How are faders on midi keyboards used?

Author
DragonBlood
Max Output Level: -88 dBFS
  • Total Posts : 142
  • Joined: 2014/07/04 03:06:20
  • Status: offline
2014/12/19 03:31:24 (permalink)

How are faders on midi keyboards used?

They don't move or anything do they? I'd hope they'd at least move, but I doubt it.
If they don't move, whats the point of of a fader thats static and stays in place once you adjust it?
 
I'm only curious as to how the different stuff on midi keyboards usually work. 
#1

4 Replies Related Threads

    azslow3
    Max Output Level: -42.5 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 3297
    • Joined: 2012/06/22 19:27:51
    • Location: Germany
    • Status: offline
    Re: How are faders on midi keyboards used? 2014/12/19 05:04:52 (permalink)
    Faders  on analog mixers are also do not move on there own... But some people still find them useful
     
    http://www.azslow.com/index.php/topic,12.0.html
     

    Sonar 8LE -> Platinum infinity, REAPER, Windows 10 pro
    GA-EP35-DS3L, E7500, 4GB, GTX 1050 Ti, 2x500GB
    RME Babyface Pro (M-Audio Audiophile Firewire/410, VS-20), Kawai CN43, TD-11, Roland A500S, Akai MPK Mini, Keystation Pro, etc.
    www.azslow.com - Control Surface Integration Platform for SONAR, ReaCWP, AOSC and other accessibility tools
    #2
    Bonzos Ghost
    Max Output Level: -68 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 1112
    • Joined: 2005/03/31 15:46:09
    • Location: Canada - Left Coast
    • Status: offline
    Re: How are faders on midi keyboards used? 2014/12/19 11:29:45 (permalink)
    They control whatever you assign them to. If you're controlling a synth that recognizes a lot of different CC values, then the sky's pretty much the limit. Volume, filter cutoff & resonance, portamento time, fx sends, delay time, ADSR control for filters/amplitude, you name it....the list is long. Those are just some of the basic parameters you may want to have real time access to while you're playing.
    #3
    AT
    Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 10654
    • Joined: 2004/01/09 10:42:46
    • Location: TeXaS
    • Status: offline
    Re: How are faders on midi keyboards used? 2014/12/19 11:41:36 (permalink)
    Yes, they move.  As Bonzo sez, they are usually assignable.  Many are set up to control the vol on tracks.  Or Hammond organ faders.
     
    @

    https://soundcloud.com/a-pleasure-dome
    http://www.bnoir-film.com/  
     
    there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
    24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
    #4
    Rain
    Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 9736
    • Joined: 2003/11/07 05:10:12
    • Location: Las Vegas
    • Status: offline
    Re: How are faders on midi keyboards used? 2014/12/19 17:43:44 (permalink)
    I'm guessing that you mean that, unlike motorized faders, they aren't wired to mirror automation and changes on-screen.
     
    They can still be useful, though. Creating automation with the mouse, either by drawing envelopes directly or manipulating an onscreen fader isn't always the most inspiring or efficient way to do things - sometime you just want to hit play and be able to get into the song and write down some automation on a more intuitive level. 
     
    A bit like drawing mod wheel automation is much more intuitive using an actual mod wheel while the song plays back than with the mouse.
     
    Same with adjusting synth or plug-ins.
     
    At one point, I realized that I was fighting a reflex because  if I had been dealing with hardware, I'd have turned my head a bit to bring my right ear closer to facing the sound source directly, while keeping my fingers on the knob and making minute adjustments. It's something that I did intuitively with hardware - my ears wanted to take command and my eyes had to be put on stand-by.
     
    When you're using a mouse, you don't really have a notion of the actual movement and of just how much you're moving things. If you close your eyes, you likely to end up with the pointer somewhere completely different moving another parameter or who knows what, because a mouse isn't anchored to anything specific onscreen. A fader or a knob can be assigned to a parameter, so no matter what happens onscreen, you are effectively controlling exactly that parameter and nothing else.
     
    You get used to working with a mouse but keyboards faders can allow you to shift the focus back to what you hear instead of what you see.

    TCB - Tea, Cats, Books...
    #5
    Jump to:
    © 2024 APG vNext Commercial Version 5.1