Note-On/Off, and Sustain question

[sdstewart]

I've routed an acoustic guitar chords patch to my midi controller so that octave 2 C is a upstroke chord and octave 1 C is a down stroke chord..

so to strum, i alternate hitting one key after the other.. the problem is that if i want to strum slow that unless i keep my foot on the sustain pedal, the strumming gets cut off by the split second switch between keys (note off)..

i think i have a solution, but i wonder if it is possible:

is it possible to strike a key and let go of it, but have the note on remain on and sustained until another key is hit? at which point the note goes off?

sorry if this is confusing..

thanks, shawn

[Senor Cactus]

I think I understand what you're asking... maybe.

is it possible to strike a key and let go of it, but have the note on remain on and sustained until another key is hit? at which point the note goes off?

It depends on the sample itself. Some samples are repeatable samples and will continue until they are told to stop (usually by releasing the key). But some samples cut out or fade out by themselves because that is how they were recorded. If the actual recording of the sample cuts out, then you're kind of limited.

so to strum, i alternate hitting one key after the other.. the problem is that if i want to strum slow that unless i keep my foot on the sustain pedal, the strumming gets cut off by the split second switch between keys (note off)..

What's wrong with using the sustain pedal to keep the strumming going? Seems like a good solution to me. Also, what happens when you press one key before you release the other? Is there an instant where all sound actually cuts out? If not my suggestion would be: Don't release one key until you press the other.

[sdstewart]

well.. the sustain pedal is ok to an extent.. unfortunately though it tends to really make the sound muddy as it sustains through several chords.. the samples i have cut off immediately after letting go of the key.. of course i can hold the key until i press the other one, but it's not precise enough which involves a lot of post editing..

[Senor Cactus]

Yeah, interesting problem though. Never thought of using a keyboard to play a strumming pattern like that. If you doing it for a recording, I'd say record it into a midi sequencer where you can move the "note off's" to wherever you want.
If you want a way to do it live... beats the hell outta me.