Midi velocity / midi pressure ratio need a dedicated parameter

[RJ-Eckie]

Currently, pressure is calculated from midi notes as follows:

• the note velocity (0-127) scales the initial pressure from 0 - 50%
• the highest of the pressure values (mono- or polyphonic, 0-127) adds another 0 - 50% on top of that

This solution is great for synths with capacitive keyboards as they send a pressure value immediately when a note is triggered. Therefor they respond quite similar to the plinky itself

This solution is good for keyboards with aftertouch, as they have a significant pressure range to control with aftertouch

This solution is bad for sequencers and keyboards without aftertouch, as they can never trigger any note with a pressure value over 50%

Proposed solution

The weight ratio of velocity and pressure can be set with a single parameter:

• at 100%, note velocity defines 100% of plinky pressure, pressure does nothing
• at 0%, note velocity does nothing, pressure defines 100% of plinky pressure
• at 50%, note velocity and pressure both define 50% of plinky pressure (current behavior)

The calculation is always: (x% * note velocity / 127) + ((100% - x%) * pressure / 127)
With this parameter defaulted to 50%, the behavior for all existing patches is identical and the pressure-sensitivity can be set to user preference

Needs a global parameter menu

[makingsoundmachines]

Why not keep this simple: Velocity and Pressure do the same thing, so Velocity 1-127 maps the full range of pressure. You can determine which one to use with a comparison which of the two is larger.

The argument for this is mainly to avoid this behaviour:

• at 100%, note velocity defines 100% of plinky pressure, pressure does nothing

I think in almost all instances, Plinky should make a sound when you touch the surface. Also, you avoid introducing another parameter.

[RJ-Eckie]

I think in almost all instances, Plinky should make a sound when you touch the surface

This is talking exclusively about midi pressure, not physical touch pressure. This parameter would not alter the physical touch behavior at all

Also, you avoid introducing another parameter

We have to weigh the up/downsides of adding a parameter versus globally changing how midi responds for everyone, including on existing patches. For people who have their current patches set up to work well with their midi controller, changing the global midi velocity and pressure calculation would alter all their patches. That feels like a dealbreaker to me. Creating a new parameter that by default mirrors the current behavior avoids this.

I generally agree that less complexity is better, but there are lots of types of midi controllers out there that fundamentally work differently. I feel adding one parameter to have all kinds of midi controllers respond well is worth it

[makingsoundmachines]

Oh sorry I misunderstood this was only about MIDI pressure.

In this case, let me try one more suggestion:

Velocity 1-127 sets the voices internal pressure param to the velocity value.

If MIDI pressure is received, this is updated with every MIDI pressure message received for that voice.
If no MIDI pressure is received, the velocity level stays set. The voices' pressure remains constant for the duration of the note.

[RJ-Eckie]

If I'm understanding correctly what you're saying, that describes both the current situation and my proposed solution!