Not enough aftertouch

[noguud]

I have had a Kronos 2 since March. I’ve been bonding with it, I am usually slow to warm up to new gear. I really dig it now, I think it sounds great. I have had fun importing old dx7 programs, but haven’t done a huge amount of from-scratch programming yet. I have piddled around, but I have a Kingkorg as well, and can get many things quicker there just because of how familiar I am with it (and its simplicity).

Biggest miss in my book, and maybe this has been complained about before, is most factory programs don’t have aftertouch mapped to anything. I get that I can do it, but it just seems like vibrato, swells, opening filters, etc could have already been mapped in an interesting way. Otherwise, no complaints!

I have yet to finish reading the manual. Kind of dry!

Been relying a bunch on what I picked up on here.

[KK]

Hi there and congrats on your Kronos 2.

Indeed, there are only few stock programs doing useful/interesting use of aftertouch (AT).

Hopefully you have a 61 key Kronos which is less tough to initialize AT pressing keys. Because the 88 key version uses the RH3 action that has quite tight tolerances, initiating AT on a 88 needs a rather insane amount of force, regardless of the included ridiculous AT calibration (which actually acts against you). I designed a hardware solution for this, but it is rather complicated.

Also, regardless of the K2 model you have, you can use the AMS mixers if you feel the assigned AT is not strong enough to achieve your goals.

[noguud]

I do have the 88 key. And you are correct, AT seems pretty stiff. I have not exercised it very much yet.

I’m curious, when you say hardware solution, do you mean a modification, or just simply control from another keyboard when you use AT?

[KK]

Yes it is a hardware mod I did on mine. Inside the K2 is a tiny PCB that controls the AT. By adding some components to it, the AT threshold can be made easier to initiate instead of bleeding from the fingers pushing like crazy on the keys. Of course, it implies some soldering, knowledge in electronics, etc.

[Mike Conway]

I do have the 88 key. And you are correct, AT seems pretty stiff. I have not exercised it very much yet.

Just curious. Have you gone to Global - Basic and played with the Aftertouch Curves?

[noguud]

Nope, not yet. I do have another board that has programs that have aftertouch mapped (and I have more experience playing). I will see if I can get it dialed in while controlling that. The Kronos keybed is really nice.

I’ve done quick passes through all the programs several times now just to get a sense for what is available. I will start customizing programs more, I have done very little tweaking yet that I ended up saving.