Hi, I play music written for harpsichord and I've been looking for a digital keyboard for under $500 with a very fast and light touch for a feeling closer to that of a real harpsichord. Of course, there's a lot more to the touch of a harpsichord than its lightness such as the feeling of the string being plucked or the smaller keys, but I can't afford a harpsichord just yet.

I currently use a Clavinova CLP-560 and the action is much too slow for the genre of music I play. It's connected to my computer and I use it with a good harpsichord sample. You'd think that with a non-velocity sensitive instrument you could just play all the notes lightly on the digital keyboard but fast notes end up sounding staccato for some reason so I have to play all the fast notes at least mezzo forte for them to sound their full note value. Having to do this strains my fingers, hands and arms and makes most of the ornaments impossible to play. I've tried other keyboards and have yet to find one satisfactory.

In the meantime, I'm going to try constructing something that will block the keys on my Clavinova from going all the way up so I don't have to press the keys down as far. This might enable me to play faster and with a lighter touch.

Thanks,

Would a simple non-weighted keyboard work? The m-audio keystation 88ES is "semi-weighted" and sells for $200. There is a 76 key version for less.

But you should be able to do all of this in software. I don't know what kind if MIDI recording software you use but in Apple's "Logic" and many others, there is a way to re-map MIDI data in real time as you play. I'd use the "virtual midi-through device" to do key velocity remaps. You could set it so any key velocity comes out as (say) 100 or whatever. The "though device" allows the notes to be delayed or advance in time and and lengths to be adjusted too. and it can also transpose and quantize. I don't think Logic is unique. Any good MIDI recording software should have these features.

From the midi-thru device the data would then go to a track and then you'd assign your virtual harpsichord instrument to that track. Just a few mouse clicks to set up routing.

Yes, this does seem like a velocity curve kind of problem - not a mechanical keyboard problem. However, if the feel of the keyboard does turn out to be a problem, then a semi-weighted keyboard does seem like a good solution.

That's a very interesting idea about making the key travel shallower.

Greg.

Thanks.

@ChrisA Logic Pro 8 happens to be the sequencer I use. I couldn't find the "virtual midi-through device." I guessed it was in the Environment window. I did find the "Transformer" object in the Environment window but I couldn't find any parameters in it to delay release time according to velocity.

In most Clavinovas the keyboard is easily accessible if the cabinet is opened.
The hammers are at the rear side of the keyboard and they fall down to a thick stripe of felt when the key is released.
If you add another thick stripe of felt, the keys will come down.
It should be possible to get up to 50% less key travel using this method. Less is impossible because no sound will be triggered when the key is too low.

Peter

I'm using Logic 9. A newer version. So exactly what do you need to do? I'm guessing (1) set all the velocities to the same value and (3) Make each note longer than actually played by some amount.

Midi thru is is at the upper right in the default screen. I guess I could post a screen shot. or let you know the page number of the user manual. Later, I'm not at that computer now.

Don't judge too fast when you say you can't afford a harpsichord!
Look around for spinet harpsichords and virginals, with a bit of searching you could find some very nice bargains. It might need some maintenance and minor repairs, but imo it's definitely worth checking out, at the very least.

Sorry for going a tad off topic here, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

I'm pretty happy with the P-85 as a piano and harpsichord. It's either a lightly-weighted piano or a heavyly-weighted harpsichord. Pianoteq features the wonderful Blanchet harpsichord that has a few things the built-in patch doesn't, e.g. a key-off sound.

And then there's the Roland C-30, where the action really simulates the feeling of plucking a string...

I would think a Yamaha NP30 might make a good controller for harpsichord, very light fast action. It's closer to a synth action than piano though. 76 keys, good quality and cheap.

Another vote here for Pianoteq's Harpsichords, good emulation plus powerful velocity curve editing.

I've tried Pianoteq's harpsichord before and I was quite impressed as well. I've been using Garritan's harpsichord for a few years. Garritan's harpsichord is fairly realistic but I don't really care for the sound of it. It's a bit crisp and metallic sounding and it didn't come with any release samples. I've ordered Realsample's Dutch harpsichord in EXS24 format. It should be arriving sometime next week.

@Pianosaurus Rex
I'd be happy to know of a harpsichord/spinet within my price range. Been searching but haven't found one yet.

@Martin C. Doege @BazC
Thanks for the piano recommendations. They look promising.

I've noticed that light/semi-weighted keyboards keep getting recommended. What about non-weighted (if I'm using the correct term)?

@ChrisA
Believe I found what you're talking about in the upper left part of the track inspector panel in the Arrange window. In it, the Gate Time parameter seems to do what you described but only during playback.

It could be a matter of Logic 8 vs. Logic 9. The feature may be lacking in 8. I just discovered it recently after upgrading. The way it is implemented on my system is as a separate standlone virtual midi device with it's own midi-in and midi-out the device simply pipes data from in to out and makes no sounds. But it can change the midi data as it is being pipe through. To use it in real time you connect it between your piano and the software virtual instrument (which in your case would be EXS24 loaded with harpsichord samples.)

EXS24 itself is very flexible and allows you to do almost anything to the samples before they come out the speakers.

Take a look at www.macprovideo.com
They have video tutorials on EXS24 (Yes, something like an 8 hour class just on EXS24) and also many Logic videos too. There is a 1/2 price sale on now but and (about) $1 per day subscription might be better.

Non-weighted keyboards like the Yamaha NP-30 simply don't feel much like an acoustic instrument (piano or harpsichord) at all. And the key surface material is generally not that great (i.e., too slippery for fast play IMHO). Even the P-85 suffers a little from slippery black keys, but the successor (P-95) appears to fix that.

Perhaps another thing to consider for period instruments is key dip. Fortepianos--and I assume harpsichords--feel fairly shallow, so you might want to pick something that's shallow and light, which may be more important than the sensation of plucking.