Pads react poorly when pads are not set to a fixed value. With pads sensitivity set to a fixed value (even 10) I can play lightly on the pads without any issue. When I switch to a non fixed velocity my inputs are missed approximately 1/3.
I don’t know what is the curve but maybe limiting the lowest velocity to 10 for instance would solve the issue.
Hey @christophe.tornieri, this has come up once or twice. So i’ve taken the liberty to slighty change the title of your topic.
- I’m curious to hear what others think/feel about the responsiveness / behaviour of the pads?
- How does everyone feel about them?
- Do you like them?
- Do they feel hit or miss?
Thanks for the update.
They are not bad but they are not great. I have other devices with pads (Ableton Move and Sonicware Lofi 12 XT) and they both have better pads in my opinion. I never miss a note with these while I have a lot more missing notes with the Synth pads.
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Soft/light touches feel too soft. Agree with OP. I have to think about the pressure i’m pressing them when I’m using velocity and press them harder than I think I should. Maybe different response curve options would help?
Same experience as the OP. Anything other than fixed velocity is not usable for me, I get missed notes often or just too quiet.
Just to clarify: Do you mean the note does not trigger, or the velocity is so low the note is inaudible?
I don’t know. I have to check with a midi monitoring to see if it actually trigger or not.
But since it works with a fixed velocity I guess
It is mainly a problem of too low velocity.
I have played around on Artiphon’s Orba 2 and Chorda and the one thing they got really good was their pads - sheer delight to use compared to any silicone pads I have experienced. The ones on the Synth I find better than the other silicone pads but still frustrating. I have to use the most light settings, anything else will hurt my hands and even the lightest makes me feel I will hurt my hands if I play too long. (On the Play Plus it doesn’t matter too much when step recording patterns.)
Frankly, I can see a generation of musicians who will have damaged hands in their older years from playing so much on silicone pads.
I would want an even lighter touch threshold and a bit more velocity response.
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So here are my observations after monitoring the midi output:
When velocity is fixed, I receive the notes but I do get some miss.
When velocity is set to delicate or normal, I do get some miss like with fixed velocity but I also get really low value when I hit the pad lightly. Typically values range from 1 to 8 (delicate) and 1 to 15 (normal). There is not a big difference for low velocities between delicate and normal. The difference seems to be more on the higher velocities. It is more difficult to hit the max velocity with normal than with delicate.
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Coming from a more melodic style I appreciate the more expressive quality of of the delicate setting. (But I confess I didn’t catch on to the “fixed” element of the fixed velocity settings at first. Normally I’m one for saying "Read the Manual - this time it was me that didn’t!)
Is there anything in the manual about what options are available, and what they mean? If so, I must have missed it.
I would love to see the actual curves in the manual, then we would have an informed discussion.
Ah, you caught me out there - I only realised from this thread. Just checked the manual and didn’t find an explanation there, but I didn’t spend much time trying.
I find it variable, I’ve tried ‘delicate’ and ‘tough as hell’ and playing with different levels of force and I must admit I find the delicate the closest to what I want but it’s still too tricky to get full velocity. In some ways I want a ‘feather’ touch for it, because one of the fun things is ‘strumming’ a set of intervals with a touch and for that you definitely need fixed velocity.
For comparison I use an XKey37 as a controller for some things and bloody hell, that thing is more sensitive than a government spy dossier. Fairly sure if anyone had tiny telekinetic powers they’d be able to trigger an XKey just by looking at it, but it’s necessary to learn a light playing style if you want it not to rattle or trigger full aftertouch all the time.
It’s definitely a player skill vs. velocity curve thing, but I’d be curious about the Synth’s ‘relative consistency’ across the physical pads, if there’s a calibration LUT for them so the pads respond consistently across the board, or if different locations are behaving differently.
My experience (trying to find the best setting for myself) is that the pads are consistent but different patches seem to differ - some feel as if they are on a different setting to the others because at lower velocity the patch doesn’t seem to make any sound, you have to hit the pad harder, too hard for my liking and comfort.
That makes sense. Different patch makers probably had different pad settings and tweaked their patches accordingly.
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Yeah, pads are pretty consistent, but when you mix and match different patches to a scene, responsiveness often varies wildly between synth slots.
Adjusting Velocity and AT settings in patches is something you actively need to manage when creating performances.
I think it would be really helpful to have a patch level setting for responsiveness that can override the system setting.
I can see the value of this, but I’d be happy if the global setting gave me what I really want - an even lighter touch responsiveness and consistency. I’d say consistency is crucial.
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I just put my Launchpad Pro MK3 on sale, and this is the best answer I can give to this question. 
The LPP pads are better but… so much better that I would make space for it in my desk, turn it on, select it on my DAW… Nah, the fact is that since I got the Synth I haven’t touched the controller and I’m happy enough with the Synth pads. For the use I make of them, of course, this approach might not fit everyone.
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I think it might depend on the musical background people have. If you’re used to making music on pads you are used to hitting the pads hard (perhaps?). If you come from more traditional instruments then the gentler touch is what you expect, and want to use. I fit in the latter.
I experimented with Velocity and Aftertouch response a bit, and found a couple of relationships between Macros, Velocity an Aftertouch that can result in some behavior that I experienced as unexpected and inconsistent, but that can be avoided once you know what to watch out for:
I developed a short tutorial that demonstrates these effects:
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