Aftertouch
The presence of the aftertouch function in the keyboard (aftertouch). The essence of this function is to track the pressure force on the key after it is pressed. In fact, this means that in models with aftertouch, you can control the sound not only due to the force and speed of pressing the key, but also due to the change in pressure on it after pressing; this gives additional features and allows you to use various specific tricks of the game. The specific ways of changing the sound “tied” to aftertouch can be different, depending on the synthesis settings set: for example, when recording a guitar part, you can tie a small change in tone to this function and imitate string bending, when recording a saxophone, change the volume of notes, and etc.
Relatively inexpensive models use a common sensor to monitor aftertouch, which monitors the average force of pressure on all keys pressed; in more advanced ones, separate sensors are installed for each key.
Transposition
The presence of the transposition function in the keyboard — switching the sound to a different key. When transposing, the pitch of all keys is simultaneously raised or lowered by a certain number of semitones. This function is useful in all cases when a melody learned in one key needs to be played in a different key — for example, if the original melody is too high or too low for the vocalist, if the external accompaniment differs in key, if you need to switch between keys during the song, and etc. In such situations, by transposing the sound, you can play a melody in a new key using the same familiar keys without relearning it.
Pads
The number of
pads provided in the design of the keyboard.
Pads are auxiliary controls in the form of characteristic pads, usually square. The pads respond to touch, each of them can be tied to a specific sound or even a sequence of sounds. One of the most popular ways to use pads is to play drums or other rhythmic instruments.
Faders
The number of
faders provided in the design of the keyboard.
A fader is a slider control. The simplest kind of such controls is the volume setting; if there is one fader in the design, most likely it is responsible for the volume. If there are more controls, other functions can be tied to them, respectively — in particular, changing the settings in the recording programme on the computer to which the keyboard is connected.
Regulators (encoders)
The number
of encoder controlsprovided in the design of the keyboard.
Such a knob looks like a rotary knob, with which you can control various functions of the device to which the keyboard is connected — for example, turn the virtual knobs in the programme for recording and sound processing. At the same time, we note that a full-fledged encoder is capable of rotating 360 ° and turning to any angle in any direction, however, keyboards can also contain knobs with a limited rotation sector — they can also be called encoders. None of these options has a clear advantage: in some cases, an unlimited turning sector is more convenient, in others, a limited one.
Connectable pedals
The maximum number of pedals that can be connected to the keyboard at the same time.
Pedals are used as additional controls to change various keyboard settings. The “classic of the genre” in this sense is the sustain pedal (see “Sustain”) — if the device has
one connector for pedals, then this will almost certainly be the input for just such a pedal. Keyboards are produced, where there
are 2 or more such inputs — in addition to sustain, you can connect pedals to them for other adjustments and effects (in particular, changing the volume).
Display
The type
of display that the keyboard is equipped with.
Most modern MIDI keyboards have relatively simple monochrome (single colour) displays. Such screens are inexpensive, and their capabilities are sufficient for most cases. However, there are also models with colour screens — usually, such equipment is a sign of an advanced keyboard with an abundance of additional functions; for simpler devices, a colour display is overkill.
