How do u Feel about OS2XL missing VELOCITY-->AMP, PITCH, etc

Vote in this poll so we can see how the JJ-MPC community feels about the loss of these functions from the Akai OS.


For those who jumped straight into JJ OS2/XL and don't know what I'm talking about--

In the Akai OS for the 1000/2500 there are options in Program mode to have velocity control more than just volume or sample layers. It allows you to create a VERY expressive kit where each pad would sound different every time you hit it, based on velocity. You were able to have velocity affect the following parameters for each pad (feel free to add if I miss any):

Velocity--> Start time
Velocity--> Attack
Velocity--> Pitch
Velocity--> Filter

JJ os 1 could do this as well if i'm not mistaken. i don't think JJ removed it until os 2.

for me, q-links remain the number 1 priority. but given that, i would love to see the VELOCITY-controlled stuff brought back. just like the q-links, it ads a LOT of expressiveness and variety to your sounds & sequences. i'm all for anything that improves that situation.

yes it is handy, and its definetly still there in jjos free, and jjos1.

Now though, if I i want softer attacks on drum hits i either use simult pad, or resample. after resampling i put it on the next layer and de- tune it a little. its a little more time consuming, but i feel like i gain more than that time back elsewhere in the os.

i think theres a fundamental limit to how many items of data the original akai pgms can hold. JJ works within these limits by reassigning what these bits of data actually control. thats why pgms behave weird when you load them in the wrong os.

to me, the magic is in VELOCITY -> START TIME.

you can have a long, relatively busy sample. (like, 5-10 seconds of a melodically complex guitar line, or an orchestra playing or something)... depending on how hard you hit the pad the sound will be completely different. this is great with note repeat as well.

VELOCITY -> FILTER is really good, too.

VELOCITY -> FILTER is my religion

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned VELOCITY -> PITCH, which is my personal favorite.

Most drums sound slightly higher pitched when you strike them hard. The VELOCITY -> PITCH creates a very slight change for every difference in velocity. Just try and duplicate that subtle change with the slider or 16 levels...

elevated wrote:I'm surprised nobody has mentioned VELOCITY -> PITCH, which is my personal favorite.

Most drums sound slightly higher pitched when you strike them hard. The VELOCITY -> PITCH creates a very slight change for every difference in velocity. Just try and duplicate that subtle change with the slider or 16 levels...

good tip!

time to hit jj with some more requests.


it's good i guess for those of us who have ALL the JJ os's installed. we can always bounce back into os 1 to make use of this VELOCITY stuff for a specific project, but it would be so much better to have all of this good stuff in one OS... especially if you are playing live that is a must. can't be up on stage booting into a different OS.

i definately miss the velocity>filter.

Velocity to pitch, filter and attack is essential for drums IMO. Can't believe he removed such a basic thing. Velocity to start is more of a cool special effect but not really bread and butter like the others.

b-righteous wrote:Velocity to pitch, filter and attack is essential for drums IMO. Can't believe he removed such a basic thing. Velocity to start is more of a cool special effect but not really bread and butter like the others.

VELOCITY -> START is actually pretty useful for simulating soft drum hits, not just doing tricks. It can skip some of the initial transient of your sample which makes the hit sound lighter.

(I got your email I'm about to send that OS btw)

Yes, this is much needed. I like this function even more if you could use full velocity on volume while the varying velocities could be applied to: Start, Pitch, Attack, Filter.

VELOCITY -> START is actually pretty useful for simulating soft drum hits, not just doing tricks. It can skip some of the initial transient of your sample which makes the hit sound lighter.

(I got your email I'm about to send that OS btw)

Got the file. Thanks for sending.

I see what you are saying about the start because I usually used attack for that. No reason not to bring them all back.

I learn something new everyday.

I'm bout to load up an old OS to try it out.

i seriously doubt jj's going to return this. it isnt comparable to the simult2 situation, because there are too many items of data needed to implement it within the pgm. like i said before

i think theres a fundamental limit to how many items of data the original akai pgms can hold. JJ works within these limits by reassigning what these bits of data actually control. thats why pgms behave weird when you load them in the wrong os.

ADSR envelopes,sample crossfade, non destructive chopping and aftertouch response have been moved into the space vacated by these velocity settings.

also when os2 first came out, there was intially not going to be any velocity layers, and that caused more concern at the time than the vel>pitch,filter,start ect. I cant remember exactly but i think maybe layers were (re-)introduced at the expense of these velocity modulations.


as it happens ive voted for the second option- i would like the option... i just dont think it'll happen.

Mikolo I know it's unlikely-- I'm just getting a feel for who else cares about this stuff besides me. No current plans to beg for this in the way that I begged for "simult2."

I'm curious about what you wrote about programs being limited to a certain amount of data:

mikolo wrote:ADSR envelopes,sample crossfade, non destructive chopping and aftertouch response have been moved into the space vacated by these velocity settings.

Was that just a guess, or do you have any more information about that? I assumed the concern was overloading the processor.