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Re: [OM] Hens Teeth - KORGs

Subject: Re: [OM] Hens Teeth - KORGs
From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2016 10:17:18 -0500
> Keytars are cool. Lets a keyboardist get out front of the band and prance
> around for a while. Before the official "Keytar," guys like Gary Wright and
> Edgar Winter figured out how to make carryable versions of synths, but they
> were pretty heavy. One of the first ones I remember seeing was Jan Hammer's.

The now discontinued Roland AX-SYNTH is an awesome Keytar, but had two
issues. Too big and heavy and didn't work well as a midi-controller as
the pitch-bend wouldn't recenter. It's amazing what two pounds can do.


> Maybe it's a bad guess on demand. Or, as happens fairly frequenty, they
> intentionally under-produce to create an artificial shortage, creating
> higher demand and a marketing buzz.

This isn't the first time KORG has done this. One problem with Keytars
is that they go in and out of style so rapidly. KORG appears to be in
the long-game with the new RK-100S. The dual-controller ribbon design
is brilliant, along with well placed common controls that don't
require menu-diving to do things. The synth engine is quite decent,
too, but the fact that it's such a fantastic midi controller means
that you can keep the sound in the rack if you want.

As to the Roland, this appears to be an issue where the availability
was limited for so long that Roland misread the low sales with low
demand. They stopped manufacturing it over a year ago and never told
the dealer network, nor took it off their website. Not the first or
the last time that Roland has screwed up their product lines. I think
KORG is a little smarter than Roland in this regard, and KORG has the
best stage keyboards in the business right now. I dislike their piano
sound and their weighted keyboards, but they are immensely
stage/performance friendly. I'm always going to be a Yammy fan, as
they are generally far superior to everything else in the studio, but
they aren't nearly as friendly for performance as either the KORGs or
the Rolands.

The daughter's other keyboard is the Yamaha S90. A heavy beast, but
the sound has big brass ones, which is perfect for playing style.

AG
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