Gadgety News

Keyboard players.

Ever since joining my first band in 1989 playing such joys as Van Halen’s Jump, Don’t You Forget About Me by Simple Minds and Incommunicado by Marillion, keyboard players have tended to be the most geeky of the band bunch.

They generally had the money, the latest toys and took up the most power points.

It always seemed ironic to me that their gear was second only to the drummers for being unwieldy.  A full size synth in a flightcase is not what I’d call luggable.

Why has it taken so long for something like the VAX77 which logically folds in half (to just 23 inches)?

Connecting to PC and Macs via 16-channel Midi or 64-channel USB, the $2450 VAX77 is not a casual piece of gear.

It touts anodized alluminium controls, uniform pressure springs in each key, modulation/pitch wheel and a 3.5″ LED-backlit touchscreen.

The VAX77 will actually be officially unveiled at NAMM this January.

Infinite Response via OhGizmo!

Here’s a pretty cool looking synth by Future Retro.

The Revolution R2 looks fantastic with its aluminum construction finished in gun metal grey and white with blue leds.

It has a circular sequencer interface, which allows single handed control as well as remote pattern selection using MIDI program change messages.

A built in remix feature allows 265 variations for each pattern and song, which gives more than 65,000 possible overall patterns.  The sound engine uses true analog synthesis throughout and the PC board has a new RAM chip, which extends the battery life from 1.5 years to a complete decade.

All this can be yours for around $750 which I think is pretty good for a synth that looks like it could control the Death Star!!!!!!!!!