Board coordination

[sloppydave]

Howdy,

I'm a "guitarist" filling in on keys. My "setup" is currently the bands' Yamaha KX-8 on the bottom and... uh, my PSR-e303 on top.

The KX is a graded key piano-like thing. The PSR is a pretty plastic toy with baby keys. Since the band plays some kind of sub-brand of those screechy-growly metal things, all I usually do is play octaves with my left on the KX and some chord or melody with my right on the PSR. Which is fine, except that on some parts, when I have to move from, say, E2 and E3 to A1 and A2 on the left, while simultaneously going from A4 to A3 on the right, I will in 95% of all cases hit C4 or B3 instead (while playing the left part correctly).

It seems to me that the issue I'm having here is my brain miscalculating due to the differing width of the boards. Is it an actual issue or simply beginners' troubles? How can I work around it? I've been isolating the problematic parts and looping them for days now with absolutely no change in either direction.
I should note that my grasp of keyboards is "i know what notes correlate with what keys, gimme a sheet and a few hours and i can fake it".

I'm being pushed to select a second board to replace the PRS - should I go for piano-like keys? I really like the NP-30 for its weight and price (no pitch/mod tho ), but the keys are lighter than on the KX, could that also be an issue?

Any and all input will be greatly appreciated.

 

[goz211]

What's the KX-8 triggering?
"sub-brand ... screechy-growly metal things" - what?

Try either:

(1) Using just the KX-8 with the PSR as a sound modulebeing driven from the midi out on the KX. Set a split point on the KX and use the upper part to drive the PSR - you'll just be physically playing on the KX-8. It should become clear if the different size keys were the issue or you just need to put a bit more time in to get comfortable playing keys.

Or

(2) Layer the sound you're playing with the KX-8 with a copy of itself one octave up (or down). Instead of left hand octaves, play one one at a time.

 

[sloppydave]

Sorry, English isn't my first language, what I meant to say was that since it's a metal band the parts I'm playing are very simple.

I put an NP-30 instead of the PSR and it solved the problem for me. Guess I just need my boards to be consistent in key size.

I'll definitely try out the layering shortcut though, thanks!