Aftertouch doesn´t work!!

Hi all, I have checked it with MIDI-OK, and finally I have get some midi messages of Channel Aftertouch, but the aftertouch is really hard on this keyboard, I won´t use it, will damage the keys!!
If you have an option to get aftertouch without hitting so hard to the keys, please help.
Thanks.

Two comments from FB threads on AT:

Nick Fieldson: Believed it or not, You might not be pressing hard enough. It takes a lot of pressure in mine to respond

Robert Saint John: Each of the Part Tones in "XV Dreams" (03-05 on JP-X, 01-05 on Xm) are set to modulate based on Aftertouch (SCENE COMMON EDIT, CtrlSrc2); routed to the Partials (TONE EDIT) of each Tone, to params like Cutoff, Resonance, Pitch, sometimes multiple. You can adjust the destination and sensitivity there. This Scene is a good one with which to experiment.
(Note that Aft Sens in System Settings is global, but the Scenes/Tones still need specific AT settings to respond to it)

And not all scenes / tones have AT settings

It takes an absurd amount of pressure to activate even with all the settings maxed out. I contacted Roland about this and was told to bring my JX to an authorized tech repair shop. The tech there told me nothing was technically wrong with it, but agreed that it's certainly not optimal as is. I hope owners are sending in requests to increase the sensitivity via an update if possible.

It's bizarre owning a state of the art synth which features AT, but which does not facilitate the performer the ability to trigger the FX because the degree of pressure that is required is totally off the scale!

I really like it the way it is on the X, no problem. Better than if AT is so light, that you always trigger it unwanted.

Duplobaustein wrote:

I really like it the way it is on the X, no problem. Better than if AT is so light, that you always trigger it unwanted.

Are you not concerned that you might accidentally snap a key?

No, not really.

Duplobaustein wrote:

No, not really.

Okay, I am always worried it might break - but maybe it's designed to handle such pressure?

I think it has to be. Let's hope! :D

Hi! Not sure if this thread is still active. I think I was able to establish an understanding of what's going on.

There must be a batch of Jupiter Xs with a too rigid Aftertouch key response. This is not a software problem but a physical / mechanical problem on the devices. None of the documented Aftertouch settings will offer any relief.

My own device has the problem as well. Unfortunately I live in China and they don't sell the Jupiter X here. Roland support in China is poor. No one to turn to. US customer service declined to help. So I am stuck.

On my last trip back to Hong Kong I checked out the Jupiter X they had on display at the Tom Lee Music store there. I played the same standard patches I know from my home device. And what can I tell you, the behavior was so different from my own unit.

So in this thread we have a couple of users that state: "I don't know what you are talking about, my aftertouch is just fine." And there are those poor other ones who say: "I am concerned I might break the keybed in order to trigger the aftertouch response." Both sides are right. There are different batches of Jupiter Xs. OK ones and flawed ones like mine.

Hope that helps.

Cheers.

I am knew to the Jupiter, but not to Roland products... Roland keyboards even as back to the D-50, XP-80 which I still own, always had "harder" touch sensitivity, especially with their synths.. For their pianos (like my RD700-SX), they are good and flexible, due to the many curves and parmas that can be used to cater to your touch.. but still a little harder due to weighted keys..

BUT, there is another portion of programming to the aftertouch for synths... it is the actual tone LFO percentage.. AMP percentage.. that allows your to get to your desired pressure.. here is a page that I found to explain this for the Jupiter.. For some reason, the param instructions are not 100% correct, but basically you go into tone edit.. find the aftertouch params and LFO or Amplidute params and adjust accordigly as you strike the key to get the right pressure point.

I hope this helps you out a little.

Taki

https://www.roland.com/backstage/products/jupiter-x#support

There are 2 settings for controlling the amount of Aftertouch in the JUPITER-X. The first is the system setting, which determines how much output is provided from the aftertouch sensor under the keys of the JUPITER-X and this can be set to 0-100. This setting does not determine what the aftertouch will do or how it is applied (or how much).

The second setting is in the Tone Edit / Matrix Control section of the JUPITER-X. This determines what the aftertouch message will control (such as pitch bend, vibrate, filter cutoff, etc.) and also includes an amount for how much will be applied.

The following models in the JUPITER-X have the Matrix Control functionality and can support aftertouch:

RD-PIANO
XV-5080
PR-A
PR-B
PR-C
PR-D
COMMON
JP-X INT
Adjusting the Aftertouch System Setting

Press MENU.
Cursor to "SYSTEM" and press ENTER.
Cursor to "Aft Sens" and use the knob to change the value (0-100).
Adjusting the Matrix Control Settings

Note: There are 4 different Matrix Control sections, and each can be used to route different controllers to modulate settings in the JUPITER-X. We will use Matrix Control #1 for this example, and route aftertouch to control the Filter Cutoff parameter.

Press MENU.
Cursor to "Tone Edit" and press ENTER.
Use the right / left arrow buttons to move to the "Tone Edit" screen.
Cursor to "Mctrl1 Src" and use the knob to select "AFT."
Cursor to "Mctrl1 Dst1" and use the knob to select "CUT."
Cursor to "Mctrl1 Sns1" and use the knob to adjust the amount of sensitivity to the aftertouch messages.
As you can see the 2 settings for affecting the amount of aftertouch are step 3 in the first section, and also step 6 in the second section.

After playing with my new open box Jupiter X, I have come to the conclusion that my aftertouch too is working, but you have to press way too hard. There is something wrong. I have contacted Roland via their slow e-mail message way.. and they told me to take it in for service and see what the technician says. Once analysis is done, i will let everyone know.

Takis

I have come to the conclusion that Roland no longer care about aftertouch as their two main markets [home pianos and techno kiddiz] wouldn't understand what aftertouch is even if you gave them a full-on demo showing how expressive it can be because their understanding of music and playing technique just doesn't bend that way. Oddly, I found that the aftertouch on the XP-60, XP-80 and Fantom FA76 synths that I used to own was quite playable by comparison. Can it be fixed by a firmware update? I have no idea but that would be nice. At the same time Roland is notorious for dropping support on older synths.

This could be a possible opening for a third-party company to issue revised firmware updates for various Roland synths similar to the way KiwiTechnics do their upgrade boards. KiwiTechnics do actually address the non-responsive aftertouch issue in JX8P synths in their upgrade package firmware so it looks like that it might be a possible firmware fix for generations of Roland synths. A possible product line for someone who's adept at reverse-engineering and rewriting the firmware for synthesisers.