by gcoudert » Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:35 pm
To be honest, I started using the ASCII keyboard as soon as I got the E4K because it suffered from double-triggering on certain keys and poor triggering on others.
Apart from naming samples, each main menu has its own Alt or Ctrl shortcut and the F1-F6 keys duplicate the function buttons on the E-mu. Keys 3 and 9 double up as Page Left/Right and +/- are used to increase/decrease values, although the rotary encoder is more user-friendly imho. Esc takes you back a level.
For someone who has an E4K with no button problems, the ASCII keyboard is not essential. If you are working with a rackmounted E4, the ASCII keyboard probably makes programming more comfortable overall rather than more efficient.
Gilles
E-mu E4K, Yamaha P150, DX7 Mk1 with Sycologic V2 upgrade, TX7, Roland JV1080, Akai S1000 & S2800i user