Keyboards

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...

Norman Fay takes a relro look at the Rhodes Chroma, the last and most obscure of ARP's long line of analogue synthesizers.

Andy Davies casts his eyes, and fingers, over Fatar's latest low-cost master keyboards.

Vocoders aren't just about tiny robot voices from awful '70s records — some could generate lush choir sounds and opulent strings too.

Two of Yamaha's most recent products, the MU50 synth module and the CBX-K1 mini keyboard, are designed to compliment each other as the nucleus of a budget, GM-compatible music-making setup.. Paul Nagle evaluates the pair, and considers the potentially confusing role of Yamaha's XG MIDI format...

Richard Clewes explains his fascination for this hernia-inducing sound machine from days of yore.

The JS30 forsakes the familiar rackmount sampler format for desktop presentation, and aims for simplicity and immediacy of operation. Derek Johnson checks it out.

Roland's latest attempt to part you from your savings boasts no less than 1700 patches, a well-specified sequencer, comprehensive effects section and expandability via Roland's popular wave expansion boards. Julian Colebeck takes it for a spin.