I want to use the “thru” function so the drums can be receptive to playing velocities. Can you tell me what controls the degree of sensitivity for this?

The NOTE-ON event used to trigger the start of the arpeggio Phrase will determine the playback volume of the entire phrase.

If you set the VELOCITY MODE = THRU, then “how hard” you strike the key will determine the overall volume reproduced by the arpeggio Phrase. If you strike the key at a velocity of 64 the drums will play a lower volume than if you strike that trigger key at a velocity of 120.

VELOCITY MODE = ORIGINAL means the phrase will play as the author of the data originally played it.

The overall Velocity Curve of your keyboard determines how Velocity values are interpreted for input to the tone generator.

Thx - not really the answer I was hoping for - that stuff I already knew. I asked only because I could not find a reference in the manuals, nor by trial and error, to any one control to adjust the sensitivity of the THRU function.

Seemed that the slightest variation on key velocity made rather drastic changes to the drum volume. Keyboard is set to the normal (or factory default) velocity settings. Which is the setting I want to use for normal playing.

So going by the answer there is no way for a user to adjust this, OTHER than having to reset the overall velocity of the keyboard to the detriment of playing dynamics and comfort.

Okly dokly, we will put that down as a (personal) strike against the MOXf. Please note NOT a criticism, just a statement of how it is.

Maybe I’m missing something here but why would you want to the drums to fluctuate in volume like that? I can see wanting dynamics within a song, and also within the individual components that make up the beat but can’t see why you’d want this for the ‘pattern’ itself. If you want, say, a stronger ‘version’ of a drum arp you could try simply re-recording the pattern at different levels (i.e. intensities) and then switch between them as you wish. Apologies if I’m missing your underlying reason here but maybe that’ll help. If not, sorry!

MM

thx MM- no offence but you sorta did miss it :-)

All I am looking for is to have the drums lose some volume if I play softer passages. As it is, if I start playing softer (and the keyboard responds nicely to this) the drums just keep banging away at the same level - like they don’t “follow” the dynamics of the song.

Now this is covered in some degree by the THRU option, but then there is no control for the amount to which this control can be applied, so a small reduction in keybed velocity equates to a rather large drop in drum volume which DOES sound quite awful.

Anyway as I wrote, it is what it is - just another little disappointment in the MOXf for me...again please note, JMO!

It giveth and it taketh away ;-)

Maybe I am missing something??
Use one arp for one passage (hard part)
change arp to the next passage (soft part)

??

you are right - you are missing something - lots in fact.

Yeah lots of information from YOU! but who cares right?

Plenty of info already given bud, if you don’t understand, than that’s an issue for you not me!

miden - 28 December 2013 03:25 PM

I want to use the “thru” function so the drums can be receptive to playing velocities. Can you tell me what controls the degree of sensitivity for this?

Hi miden,

Are you wanting to do this for Recording or for live use?

Jerry

I’m assuming you are in Performance mode, yes? If so, can’t you just nudge down the slider controlling the drum part/volume? I still feel that any form of ‘automated’ level adjustment based on your live playing dynamics could be an accident waiting to happen. Obviously I have no idea what sort of music you’re playing but to have drums maintain a certain level while the pitched instruments duck down a little shouldn’t be a disaster. Real live drummers - in my fairly substantial live experience - are rarely enormously dynamic, tbh, because playing drums does require a certain amount of physical intensity and to play drums ‘lightly’ changes the tone dramatically. I think most drummers would change both what they’re playing plus the intensity with which they are playing. I’m not sure most would play exactly the same ‘just lighter’ which is what you’d get if you wishes were to come true. As an interesting side-note, I worked as a consultant many years ago with Farfisa on their F1 workstation and this did have a feature along the lines you request. However, both intensity and ‘complexity’ of the drumbeats responded to playing dynamics. It was along time ago but if memory serves it was, well, pretty temperamental. Even more so than the average drummer!

I think we’re agreed that the MOXF does not (even claim to) have such a feature but maybe the real-time slider adjustment might give you what you want? I remain unconvinced it’d sound that good but it’s very difficult to be helpful without knowing the music in question of course. Worst case, just food for your thoughts anyhow!

Good luck.

MM

Thanks MM - fwiw I have played with drummers who can actually alter the “energy used” to play the same beat...afaik, it is not a particularly difficult skill to acquire ;-) to most jazz drummers it would be shelling peas!

It is not a huge volume drop, more a subtle shaping for an example the keys goes over to a light left hand comp with a gentle right hand solo, bass man backs off a tad, and the drums follow - it is more subtle dynamics I am talking about rather than wholesale changes..

@Jerry - it is for live playing of drum/percussion arps, with me playing left hand basslines, and right hand keys :-) I usually reset the arps so I would have MA, fill, MB, fill, MC (if one is available) and then an End arp...all drums as I play the rest live.

PS: there is a super app called Jamstix which achieves this brilliantly - BUT I don’t want to take my laptop on stage. However that is a decision I may have to re-assess. Which then means I really don’t need the MOXf anymore as I have all my VSTi’s to use with a controller keyboard instead...so if I jump that way, it would be bye bye MOXf - superfluous to requirements :-)

At the moment I am using it (MOX) and the iPad with some degree of success, but I am wanting to play more live and less with a backing track (even though said tracks are pretty much drums and bass only)