diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index ac5d6af..3c402a9 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 setup(
     name='sfzlint',
-    version='0.1.2',
+    version='0.1.4',
     description='parser and linter for sfz files written in python',
     author='jisaacstone',
     packages=['sfzlint'],
diff --git a/sfzlint/cli.py b/sfzlint/cli.py
index 4e857ac..fb2b6ee 100644
--- a/sfzlint/cli.py
+++ b/sfzlint/cli.py
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 from argparse import ArgumentParser
-from . import spec, parser, lint, opcodes
+from . import spec, parser, lint, opcodes, settings
 
 
 def print_codes(search=None, filters=None, printer=print):
-    for o in spec.opcodes.values():
+    for o in spec.opcodes().values():
         print_code(o, search, filters, printer)
 
 
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ def print_codes_in_path(path, search, filters, printer=print):
                     codes.add(str(opcode))
         except Exception as e:
             sys.stderr.write(f'Error checking {fp}: {e}')
-    op_data = spec.opcodes
+    op_data = spec.opcodes()
 
     def unknown(code):
         return {'name': code, 'ver': 'unknown'}
@@ -80,7 +80,14 @@ def eq_filter(string):
         '--path', '-p',
         type=Path,
         help='print only opcodes found in the sfz file(s) in PATH')
+    parser.add_argument(
+        '--no-pickle',
+        action='store_true',
+        help='do not use the pickle cache (for testing)')
     args = parser.parse_args()
+    if not args.no_pickle:
+        settings.pickle = True
+        1/0
     try:
         if args.path:
             print_codes_in_path(args.path, args.search, args.filters, printer)
@@ -91,4 +98,5 @@ def eq_filter(string):
 
 
 def sfzlint():
+    settings.pickle = True
     return lint.main()
diff --git a/sfzlint/lint.py b/sfzlint/lint.py
index 1720b0d..5224ab7 100644
--- a/sfzlint/lint.py
+++ b/sfzlint/lint.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from lark.exceptions import UnexpectedCharacters, UnexpectedToken
 from .parser import validate, SFZ, SFZValidatorConfig
-from . import spec
+from . import spec, settings
 
 
 formats = {
@@ -101,7 +101,12 @@ def main():
     parser.add_argument(
         '--rel-path',
         help='validate includes and sample paths relative to this path')
+    parser.add_argument(
+        '--no-pickle',
+        action='store_true',
+        help='do not use the pickle cache (for testing)')
     args = parser.parse_args()
+    settings.pickle = not args.no_pickle
     lint(args)
 
 
diff --git a/sfzlint/opcodes.py b/sfzlint/opcodes.py
index fa73655..6e506cd 100644
--- a/sfzlint/opcodes.py
+++ b/sfzlint/opcodes.py
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ def _try_cc_subs(opcode):
             for alt in cc_alts:
                 if alt != variation:
                     alternative = opcode.replace(variation, alt)
-                    if alternative in spec.cc_opcodes:
+                    if alternative in spec.cc_opcodes():
                         return alternative
     return None
 
@@ -106,9 +106,9 @@ def _try_cc_subs(opcode):
 def validate_curvecc(raw_opcode, token, config):
     '''Specializing for now, until we get this into the .yml'''
     opcode, subs = OpcodeIntRepl.sub(raw_opcode)
-    known_op = opcode in spec.opcodes
+    known_op = opcode in spec.opcodes()
     if known_op:
-        validation = spec.opcodes[opcode]
+        validation = spec.opcodes()[opcode]
         spec_ver = config.spec_versions
         if spec_ver and validation['ver'] not in spec_ver:
             raise ValidationError(
@@ -126,13 +126,13 @@ def validate_curvecc(raw_opcode, token, config):
 
 
 def validate_opcode_expr(raw_opcode, token, config):
-    if raw_opcode not in spec.opcodes:
+    if raw_opcode not in spec.opcodes():
         opcode, subs = OpcodeIntRepl.sub(raw_opcode)
     else:
         opcode = raw_opcode.value
         subs = {}
 
-    if opcode not in spec.opcodes:
+    if opcode not in spec.opcodes():
         if 'cc' in opcode and 'curvecc' not in opcode:
             new_opcode = _try_cc_subs(opcode)
             if new_opcode:
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ def validate_opcode_expr(raw_opcode, token, config):
                     f'undocumented alias of {new_opcode} ({opcode})',
                     raw_opcode)
     try:
-        op_meta = spec.opcodes[opcode]
+        op_meta = spec.opcodes()[opcode]
     except KeyError:
         raise ValidationWarning(
             f'unknown opcode ({opcode})',
diff --git a/sfzlint/settings.py b/sfzlint/settings.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..064da81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sfzlint/settings.py
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+import os
+
+
+pickle = bool(os.environ.get('NOPICKLE'))
diff --git a/sfzlint/spec.py b/sfzlint/spec.py
index e5182dc..efac8fa 100644
--- a/sfzlint/spec.py
+++ b/sfzlint/spec.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 from numbers import Real  # int or float
 import appdirs
 import yaml
-from . import validators
+from . import validators, settings
 
 
 ver_mapping = {
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ def ver_code(version):
     'string': str,
 }
 
+
 # there will be repetitive calls to listdir
 @lru_cache(maxsize=32)
 def listdir(path):
@@ -81,6 +82,12 @@ def validate(self, value, config, *args):
             return 'no corresponding curve_index found'
 
 
+class KeyValidator(validators.Range):
+    def validate(self, value, config, *args):
+        if value == -1 and config.spec_versions == ['v1']:
+            return '-1 is only valid from V2 onward'
+
+
 overrides = {
     ('tune', 'value', 'validator'): TuneValidator(),
     ('sample', 'value', 'validator'): SampleValidator(),
@@ -93,6 +100,9 @@ def validate(self, value, config, *args):
     ('group_label', 'value', 'type'): object,
     ('region_label', 'value', 'type'): object,
     ('sw_label', 'value', 'type'): object,
+    # -1 prevents region being triggered by any key
+    ('hikey', 'value', 'validator'): KeyValidator(-1, 127),
+    ('lokey', 'value', 'validator'): KeyValidator(-1, 127),
 }
 
 
@@ -160,9 +170,13 @@ def op_to_validator(op_data, **kwargs):
             alias_meta['ver'] = valid_meta['ver']
         yield alias_meta
         if 'modulation' in alias:
-            yield from extract_modulation(alias['modulation'].items(), alias['name'])
+            yield from extract_modulation(
+                alias['modulation'].items(),
+                alias['name'])
     if 'modulation' in op_data:
-        yield from extract_modulation(op_data['modulation'].items(), op_data['name'])
+        yield from extract_modulation(
+            op_data['modulation'].items(),
+            op_data['name'])
 
 
 def extract_modulation(items, op_name):
@@ -179,9 +193,9 @@ def _extract_vdr_meta(op_data, valid_meta):
             if v_key not in valid_meta:
                 valid_meta[v_key] = {}
             valid_meta[v_key]['validator'] = _validator(op_data[v_key])
-            if 'type' in op_data[v_key]:
-                valid_meta[v_key]['type'] = type_mapping[
-                    op_data[v_key]['type_name']]
+            type_name = op_data[v_key].get('type_name')
+            if type_name:
+                valid_meta[v_key]['type'] = type_mapping[type_name]
 
 
 def _validator(data_value):
@@ -199,6 +213,9 @@ def _validator(data_value):
 
 
 def _pickled(name, fn):
+    # pickling as cache cuts script time by ~400ms on my system
+    if not settings.pickle:
+        return fn()
     user_cache_dir = Path(appdirs.user_cache_dir("sfzlint", "jisaacstone"))
     p_file = user_cache_dir / f'{name}.pickle'
     if not p_file.exists():
@@ -212,6 +229,17 @@ def _pickled(name, fn):
     return data
 
 
-# pickling as cache cuts script time by ~400ms on my system
-opcodes = _pickled('opcodes', lambda: _override(_extract()))
-cc_opcodes = {k for k in opcodes if 'cc' in k and 'curvecc' not in k}
+_cache = {}
+
+
+def opcodes():
+    if 'opcodes' not in _cache:
+        _cache['opcodes'] = _pickled('opcodes', lambda: _override(_extract()))
+    return _cache['opcodes']
+
+
+def cc_opcodes():
+    if 'cc_opcodes' not in _cache:
+        _cache['cc_opcodes'] = {
+            k for k in opcodes() if 'cc' in k and 'curvecc' not in k}
+    return _cache['cc_opcodes']
diff --git a/sfzlint/validators.py b/sfzlint/validators.py
index c340732..e0b69e8 100644
--- a/sfzlint/validators.py
+++ b/sfzlint/validators.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ def __init__(self, name):
         self.name = name
 
     def validate(self, value, *args):
-        opc = spec.opcodes[self.name].get('value')
+        opc = spec.opcodes()[self.name].get('value')
         if opc and 'validator' in opc:
             return opc['validator'].validate(value, *args)
 
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index e550ce8..04d4b14 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from collections import namedtuple
 from sfzlint.cli import sfzlint, sfzlist
+from sfzlint import settings
 
 
 fixture_dir = Path(__file__).parent / 'fixtures'
@@ -20,21 +21,32 @@ def __new__(cls, file, row, column, l_m):
         return super().__new__(cls, file, row, column, level, message)
 
 
+def patchargs(path, *args):
+    newargv = ['sfzlint', '--no-pickle', str(fixture_dir / path)] + list(args)
+
+    def wrapper(fn):
+        return patch('sys.argv', new=newargv)(fn)
+
+    return wrapper
+
+
 class TestSFZLint(TestCase):
+    def tearDown(self):
+        # Ensure this does not get accidentally set
+        self.assertFalse(settings.pickle)
+
     def assert_has_message(self, message, err_list):
         msglen = len(message)
         msgs = {e.message[:msglen] for e in err_list}
         self.assertIn(message, msgs, f'{message} not in {err_list}')
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'basic/valid.sfz')])
+    @patchargs('basic/valid.sfz')
     @patch('builtins.print')
     def test_valid_file(self, print_mock):
         sfzlint()
         self.assertFalse(print_mock.called, print_mock.call_args_list)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'basic/bad.sfz')])
+    @patchargs('basic/bad.sfz')
     @patch('builtins.print')
     def test_invalid_file(self, print_mock):
         sfzlint()
@@ -43,8 +55,7 @@ def test_invalid_file(self, print_mock):
                  for a in print_mock.call_args_list]
         self.assert_has_message('unknown opcode', calls)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'basic')])
+    @patchargs('basic')
     def test_lint_dir(self):
         with patch('builtins.print') as print_mock:
             sfzlint()
@@ -53,8 +64,7 @@ def test_lint_dir(self):
                  for a in print_mock.call_args_list]
         self.assert_has_message('unknown opcode', calls)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'include/inbadfile.sfz')])
+    @patchargs('include/inbadfile.sfz')
     def test_include_parse_error(self):
         with patch('builtins.print') as print_mock:
             sfzlint()
@@ -63,16 +73,13 @@ def test_include_parse_error(self):
                  for a in print_mock.call_args_list]
         self.assert_has_message('error loading include', calls)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'include/hasinc.sfz')])
+    @patchargs('include/hasinc.sfz')
     @patch('builtins.print')
     def test_include_define(self, print_mock):
         sfzlint()
         self.assertFalse(print_mock.called, print_mock.call_args_list)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'basic/valid.sfz'),
-        '--spec-version', 'v1'])
+    @patchargs('basic/valid.sfz', '--spec-version', 'v1')
     @patch('builtins.print')
     def test_spec_version(self, print_mock):
         sfzlint()
@@ -82,8 +89,7 @@ def test_spec_version(self, print_mock):
         self.assert_has_message('header spec v2 not in', calls)
         self.assert_has_message('opcode spec v2 is not', calls)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'basic/nosample.sfz')])
+    @patchargs('basic/nosample.sfz')
     @patch('builtins.print')
     def test_missing_sample(self, print_mock):
         sfzlint()
@@ -92,22 +98,19 @@ def test_missing_sample(self, print_mock):
                  for a in print_mock.call_args_list]
         self.assert_has_message('file not found', calls)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'basic/relsample.sfz')])
+    @patchargs('basic/relsample.sfz')
     def test_relative_path(self):
         with patch('builtins.print') as print_mock:
             sfzlint()
         self.assertFalse(print_mock.called, print_mock.call_args_list)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'basic/def_path.sfz')])
+    @patchargs('basic/def_path.sfz')
     def test_default_path(self):
         with patch('builtins.print') as print_mock:
             sfzlint()
         self.assertFalse(print_mock.called, print_mock.call_args_list)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'basic/badcase.sfz')])
+    @patchargs('basic/badcase.sfz')
     def test_bad_case(self):
         with patch('builtins.print') as print_mock:
             sfzlint()
@@ -119,16 +122,14 @@ def test_bad_case(self):
         else:
             self.assert_has_message('file not found', calls)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'include/sub/relpath.sfz'),
-        '--rel-path', str(fixture_dir / 'include')])
+    @patchargs('include/sub/relpath.sfz',
+               '--rel-path', str(fixture_dir / 'include'))
     def test_rel_path(self):
         with patch('builtins.print') as print_mock:
             sfzlint()
         self.assertFalse(print_mock.called, print_mock.call_args_list)
 
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlint', str(fixture_dir / 'aria_program.xml')])
+    @patchargs('aria_program.xml')
     def test_xml_with_defines(self):
         with patch('builtins.print') as print_mock:
             sfzlint()
@@ -140,7 +141,7 @@ def test_xml_with_defines(self):
 
 
 class TestSFZList(TestCase):
-    @patch('sys.argv', new=['sfzlist'])
+    @patch('sys.argv', new=['sfzlist', '--no-pickle'])
     def test_valid_file(self):
         print_mock = MagicMock()
         sfzlist(print_mock)
@@ -151,7 +152,7 @@ def test_valid_file(self):
             self.assertIn(test_opcode, opcodes)
 
     @patch('sys.argv', new=[
-        'sfzlist', '--path', str(fixture_dir / 'basic')])
+        'sfzlist', '--no-pickle', '--path', str(fixture_dir / 'basic')])
     def test_path_dir(self):
         print_mock = MagicMock()
         sfzlist(print_mock)
diff --git a/tests/test_valid.py b/tests/test_valid.py
index 23038fd..f8d674b 100644
--- a/tests/test_valid.py
+++ b/tests/test_valid.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 
 class TestValid(TestCase):
+
     def assertEqual(self, aa, bb, *args, **kwargs):
         # handle tokens transparently
         if hasattr(aa, 'value'):
@@ -146,6 +147,19 @@ def test_aria_control_code(self):
             ''')
         self.assertEqual(sfz.headers[0]['amplitude_oncc140'], 75)
 
+    def test_neg_hikey(self):
+        # In the SFZ 1 specification, the allowed range is 0 to 127.
+        # However, SFZ 2 additionally includes the possibility to set
+        # lokey and hikey to -1, to prevent a region from being triggered
+        sfz = self._parse(
+            '''
+            <region>
+            hikey=-1
+            lokey=-1
+            ''')
+        self.assertEqual(sfz.headers[0]['hikey'], -1)
+        self.assertEqual(sfz.headers[0]['lokey'], -1)
+
     def test_hint(self):
         sfz = self._parse(
             '''
diff --git a/testsuite.sh b/testsuite.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c89d678
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testsuite.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -ex
+
+git clone https://github.com/sfz/tests.git /tmp/suite
+
+out=$(sfzlint --no-pickle "/tmp/suite/sfz1 basic tests")
+if [ -n "${out}" ]; then
+  echo "v1 tests failed"
+  exit 1
+fi
+out=$(sfzlint --no-pickle "/tmp/suite/sfz2 basic tests")
+if [ -n "${out}" ]; then
+  echo "v2 tests failed"
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+rm -rf /tmp/suite