax I put my resistance quite high to get the extra control. In fact I miss a bigger mouthpiece opening, I allways end with a lot of air left, wich could be used for an even higher control... Still any specific setting would be much appreciated.
  As far as I know, everybody has too much air playing the EWI - At least everybody with a normal lung function-, since the EWI does not respond to the amount of air, but only to the pressure. I am not sure that a bigger mouthpiece opening would help. I let some air out on the side while playing. I also experience the discomfort of a slow response while playing software instruments with the EWI. But I had this fx with practically all oft them and there seam to be no way around this. Or if someone has a trick, please let me know. A certain latency just does exists, even with very low buffer settings. Maybe, if the technique make some progress, it will disappear???
• jorgitosax

  January 2009 edited 4:04PM

  Well, actually articulations are easier to me with a 0 key delay, again each ewi player should try all the possibilities and choose the one that fits better his/her playing...
  
  
  
  I do hate leting air escape from the sides of my mouth, it results for me in quite an unpredictable performance.
  
  
  
  All software instruments do have a delay, in fact real ones do have it also... still the less the better, and I feel the delay key set to zero makes ME feel it shorter.