How does FLK Light Sensor Technology work?
The dynamic performance of FLK keys has been designed by reference to intricate measurements taken of a Viennese professional concert grand as well as of different other grand pianos.
By pressing a key the FLK action accelerates a touch weight hammer, which is connected to the key only through the force of gravity. It is - in a way - moving freely, just like in an acoustic grand piano. Even a very short tap of the key with sufficient acceleration can produce a sound.
To ascertain the correct hammer velocity, the most significant measured length has to be as close to the striking point, the point where the hammer produces the sound, as possible. On a concert grand the key reaches this point at about two thirds of the key dip. FLKeys ascertains the hammer's velocity and directional data accordingly at two thirds of the key dip, which ensures the authentic timing.
Note Off is reached at the halfway point when releasing the key, identical to the damper touch down of a concert grand.
In Piano Mode Note On is only possible when the key travels at a certain speed. Therefore, very slow key velocities will not produce a sound.
All measured data is acquired with a resolution of approximately 32.000 levels and at a time accuracy of ±2 milliseconds. In collaboration FLK and TVE developed a new data processing technique, which translates direction of the key movement, moment of key touch, the hammer velocity during the key touch and the release and moment the note ends (damper touch down) into corresponding MIDI data.
The exact location of measurement and therefore the “escapement point” are adjusted manually for every single key individually.
reproducibility, the result of every key
stroke is reliably invariable. "You can 'trust the keys' "
no attrition
resistant to dust and dirt
durability
How does the Dynamics knob work?
The measurement’s resolution of FLK’s Sensor Technology has over 32.000 levels, which are linearised to 256 internal values. The FLK Dynamics knob alters the mathematical formula and changes the way the measurements are linearised. To ascertain which values have to be altered how to give the artist the highest possible and natural dynamic range while rotating the Dynamics knob, is an art in itself. The purpose of which is that our keyboard is always well and pleasing to play, however the Dynamics knob is adjusted.
For example:
Is the Dynamics knob adjusted to “Classic” then the greatest differences in strike velocities are possible. As a reference our team used measurements of a professional concert grand (Bösendorfer Imperial).
To play the loudest possible forte (loudest sample or velocity MIDI 127) the keyboard player has to accelerate the keys and therefore the hammers exactly like a concert pianist has to accelerate real piano keys and felt hammers.
The keyboard player only has to accelerate the keys slightly faster to play the loudest sample or velocity MIDI 127.
However, the differences in strike velocities from very slow (very soft) to very fast (very loud) are still assigned separately to every single one of the 127 MIDI values. In all settings – from “Classic” to “Pop” and everything in between – the same high resolution is always maintained.
What do the “Velocity Curve Edit”
knobs
do?
Dynamics:
1 rotary knob
“continuously variable”,
middle notch, Classic, Regular, Pop, Organ
2 coloured LEDs, middle notch, normally
green, otherwise red
Regular: normal keystroke (MIDI 127 is
reached the usual way)
Pop: light keystroke – more volume (MIDI
127 easily achievable)
Velocity Curve Edit:
Bass: light keystroke – more volume, increasing towards the lower keys
Regular: no change
Diskant: light keystroke – more volume, increasing towards the higher keys
1 rotary knob, "continuously variable" middle notch regular. Middle drop - middle peak
Bicoloured LED, regular green, otherwise red
These two controllers adjust the volume on individual section of the keyboard. They can be used separately or together to create more complex velocity curves. Dynamics and Velocity settings can be saved under the current program. There are 16 programs available to save different settings.
----------------------------------Piano action versus keyboard action. Which one is better?
To answer this question we interviewed Friedrich Lachnit, company boss of FLKeys, who has been working as a piano concert technician for a long time. Later he headed the CEUS project for Bösendorfer.
Back then piano makers had to use the materials available to them, which were felt, leather, timber, bone glue, cast steel, iron...However, what they were able to create from this rather simple materials is amazing. Today this technique is still widely used for building pianos, not only because of acoustic and tonal properties.
Musicians' hand and finger muscles work best within a certain range, where they are able to control the movements perfectly. Over time the piano action has been improved and adjusted to fit into that range and give musicians the opportunity to use their full potential. There is really not much left to improve on a professional grand piano.
Why then use a grand piano action to
control an electrical mechanism?
For a piano key action
to maintain well
adjusted and able to be played perfectly it has to lay on a suitable,
specially
levelled and extremely stable foundation. For grand pianos this is
usually the keybed
made from selected spruce or special laminated wood mostly 4 cm thick.
The
total weight would be about 80-100 kilograms.
Furthermore, the mechanical acoustic sound
produced by the force of the hammers (now waste ! ) has to be
eliminated again.
Why
an external Power Supply?
We decided to use an external power supply for the following reasons.
If someone were to trip over the power cord during a live performance, the relatively thin 12V cord would simply be unplugged or in the worst case torn apart. The LACHNIT MK will always remain undamaged and safely standing on its stand. It would just be turned off but as soon as it is plugged in, it is operational again.
If the same thing were to happen to a keyboard using for ex. an IEC connector, the whole keyboard would be pulled off its stand and would probably be too damaged to continue to be used during the performance.
The external power supply can be easily replaced, but “my” LACHNIT MK almost irreplaceable.
Why
is a LACHNIT MK more expensive than
other keyboards?
Every LACHNIT MK keyboard is built manually and every single key is individually adjusted for evenly smooth moving and finely regulated multiple times. This and several other details are the reasons why our keyboards are so excellent to play. All these delicate work can only be done manually by the most highly trained instrument makers, who deserve to be paid appropriately.
The LACHNIT MK was developed entirely in Austria and is manufactured in Vienna.
To keep the price of our keyboards from reaching astronomical heights, we do not include all the development expenses. Expenses were especially incurred by the development of FLK Light Sensor Technology, which took several years.
When
choosing a musical instrument, you should look beyond the economical,
the
price, expenses and value, or you would probably never buy any musical
instrument.
But
that would leave so much joy and happiness behind, yours and your
audience’s.
Not
using a bad and unsuitable but common metaphor about cars (Audi –
Porsche), it
is best explained this way.
There
are concert grands from mass production and then there are those made
by
traditional European manufacturers.
All
of them sound like grands, with nearly the same volume and dynamics but
there
is still a (little?) difference between them.
For
some people the difference is not so big and so it is insignificant,
for others
it makes up the soul of an instrument.
To
achieve this distinction, to breathe the soul into an instrument, much
more
effort, experience, craftsmanship and individual attention has to go
into every
single instrument.
How
much is an instrument’s soul worth to you?
How much is the musician’s joy and happiness worth?
4096 High Resolution MIDI ? “Can you even hear 4096 or more different steps of dynamic resolution?”
Any kind of digital stepping is at some point a
limitation, dulls the senses faster and quickly leads to boredom.
Yes, this might be true: Not even 127 steps can be deliberately played individually. Also it is impossible to consciously distinguish one step out of the 127. But that is not what it is about. The audible steps are limited to 127, so eventually the musician will catch the same step involuntarily. Even though they come in various combinations, the acoustic colours of the individual notes repeat themselves. With our MK Controllers to "fill" (or to activate) all the MIDI steps from 1 to 127 takes on an average one minute. For example, playing in mezzo forte with medium strike will activate ± 10 MIDI steps. Within these 20 steps the user will involuntarily reach the same MIDI value many times and consequently produce the same exact sound as before.
In contrast, it is impossible to reproduce the same exact sound on any acoustic instrument, where each new sound is the unique result of interacting "analogue" processes.
On a serious level it is therefore impossible but also not desirable to replace a "real" acoustic grand piano. Our goal is to give musicians as much joy in playing with our keyboard as they would have with a real high quality instrument.
To increase the
resolution (to 4096)
means that playing in mezzo forte activates about 640 different steps
and it
takes a lot more time until the exact same sound is produced twice. As
a result
the sound is livelier and more divers. Held
or
pedaled chords enrich the overall sound with more overtones and
colors. So musicians are able to
influence the
resulting sound even more and can transfer more of their personal
musicality.
Of course it requires
adapted sound software.
The most promising is the physical modelling technology as it
calculates each
sound in real time based on the datas of the measurements taken of the
keyboards
sensors. For example Pianoteq Version 3.6 or higher is MIDI Hi Res
compatible.
Other software producers will certainly follow soon.
No
other keyboard manufacturer makes such high demands on its keys like we
do.
Hardly any other (except the manufacturer itself probably) has been exploring the possibilities of the Fatar TP40W as
intensively
as we do.
Now we have achieved a real breakthrough. We found
a
way to subtly form and shape the keys. One by one we put every key in
its best
position. Key out, form and shape, key in - try. Again and again until
everything
is moving smoothly and free of tension. These subtle modifications
create near
zero friction between keys and key guides. A faster, more balanced and
more
reliable playing feel is the result.
We considered to offer the Premium Regulation as
an
option at extra charge. But in this case we would sometimes have to
deliver
MK 23 Controllers which do not have the best possible playing feel that we
are able
to provide now. This is unacceptable to us as it is our top model.
Therefore,
all MK 23 Controllers come with the Premium Regulation.