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Controllers => KeyLab Essential => KeyLab Essential - Technical Issues => Topic started by: BreakerFix on July 07, 2022, 01:09:39 am

Title: Can the KeyLab Essential 88 send Channel Aftertouch (AT) /Channel Pressure?
Post by: BreakerFix on July 07, 2022, 01:09:39 am
I have one quick question. Can the KeyLab Essential 88 send Channel Aftertouch (AT) /Channel Pressure?


Thank you. ;D
Title: Re: Can the KeyLab Essential 88 send Channel Aftertouch (AT) /Channel Pressure?
Post by: MajorFubar on July 07, 2022, 08:42:31 am
No sadly not. None of the Essential line have aftertouch.
Title: Re: Can the KeyLab Essential 88 send Channel Aftertouch (AT) /Channel Pressure?
Post by: BreakerFix on July 07, 2022, 03:18:09 pm
Yes. That IS sad. VERY sad & disappointing. I really thought I was on to something. I greatly appreciate your prompt reply, even if I don't like the answer. I know YOU didn't make the keyboard. I guess I'll keep looking. I'll just go away murmuring... murmur....murmur.... :'(....


Thank you.

Ummm.  :-\  Is there something I need to do to close this or mark it as [Solved] or something?? :-[
Title: Re: Can the KeyLab Essential 88 send Channel Aftertouch (AT) /Channel Pressure?
Post by: MajorFubar on July 08, 2022, 10:54:43 am
No unfortunately not. Don't worry about it, the thread will just drift down of its own accord (says me posting to it and pushing it back to the top).

My personal opinion, which presumably isn't shared by Arturia: Arturia shouldn't market controllers which cannot fully make use of the software they come with. There's an absolute TON of presets in Analog Lab which only work 'properly' with aftertouch, particularly those which use the CS80 soft-synth, whose sound IRL was literally defined by the fact it had (polyphonic) aftertouch. This is another perfect example of capitalism at its worst: aftertouch is classed as a 'pro' feature so it's excluded from the Essential controllers, and from competitors' controllers in the same class, even though it would cost cents to fit.

The minute some competitor has the balls to swallow it up and include aftertouch in their lower-priced controllers, they'll all be doing it, including Arturia. Thirty years ago we were saying the same thing about velocity-sensitive keys on synths and workstations, but now they're standard because one day someone (think it was Roland) had the balls to fit it to their cheaper line of products, so suddenly all the competitors had to follow suit or face looking obsolete.