The Keyswitch System
A keyswitch stores one orchestration state: voice layers, routing, modules, clips, arpeggiators, and articulation trigger choices. The mixer and hosted instruments stay loaded while you move between keyswitches.
Triggering Keyswitches
From the UI
Click a keyswitch in the bar to select it. With Link enabled, the UI click also sends the matching momentary keyswitch note into the engine. With Link disabled, you can browse or edit another keyswitch without changing the played state.
From MIDI
MIDI keyswitches use a configurable note range. Set the Lowest Keyswitch Note and number of active keyswitches in Global Settings. The default starts at MIDI note 21, displayed as C0 in Filament.
Configuring the Range
Open Settings and adjust:
- •Keyswitches: how many keyswitch slots are active, up to 12.
- •Lowest Keyswitch Note: the first MIDI note in the keyswitch range.
Example: with 12 keyswitches and the default lowest note, Filament uses twelve consecutive MIDI notes starting at MIDI 21.
Keyswitch Through
Some hosted instruments use their own keyswitches. KS Through lets a separate note zone pass through to hosted instruments, so nested library keyswitches can still reach the plugin inside Filament.
- •Enable KS Through only for the range your library needs.
- •Keep Filament's own keyswitch range separate from the hosted library's keyswitch range.
- •Configure the through-zone start note and count in Global Settings.
What Is Saved Per Keyswitch
- •All 8 voice layer configurations.
- •Routing matrix connections and per-connection transposition.
- •Per-row module settings, including arpeggiators, clip launcher clips, smart modifiers, and articulation trigger selections.
What Is Shared
Hosted instruments, effect chains, mixer controls, channel routing, articulation maps, and row names are shared across keyswitches. This keeps the sound setup loaded while the musical behavior changes.
Typical Uses
Performance Variations
Place related orchestrations on adjacent keyswitches so you can move between sustain, motion, and accent versions of the same section.
A/B Orchestration Work
Use two keyswitches to compare different voicings or routing choices while keeping the same instruments loaded.
Nested Instrument Switching
Use Filament keyswitches for orchestration states and KS Through for hosted library keyswitches when you need both layers.