Kurzweil intros two new SP stage pianos: SP2XS / SP3x [NAMM09]
February 16, 2009
Kurzweil may not be the first name you think of when it comes to stage pianos (Yamaha and Roland come to my mind first) but its latest duo look pretty decent.
Shown off at last month’s NAMM, the SP2XS and SP3x both feature the Kurzweil Grand Piano sound, based on the combination of the highest quality sound samples, a powerful synth engine, and pristine reverbs.
The SP3x builds on the design of the highly successful SP2x with an expanded sound set of 512 programs. In addition to pianos, the SP3x offers a wide variety of other top notch sounds, including winds, voices, synths, brass, bass, guitar and ensembles. With a wide range of sounds, effects and extensive MIDI controller capabilities, the SP3x is equally well suited for use on stage, at home, or in the studio, and is perfect for worship based music.
The SP2XS joins the SP2 and SP3 to round out the product line, providing an option for players who need a high quality built-in sound system in a professional grade instrument. With a custom 20 watt per channel power amplifier and matched, high efficiency speakers with full range 3×5″ drivers, the sound system has been optimized for the SP2XS’s enclosure, delivering stunning sound quality.
Both feature 64 note polyphony, are 16 part multitimbral, have at least 60 pre-programmed drum patterns and a variety of controllers.
Available now.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Korg shows off new M50 Music Workstation [NAMM09]
February 16, 2009
Korg has taken the fundamentals of its flagship M3 Xpanded workstation and put it out in the form of the more affordable M50 Music Workstation.
The latest version offers 73 keys (six octaves) together with angled control panel and full-size TouchView interface.
The EDS (Extended Definition Synthesis) sound engine delivers stunning sounds and brilliant effects. New additions include a three-stage velocity-switched stereo piano programmed in conjunction with samples of the damper resonance, producing an extraordinarily natural sound. Also new are a number of vintage keyboards, including the classic Korg SG-1 Sampling Grand, acclaimed by artists around the world, numerous authentic electric pianos and clavs, along with legendary 1960s-era tape playback strings and flute sounds.
The M50 offers 256MB of PCM data shaped into 608 Programs, as well as 384 Combinations by Korg’s renowned voicing staff, covering all the acoustic, synthetic and imaginative sounds that current players demand. User-edited data can also be saved into the internal memory, with space for 640 Programs, 512 Combinations and 48 Drum kits. The M50 offers several advanced sound-shaping features, including low-aliasing oscillators, a powerful Filter topology and detailed EGs (Envelope Generators), plus a Drive parameter and AMS (Alternate Modulation Source) Mixers.
The M50 provides 5 Insert Effects, 2 Master Effects and 1 Total Effect, along with 170 Effects types; up to 32 Effects Presets are available per effect. An independent three-band EQ is available for each Program, the Drum Track and each of the sixteen timbres/tracks.
The Drum Track gives users over 670 natural-sounding grooves to jam with in Program and Combi modes, and to help stimulate the songwriting process. Dual arpeggiators offer up traditional arp performance with five preset patterns (UP, DOWN, ALT1, ALT2, RANDOM), as well as advanced polyphonic arpeggiation that can generate everything from simple phrases to complex rhythmic gestures – even fixed note drum and percussion grooves. Two patterns can be used simultaneously in Combination mode or Sequencer mode to create complete ensemble backing, especially when used in conjunction with the Drum Track.
An intuitive sequencer provides 16 MIDI + 1 Master tracks with all the tools needed to capture and easily shape musical ideas into polished productions. It features up to 128 songs, allows users to record 210,000 notes and offers a high resolution of 480 PPQ (parts per quarter-note).
The proprietary M50 Editor and Plug-In Editor software lets users edit the sounds using a computer, and allows the M50 to act as a plug-in instrument for their DAW (VST, Audio Units and RTAS are supported). The editor librarian also enables users to exchange sounds between the M50 and M3. Further, an SD card slot provides easy and affordable management of Programs, Combinations and Sequences, as well as sounds, songs and other data.
Korg’s proprietary 320×240 pixel TouchView display ensures excellent visibility and operability, making it easy to select sounds and adjust parameters. Other controls include a joystick and multiple switches and triggers.
Pricing and availability to be confirmed.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Korg announces Lifetime Achievement Award 2009: Herbie Hancock and Keith Emerson [NAMM09]
February 16, 2009
Last month, Korg announced its annual lifetime achievement award, giving the accolade to two quite different keyboard musicians.
Herbie Hancock: Jazz legend and innovator has been a musical innovator for his entire career. Not content to be pigeonholed as a traditionalist, Hancock has gained new exposure through his recent collaborations on albums such as 2005’s Possibilities, which featured vocalists John Mayer, Paul Simon, Sting, Christina Aguilera and more. And on his latest Grammy-album-of-the-year-winning release,River: The Joni Letters, he brings in guest artists like Norah Jones, Tina Tuner and, of course, Joni Mitchell.
Throughout his career Hancock has often found the right instrument for harnessing his innovative composition and performance style in Korg keyboards. But for him, it goes beyond hardware into the personality of the brand. “[The people at Korg] exhibit their care for not only their product, but also their care for the people that play their product. And their care for a bigger picture – what it can mean for music lovers. That they care about the future development of the music,� he commented.
Presenting the award, Korg Senior Product Manager Jerry Kovarsky commented, “The aspect of Herbie’s persona and career that most appeals to Korg is his constant innovation both personally and musically. He keeps searching out new inspiration, new ways of reaching out to the public, and adapts to new technology in his never-ending quest for artistic growth and personal communication. These are goals that everyone would do well to strive for.�
Keith Emerson: Prog-rock pioneer is an icon of prog-rock and a keyboard legend known for his musical sophistication and larger-than-life theatrics. He relies on Korg as his first choice. Emerson shot to fame in the late ‘60s as a member of The Nice, and subsequently went on to make his name in the progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Today he’s gearing up to tour in support of his newest release, Keith Emerson Band featuring Marc Bonilla. And of course, he’ll be bringing a stable of Korg keyboards along for the ride.
“My Korg instruments are reliable and Korg has a great team that helps me out. Quite honestly, all the Korg keyboards have gone through tornadoes, they’ve gone through playing out in the open air, they’ve gone through extreme humidity and probably are thrown in the back of the truck at the end of the gig. But the next day you just plug them in and they work great. Come to think of it, I can’t remember a time when a Korg didn’t work for me!� Emerson remarked.
In presenting the award to Keith, Kovarsky stated, “Keith is the artist who made playing keyboards a cool thing to do, and became a hero to throngs of budding players throughout the years. But while doing this he also exposed his fans to classical composers and compositions, and a harmonic and musical sophistication that was unheard of in rock and popular music. We didn’t realize that we were growing artistically while we were rocking out to his thrilling performances – that’s a winning combination!�
Popularity: 3% [?]
Korg debuts major upgrade to M3 music workstation/sampler [NAMM09]
February 16, 2009
Korg has shown off a major upgrade to its M3 music workstation and sampler in the shape of the M3 Xpanded.
This free upgrade offers 668MB of expansive new sounds, interactive interface functionality, advanced sequencer enhancements and additions to the KARMA technology.
Sound samples include three new acoustic pianos, 3-way tine and reed electric pianos, four velocity-switch clavichords, vintage tape-playback strings and flutes.
An expanded Sequencer mode adds new screens and functions, including a much-requested Piano Roll edit screen which shows event data, such as notes, velocities and control changes, in an intuitive, graphical way. Touch-drag operation can now be used to edit, delete or create note events or control events. A Track View page shows an overview of each track’s events and provides additional intuitive touch-drag operation. Full MIDI system exclusive data editing has also been added to the Sequencer mode, allowing users to easily record, view, control and edit every aspect of the M3’s synthesis, effects and mixing structures in the everyday parameter names, rather than complex hex coding.
The KARMA function, which generates unique, interactive phrases, has been expanded to Version 2.2, with many new features, including 1,024 locations for user GEs (Generated Effects) when used with exclusive KARMA M3 software from Karma-Lab. Users are now able to switch GEs in real time while KARMA is playing, with seamless transitions.
Other updated features include 700 effect presets voiced to provide instant production-ready settings, 149 newly added drum patterns and an improved TouchView user interface, which allows users to operate knobs or sliders by touch-drag operation onscreen, plus visual metering of timbre and track levels in Combi and Sequencer modes.
The new M3 XPanded upgrade is available for free in the box with all new M3 purchases, with a USB memory stick included containing the new OS and 640 MB of PCM (USB-PCM-04 is available for download only). The complete M3 XPanded upgrade is also available for download at www.korg.com/M3 for existing users.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Korg shows off LP-350 “lifestyle piano” [NAMM09]
February 11, 2009
Korg has announced that its LP-350 lifestyle piano will be available from March this year.
The body of the digital piano is under 11 inches deep, meaning it should be easier to fit it into smaller homes. It’s a full 88-note keyboard, though, utilising Korg’s RH3 graded hammer action technology for a more realistic feel, three levels of touch sensitivity, and accurate stereo sampling from an acoustic concert grand piano.
It comes with all three pedals, can be tuned and has alternate scale tunings, features 60 note polyphony, 30 sounds including five pianos and seven electric pianos, reverb and chorus, sound layering, and 2×11W amp with 2×10cm bass-reflex speakers.
Available in black and white, pricing to be confirmed.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Korg Kaossilator now available in limited edition pink [NAMM09]
February 11, 2009
Not a lot to add to that headline. It seems that no piece of tech or musical gadgetry is immune from turning pink from time to time.
At the Winter NAMM exhibition last month, Korg announced that its Kaossilator synth is available for a limited time in pink, as well as the traditional yellow.
I don’t even have a picture of it in all its pinkness, but never mind. No new features as far as I can see – just pink.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Roland launches VIMA RK-300 recreational keyboard [NAMM09]
February 11, 2009
“Recreational keyboard” suggests to me some hybrid instrument that can not only function as a decent digital piano but also play back pre-recorded music and audio, thus making it more of an entertainment centre than a mere instrument.
That seems to be the thinking behind one of Roland’s latest keyboards, the VIMA RK-300 recreational keyboard.
Not only is it a fully-featured 88 note stereo-sampled digital piano, but it also comes with a huge range of other sounds including a backing band, can function as a karaoke machine by displaying lyrics and playing backing tracks, applying vocal effects, changing tempo and pitch, and even including anime visual effects, controllable via syncing to the music or via the D Beam.
It features 128 note polyphony, 330 tones, eight tuning types, a range of effects, USB reader and a range of connections. It can be fitted with an optional stand (KSC-48).
Pricing and availability to be confirmed.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Roland introduces VP-770 vocal/ensemble keyboard [NAMM09]
February 10, 2009
Synthesised vocals (realistic ones, at least) can be pretty dire, but Roland reckons it has come up with something convincing in its latest vocal and ensemble keyboard, the VP-770.
Rather than focusing on the likes of built instrument samples, it takes the incredibly versatile human voice as its base. No mean feat, that.
The 49-key keyboard with both velocity and channel aftertouch allows for a lot of control over the variety of vocal tones, which include classic, male & female, gospel, pop, background, and vocoder.
It comes with a high-quality headset microphone which can be used to generate the vocals, from the performer’s own voice, in real time.
As if that wasn’t enough, Roland has taken on another difficult set of instruments to take on  brass. The SuperNATURAL brass engine enables authentic performance with full control over ensemble part levels, panning, EQ settings and performance nuance such as growl, noise and stability.
Oh, it handles strings, too.
The VP-770 has a maximum polyphony of 128 voices, six types of auto-harmony, a sound loop function, three-band equaliser, compressor, noise suppressor, and a wide variety of inputs and outputs.
Availability and pricing to be confirmed.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Roland intros TD-4 percussion sound module [NAMM09]
February 9, 2009
Roland has released an upgrade to its range of percussion sound modules, introducing the TD-4 that has four times as much memory as its predecessor and is chock full of drum and percussion instruments and kits plus plenty of customisation options.
In fact there are 25 kits available and 125 drum instruments. It’s possible to change various parameters on each instrument including tuning and muffling, and there are also various mixer parameters including pad volume, pan, kit volume and cross stick volume.
A DB-25 trigger connector means that the device can be used as part of a digital drum kit. Alternatively it can be driven via MIDI.
There’s also a range of coaching material including warm ups and tempo check.
Pricing and availability to be confirmed.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Roland launches BNC-31-BK piano bench [NAMM09]
February 9, 2009
A piano bench isn’t the most exciting piece of kit going, as is evident from the two-line press release sent out by Roland, but there’s no doubt that when you sit on the right piece of furniture your piano playing can dramatically improve.
The BNC-31-BK is a comfortable and high quality piano bench that matches satin black pianos. It can be adjusted in height between 460mm and 540mm by turning a side handle. It features a comfortable top cushion and sturdy, fixed legs.
Availability and pricing to be confirmed.
Popularity: 3% [?]