As the proverbial arms race to pack more and more features into a single piece of hardware or software, we need to remind ourselves that one synth, controller, or instrument doesn’t need to be able to do everything. Whether you prefer hardware synths, Eurorack gear, MIDI controller–based arrangements, or a hybrid setup, having a cache of expressive tools can lead to exciting new compositional and artistic opportunities. It can allow you a certain tactility and hands-on action that programming and automation can’t replicate. Of course, that’s not to say those features aren’t helpful, but an interactive, tactile form of control stands to transform your relationship with your sound, leading to entirely new methods of expression and more. If you’ve been looking for a way to spice up your synths, then look no further: let’s show you how to seize your sound with the tactile tools that might dare you to reimagine how you create.
- First Steps: Knowing the Limits of Your Instrument
- Form & Function: New Controllers & New Possibilities
- Reimagining Eurorack: Modular Meets MIDI
- Pedal Power Redux: TRS MIDI & You
First Steps: Knowing the Limits of Your Instrument
Most keyboard MIDI controllers and synths feature pitch and modulation controls, typically oriented on the left-hand side of the unit. At face value, their functions are simple. The pitch controller adjusts the pitch value of the note(s) you’re playing, usually from a fixed, central position, allowing you to move above and below the original pitch. This controller almost always returns to its starting position when you release it. On the other hand, the mod wheel has a starting position at the “bottom” of its range of motion and can be freely moved toward the “top,” resting wherever you leave it without snapping back to its starting point.
The creative range with each of these tools will vary with your setup. Hardware synths allow degrees of adjustment to how far the pitch can be affected by the wheel or the destination(s) of parameters that the mod wheel controls. MIDI keyboard controllers, however, offer quite a bit more flexibility. Since you’re using them to control a VI (virtual instrument) housed in a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), the upper limits of modulation are more likely to coincide with how much RAM is in your computer than a function of the controller or software. While some VIs automatically assign modulation and pitch parameters and limits when a controller is connected, you can freely (re)assign them. Moreover, because the signals can be assigned to multiple simultaneous destinations (each with its own upper and lower limits), you can control virtually anything inside the DAW from a single bump of the pitch or mod wheels. This even includes values from additional effects, dynamics, plug-ins, and other VIs!
BOSS EV-30 Dual Expression Pedal
Easy transitions, endless opportunities
For most keyboardists, an expression pedal is the first step in expanding their expressive opportunities. It is typically associated with reproducing the effects of an acoustic piano’s soft, sustain, and sostenuto pedals, but the combined spaces of virtual and analog synthesis abound with mind-melting possibilities. The BOSS EV-30 dual expression pedal is brimming with potential, outfitted with two expression outputs that can individually connect to your destination of choice. These TRS jacks are MIDI-capable, too, with a polarity inversion switch for the second output and adjustable minimum values to ensure plenty of flexibility in customizing your expressivity. Plus, its rugged metal housing means it can take a beating on and off the stage, freeing you to be as gentle or as punishing as you’d like to suit your artistic needs. Whether connected to additional hardware, your DAW, effects software, or any combination of those and more, the EV-30 offers heaps of potential to reshape your onstage or studio sound sculpting in an intuitive, accessible housing.
Similar expression pedals, like the Mission Engineering SP-1, offer additional performance accommodations, such as a latching footswitch. The Lehle Dual Expression pedal also includes a pair of outputs but is designed with a magnetic sensor and USB MIDI capabilities that better suit keyboard players with a primarily digital array of instruments and tools. Lastly, we’re back to BOSS with the company’s EV-1-WL wireless MIDI expression pedal. It can operate autonomously via battery power and wireless MIDI over Bluetooth, supplemented with a TRS MIDI 1/8-inch output and USB MIDI connectivity. This offers the most flexibility but does not allow direct control of non-MIDI devices unless you’re considering guitar pedals. We’ll get to that later.
Expressive E Touché & Touché SE Multi-touch Expression Controllers
Supercharged sonics with supplementary support
Imagine a device that takes the basic functionality of a mod wheel and expands it into multiple dimensions, all of which are freely and individually assignable and simultaneously compatible across numerous platforms. Now you’re thinking like Expressive E, the French synthesists, sound designers, and engineers whose polymathic pursuits led them to the invention of the Touché multi-touch expression controller. Designed with four expression vectors that include bifunctional X- and Z-axis control, Touché uncouples the endless possibilities of modulation from the architecture of conventional mod wheel designs, engineered to be as intuitive as it is ergonomically satisfying. Its two X-axis parameters start from the center, moving left or right, and each can be assigned values to control. Similarly, the Z-axis consists of applying downward pressure individually to the front and back areas of the control surface. In each case, the controller rebounds to the central and high positions, respectively, but deep editing capabilities allow you to adjust the sensitivity and affectivity curves of each control vector, providing immense customization for physically engaging your sound.
Additionally, Touché is capable of TRS MIDI control, MIDI over USB control, and voltage control, with four CV jacks, a TRS MIDI I/O, and a USB-B port. More impressively, these can be used simultaneously, with virtually endless remapping available for DAW-based parameters, chained CV connections, and hardware MIDI-controllable values, like certain guitar pedals. If you’re primarily working within digital spaces, then rest assured Expressive E has an option for you: Touché SE multi-touch expression controller. It’s equally flexible and just as powerful but designed with a sole USB-B, MIDI-capable port for all your virtual expression needs.
Form & Function: New Controllers & New Possibilities
Sometimes, a simple spin on a familiar form factor will yield wildly imaginative results, ever so slightly altering our relationships to sound and how we evoke the results we can coax from our instruments — physical or virtual. One particularly capable avenue comes with the possibilities afforded by MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression). For the uninitiated, MPE allows you to control multiple parameters simultaneously — pitch bend, vibrato, timbre, or any other assignable values — on a per-note basis. As a MIDI function, this is limited to MPE-capable controllers, alongside compatible software, effects, VIs, and controllable hardware synths. These allow for multiple axes of completely customizable control, creating an unrivaled opportunity for expression with extreme precision, resulting from a physically intuitive control in which your fingers never even have to leave the keys!
Keith McMillen Instruments QuNexus Keyboard Controller
Visual feedback and versatile MPE control
If there’s a name you should associate with an unbridled dedication to challenging conventions surrounding how we control sound, then it’s Keith McMillen Instruments. McMillen’s 35-plus years in the music industry have led him to numerous innovations, ranging from the electric violin and MIDI guitars to programmable audio mixers, the K-Bow Bluetooth sensor bow, and many more. When MPE emerged in 2018, McMillen and his crew were among the first adopters to provide avenues for exploring these possibilities. Their QuNexus keyboard is a no-frills, all-action, 25-key controller that reimagines virtually every aspect of the conventional key-based design. Its Smart Sensor keys are engineered for MPE, eschewing traditional key construction in favor of highly detailed pads that detect pressure, velocity, location, and tilt. What’s more, color-coded, real-time feedback gives you precise visual indication of each parameter’s engagement, streamlining the learning curve for maximum dynamic performance. Its built-in MIDI and CV I/O make for extensive, interoperative modularity, including a MIDI expander and pedal input to take the QuNexus to further reaches of exciting expressivity.
Keith McMillen Instruments K-Board Pro 4 Smart Sensor Keyboard
Between comfortable and cutting edge
Like its QuNexus sibling, the Keith McMillen Instruments K-Board Pro 4 keyboard utilizes its cutting-edge Smart Sensor technology to enable multidimensional, MPE-fueled expression. Despite the K-Board’s visual resemblance to a typical keyboard, no moving parts exist in any of its four octave’s 48 keys. Instead, the silicone-coated SmartFabric detects contact, velocity, and pressure for polyphonic aftertouch. What’s more, it tracks the continuous X- and Y-axis locations of your fingers along the keys, allowing for per-note vibrato by wiggling your finger horizontally. It also offers further assignable control for moving up or down along the individual key, which is commonly used for opening or closing filters — but hey, it can be used for anything you want! Effects, dynamics, distortions, and more are all fair game. The lack of moving parts makes for an incredibly durable design, and the four strips along the top serve as completely customizable sliders, perfect for further sonic sculpting that is limited only by your imagination.
Roger Linn Design LinnStrument MIDI Performance Controller
Game-changing wisdom for the modern musician
Roger Linn hardly needs an introduction. His pioneering work with Linn Electronics led to the design and release of the groundbreaking Linn LM-1 Drum Computer that — alongside its successor, the LinnDrum — would define an era as the first digital sample-based drum machine. Linn would score another first with the Linn 9000, integrating his digital drum machine with a MIDI sequencer. If that weren’t impressive enough, he’s also the father of the Akai MPC, lending his talents to the Japanese company to create the MPC60. The Akai MPC60 was released in 1988 to the critical and creative acclaim of countless musicians, serving as a landmark instrument for the then-burgeoning space of hip-hop. With that in mind, it’s hardly any surprise that his Roger Linn Design LinnStrument MIDI performance controller would reimagine the way keyboardists and synthesizer enthusiasts interface with sound. It may appear to resemble a giant drum machine at first, but the LED-backlit buttons conceal a depth of possibilities. Its 200 notes — arranged in eight rows of 25 pads — might be imagined more like strings on a guitar, each of which independently detects note-on signals, pressure, horizontal movement, and vertical motion. Out of the box, these are respectively assigned to pressure, pitch/vibrato, and timbre, but these can be reassigned to any parameter you’d like. You can also individually tune each note to create any number of modal, choral, or scale combinations, with a color-coded system that utilizes the LEDs to indicate natural notes, regardless of tuning. Polyphonic aftertouch and MPE are recontextualized by a freeform system designed to inspire distinctive approaches to performance and composition.
Reimagining Eurorack: Modular Meets MIDI
Because Eurorack modular synthesis is so modular, innumerable system configurations will allow you to control your Eurorack system with a MIDI controller or expression device. Modules that convert MIDI data into control voltages are available with differing appointments and flexibility. The Noise Engineering Univer Inter chainable 8-output MIDI-to-CV converter and USB MIDI interface, for example, is capable of more than 20 configurable output options for each channel, accommodating USB-B, TRS MIDI, and 5-pin DIN-adapted MIDI connectivity. Eurorack modules like the Behringer CM1A MIDI to CV converter or the Doepfer A-190-4 USB/MIDI to CV/Gat/Sync interface feature fewer total output configurations but include MIDI thru and dedicated gate outputs, while the Intellijel µMIDI USB/MIDI and clock interface adds support for MIDI CC, velocity, pitch, and modulation.
Doepfer A-198 Trautonium Manual/Ribbon Controller
Continuous control for unfettered experimentation
Ribbon controllers have been unfairly relegated to the outer boundaries of synthesis and sound design: perfect for our piece! They’re a type of potentiometer that allows for uninterrupted, continuous control. Early iterations utilized a ring-shaped slider, which was replaced by a resistive strip that the player would contact directly. These emerged around the time of the theremin and were only briefly considered popular, much less standard. Some early Moog synthesizers also featured them but quickly fell out of vogue. Yamaha’s CS-80 includes a ribbon controller that was famously used to dazzling effect by Vangelis when composing the soundtrack to Blade Runner. The Doepfer A-198 Trautonium manual/ribbon controller transposes its namesake inspiration to the menagerie of modular possibilities, comprising two parts: the A-198 module and the accompanying ribbon controller. Its streamlined control scheme includes two CV jacks, each featuring its own gate jack, with threshold, scale, position, and pressure all adjustable via manual knob controls. Because the ribbon detects pressure and location, note values aren’t the only things you can attenuate. VCAs, VCFs, FM values, or anything CV-modulated are up for grabs, allowing for uninhibited, multidimensional modulation across two simultaneous destinations.
Buchla LEM 218 v3 29-note Capacitive Touch Controller
West Coast synthesis goes global
Don Buchla’s pioneering work in synthesis has made his namesake line of instruments a truly exotic offering that dares synthesists of every creed to break the norm and explore new avenues of sonic shaping. With modules like the Buchla 223e Multi-dimensional Kinesthetic Input / Tactile Input Port or the Buchla 252e Polyphonic Rhythm Generator (powered by a Euclidean rhythm engine), you can glimpse the esoteric foundations upon which this titan of synthesis staked out his uncompromising vision. Because Buchla operates with its own voltage standards, the company’s modules aren’t conventionally compatible with Eurorack format (seriously, don’t try this — you could mess up your gear). Still, a solution has emerged: the Buchla LEM 218 v3 29-note capacitive touch controller. Harkening back to the historic days of the 1973 Buchla Music Easel, this controller implements the same capacitive-touch design as its predecessors while augmenting its offering with various contemporary compatibility features. Its capacitive-touch surface makes it completely flat but allows for complex pressure, velocity, and location detection. What makes the last point distinct from a controller like the K-Board is that location is mapped as a product of surface coverage, not the individual position of your finger along the plane’s Y-axis. In other words, it’s not where your finger is but how much of the key your finger covers. An expression strip along the top includes the same expressive nuance, with various connectivity options to uniquely route touch-strip, pressure, and pitch values to your destination of choice. Where things really pick up is the LEM’s multitude of connectivity options: Eurorack-format CV, TRS MIDI I/O, MIDI-compatible USB-C, a sustain input, and surface-mounted ports for Buchla modules. In theory, you could control Buchla modules, Eurorack modules, a MIDI-equipped hardware synth, and any number of DAW-based soft synths all at once! Don Buchla famously lamented the limitations of the standard keyboard design, but we can’t help but think this unmatched suite of nigh-chaotic simultaneity would be right up his alley.
Pedal Power Redux: TRS MIDI & You
Why should we let guitarists have all the fun? As the boundaries between digital and physical recording and composition processes continue to blur, guitar-pedal manufacturers have gotten wise to the mountain of possibilities that await the modern musician, untethered from the limitations of “normal” gear arrangements. These come in two distinct varieties: floor-based foot controllers for MIDI devices and guitar pedals, which can be controlled via MIDI. A sufficiently complex rig could control the latter with the former, but that’s a matter of signal chains, which you can read about below.
Since the number of ways to arrange effects and controllers quite literally becomes a combinatorial explosion of logistical, stylistic, and personal preferences, we’ll keep this brief. You need to know that the use of guitar and bass pedals isn’t limited to their binary presence in the signal chain. Whether incorporating a supplementary MIDI footswitch controller or connecting to pedals directly from your primary controller or instrument, nuanced performance is securely within your grasp. In real time, you can attenuate effects ranging from delays or reverbs to amp simulations, compressors, and distortions to expand your sonic domain.
Ready to Express Yourself?
We understand that this is a complex space full of possibilities, any number of which may or may not be the most conducive to your creative interests or needs. But if you see yourself taking your synth and keyboard parts to stratospheric levels of expressive possibilities, then we have more tools than you can imagine and still more to grow your sound! Our knowledgeable Sweetwater Sales Engineers are always eager to help musicians find their sounds by exploring and identifying the gear tailored to their artistic scopes. Call us at (800) 222-4700 today to dive in!