Koma’s stuff is good. Really good. So good, you might even want to watch a hands-on video where I’m juggling a camera in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other. Their stompable, playable analog effects show well even in the back of a van circling Musikmesse.

How I came to see this hardware in the van is a story in itself. The trade show gig works like this: you pay an enormous amount of money for some sort of trade membership, then an enormous amount of money for a booth, an enormous amount of money to staff that booth in the form of hotels and travel, and then an enormous amount of money for obscure charges like wireless Internet that doesn’t work right and union staff to unpack your gear and so on. Exact details may vary, but you get the idea. For an independent maker, it often just doesn’t make sense.

Berlin-based Koma Electronik had another idea. “Carpet-bagging,” the term for using your badge to sell your product without a booth, is a strict no-no at these trade shows. But the trade show can’t tell you what you can or can’t do outside the convention. So, at Musikmesse, Koma promised demos in their “limousine” or “Koma Cab” – really a rented van outfitted with an amp for live demos of their gear. Since they’d saved some money, they could even offer free champagne and caviar. The system was easy: call them up, and they picked you up for a ride and some music.

Here, we get an in-depth look at two Koma effects, the FT201 filter/sequencer and BD101 gate/delay. On first glance, these may remind you of the superb Moog Music Moogerfoogers. But in usability and sound, the Koma boxes are very much their own beasts. I always loved on Star Trek: The Next Generation when someone would bark “disable safety protocols.” That’s the feeling of the sound here, whether controlled with your fingers, your feet, control voltage, or distance sensors – all appealing to modular synth lovers, computer users, and guitarists alike. In particular, the gate/delay is capable of some far-out effects, so if you’re bored with me and Koma’s Wouter Jaspers (come on, why?), uh, skip ahead a bit for some really wild sounds after a couple of minutes in the second video (below, bottom).

Kristin Trethewey has a separate look at the Koma crew for CDM, but for now, enjoy the videos.

Part one, above, shows the filter; the delay is below. We ask readers: which song fits this scenario better, Dragonette “Black Limousine,” or Ladytron “Back of the Van”?

http://www.koma-elektronik.com/ft201/

http://www.koma-elektronik.com/bd101/

Like a World’s Fair of all the invention in music technology, the big trade shows still gather many of the latest creations from around the globe. And while the NAMM show in California is big, Musikmesse is bigger: spanning some 11 halls (together with a live lighting and event show called Pro Light+Sound), it’s the biggest on Earth. Having covered NAMM for German publication DE:BUG, I’m thrilled to get to do the reverse and highlight the best of Messe for California-based Keyboard Magazine.

Musikmesse 2012 Gear Report [Keyboard Magazine]

Instead of trying to cover absolutely everything, this is the stuff I found especially significant – and I got the luxury of giving into my personal bias toward things with keys on them. Some of the highlights:

• RME getting 36 channels, 24-bit, 192 kHz audio … on a computer and on your iPad. (Also, thanks to RME for the delicious beer.)
• Mode Machines’ wonderful German x0xb0x, SID drum machine, and other treats.
• More accurate modeled pianos, including the epic ALPHA with its full-sized hammer action inside. (No, not what keyboard makers usually call hammer action – like, the whole hammer.)
• Roland’s clever mechanism for using your iPhone to record and jam along with their instruments, wirelessly. (See my hands-on video, below).

And, of course, there’s lots of gear to look at. It wasn’t new to Messe, but if my ethics circuitry were to short-circuit and I decided to hide something under a coat, I sure do love that Buchla modular and touch plate, for all its quirky strangeness. In fact, apologies to the folks at Moog, but I have to recount this story. Evidently a couple of Moog reps went over to the Buchla display to try out the new modular, and came back frustrated about the touchplate and the lack of a conventional keyboard. (Believe me, they’re not wrong: these can keep you from making useful sound if you don’t have a lot of time.) Now, I cut my teeth in analog on two modulars side by side, an original Buchla and Moog setup. I was charmed by the reenactment of the controversy over Buchla – its unconventional input, its creatively-worded labels, and its different approach to patching. I talked to others with the same split reaction, not just Moog. It’s all the more topical after my passing mention of a giant sphere triggered a minor flame war in comments. (And don’t get me wrong: as I said before, I love keyboards, and still favor them over other means of input.)

I always loved both the Buchla and Moog for their differences, and the fact that these philosophical difference survive decades later gives some hope for the longevity of what we do – sometimes even the longevity of our peculiarities.

Let me know what your favorite finds were from Messe, even if you were watching online. (In all honesty, your odds may be better than if you get lost on the giant show floors!)

You’d expect that holding the world’s largest trade show in Germany would mean some serious analog and gear love – and you’d be right. Andreas Schneider of SchneidersBuero/SchneidersLaden, the famed Berlin gear hub, was this year gathering some of the finest analog gear at a booth for ALEX4, a European distributor for some of these names.

Now, in the meeting room there was of course real business to do, but that shouldn’t stop drool from pooling on some of the equipment.

Among the highlights:
Doepfer Musikelektronik, the company that perhaps more than any other ignited the current modular fever, was on-hand with some new prototypes, including a step sequencer (video) and touch plate, all works-in-progress.

Doepfer also had a demo unit of the Dark Energy II, the new version of their lovely, affordable desktop analog synth. The Dark Energy is discontinued because Doepfer was unable to continue to stock the CEM3394 chip used in the filter. The revision, slated for availability this summer, was available. To underly the point that the filter is the only major change, you’ll see that knob highlighted in yellow. (There are some other subtle tweaks; the resulting instrument sounds really quite nice.)

Alyseum showed off the MS-812, an embedded computer board that works on an Ethernet network to provide MIDI, CopperLan (a futuristic, new high-resolution and high-bandwidth protocol), and analog Control Voltage. Just how much of it? Think 8 dedicated CV outs, 12 digital outs, and conversion between everything. If I were building a new computer lab and wanted to network a whole bunch of analog gear and computers and MIDI equipment together, or making some massive MIDI/CopperLan/CV art installation, I think I’d be looking at this.

Vermona also had a multi-MIDI, multi-CV module, pictured. (Please: whoever owns all this gear, send pictures of what your rig looks like.)

You may spot a few other gems in our gallery, including the Synchrodyne WMD recently previewed by TRASH_AUDIO. As I can walk to Schneidersladen, let us know if there’s anything about which you’re especially curious.

And that concludes today’s episode of Create Analog Music, which raises the question – will I have to start a reader campaign to see if TRASH_AUDIO will give us their createanalogmusic.com domain name?

The name “Jupiter” evokes some strong feelings among synth aficionados. Little wonder, than, that when Roland introduced a modern successor, the response was impassioned. CDM was one of the first to look in detail at the Jupiter-80, and I was surprised – given the tendency of this readership away from massive flagship keyboards – to see it become one of our biggest stories of the year.

Roland faced some serious criticism when the story it told about the new Jupiter was less about synthesis and more about the instrument-emulating Supernatural engine. After all, since the days of the original Jupiter’s launch, we’ve come to think of the synthesizer as its own category of instrument – not an emulation of anything else. Then there was the fact that the JP-80′s weight and cost put it out of reach of many musicians.

If those were your criticisms, the news out of last week’s Musikmesse should be welcome news. First, the Jupiter-50 is a Jupiter keyboard for those of you without big budgets and road crews; it’s lighter and more affordable. The lack of the JP-80′s nifty touchscreen isn’t bad news, either – new iPad integration means you can get deep into programming right from your tablet.

Second, the JP-50 and a new second version of the JP-80 significantly refocus on synthesis features. I spent some time talking to Peter from Roland Europe at Messe about the synth stuff added to the JP. A lot of the effort went into behavioral modeling of classic analog filters. (See CDM’s hands-on video above.) Peter can’t say on camera the names, but you’ll get the trademark filters found on synthesizers from Sequential Circuits (Prophet) and Moog.

The new Jupiter-50, little sibling to the big JP-80 introduced last year.

Most notably, I got the sense from Peter that Roland not only heard but took seriously complaints from the synth-loving public that any new keyboard called “Jupiter” really needed to be a synth. Now, don’t get me wrong: I actually think the Supernatural stuff is pretty cool. I can easily imagine someone who needs versatility onstage or is programming film and TV scores or otherwise needs some great-sounding, wide-reaching instruments will really love it. It’s not anything you haven’t heard from big sample libraries on computers, but you get it in a keyboard you can turn on in a matter of seconds and tour with without needing a dedicated computer tech tailing you around. I think, ironically, those features will seem more appealing when you don’t have to choose between a keyboard that makes those sounds and a rich synthesizer. Now you get both of those things in one unit, and via the JP-50, one that can reach a wider audience.

New in the version 2 JP-80 and on the JP-50:

• Three new low-pass filter models, for a total of four
• New effects structures – yes, parallel routing as previously, but now a total of five structures including serial routing. This gives you the kind of semi-modular effects routing you’d normally expect on a soft synth.
• Quicker access to playing a single sound (without all the zones) called Registration Play, and SONAR integration.

Jupiter-80 Version 2

On the JP-50:

• Same sound engine as the JP-80
• 76-note weighted keys. (This isn’t the same class of keybed as found on the JP-80, but it still feels like a premium keyboard; I gave it a try at Messe.)
• Integrated USB audio/MIDI interface, and USB song player/recorder. This also includes, via an optional wireless dongle, the ability to wirelessly stream MIDI and audio to an iPad or iPhone – new functionality also demoed at Messe last week.

Jupiter-50

No official pricing yet, but word is it’ll be significantly less (of course) than the 80, and availability is planned for late spring.

My colleague Steve Fortner at Keyboard Magazine got an exclusive first look at the JP-50. There’s an extensive video series, but to get you started, here’s the sound programming vid:

See the full hands-on (and this, naturally, covers some of what’s new in the v2 firmware upgrade for the JP-80):
Roland Jupiter-50 Hands-on [Keyboard Magazine USA]

Previously:
First Look at Roland Jupiter-80, Images, and Reflections on the Jupiter Legacy

And little did I know how prescient the cooler in German words I uttered would become. Oops. (Hello from Berlin.)

Music trade shows are typically full of sensible and useful instruments. They may not always represent something revolutionary, but people find homes for them in their musical lives. Of course, the world’s fair futurist in us may want something really different.

It was a real treat to get my hands on the AlphaSphere, a UK-engineered alternative instrument that maps pitch across touch-sensitive surfaces arrayed in a sphere. It’s what a lot of people were talking about at Messe when people asked “what’s cool?”, as friends rounded up friends to march them over to the booth. (It’s Hall 5.1, stand C27 if you happen to be there this weekend.) The rubbery round sensors are actually really fun to play. I’m not quite ready to sign up for all-spherical playing, but it was a crowd-pleaser, and it’s great to experience a different way of playing.

I hope to catch up with these lads from Bristol either in the UK or back in Berlin, but in the meantime, check out Keyboard Magazine’s video of the demo. It’s not as slick as the promo video, but you get a sense of the co-inventor’s real enthusiasm. (I shot the video as I’m contributing to Keyboard‘s Messe coverage.)

More:
http://www.alphasphere.com/

Previously (not spheres, but a similar idea – minus the continuous pressure):
Dodecahedronists, Unite: An Audiovisual Controller, Gestures and Polyhedra, Open Hardware

Official video (I like the white):

Someone at Pioneer worked out how to combine the timer used in chess, the boombox, some DJ effects, and dance battles, and the result is this: the STEELZ AUDIO Type T, evidently new and under glass at Musikmesse in Frankfurt this week.

I think it deserves special mention for its sheer oddness. (And hey, maybe this is a product for someone somewhere!) One of the great things about it: it displays all sorts of little animations.

I would not normally copy and paste, but:

Auto Battle Mode*
STEEZ AUDIO incorporates “Auto Battle Mode” – Pioneer’s unique technology which makes it easy for dancers to battle anytime, anywhere. Simply set match-up (playing) time or music genre, and the mode automatically selects and edits tunes for dance battles. Select “Circle” for multi-dancer match-ups or “Normal” for one-on-one, two-on-two and team dance battles. STEEZ AUDIO covers what a DJ/timekeeper would normally do, and allows you to smoothly switch music for battle by cutting in on and echoing tunes. It even prompts you with your choice of voice or tone call signal, 10 seconds before a change of dancer in a battle is required.

It is nothing if not a clever idea. It also demonstrates you can imagine products that use music technology that aren’t conventional music products. Tempo control from Pioneer’s DJ line, for instance, is intended to aid practice, along with beat detection, skipping and cueing, and automatic mix. Companion software pre-analyzes your files.

This may be the first and last time CDM mentions a car stereo product from anyone, so have at it:
STEEZ AUDIO Type S

Endeavour’s Evo Series One, which we looked at in the fall, does something different with the conventional keyboard: it adds a touch-sensitive surface to the top of the keys, allowing you to run your fingers up and down the keys for added expression. I got a chance to try the Evo today, and I’m impressed. The first feeling is strange: the keys have an action more like an electric keyboard (Rhodes, etc.), and the keys are atypically tall. But as you begin to play, it makes sense: this isn’t a piano for playing Liszt; it’s a unique, hybrid interface. The added length gives you more touch surface to play, and it is possible to get used to a slightly-adjusted playing style without too much effort. In exchange, you get this new dimension of expression – without awkward wiggling motions on the keys or the imprecision of aftertouch.

The Series One has been on sale for a couple of months, but there were a couple of significant revelations today.

First, Endeavour is building their own software. There’s a bridge tool (currently for Mac, with Windows next) that lets you pipe both OSC and MIDI to other programs. That software is free and open source, if you want to do more with it, and you can also get native OSC right out of the keyboard. Endeavour is also building their own, custom synthesizer to take advantage of the added dimension of playability in the input; I saw a Reaktor patch, but it’ll ship as standalone software.

Second, and perhaps most importantly, they’re working on a much more affordable version. The hand-built, unique Series One is a whopping 2700 €, but by the end of the year, we should see something smaller and in a lower price range. (I heard a number I can’t repeat, but that I liked.)

Check out the sound demos at top for a feel of what this can do – and you can see a glimpse of some of the possibilities, as well as the scale of the hardware, in the images below of the device and its editing software.

Previously:
Tactile Touch: Evo Keyboard to Marry Touch Expression, Conventional Keys

Note: my hands aren’t the best way to get scale, as I have relatively small hands. Liszt was always a bit of a stretch.

Updated: Hands-on video from Messe

I shot a quick video for Keyboard Magazine as part of their Musikmesse coverage:

Keyboard Magazine Video

More editing functionality in their videos:
https://vimeo.com/endeavourgmbh/videos

Korg’s Monotribe became the surprise hit of gear announcements at this month’s Messe trade show. It’s little, it’s cute, and it seems entirely focused on synthesis and pattern-making fun.

Plenty of videos have circulated, but odds are you haven’t seen the Japanese-language demo above (well, Japanese titles – the video itself speaks the international language of synth). It’s a nice jam on Monotribe and the recently-released Kaoss Pad Quad.

Korg’s James Saveja answers some questions for CDM, rapid-fire style.

CDM: Can you describe the drum voices?

James: Drum voices are all analog. A nice punchy snare, kick and hat part.

CDM: How does the sync work?

James: It’s audio sync. You can use a pulse to keep things synced.

CDM: What’s the workflow like for the step sequencer?

James: Very easy. Hit record and the sequencer runs, and captures what you’re doing at the moments where you’re traversing the 8 steps.

CDM: Pricing I gather won’t be announced until the summer?
James: We’re getting close. Sooner than summer for sure.

CDM: Any impressions you wish to share?

James: I only got my hands on it for a few minutes at the show, and I gotta tell you, it’s got a very special vibe. It’s built like a tank, and the user interface feels extremely substantial. Sturdy knobs and switches, etc. It was a pleasure to play with. I’m excited to get my first production one. Yes, even [product managers] have to wait sometimes! =)

More details: Korg has also posted additional specs on the components. To me, the main thing remains their distinctive-sounding MS-series filter. And I think it’s telling that Korg, of all the major manufacturers, has actually returned to their back catalog of analog designs; in some ways, it’s surprising that no one else has. I’m not entirely sure about an analog pulse being a “return to modular” – that seems to overstate the case a little bit – but it is very, very easy to use a pulse to sync.

From the source:

Classic Analog Components – VCO, LFO, VCA
The VCO offers a choice between sawtooth, triangle and square wave. White noise can mixed in to the oscillator signal in any amount. The Octave selector covers a broad range, from deep bass to piercing lead-lines. Three EG (Envelope Generator) presets provide the VCA with impressive versatility and dexterity. The LFO can be patched to the VCO and/or the VCF, creating impressive dynamic effects. The Range switch allows the LFO to deliver stirring cyclic changes over tens of seconds (SLOW) or superfast (FAST) audio-range FM ringing. Switching the LFO Mode to the 1-shot setting allows the LFO behave as a second envelope generator – a truly powerful addition!

Vintage MS-10/MS-20 Filter
The monotribe features the same VCF circuit found on Korg’s classic MS-10 and MS-20 analog semi-patchable synthesizers. Distinctively analog, this sharp and powerful filter adds dramatic change to the sound, imparting the uniquely memorable character of Korg’s early analog synthesizers. Using the audio input, any audio source can be enhanced by passing through the filter section. Process an instrument, a voice, or a complete mix form CD or MP3 and create larger than life filter effects!

Sync Jacks: A Return to Modular
The monotribe provides both Sync In and Sync Out jacks, empowering multiple monotribe units to play and work together for a synchronized performance. Not just other monotribes, either. Audio line level pulses can trigger the Sync Input so the monotribe can be synchronized to a DAW system, for example. In addition, the polarity of the pulse waveform can be changed for both the input and output, so you can enjoy synchronized performance with a variety of equipment equipped with Sync connections.

Monotribe Product Page

By the way, one dirty little secret: almost all gear from recent decades uses some analog circuitry and some digital circuitry, this of course being no exception. I’ll let you conclude from that what you wish. To me, it’s design and use that gives electronics soul, not how analog or digital something is. What the Korg devices remind us is that analog circuits remain an affordable, practical solution to many problems.

Anyway, rest assured we’ll be watching for one of these boxes to arrive in the New York metro area. (Hmmm… I’m in NYC. Korg is on Long Island. The Monotribe and a number of other pieces of gear run on battery power. Synths on the Beach party, anyone?)

Want to win over electronic sound geeks? Korg’s found a simple formula: give them a steady diet of compact, affordable, fun toys that can also be serious sound tools. And so, Korg actually manages to upstage some “bigger” tech announcements this week with some good, clean gear candy. Aside from the expected Monotribe, there’s the unexpected Wavedrum Mini.

You’ve probably already seen the Korg Monotribe, the follow-up to the stocking stuffer analog handheld, the Monotron. It’s been leaked and teased as the words “under strict embargo” have come to mean in the music tech blogosphere “publish as quickly as possible.”

If you just joined us, though, the Monotribe is best described as a Monotron with step sequencer, new control features, analog sync, and simple drum circuits.

Let me boil down some predictions about this instrument, due summer this year.

1. Price will be the deciding factor. Keep the street well under US$200, Korg, and it’ll be a blockbuster. Go above that, and we’ll have to start comparing it to a pretty broad variety of boutique instruments – oh, and lots of stuff on eBay, even from a company called Korg.

2. More evolved synth control, not drums, is the killer feature. Yes, there are “discrete analog” drum sounds, but since they’re fixed, that doesn’t mean much. (Leave that to the modders.) So, instead, see the synth side.

I love the Monotron’s sound, when combined with its deliciously-raucous LFO and classic MS-10 / MS-20 Korg analog filter. Revisiting Korg’s own filter circuit was a stroke of genius. Extend on that success with the Monotribe by adding step-sequencing and recording, and add different control modes (including the ability to hit actual notes on its tiny ribbon), and it all becomes more useful. I also like pushing the frequency range. There’s a double-edged sword here, too, though – by adding features, it’s apparent what’s missing. And as a synth, the Monotribe is pretty limited. It pales oddly versus the (affordable when introduced) Roland TB303; I’d hesitate to even make the comparison. (But see item #1, which overrides the rest.)

3. The design is a bit of a disappointment – but it could be more fun than a Monotron. The original Monotron was iconic and adorable, tiny enough to fit in your hand, dirt-cheap and simple enough to give to non-synth friends in place of wine. The new Monotribe is mostly utilitarian-looking, as if several units were cut and paste together, and with the extra bulk, you still don’t get niceties like, um, MIDI. But no matter: again, assuming they’ve got the price right, this appears to be a fun little busy box for synth addicts that can make most iOS apps look soulless by comparison.

4. Sync is more fun than you think. So, that sync jack will take an audio pulse. That means you could send this a click and sync to a DAW – or, I’d imagine, do some fun audio triggering with it. Hacks should therefore be really easy on the sync side. And it could wind up being sync that moves this into the must-buy category.

Demos:

It’ll be a fascinating test – can you take something ultra-minimal, make it a little less minimal, and have it still work?

And yes, it’s funny to hear the word “analog” turn into a “new” marketing buzzword.

Will people make whole albums with it? They will, indeed. Listen to Chris Randall tell CDM about putting the Monotron on EPs.

And a Mobile Drum

The Korg Wavedrum Mini is equally adorable. On the Wavedrum Mini, it’s easier to complain about absent MIDI output since it’d make a terrific little controller, but that’s about the only gripe so far. Again, the major unknown – and it could be the deciding factor – is price.

The Wavedrum Mini is otherwise an ultra-portable drum pad with speaker, and a “sensor clip” — I’m guessing just a trigger — that you can put on anything. There are built-in patterns and things, but let’s skip to the good parts.

It’s a win for:
1. Anyone who needs to play with batteries.
2. Anyone who needs something ultra-portable for practice (especially with the speaker and headphone jack).
3. Anyone wanting a fun toy to play with drum triggers, using that clip.

It’s just a shame the clip and pad can’t be used with MIDI or USB or Bluetooth or anything but audio. Makers, time for us to step in and offer a little DIY alternative, huh?

Due summer 2011.

Full disclosure: Create Digital Music produces and sells the competing MeeBlip. Okay, that was fun to say.

While Roland this week is pushing their JP-80 and celebrating a 30-year milestone (the Jupiter-8), Yamaha has a different tack. They’re talking about the 10-year anniversary of the MOTIF workstation line, and introducing a version that’s actually easier to lift and afford. That could be friendly to the current economic tough times. But with all that people love their software synths, can Yamaha make a compelling case to the computer user, too? I put Yamaha on the spot to answer that.

First, here are the specs:

• MOTIF XS sounds, with 1,217 voices and 355 MB of waveforms. (Okay, that’s nothing to HALion’s 15 GB of sounds on a computer, but Yamaha promises content with “Expanded Articulation” features.)
• Virtual Circuit Modeling and MOTIF XS synth engine, with 18 filter types.
• 256 performance patterns, 6,720 arpeggiator patterns, MOTIF XS four-part arpeggio engine.
• USB audio/MIDI interface to record directly to a PC – 4-in, 2-out, stereo input for vocals or instruments/guitars.
• Onboard sequencer and direct-to-sequencer recording so you can use the keyboard as a sketchpad.
• MIDI controller functionality.

None of that is terribly earth-shaking; where the MOX line is worth mentioning is on weight, size, and cost. The MOX6 weighs 15.4 pounds with 61 semi-weighted keys; the MOX8 gives you 88 Graded Hammer Standard keys in 32.6 pounds.

MOX6: US$1199.99 MAP
MOX8: US$1699.99 MAP

That still isn’t quite an impulse buy, but there isn’t a whole heck of a lot of competition, particularly if you want a lightweight, playable hammer-action keyboard with these kinds of features. (Roland and Kurzweil compete in the same space, but only Kurzweil I think is on the same level for pianist-friendly hammer action keybeds.)

In fact, if you look at it this way – a keyboard with controllers and a real Yamaha keybed that you can still lift – the MOX fills a long-quiet spot in the market.

Having onboard sounds is a nice backup, but for most of us who are addicted to superior-sounding soft synths, half a gig of MOTIF sounds just won’t cut it. (Side note: I really do think there’s something to the Japanese aesthetic of miniaturized sample content. I’m stunned engineers at these makers can voice these things as well as they do.)

So, I asked Athan Billias of Yamaha’s Pro Audio and Combo Division to tell us more about the computer workflow and keybed. It brings up features you might miss, like controller capabilities, using the sequencer and arpeggiator with other gear, and other details.

Keybed: Yamaha’s keybeds are some of the best-liked away from actual pianos, so this comes as good news: “The Graded Hammer Standard is what we use on many of our digital pianos- the P95, etc,” says Athan. “It’s a graded hammer action that was designed to be lighter and allow for a more streamlined design than the Clavinova’s, but uses a similar mechanism.” Now, it is lighter – otherwise the keyboard would weigh more – but if portability is key, this could be a player.

Streaming from the audio engine: With USB onboard, being able to record the internal sound bank is essential; I saw commenters elsewhere asking about this. The answer is, yes, you can: “It is a 4 in ( to the computer ) 2 out interface. So yes, you can stream directly from the synth engine will also recording the L&R analog inputs.”

USB audio drivers: The keyboard isn’t class-compliant, says Athan, because it’s both multi-channel audio and multi-port MIDI. (I believe the latter is the issue.) You’ll need Yamaha drivers – so, no Linux / iPad.

Computer integration: With inexpensive controller keyboards available, Yamaha has a little something to prove to convince computer users. They’re obviously thinking of that use case, as they include soft synths in the box. Here’s Athan’s argument.

I think this is the coolest thing about the MOX. So let’s talk computer integration.

The MOX comes with Cubase AI of course, but it also has a suite of other software.

YC-B3 – Yamaha Organ Modeling VST soft synth
Prologue – Steinberg Virtual Analog softsynth

MOX VST editor – This turns the hardware into a VST so you can treat the hardware exactly like a softsynth. Save your project, open a month later and it recalls the setting of your hardware exactly as they were when you were last working on the project.

Remote Editor- The remote mode turns the MOX into a very comprehensive DAW and VST controller. There is an AI knob which means that rest the mouse over any parameter in Cubase and the AI knob can tweak it. You can use the Remote Editor to select almost anything in Cubase to be controlled by buttons on the MOX.

You can open, select and tweak VSTs , control the EQs of audio channels, open and close the mixers and other windows and many other things.

However, it is not just the software. The MOX is an audio interface so you can play back your VSTs audio out through the MOX. A MOX, some VSTs and a laptop are all you need ( besides a PA system) to play live. The MOX has a DAW level control on the front panel which is the output from your computer.

Sequencer / arpeggiator: Okay, actually, I find this potentially the coolest feature. The sequencer can record internal MIDI or external MIDI, so you can use the keyboard as a sketchpad or use it to sequence hardware. I’m not terribly familiar with the MOTIF sequencers, so I have to give this another try to see how usable it is, but it is one advantage of workstation-style keyboards – here, without all that extra cruft (and heft, and cost) you don’t need or want.

Also, a MIDI output switch lets you use the arpeggiator and patterns to sequence your external MIDI instruments.

Otherwise, this is effectively a MOTIF XS in the guts, just with less weight and cost. That’s, um, how I expect to celebrate my next birthday/anniversary, I hope.

This isn’t a review, but this looks like a contender – and I’d love to stack the Kurzweil and Yamaha offerings against each other. Cheap controllers are nice, but having a superior keybed and some useful functions and (even just as a backup) standalone sounds has some appeal, without feeling like your keyboard is trying to be another computer.

The only unfortunate detail is that the keyboard would share the name of nuclear fuel at a most inopportune time. Then again, if I plug it in here in New York, there’s a 30% chance I’m running off nuclear fuel, too. Think of it as short for “moxie” instead.