Why can't I map Playbox across the whole keyboard?

Kymeia
Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 5,139 mod
edited October 2024 in Kontakt

I like the sounds I can get from this but it's annoying it only seems to be mapped to a few keys. I want to play it with my whole keyboard, how can I do this?

Comments

  • Paule
    Paule Member Posts: 1,314 Expert

    Stephen, if there are some samples side-by-side only and you press +2 octave, there is a mickey mouse effekt. Same to -2 octaves as an old low and slow voice.

  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 5,139 mod
    edited June 2023

    Thanks yeah I know that but that makes sense for things like Violins and Cellos that need to only have a limited range for realism but not Playbox - the problem is that bit doesn't just have a limited range it's also only mapped to a few white keys - I really don't see the point of this if it can generate great sounds but I can't actually play them?

  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 5,139 mod
    image.png

    Tiny little range, no black keys, why?

  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 5,139 mod
    edited June 2023

    So is anyone actually using this? It seems to have some rave reviews as 'groundbreaking' but apart from being fun to play with for a while (although I find after a while it all sounds a bit samey) it would be nice to be able to actually play it too. I really can't see how it is meant to be used musically.

  • Monochrome
    Monochrome Member Posts: 1,366 Expert
    edited June 2023

    I don't think it was meant to be played like a normal instrument. Its purpose is to create your own custom chords that you can then trigger with any of the 8 keyswitches.

    Check this thread:

    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/1871/new-release-playbox-is-a-game-changer-for-creativity-and-workflow

    Specifically: Nadine's reply.

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 4,584 Expert

    Yes. This is how it was thought. It’s not properly an “instrument”, more of a “chords builder” with a lot of variations (chords themselves, samples that compose the chords,…)

    ‘I think if you want to play the chords on a different octave, you have to change them in the chords tab, but once you do it, only those 8 keys are playable. It is completely a different paradigm than normal instruments.

    Maybe this video can help you understand better what it is all about:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ead6R0j0SKM&t=1027s
  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 5,139 mod
    edited June 2023
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/75115#Comment_75115

    Thanks - so at least they do recognise that is a valid use case but I don't see why they left it out in the first place. It looks like the developers were more coming at it from a design perspective rather than thinking how musicians would want to use it, otherwise I can't explain why they would not have thought 'this is a bad idea' to not enable a melodic mode from the start

  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 5,139 mod
    edited June 2023
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/75123#Comment_75123

    Yeah I watched a few videos to try and get it but it seems most of these like to make music out of building blocks - I prefer to use my keyboard and make my own chords and progressions, I just want to have access to the sounds it creates because it can make some nice sounds but I hate using construction kits.

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 4,584 Expert

    I can agree with you. But we know NI…what they think is the right thing, can’t be questioned too much…

    Probably this product is not for you therefore

  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 5,139 mod
    edited June 2023

    Well it's fun to play with even if I can't actually make music with it :)

    Got it as part of Komplete anyway - it was not something I would have chosen to buy

    Might try the sample import thing though as the included sample set sounds a bit repetitive after a while

    I actually still have Kai's Power Tools on my old Win 7 laptop - they are equally fun visually but also much more useful to me

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 4,584 Expert
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/75134#Comment_75134

    It sounds like a fun instrument. Do you have any video to suggest me to watch to understand it? I could be interested (even because I just decided after a Jeremy_NI answer that I will probably never buy anything from NI anymore, included the update for my K13UCE, so I won’t have Playbox, which was practically the only thing I was interested to)

  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 5,139 mod

    I just searched YouTube basically - none particularly stood out

  • LostInFoundation
    LostInFoundation Member Posts: 4,584 Expert
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/75143#Comment_75143

    Thank you anyway 👍🏼

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