Keyboards

This Italian master keyboard may be completely dumb soundwise, but it's pretty clever in other departments. Derek Johnson and Debbie Poyser just love being in control.

As a child, Norman Fay was cruelly cheated of the thing he wanted most — a Memorymoog. Never one to bear a grudge, he reviews Moog's most unruly synth with the benefit of hindsight.

With its advanced arpeggiator and innovative real-time control, the Cyber 6 is the master keyboard that reconciles computer sequencing with live extemporisation. Could it be that Quasimidi have found the keyboardist's Holy Grail? Paul Ward hangs up his air guitar...

The latest and largest addition to Roland's XP family is a strapping workstation with a monster sequencer and masses of programming muscle. Paul Nagle puts it through a complete workout...

The CBX-K1XG looks suspiciously toy-like, but conceals a versatile GM sound source and a host of MIDI controller functions behind its simple exterior. Derek Johnson nearly loses it down the back of the sofa...

The mighty ARP were in existence for little more than 10 years, but introduced a sound which is as much a part of synth history as the Minimoog. Derek Johnson rehabilitates two of the ARP clan's poor relations...

In recent years, samplers have become almost exclusively rackmount devices, widely used as production workhorses, but less so by the gigging musician. With the release of their first keyboard sampler in several years, Emu are hoping to change all that. Paul Wiffen heralds the return of the performer's sampler.

With more zones than a one-day Travelcard and an impressive array of physical real-time control options, the keyboard version of Kurzweil's K2500 represents a new frontier in digital synthesis. Paul Ward heads for the border...

Not satisfied with pitching their previous Technox synth fairly obviously at the dance music market, German manufacturers Quasimidi have now gone all out with the in-your-face Raven. But is it capable of techno-by-numbers? Paul Ward climbs aboard and flies into a rave...

The long-awaited keyboard version of Kurzweil's flagship synth is finally unleashed. Paul Ward nearly falls out of his P-RAM with excitement...

Squelchy as a Minimoog and programmable as a PC, it's time to re-evaluate the Moog Source — so says Stephen Bennett.

Andy Davies casts his eyes, ears and fingers over two new products from Oberheim: a controller keyboard which aims to replace your piano, and an organ module which threatens to do the same with your Hammond...

Michael Anthony takes us back to the mid-eighties, when MIDI was in pre-school playgroup, and manufacturers built synths that couldn't decide if they were analogue, digital, or both...

The Godfather of German electronic music, Klaus Schulze favoured an all-digital approach to recording the '80s. The last few years, however, have seen a radical revision of his former philosophy. Paul Tingen meets the man for whom old working habits die hard...

Some synth manufacturers seem to be hedging their bets lately, building home keyboard auto-accompaniment features into seemingly serious synths, to appeal to both types of keyboard buyer. Will the strategy pay off for Yamaha's QS300? Derek Johnson finds out in style...

With new sounds, a new operating system and a lower price, the QS6 looks set to attract its fair share of admirers. Rob Brady tickles the ivories...

Part 2: Gordon Reid concludes his review of Korg's new family of workstations.

Korg shook the hi-tech recording world in 1988 with the introduction of the M1 workstation. With their new Trinity range, Korg are attempting to update the workstation concept for the 1990s. In the first instalment of this two-part review, Gordon Reid assesses how they have fared.

Technics' first foray into the pro synth market, the WSA1, catapults them to the front of the pack. Martin Russ discovers whether acoustic modelling synthesis really can create gold sounds from base metal.

Alesis rereleased their Quadrasynth early last year to mixed reviews, and in response, an updated version has now been launched. Does it address some of the comments levelled at the previous instrument? Original Quadrasynth owner Mike Best finds out.

Hot on the heels of their astonishing new Prophecy monophonic synthesizer, Korg are already near completing work on their next range of workstations, entitled Trinity. Gordon Reid was allowed a sneak preview of the next generation...