I agree this is really splitting hairs.

Anyway, I think we have to take the tempo into consideration too. A particular ppq that is enough at a higher tempo might not be enough at a lower tempo as the resolution of the sequencer drops (in terms of time, not in terms of 1/4 notes) with dropping tempo, but that of the ear stays.

I have read in a book sometime in the past that the resolution of the ear is about 5 milliseconds. The lowest tempo I can achieve on my PA80 is 30 1/4 notes per minute which boils down to 2 seconds between two beats. If we want to have 5 millisecond resolution the ppq should be 400. The actual ppq on the keyboard is 384 which is pretty close. If we want to have 1 millisecond between ticks instead of 5 milliseconds we need 2000 ppq at that tempo (lowest) which is pretty close to PSR2000's ppq. I think they have come up with these numbers with some models in their minds.

Assuming we normally play around 100 1/4 notes per minute, I think 120 ppq is pretty marginal. Depending on the type of the music you play (How much quantization you tolerate..., because strictly speaking it's quantized anyway) and the tempo the inherent quantization might or might not be noticeable.

Another thing we should get into consideration is the latency. At least I have noticed one percussion instrument on my PA80 that sounds late if I put it exactly at the beat. I have to pull it forward in the sequence to get it sound in time. I can also recall working with Roland MC500 (if I remember the model number correctly) back in late 80's that could not keep time tight enough at complicated fill-ins, because it took so much processor time and started to slip.

I think it's sort of a dance between many factors and the easiest is to put them all in a black box, listen to it playing and let the ears decide if it fits your music.

Shiral

[This message has been edited by shiral (edited 06-08-2002).]