Hello,
I wonder how to manage accomppany-rythm sections and those tempo variations, ritando,
arpegg, etc... accomppanyment stuff with eko ???
Is there any ready made (Ketron SD1 have 300 + those custom ones) ?

How about sound generator(s),ie. is it some
genuine soundblaster type sound card or what?
How about Yamaha XG1000, or Terratec DMX Fire 6 ? Latest ones have those wavetable voices also (Terratec gets them when you add that Yamaha DB50XG daughter board to it's waveblaster plug). Isn't that polyphony
depens about the soundcard you are using ?

How many softsynth. and other music software you can run simultaensy with, ie. say 2.8 - 3 MHz cpu inside of OpenLabs EKO ???

Are there any memory banks, etc... for quick
selects for rythm, voices, etc... => means live performances ?

OpenLabs EKO seems very nice indeed, but I am wondering all that above told that how it
could manage with it.

I think there are, and will be for some time to come, many misconceptions about the eKo keyboard. The best way to think of this instrument is that it is like buying a new Windows computer: right out of the box it likely doesn't do much more than play Solitare (Open Labs is now dealing with many third party vendors to include some music-making software with it). So the short answer is that it won't do anything without the right software for the job you have in mind. The first eKo's won't even reach the market until the 2nd quarter of this year but I think it'll be much longer before it becomes a practical instrument.

Since the eKo is a computer in a keyboard box, it takes PCI cards. It's likely that you can put nearly any kind of Windows-compatible audio card in it, but what the eKo is really made for is softsynths. EKo will shine with things like Reason, Cakewalk's new Project 5, and others. It's likely that you'll be able to use the soundcard's native hardware synth in conjunction with softsynths so polyphony could be unlimited, pending what the CPU/RAM can handle. The number of softsynths or other software you can run at any one time will vary from user to user and program to program.

For arranger-type functions, the software program Jammer Live does some basic accompaniment but no where near the level of sophistication than cheap Yamaha PSR's can do currently. We can only hope that more advanced arranger software becomes available. As to button functions - you'll either have to program them yourself on what Open Labs offers as control surfaces or third party developers will come out with specific control panels for their software and the eKo.

The eko could be a bridge to the next generation of keyboards but the road itself is still under construction. It isn't what the eKo is currently capable of that has everyone buzzing, it's the potential and the possibilities. In theory there are many ways that the eKo could surpass the functionality of the workstations and arrangers we use today and give everyone a custom instrument designed around their specific needs. In reality, it doesn't yet do what a cheap used PSR arranger can do right now. This year the eKo will undergo much development and refinement so I only look for it to sell only to high-end workstation users initially (and expensively). A year or two down the road after more accessories and programs are developed specifically for eKo, it might be capable of being a high-end arranger or other type of synth. Or it could live a brief and highly acclaimed life and then drop from the market altogether if the company doesn't make it, like the Synclavier or Fairlight did. Time will tell.

IMO, there is a big hole in eKo project: the "all software" approach.

You know, why do we like KORG, YAMAHA, ROLAND or whatever brand, even if (very often) their products are not intuitive, and programming is not easy (sometime hard) and there are bugs running here and there?

The answer is because we like how they sound. And sound generation in these machines is not a software only things, but it is supported by dedicated proprietary hardware.

So this eKo keyboard, trying to support almost everything, will not have its personality, and this will become a big obstacle to its diffusion.

Imagine that you go to a concert, and listen to fabulous keyboard sounds. So you go near the stage and take a look at the gear: it is an eKo. So what? What has it inside? Which hardware? Which software?

They said in their video that eKo project is open to other hardware manufacturers, so you can substitute that full-of-knobs panel with something else like, as an example, a sound generator module. But I think that such a thing will very hardly happen. Why should ROLAND (or anyone else) sell a sound module dedicated to the eKo? They will rather sell it as a new Roland product. And, seeing things from Roland perspective, I completely agree with them.

So, this is why (in my opinion) this project will not encounter a big success.
Despite the fact that being able to play Tetris in my keyboard screen sounds attractive!

But, of course, I may be wrong!

Ciao
Riccardo


[This message has been edited by RicFreak (edited 01-28-2003).]

Ric Freak,
Softsynths, with the proper soundcards, do have quality sounds, but they are not practically portable. This product breaches that problem, that is why it is a very exciting idea.
If their is a "sound" that you like, you may be able to buy that sound font or software and install it on your EKO. No need to run out and buy a new keyboard just to get that sound. Of course Roland, Yamaha, Korg, etc, won't like it and won't make modules specifically for it, especially initially, but that will be their demise. They will have to come out with their own EKO's, but user's only need one. So they will have to either support the most popular model or go bust.
I bought the best VCR available at the time, BETA VCR. I still have it in the basement. More people bought VHS, so the world supported that one. Beta was relegated to history.
Your EKO will have your personal sound, because you will install the fonts and softsynths that YOU want. As an arranger keyboardist, you will install YOUR favorite arranger software.
Starkeeper

To elaborate further: the very things Ric stated as minuses would be pluses for others. Not being constricted to the whims and developmental time tables of keyboard manufacturers has been a long-held dream for many keyboardists, as is the ability to create and maintain signature sounds that noone else could copy simply by buying the same instruments. I'd like to customize a keyboard to the point that it would be unique to me alone, and if it didn't sound like a Yamaha/Korg/Roland or any other off-the-shelf cookie-cutter keyboard then so much the better.

Additionally, I compare the current keyboard market to Apple computers: when you buy a Mac (or any keyboard currently) then you are pretty much tied to that product's manufacturer for your parts, service, upgrades, etc. for the life of that product because of the monopoly the maker has on it's hardware and OS. Windows/Linux-based computers are open architecture so there is far more competition and options to be had at competitive prices. If the keyboard market was like that then we'd have more choices at less cost. The eKo is a Windows/Linux-based keyboard so it instantly would have far more accessories available for it than all current keyboards on the market put together.