Roland intros the AX-Synth Shoulder Synthesizer [NAMM09]

Roland unveiled a huge array of new musical instruments and accessories at this year’s Winter NAMM, including this: the AX-Synth Shoulder Synthesizer.

Harking back to the glorious days of the 1980s when this kind of instrument was all the rage, it frees the keyboard player up to move about, while still having full control over playing.

Features include 49 note velocity-sensitive keyboard, whopping 128 notes of polyphony, 256 tones and eight special (SuperNATURAL) tones, a D-Beam, Ribbon Touch, Modulation Bar, Volume Knob Controller, Aftertouch Knob Controller, Portamento On/Off, Hold button On/Off, and choice of Bender Mode (Normal/Catch+Last).

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It has a wealth of connectors too, including 2x 1/4″ audio jacks, headphones, foot pedal, USB connector, MIDI IN/OUT, and AC connector. It runs from eight Ni-MH rechargeable batteries which give around six hours of operation per charge.

What do you think? Can you see yourself rocking out on stage with this?

Pricing and availability to be confirmed.