Kronos X88 Aftertouch is much too stiff after calibration!

TheWolf · Post by **TheWolf** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:25 am

I have absolutely no problem with the keyboard on my Kronos X 88 after I calibrated its aftertouch to my liking. Neither do I have to use a hammer to get maximum velocity nor do I have to lean on it to get aftertouch.

BobTheDog · Post by **BobTheDog** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:32 am

TheWolf wrote:I have absolutely no problem with the keyboard on my Kronos X 88 after I calibrated its aftertouch to my liking. Neither do I have to use a hammer to get maximum velocity nor do I have to lean on it to get aftertouch.

Lucky you, want to swap?

Actually I wonder if the people with heavy aftertouch are also the people that had the original keybed rubbers changed, are all the X versions better maybe?

semmi78 · Post by **semmi78** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 10:12 am

I have a 73 key version with the renewed keybed. I have to press really hard. Did the aftertouch calibration but that did not change it.
Rarely use aftertouch though but it would be nice using it with string sounds.

ed_f · Post by **ed_f** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 3:22 pm

bugzoo wrote:Thanks Ed,

I found it on page 808 of the Parameter Guide. Unfortunately I've been doing the procedure correctly already.

I think the problem is mainly that the minimum pressure threshold required to get the calibration procedure to start reading is far too much.

Is anyone else able to get a nice comfortable aftertouch range happening on their Kronos X88?

I agree with you. That is why I posted earlier in this thread that you cannot set "anything you want" - I have tried to find the bare minimum and it is still to firm for my tastes.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 3:41 pm

Someone had modded my 2nd hand TEX61 to have very responsive aftertouch. It was awful because it would cause brief bits of modulation whenever I played stuff with a strong attack. I prefer it to be relatively stiff, personally.

QuiRobinez · Post by **QuiRobinez** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 3:48 pm

SanderXpander wrote:Someone had modded my 2nd hand TEX61 to have very responsive aftertouch. It was awful because it would cause brief bits of modulation whenever I played stuff with a strong attack. I prefer it to be relatively stiff, personally.

yes me too,
when it's to responsive the aftertouch would constantly kick in like on a virus TI and Kawai K5000S which uses a fatar keyboard that is also extremely responsive for aftertouch. I always have an active midi filter on it which filters the aftertouch values when i play on them in a DAW.

The Kronos is perfect for the way i use it, i did calibrate it by the way.

bugzoo · Post by **bugzoo** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 4:00 pm

I agree that if Aftertouch is too sensitive then you may possibly get some Aftertouch data sent on very FFF playing. But in the case of some of us, we cannot get any Aftertouch to be sent unless extremely hard pressure is applied to the keyboard.

Clearly there is a problem for some of us.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 4:49 pm

There is also the option to increase the effect of the aftertouch in the patch. Have you tried that yet?

BobTheDog · Post by **BobTheDog** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 5:51 pm

QuiRobinez wrote:
SanderXpander wrote:Someone had modded my 2nd hand TEX61 to have very responsive aftertouch. It was awful because it would cause brief bits of modulation whenever I played stuff with a strong attack. I prefer it to be relatively stiff, personally.
yes me too,
when it's to responsive the aftertouch would constantly kick in like on a virus TI and Kawai K5000S which uses a fatar keyboard that is also extremely responsive for aftertouch. I always have an active midi filter on it which filters the aftertouch values when i play on them in a DAW.

The Kronos is perfect for the way i use it, i did calibrate it by the way.

I take it your not to enamoured with the aftertouch on your Ableton Push then? I only have to breath on mine to set it off!

QuiRobinez · Post by **QuiRobinez** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 6:17 pm

BobTheDog wrote:I take it your not to enamoured with the aftertouch on your Ableton Push then? I only have to breath on mine to set it off!

true, i didn't like the original settings of the pads, so i changed them to my own preferences, these are my sensitivity settings which i really like for the push controller:

- Pad threshold = -4
- Velocity Curve = LOG 2
- Scene Workflow

danatkorg · Post by **danatkorg** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 7:04 pm

bugzoo wrote:The Kronos X88 Aftertouch is much too stiff! I did the calibration on it but no matter what I do I have to apply far too much pressure to the keys to get response.

and:

bugzoo wrote:Maybe I am missing something. How are others doing the Aftertouch calibration procedure on their units?

I'd recommend the procedure from the manuals and onboard help system:

1. To ensure correct calibration, play the keyboard from the same position as when you’re actually performing.
2. Slowly depress any note and verify that the bar indicator moves from left to right.
3. Release the note before the bar reaches the right edge, to match the amount of pressure at which you want the maximum aftertouch effect to occur.
4. Press the Done button.

I'll add that the bar turns dark blue once it's in the range acceptable for calibration. For the lightest possible touch, release the note as soon as the bar turns dark.

As another note, playing on a weighted keyboard requires more force than playing on a synth-action keyboard. My understanding is that because of this, aftertouch for weighted keyboards needs to be a little less sensitive; if it was more sensitive, aftertouch would be accidentally happening all of the time. So, it's unsurprising to me that this issue has come up with weighted keyboards from other manufacturers, as mentioned earlier in this thread.

bugzoo wrote:Same problem on my friend's Kronos 88x. We even calibrated the internal offset and gain trimmer pots inside the Kronos (pretty much every keyboard with Aftertouch has them). Immediately after doing that we were able to get a nice acceptable response - BUT - as soon as we went through the Aftertouch calibration procedure from the front panel, the response went right back to being very stiff.

I'd strongly recommend against opening up the instrument and playing with the trim-pots. That's a very bad idea unless you're a professional keyboard tech AND the service manual is open and in front of you.

bugzoo · Post by **bugzoo** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 7:56 pm

I'll add that the bar turns dark blue once it's in the range acceptable for calibration. For the lightest possible touch, release the note as soon as the bar turns dark.

Hi Dan,

Therein lies the problem. That required range that Korg has predetermined for us is actually NOT ACCEPTABLE for all keybeds they have chosen to put in the Kronos. Obviously keybeds vary from unit to unit. Why not give us a meter on the screen and let us set our own offset, gain, and curve?

Trying to automate the process with the preset threshold range has actually backfired and CAUSED the problem you are trying to solve in calibrating it.

The only way I can complete the aftertouch calibration process is to force down the keys to get into the range- which is too high for these keybeds.

danatkorg · Post by **danatkorg** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:11 pm

bugzoo wrote:
I'll add that the bar turns dark blue once it's in the range acceptable for calibration. For the lightest possible touch, release the note as soon as the bar turns dark.
Hi Dan,

Therein lies the problem. That required range that Korg has predetermined for us is actually NOT ACCEPTABLE for all keybeds they have chosen to put in the Kronos. Obviously keybeds vary from unit to unit.

I don't know that's the case, actually.

At this point, I would suggest that you contact the support department of your national Korg Distributor (e.g., if you're in the USA, contact Korg USA) using the link in my signature. I'm sure that by working you through things in real-time, they'll be able to get you up and running - just like the other thousands upon thousands of users of Korg weighted keyboards.

bugzoo · Post by **bugzoo** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:20 pm

Hi Dan,

Why not at least just consider changing the preset threshold in an upcoming OS revision? I think the problem may go away for a lot of people. Let the players set aftertouch how they want.

As I said previously, on my friend's unit we were able to get the aftertouch working great by adjusting the internal trimmers. (I am an experienced shop tech and design consultant on several recent commercial alternate controllers). So we know the aftertouch sensor pressure strip and circuit on that unit works perfectly fine. BUT... as soon as we run the calibration procedure the unit went right back out of whack and got stiff as a board because the software threshold requirement is set much too high.

The calibration routine, more specifically, the preset threshold in the OS software, is out of whack IMHO.

danatkorg · Post by **danatkorg** » Tue Nov 19, 2013 11:07 pm

bugzoo wrote: Why not at least just consider changing the preset threshold in an upcoming OS revision?

There are various things that I think could be improved in this area, with the usual constraints of time and resources. For the moment, it's probably best to focus on getting the most out of the system as it stands.

bugzoo wrote:As I said previously, on my friend's unit we were able to get the aftertouch working great by adjusting the internal trimmers. (I am an experienced shop tech and design consultant on several recent commercial alternate controllers).

As I wrote previously, I'd strongly recommend against opening up the instrument and playing with the trim-pots. That's a very bad idea unless you're a professional keyboard tech AND the service manual is open and in front of you. My suspicion is that further investigation on that manually adjusted instrument would show that aftertouch was being invoked inadvertently during normal playing of the keyboard.