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Does anyone know if aftertouch is available on the HP302, and if so how to activate it? This would be for a modelled piano sound running on my mac.

I don't see it in the specs anywhere very few digital pianos have aftertouch in my findings, thats relegated to the synth/workstation world for the most part. To activate aftertouch, you simply press a little harder and hold the note to activate it, for instance; i play a piano note on a key, instead of releasing i hold the note while pressing a little harder and a string sound comes in. Best of luck in your search!

If the Roland DID have aftertouch (in the MIDI/digital sense), I wonder why you'd use it for modelled piano sound? Acoustic pianos don't have this form of aftertouch, and a modelled piano library won't have it either.

I guess the confusion arises because the term aftertouch can be used to mean completely several completely different things.

On a digital, as origen points out, some keyboards have pressure sensitivity, which can be useful when using the MIDI output to drive MIDI instruments that are pressure sensitive. I've never seen one ... probably because such keyboards are used as workstations. That's a completely different music market, one which gets little mention on this board.

But on an acoustic, aftertouch means something different. It's the change in key feel after hammer let-off takes place. This may influence the pianist's sensibilities, but it does not affect the sound. Only a digital piano with an acoustic-like action can have this form of aftertouch. That (mostly) relegates it the Yamaha N series.

Most digital pianos, it seems, have neither form of aftertouch.

Indeed, there is not after touch on the HP-302 - it's a digital piano, not a synth.

James
x

Yes, I can vouch for that as the HP 302 is my piano and as a matter of fact, I have felt the need for it once or twice since I got this instrument, but only when I've been playing other instrument from the HP302 table such as electric guitars, horns and various 'synths'.

But of course this is a piano, not a synth or arranger keyboard (workstation).

The same applies to other performance controls like pitch and modulation wheels. Much as they might come in handy from time to time, you can't really expect a digital piano to have them, and I don't think any of the major pianos on the market do have performance controls other than velocity sensitive keys and the now-normal quota of three pedals.

The word "aftertouch" when used to describe a MIDI keyboard means that after the key has bottomed out you can apply more or less pressure while holding the key down and this pressure modifies the sound. Most keyboards that have this feature have an "assignable" aftertouch which means that what is modified can be assigned be be say vibrato or maybe a pitch shift.

Aftertouch of any kind is NOT a feature of any piano. Pianos just do not act that way. On an acoustic piano the hammer is detached from the key and continues to fly on its own into the string and "aftertouch" would be useless on a disconnected key.

The HP302 is designed to closely emulate an acoustic piano even to the point of being painted like an acoustic piano. So Roland is not going to add key action features that are totally foreign to pianists. I think Roland does have aftertouch on the Juno. Juno does not even try to be a piano.


One question: What would the piano software do with the aftertouch data? Pianos can't "bend" notes.

I disagree on this. many stage pianos have something like a control wheel. For example the Yamaha CP300 or the stick on a Roland. I think it is a marketing thing. The home type pianos are sold to people who want the "look" of and acoustic so they remove most of the controls. The stage pianos are sold to a different market not so concerned with the cosmetics of an array of buttons and LEDs. When you look at numbers sold, the ones with mod wheel may even be in the majority

Yep - was forgetting about the stage pianos like CP5 and RD700. Of course they have other performance controls like pitch bend and mod wheel. As such, they are much more than just 'stage pianos' and can be described as piano/master keyboards.

I stand corrected.