Coming back to this thread, here’s the definitive answer on the Hammond SK1 and the trigger point (“Sounding Point” in the manual.) I can get the functionality, but I have to manipulate the keyboard to change between modes.
I can setup multiple “external zones” to send different keyboard sensitivities on different channels. The options are…
- OFF - Velocity is always 100.
- 1 - Very Low Sensitivity. (Play hard, low Velocity.)
- 2 - Low Sensitivity.
- 3 - Normal Sensitivity.
- 4 - High Sensitivity. (Play softly, high Velocity.)
I recommend 3 for velocity sensitive playing. I can get the whole range of velocities from near 0 to 127. I set External Zone 2 to use Velocity 3 on MIDI Channel 2. External Zone 1 has Velocity set to OFF (Velocity = 100, always) on Channel 1.
Unfortunately, the SK1 doesn’t support full Mult-point Mode, so I can’t get a high trigger on Channel 1 and a low trigger on Channel 2. Here’s the workaround…
Set the Keyboard Sounding Point to Auto. On the keyboard panel in the Extra Voice section, when you do NOT allocate an Extra Voice, you get the high trigger point. The velocity is always 100 on all External Zones and MIDI Channels in this case.
When you DO allocate an Extra Voice (for instance, A. Piano), you get the low trigger point on all channels, with the selected sensitivity on each channel.
I haven’t done it yet, but I should be able to send Program Changes to the SK1 to switch between different trigger point Patches. For now, I’m just pressing the button on the keyboard to switch between trigger points.
And yes, it plays faster with high trigger. You can play very lightly without risking missing notes. No need to press to the bottom of the keybed. That was my top goal when getting this keyboard.