So this really applies to all controllers with pads (would love to see it on the keylab) but I can't post in every forum so I'll start here.
I would love to have some new modes for using pads, specifically types that would work a little more like playing with a sustain pedal, without actually having to use one. I would call them something like MonoHold and PolyHold.
With MonoHold: hit a pad, it opens the gate. Hit another pad, it closes the first gate and opens the second. Perhaps with the option of whether it was legato or not. This would mean you could play sustained synth phrases while feeling the rhythm of bashing pads, and without the awkwardness of manually turning gates off.
In PolyHold mode: hit a bunch of pads at once, all gates stay open. Hit one new note, all open gates shut and the new gate opens.
Tapping and holding a pad acts like pressing a sustain pedal. Hit 3 pads, leave at least one finger on. Now any subsequently tapped pads open new gates without closing the first, until the hold finger(s) are released. It then keeps holding until you hit a new pad, where it shuts all gates and starts again. (Retapping open gates also turns them off while the hold finger is down.)
This would allow you to play those rolling sorts of ballardy piano lines while giving your fingers time to reposition before you start on a new chord.
What do people think? Do any other companies already have something like this? I love playing pads live. There's just so much more I wish I could do with them
