I think I can explain why some people don’t gel with the Grid’s velocity and aftertouch response. Here’s a series of simple experiments where you can experience that for yourself in 5 minutes:
Set Synth up like this:
- Global Settings:
- Grid Sensitivity: Fixed (127)
- Aftertouch Mode: delayed
- Preset:
- Engine: ACD (init patch)
- Osc Volume to 100.
- Cutoff: Off
- Amp Envelope: 0s, 0s, 100%, 0.5s
- Delete all mappings for all macros: for Velocity, Aftertouch, and C1-C3
Experiment 1:
Play some notes, they will have a constant volume, no matter how hard you hit the pads.
Experiment 2:
Now map Velocity to Osc Volume and make sure the velocity value is set to 100% (even if you delete a mapping, synth remembers the previous value!).
Play some notes: no audible change to the previous experiment, because velocity is fixed to 100%
Experiment 3:
Change the velocity value between 200% and -200%, while playing some notes: There is no difference in volume at all. That mapping does nothing.
Not my expectation, I think above 100% the volume should increase, but ok.
Experiment 4:
Now set the velocity value for to 100% again, and then map Osc. Volume to Aftertouch as well, and set the aftertouch value to 0%.
Play some notes: still no change.
Experiment 5:
Now change the aftertouch value from 0 to 200% then back to -200% while playing notes (tap the pads, but avoid triggering aftertouch for now)
Now something really weird happens:
- the more you increase that scaling, the more quiet the sound becomes, until it is completely quiet
- the more you reduce scaling below 0, the louder the sound becomes
Why is that weird? We’re still operating on fixed velocity of 127, with delayed aftertouch, so the scaling factor for the aftertouch mapping should have no effect on the initial part of the sound.
Experiment 6:
Set Aftertouch scaling from to 100%, and now play and hold notes while deliberately trying to trigger aftertouch after 0.5s
Here’s what happens for me:
Response is wildly inconsistent: sometimes it’s impossible to get an audible sound, the pad lights up, but I can’t get the aftertouch to register. This happens more often when I hit the pad really hard initially, but I can get the synth in a state where several pads in a row don’t register aftertouch even when touched lightly. The same pads trigger fine a short while later.
Experiment 7:
Map OSC Volume to C1, and set the value to 100%. Turn C1 fully counterclockwise.
Now play some notes and trigger aftertouch: you won’t hear anything, because C1 has set the output volume to 0. Now you need to turn up C1 to hear anything at all.
Debriefing
Remember, we did all those experiments with the Grid’s velocity fixed to 127. If you repeat them with Grid Sensitivity set to something that produces variable output, you’ll have another level of unpredictability. Now Same goes for Mods, that is yet another layer.
Now imagine all values being set to other values than 100%, the effects will be less pronounced, which might lead to people attributing these effects to an inconsistent response of the Grid to pressure, when they are in fact a response of the sound to velocity and aftertouch, so they will also be experienced when using an external keyboard.
So I can definitely see how some people might find the response to the pads inconsistent and weird: it’s so simple to set up a sound that reacts unpredictably. But other sounds might react just fine, so other people will not see the problem, because they don’t play the same sounds.
Maybe a formula that would explain how all all modulations work together in modifying a parameter’s value might be helpful, because a clear mental model goes a long way in understanding and predicting outcomes. We could try and divine that formula through more experiments, or any developer involved in creating the Synth might just reveal that to us,
