keyboard synthesizer

Kurzweil Music Systems has announced the PC3LE6, the first of its new PC3LE line of performance control keyboards.

The LE line includes the sound set from the PC3, in addition to many of the PC3’s most popular features like Setup Mode, Song Mode and Quick Access Mode.

The LE’s streamlined user interface has been designed to allow for a quick learning curve. This new, interactive U.I. provides a constant stream of useful information to players; move a controller and the LE will display the controller’s name, value and the parameter to which it’s been assigned. (Example – Knob 5: 43 Reverb Wet/Dry)

The PC3LE line also features USB thumb-drive storage, 16 independent arpeggiators, 16 simultaneous Riffs, 8 backlit impact-sensitive drum pads and high quality 24-bit D/A converters. The 61-note PC3LE6 will be followed shortly by the release of the 76 and 88-note versions, the PC3LE7 and PC3LE8.

Kurzweil has published a page of audio demos at their site.

The Kurzweil PC3LE6 retails for about $1,300. Read more…

This is an unboxing and overview of the new Korg microSampler.

Sonic State’s Nick Batt does the dirty work of checking out Korg’s new sampling keyboard.

The Korg microSampler offers sixteen-voice polyphony, reverse playback, editing operations such as Normalize and Truncate, and a Time Stretch feature that lets you change the tempo without affecting the pitch. Selectable sample rates of 48 kHz, 24 kHz, 12 kHz, and down to 6 kHz let you sample at rates beyond CD clarity or add in that Lo-Fi vintage vibe.

Michael Barron, guitar; Susan Mumford, vocals; Chris Thompson, drums; Joe Menacker, bass; and Bob Boilen, synth

NPR’s Bob Boilen (All Things Considered) shares an awesome synth-related story:

Besides a few aborted attempts as a teen to play guitar, I’d never played music before; I just loved listening to it. When I was in my 20s, I quit my job running a record warehouse and bought a synthesizer. Three months later, I’m on stage with my Arp Odyssey and a new band called Tiny Desk Unit.

I had no idea how nervous I was until I got on stage. A few minutes into the first song, sweat began to pour off my face and onto my Arp. With all my nervous energy, I hit the keys on my keyboard with dramatic force. A few minutes later, I noticed that, no matter what key on the keyboard I’d strike, it would play the same note. I had broken my synthesizer. My nightmare was my reality.

See the NPR blog for the full story.

Korg has released official specs for the new Korg microSampler sampling keyboard.

The microSampler offers multi-mode sampling, resampling, Pattern Sequencing and effects in a microsized keyboard.

The Korg microSampler offers sixteen-voice polyphony, reverse playback, editing operations such as Normalize and Truncate, and a Time Stretch feature that lets you change the tempo without affecting the pitch. Selectable sample rates of 48 kHz, 24 kHz, 12 kHz, and down to 6 kHz let you sample at rates beyond CD clarity or add in that Lo-Fi vintage vibe.

Each bank contains 36 samples (a maximum of approximately 160 seconds of recording time for monaural samples at a 48 kHz sampling rate) and sixteen patterns of sequence data; the microSAMPLER lets you store eight such banks in internal memory.

The Keyboard mode takes a single sample and assigns it chromatically across the keys for instant playability. With its recessed controls, bright LEDs and informative display, the microSAMPLER is designed to be fun to use and easy to operate.

The microSAMPLER Compact Sampling Keyboard will be available November 1, 2009, with a U.S. MSRP of $750.00.

Details below. Read more…

Totally Wired, a documentary film about Andreas Schneider’s infamous ‘Schneider’s Buero’, the boutique electronic musical instrument shop in Berlin, is now available on DVD.

Description:

Inside a crumbling socialist office block in former East Berlin, synthesiser store owner Andreas Schneider preaches the way of analogue to a loyal following of infamous electronic musicians, who flock to his store, ‘Schneiders Buero’, for unique boutique instruments. His business has prospered against the odds throughout the digital revolution in music, and in parallel, through a period of huge change in East Berlin. His is a haven for maverick instrument builders and passionate collectors alike. But as the twin forces of capitalism and digital technology seep through the last bricks of the Wall, how much longer can this analogue asylum survive?

The film features an informed selection of inventors and artists alike, including Dieter Doepfer, Junior Boys, Cassy, Ken MacBeth, Anthony Rother, Jessica Rylan, Daniel Miller, Wowa Cwejman, Per Salzwedel, Ricardo Villalobos, Magda, Marc Houle, Max Loderbauer and many more.

You can preview a section of the DVD below that features Ken Macbeth, of Macbeth Studio Systems. Macbeth talks about what inspires him, his vision for the M5 synthesiser, and making noise. Read more…