Before reacting to the topic, please watch the whole video, its entertaining interesting and fun...

the combination of the hardware and the VIP software allows you to play and select those software instruments on your PC just like or even faster then on most hardware keyboards. Keep in mind that the guy on that video has 10.000´s of sounds on his Macbook.

If you want to add a 2nd keyboard to your arranger, this is certainly one of the options to consider.

It was announced at Namm and is available now for pre/order overhere in europe, delivery is scheduled for mid April. And where i usually only buy used gear (even my T5 was used), i took the step of pre ordering it, the 61 key including software was slightly under €600, US prices will be under $600.

This will bring a whole new world of sound to your set-up.. and make them very very accessible.. Its not a gimmick this time, its the future.. Bringing the top knotch interface of a hardware device and combining it with the worlds most flexible soundsystem...

A more comprehensive version of the new NI S series controllers (Which as far as I can determine are limited to just NI products) at a much cheaper price, so on the face of it, extremely good for both live and studio, or at least it would be if it also had a set of sliders, so it’s a 6/10 and wait for the MK2 version which hopefully will add a set of sliders. (Yes I know you can add a set of sliders separate, but that defeats the object of it)

Bill

Actually Bill, this is what the Kore should have been, this one is build for musicians, where the NI kontroll was made for non keyboard players that wanted to use a keyboard to make some music..

The NI Kontroll is more expensive withouth a screen so it requires looking at the PC screen when selecting stuff, and indeed does only support the VST apps that come with NI komplete. As said worst part of the Komplete is all that money they spend on those features that prevent people from hitting notes outside the scale and such...


I agree with you that it should have been more complete then this... however combining it with the Akai APC40 mk2 solves most of that...

In the end however they need to build a 76 or 88 keyboard which combines the advance keybed with an APC40 and an MPC renaisance... if they do that, the new true king is born. and you have your sliders and much much more...

[quote=Bachus]



Before reacting to the topic, please watch the whole video, its entertaining interesting and fun...

the combination of the hardware and the VIP software allows you to play and select those software instruments on your PC just like or even faster then on most hardware keyboards. Keep in mind that the guy on that video has 10.000´s of sounds on his Macbook.

If you want to add a 2nd keyboard to your arranger, this is certainly one of the options to consider.

It was announced at Namm and is available now for pre/order overhere in europe, delivery is scheduled for mid April. And where i usually only buy used gear (even my T5 was used), i took the step of pre ordering it, the 61 key including software was slightly under €600, US prices will be under $600.

This will bring a whole new world of sound to your set-up.. and make them very very accessible.. Its not a gimmick this time, its the future.. Bringing the top knotch interface of a hardware device and combining it with the worlds most flexible soundsystem...





Bachus, too bad you still need to have a separate computer to have access to the sounds. Why can't they make a keyboard with VSTs built right in?......and make it an arranger/workstation? I'd buy that!

A keyboard with VSTs inside, its been available for 10 years, its called the Wersi Abacus

Wersi however is building a new range of upgraded organs and soon keyboards with a huge 15" screen at a huge price, just google for wersi sonic and OAX..



The true reason that there is no real keyboard with VSTs inside is that the technollogy was not ready for this. Stabillity issues coem to mind... You dont want your keyboard crashing because of 3rd party badly programmed stuff... Instruments need top of the bill stabillity above all... And Yamaha and co just can not garantee that when there are 3rd party instruments crashing your arranger or synth..


The way akai works is that if the PC crashes, people cant blame akai...and on top of that, current top knotch VSTs have become very stable and reliable... i dont think it will take long before we see workstation that combines its hardware sounds and the vst sounds in a way we see on the akai..

Thanks, Bachus. The issue with stability makes sense.

I know about the Musebox and its bigger brother the Receptor, but they don't have keys. They should just turn them into keyboards.

Looking forward to the kind of keyboard you describe above; a "workstation that combines its hardware sounds and the vst sounds".

Muse research tests all the VSTs before making them addaptable to the receptor. But i agree with you if you say it could have been just as well a keyboard...
Keep in mind too, that for edditing the VSTs vissually you will need a PC or Mac

why VST's in the first place, ......why doesn't anyone like the sounds already in a keyboard.....who's judging anyway....
just sayin? after almost 50 yrs on stage no one has ever said anything about the sounds I use....
I don't get it? whats all the fuss?

This is a great product. Obviously Yamaha doesn't really want to lead the way and they do have all resources.In workstation world Korg is already ahead for a few years now. Kudos to Akai with this.. They should really push it forward and add computer to this in all in one product, and the rest of the competition will be far behind.

DNJ, if we think this way than why bother playing on your s950. Why not buy some old psr or I30. Audience doesn't know anyway which one is which..

I've used the KB's mentioned many times on gigs thru the years......all sound great Because I made them sound that way.....what people should be concentrating on is playing better.....because no matter what so called VSTs or whatever you use means nothing if the player doesn't have the chops...there is no magic formula in music.. & to answer why I use a 950 over the older models...is not because of sound but because of its navigational features not sounds and styles...