Hi guys,
I have been following the threads on the Mediastation for quite a while and think it is a very cool idea. Is it the arranger to end all arrangers? Well, there is no such thing. Everybody has their own way of working/playing, and their own opinions on what sounds good, what makes a style good or bad, what buttons and sliders should appear on the front panel and where those should be placed. Certain features are a must for some, and useless to others. The neat thing about the Mediastation is that it is so customizable. This of course may be a downside to those players that rely on factory styles, sounds, etc. and have no desire and/or no ability to create a unique sound for themselves. Nothing wrong with that at all. But for the player who would like to offer a more unique musical experience for their audience and not sound like the next guy, the huge flexibility of the Mediastation is a real plus.
As most of you know, I used to work for Generalmusic. While the Genesys isn't the same type of instrument as the Mediastation, it still offered more flexibility than some of the other dedicated arranger keyboards for those who wanted to experiment and do some customization. This is why I loved the Genesys so much and why I am very interested in the Mediastation. I enjoyed working for Generalmusic because of the innovations that they developed. Things like lyrics display, internal vocal harmonizer, internal hard drive and CD burner, hiding a real full-fledged workstation inside an arranger keyboard, etc. To me it is exciting that Domenik and Lionstracs are in the process of creating innovative products that push current technologies to the limit of what is achievable.
OK, so here is my main reason for posting: (and please don’t think I am being argumentative, I am really trying to understand)
It just doesn't make sense how some of you talk so badly about the Mediastation and Domenik. If you are happy with your Yamaha, Roland, Korg, or whatever, then why bother putting this instrument down? It seems to me that Domenik has been pretty accommodating in that when someone asks for a specific function, sound-base, etc. that he goes to work on trying to supply that. Keep in mind the vast amount of work involved in developing and instrument like this and the time it can take to get other companies to comply with requests to make a compatible version of their product so as to work in the Mediastation. You must realize that this instrument is NOT designed for one particular function, but designed to be whatever the user wants it to be. It may be that a forum focused on arranger keyboards is not the best place to even bring up an instrument like this because it is so different than what most of the Synth Zone members are familiar with and that it is not a cookie cutter arranger keyboard.
So I don’t understand why some of you insist on making derogatory statements about a company that is simply trying to do business by creating an instrument that utilizes existing technology in a unique way. If it is not of interest to you, then why say anything? As for me, I think it is pretty cool that another company in Italy is working to produce a unique product that will answer the needs of many professional and home-based musicians.
Best Regards,
Dave
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Wm. David McMahan
LearnMyKeyboard
JazzItUp Band [This message has been edited by WDMcM (edited 02-18-2009).]