Eternal neophyte seeking support group.

[WinstonCowboy]

I am looking at two different controllers. M-Audio Radium 61 and 61es.

I plan on using this with Garritan Personal Orchestra. The 61es has velocity-sensitive weighted keys w/ pitch & mod wheels....the Radium has sliders and knobs...but not weighted keys.

Doesn't the 61es have enough control & options to get the full effects of the GPO?

 

[ssscientist]

Unless you're used to using weighted keys I would go with the Radium. It's a little more expensive but the sliders and knobs uses will be obvious when you've reached a point where the samples need a little more expressive touch.

And that's what they're for --- to put finishing touches on an already good performance. Like a clarinet with vibrato and breath noise and trill and some tiny pitch variances to bring some uniqueness. Or a string passage in which the sample start times are sightly different from note to note in a calculated manner. Those are just two examples - I've found that having a full set of controls at my fingertips is almost mandatory. And the NI sample player that comes with GPO allows all of the Radiums sliders and knobs to be easily mapped to parameters...

 

[WinstonCowboy]

Hey,

Thanks so much for writing. I will be mainly using the Steinway piano sounds...but will eventually be adding in other instruments as well. However, I thought the velocity-sensitive keys...are designed to produce that "real" feel of a piano...where as the harder you hit the key the louder a tone it will produce, softer(quieter) is this correct? And if it is...I would figure that it would have the same effect on other instruments...producing a more natural sounding piece. And I thought the mod and pitch wheels...could give that vibrato sound...as well as other variances.

I thought sliders and knobs...were used mainly for parameters like volume and pan. Do the sliders really offer anything that can't be adjusted with software after the fact?

 

[tedluk]

The Radium 61 is velocity sensitive.

I think you might be getting terminology confused a little bit. Velocity Sensitivity refers to its ability to respond to different levels of force when playing, normally this would result in a louder sound the harder the keys are played although it's possible, as with all MIDI messages, to assign velocity to something different.

Semi-weighted refers to the feel of the keyboard. The Radium has what has become known as "synth-action" keys. Not terribly responsive, kind of cheap feeling, light plastic keys. It's action, IMO is adequate, but not great. The 61ES has a much better feeling to it.

If you want the closest thing to a piano, then you need to get yourself a "hammer action" keyboard. There are a number of controllers out now that boast this feature. The newest and, some think, the best is M-audio's new Keystation Pro 88, which has a "graded action" this refers to the action getting progressively lighter as you move up the keyboard as it would in a "real" piano. I wasn't overwhelmed with the feel myself, but for the money ($499.00), it's hard to beat.

BTW, your assertion that "the harder you hit the key the louder a tone it will produce...I would figure that it would have the same effect on other instruments...producing a more natural sounding piece", all depends on what sound you are producing. If, for instance, you are playing an organ sound, this behavior is not "natural" sounding at all as organs do not normally respond to velocity. It might not sound natural on other instruments as well.

Also, you should understand that the sliders and knobs are assignable to any parameter you wish. If your software/instrument is capable of responding to it, the Radium can send it! That means you can get very creative! The knobs and sliders are, perhaps, most useful as controllers for soft-synths, allowing you to adjust parameters without having to use the mouse.

Hope this helps!

Ted