Keyboards

Akai will be best known to SOS readers for their samplers and ever-popular MPC range — so what can they bring to the controller keyboard party?

The reputation of Sequential Circuits is up there with the likes of Moog and ARP, but is the first Prophet in 20 years a worthy addition to that heritage or a cash-in on former glories?

In 2003 the original V-Synth represented a bold leap forward in synthesizer technology. Can Roland take the concept further with the new V-Synth GT? Read on...

It's over 40 years since its inception, but the Mellotron has proved to be surprisingly enduring. We meet the men who resurrected the original sampler and review the most technologically sophisticated Mellotron ever, the brand-new M4000.

The new Motif XS range is top of the pile when it comes to Yamaha synth workstation technology, and thus will be going head-to-head with flagship contenders from other big-name manufacturers. Does the XS have what it takes?

Korg's new synth may be small, but there's much more to it than meets the eye...

Edirol's updated PCR keyboard range offers more controls than ever, and a software editor to make the most of them. Let's check it out...

Keyboard workstations have always been something of a Korg speciality, ever since they created the concept almost 20 years ago with the M1. Does their latest offering, the M3, live up to its pedigree?

Roland already have one of the best-loved vocoding keyboard instruments to their name, in the shape of the vintage VP330 Vocoder Plus. Is their 2007 take on the same concept destined for similar classic status?

The world's first commercially available string synthesizer, the Eminent 310, came from an unlikely source, a Dutch home organ manufacturer. It was further advanced through an even more unlikely partnership, with the legendary American synth makers ARP...

The SH201 — a versatile new modelling synth from Roland or a cash-in on past glories? Let's find out...

The first electronic instrument to reach a mass market, the Selmer Clavioline pioneered many of the basic concepts of synthesis, along with a few features that are still remarkable today.

This controller comes from a range that, unusually, takes the concept of a quality weighted action into the realm of the shorter keyboard — and offers hands-on knobs and sliders for software control to boot.

Synthesizer, USB audio interface, MIDI controller — Novation's Xiosynth does it all, and at a very reasonable price...

Pushing at the boundaries of synthesis, as ever, Dave Smith's Evolver range continues to, er, evolve...

They say that good things come in small packages — but just how much synthesizer can Korg cram into the tiny Micro X?

It lacked most of the features we'd expect from even a basic synth, but this rare Italian keyboard had a charm all of its own.

As Roland revisit the Juno name once again, we look at whether their latest offering is a serious contender, or merely a bantamweight Fantom.

Korg's Triton LE series has evolved into the TR range, but does it deliver any more than a new paint-job?

M-Audio's new wireless controller keyboard aims to free you from the restraints of MIDI cables.

Bob Moog's final project carries his visionary synthesizer design into the future.