ONLY 8 layers… This has always limited me to work on my samples with GA 
My Snare drums have 24 to 28 layers…
PLEASE make it 16 or 24 layers
For years nagging about this…
I agree that there should be more velocity zones available per pad!
Meanwhile…
In this thread you can find a work-around to get as many velocity layers as you like:
It works by using a dummy silent sample and remapping some pads (or by stacking multiple kits).
MMMhh!! I want Steinberg to listen for once GET MORE layers guys.
Years and years, same thing… How will this goes unnoticed is beyond common sense
ALSO HALion sampler has a limitation of how many you can import at once (8 layers max at once.) then you can add more to the same key note but this slows down the process of building the instrument.
I’ve yet to own MPC pads sensitive enough to take advantage of more than 8 or so velocity layers per pad (and most of the MIDI keyboards I’ve owned aren’t that sensitive either…my best MIDI keyboard [not a really good one but it’s not exactly cheap either] does well to recognize 8 to 10 layers with any consistent/predictable results), and in those cases I usually have independent left and right hand strokes on separate pads. For drawing in stuff with a sequencer/editor spreading it out over multiple pads is not a problem.
A good, playable marching snare in GA4 takes several banks of pads for me (because the MPC controller pads (or keyboard keys) aren’t sensitive enough NOT to spread it all out anyway), and that’s not including the rim clicks, guzzes, and all that jazz. If playing with typical MPC pads is the goal…I’d advise spreading it out over different pads anyway. I.E. A pad for ppp - p LH, another for RH; a pad for mp - mf LF, another for right hand; a pad for mf - f LH, etc…
Another option that works well is to stack kits and ‘crossfade’ between them with the Mod Wheel from ppp - fff. That approach would allow to build a really dynamic instrument that could be played well with MPC pads or keyboard keys.
I’ve gotten some instruments with tons of velocity layers on single triggers, and ended up having to either ‘remove velocity layers’ or ‘compress’ my MIDI controller data to get it ‘under control’ for live playing. It was a pain in the backside!
To make the same instrument for really nice and sensitive stick driven MIDI controller percussion pads is indeed a different order. For that sort of instrument I’d personally use Halion 5, Kontakt, Mach 5, etc…to get at the hundreds of velocity maps, and round robin layers. I can’t think of a single ‘MPC Style’ product on the market that’s going to do justice to the possibilities that a really nice stick driven MIDI drum pad can offer (many velocity layers aren’t enough to take advantage of such controllers…a more robust set of sound shaping tools are needed). I’d also be sure to include a less sensitive version of the patch for people that don’t have fancy eDrum Kit MIDI controllers to play with real drum sticks (back to 8 to 16 layers per switch).
I see no reason not to let GA Users have 127 velocity layers per pad if a user wants go there and dedicate that many resources for kit that’s not sensitive enough to make use of it, but for now one can ‘wait’ until Steinberg adds them or use workarounds.
If I waited for all these software developers to implement my wish lists I’d never have completed a single project.
My Cheap (meaning free GSCW drum kit) I have away 10 years ago in the KVR forum and still I get asked about, has more articulations and layers than anything new one from GA4.
I’ve never had any issues programming drums and using all the layers.
UP NEXT: GA5 32 Layers per pad.
Dreams…!