MPE support

[teknico]

I'm looking forward to using the Wavestate with my Linnstrument and Roli controllers.

However, Dan Phillips said in the huge Gearslutz thread that it does not support the MPE standard, adding no further details.

I hope that the Wavestate architecture allows adding MPE support, and that Korg is willing to consider this.

[Sharp]

Probably doesn't make sense to add MPE given they don't make any MPE controllers.

Why would they build in support for something they don't sell?

Regards
Sharp.

[teknico]

Why would they build in support for something they don't sell?

Because, unlike MIDI 2.0, MPE products have been on the market for a while already. A relatively small, one-time expense would allow them to sell synths to MPE-controller users like myself.

It's not clear how much it would increase their sales, but it might be enough to justify the effort. And eventually Korg will have to enter the market of MPE controllers anyway.

[Narioso]

To put things in perspective - not every keyboard, actually rather few - have even channel aftertouch and poly aftertouch even less.

Yamaha CS80 had kind of poly aftertouch, even before midi existed - so not PAT, but that sense of keybed.

When did anybody follow?
Jupiter 8 maybe, DX7 not sure.
But disappeared to larger degree.

And this spec has been from start 1984 or so.
AT added in later firmware in Prologue, as I understand.
Only keyboard with AT I have is DeepMind.

Only keybed I owned that had good enough stroke to put feel into AT was Arturia AnalogLab I had for while.
- What are you supposed to do unless you can feel it?

And not even all daws allows recording of poly aftertouch - 35 years since in midi specs.

I think Reaper allow MPE, not all sure.
So maybe MPE is not that important after all.
Some are frontrunners into the new stuff - others couldn't care less.

Some yell for microtuning, and Prologue have it(or got it late, not sure).

But not in Wavestate as far as I could tell from manual.
So not as big a thing as Korg discovered.

That's one thing I use on piano to get rid of some harmonic beating - so could be useful for Wavestate too.

[Sharp]

eventually Korg will have to enter the market of MPE controllers anyway.

Maybe, maybe not. MPE controllers are a bit of gimmick in my opinion. Many who play them spend more time bending notes just for the sake of it rather than for any valid reason that benifits the music being performed.

The Wavestate doesn't even have Aftertouch on the keybed let alone an expression pedal input jack. So that should be a clear indication that MPE support will never happen. Same goes for Yamaha and Roland who also don't support MPE.

Regards
Sharp.

[teknico]

MPE controllers are a bit of gimmick in my opinion. Many who play them spend more time bending notes just for the sake of it rather than for any valid reason that benifits the music being performed.

I strongly disagree. Many strings players would probably disagree too.

The Wavestate doesn't even have Aftertouch on the keybed let alone an expression pedal input jack. So that should be a clear indication that MPE support will never happen. Same goes for Yamaha and Roland who also don't support MPE.

The Wavestate supports channel and poly aftertouch over MIDI even though it cannot generate them, so there's no correlation here.

I guess Korg, Yamaha and Roland will not support the upcoming MIDI 2.0 standard either then?

[Narioso]

MPE controllers are a bit of gimmick in my opinion. Many who play them spend more time bending notes just for the sake of it rather than for any valid reason that benifits the music being performed.

+1 - wisdom of it all that matters

Many operations are two-handed anyway with MPE - some I saw.

If doing solo notes - feet and other hand can do joystick or mod key stuff
Joystick can be decoupled from volume and just do modulation as selected.

If playing over a pad - split keyboard do pad, and solo with feet.

To do so many things at once - with fluency and musicality and make it second nature - our brain is not capable. To really express intensity you can do poly AT and make a difference - from another keyboard then with PAT.

Looking at these dots for MPE boards like some make - what kind of fluency will you get?
- single notes, fine, but fast melodic lines with same expression one some and diverse on others.

AT and PAT I can understand to a degree - you can express differently on a couple of notes at the same time as holding chords and doing two handed.

Keyboard players can basically play over entire board without looking - the notes are second nature.

And fingers can linger and do PAT on some - very doable. Modulate on pitch and filter - can be done now in Wavestate(from AT keybord).

What is it that MPE is supposed to extend on?
Doing pitch and filter separately - make expression pedal do filter over CC#1 or CC#11.

So marketing hype is what I see. Agents from Roli and Roger Linn and early adopters possibly.

Give us ignorant over MPE excellence - what it can bring - demos that show off - something that cannot be done anyway.

Drummers have 4 lims they can make very independent. Organ player have two hands and feet pedal board - all independent.

[WaveTable30]

there is actually a poly aftertouch mod assignment or WS that works if you plug in a midi controller - for example, I use a cme xkey 37, and when i want to assign, say, the filter to aftertouch when the ws waits for the destination, I play a key on the xkey and press down, it will recognize it - it works, I will say that at least. Ive not gone in depth with it to test the responsiveness, but it does function.

of course the xkey is not an mpe controller, and i dont have a seaboard - i may choose to get one down the road.

[sj1]

It's a disappointment that Wavestate and Wavestate Native do not support MPE.

For me, it's a bedrock basic requirement at this point. Any $$ I spend now or in the future on synthesis HW or software will be for products with full MPE support.

There is simply no going back ...