What’s your Key Index (KI)?

There was a radio show in Minnesota some years back, where the host Joe Soucheray talked about a person’s Cylinder Index. That’s just the count of all the cylinders in all the internal combustion engine’s you own. (So you count lawn mowers, ATV’s, snow mobiles, leaf blowers, cars, etc.)

So i am hereby creating a Key Index. That is the total count of full sized keys in all the keyboards you own. (Acoustic pianos do qualify !)

I suppose a similar thing could be a Synth Voice Index, if you prefer keyless synths.

I know this is rather much like Harry Potter, but if you’d like to participate please join.

I have a CI of 0 (zero).
And a KI OF 260.
So my KI to CI ratio is infinity.

This was inspired by a photo from jespers, who clearly has me beat with his KI !

2 Likes

I’m not sure what I’m participating in but I don’t own any internal combustion engines (never got a drivers license) and have no full size keys (just the pads of my Polyend Tracker).

So what’s the ratio for 0 to 0?

5 Likes

@craig: infinite regression

2 Likes

Now that’s a band name!

4 Likes

Well i thought i was odd with a zero CI but Craig you got me beat !

That’s why I’ve added the VI.

EDIT: I changed it from SVI to just VI.

2 Likes

Okay, with synth voices, it’s 8 (Tracker), 4 (SH-01A), 2 (2x 0-Coast), and 6 (Model:Samples).

So an SVI of 20.

Huh. I have a CI of 4, but a KI of 0 (kepstep pro, xkey, linnstrument… nope). My SVI is somewhere north of 200, depending on what a “voice” is.

So craig, that’s an SVI of 20.

Perhap’s i’m being a snob for having the KI be limited to full sized keys. I just didn’t want to count my own mini keys.

You know a low VI, while making great music is worth big points too.

ADDED: I guess we need a definition for voice, but for the moment that’s entirely up to you. I consider an VI around 200 to be quite high.

1 Like

CI 4
KI (dunno, what ever SH101, MS20, Sub37 and VK09 adds up to)
VI 21 (I think)

1 Like

Yeah VI’s are harder to do. I think i’m close to 50. But a mono synth voice goes a lot farther than a polysynth voice.

The VI would be crazy high if you count ITB. There are probably lots of people with no stand alone synths.

Well yeah if we count soft synths… huge numbers (even though I dont use them anymore)

What about drum machines/samplers? Do those count as voices? If so My VI is a lot more than 21

I’ve got a Streichtfett. That’s well over half my voices right there.

I’d say how many can play at the same time, like you can’t count all on the RYTM, ‘cuz they’re shared.

I don’t know with samplers.

Plus another 46 voices then :slight_smile:

You know a VI value isn’t a bad way to consider a synth.
Is there an authority around to write the rule book. Does multitimbality matter ?

So, what about something like the Poly Beebo? In theory it’s an effects pedal, but it can also totally be a VA synth…

1 Like

Huh, TI would be a more interesting metric, maybe. But I still don’t know how samplers or stuff like the Beebo or Mod Duo work out, let alone a modern MPC.

1 Like

TI being Timbrality Index right?

Yes

That brings my numbers way down, i’ve got more monotimbral polysynths, like the Hydrasynth, then otherwise.