What are the four key modes of Lumatone?

Lumatone offers four primary key modes that when used separately or together offer many different types of unique expression across its 280 colourful light-up keys.

Written by Matt McLeod

Updated 3 years ago

Lumatone boasts a vastly larger number of keys than virtually any other keyboard instrument on the market, but does so in a similar form factor to a traditional keyboard. It does this by packing 280 hexagon-shaped keys into a unique grid.

Each key is a highly expressive continuous controller with velocity sensitivity, deep travel, and extended travel at the end for polyphonic aftertouch.

This means that each key can be set to provide expression in a multitude of ways:

Note On/Off -- Functions as a regular keyboard key with full velocity sensitivity, and familiar / responsive action.
Continuous Controller -- Continuously reads the position of the key like a bidirectional fader, allowing the control of MIDI CC parameters such as volume, filter cutoff, expression, and countless others, and can also control custom parameters via any MIDI channel and note.
Polyphonic Aftertouch -- When enabled, polyphonic aftertouch (also called poly pressure) takes traditional aftertouch a step further, allowing each key to send it’s own aftertouch information. This allows a performer to affect the aftertouch parameter on a per-key basis simultaneously with other keys.
Lumatouch -- Lumatouch is an experimental mode that can be assigned to any key, which combines all three of above forms of expression. The key behaves like any other note on/off key, but upon pressing into aftertouch, the key converts to a continuous controller, allowing the performer to control their chosen aftertouch parameter with the full range of key travel. We’ll discuss potential applications for this mode in more detail later.

Every key can be uniquely set to Note On/Off, Continuous Controller, or Lumatouch. Polyphonic Aftertouch is a mapping-wide feature that can be turned on or off, and it must also be enabled if you wish to use Lumatouch. Any keys set to Lumatouch in a mapping without Polyphonic Aftertouch enabled will revert back to being standard note on/off keys.

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