The GAIA SH-01 - another little gem from Roland. What is it? - Well the GAIA reminds me a little of a Jupiter 8 but looking so much "2010". In essence it is a virtual analogue synth or rather three analogue synths in one. Roland have made a great decision on Colour. I don't wish to sound like a girl, but it is amazing how many times you see Artists who have products made especially in white. Why? - Because they look so good on stage. Access did it with their "Limited Edition" Virus.

GAIA is a word from Greek Mythology meaning "Goddess of the Earth". Well it certainly gives that impression when you first see this white keyboard with a black panel full of colourful lights and tweakable knobs to create powerful analogue sounds easily. All the controls are laid out for you in a very logical fashion. Roland have designed this instrument very much like it's predecessors to be a fun and very inviting, pulling you in to make your own fat sounds. I think this is one of the nicest looking synths ever. I know we all have different tastes but I think Roland have just got the right balance of colour to make this instantly pleasing on the eye.

More info and a great price at :-
Absolutemusic

Yamaha are about to announce a new Synth - The Yamaha Motif XF. The announcement should take place on 2nd August 2010. Their brief advert just says "INSPIRATION COMES IN A FLASH - Since 2001, the Motif Music Production Synthesizers have been the best sounding, top-selling and most requested music workstations on the market.

The next generation XF builds on the heritage of the Motif, providing new features and ground-breaking Flash memory expansion capabilities that will set the standard for keyboard workstations for years to come".

Wow, this sounds really interesting. I can't wait for more information from Yamaha, You Tube videos and specifications and to hear what it sounds like. I will keep you posted as I gather the info.

What I have so far is :

Wave rom increased to 741MB, 128 new voices (user1), 128 new performances (user1), 8 new drumkits, 1248 new arp styles, 32 new masters, 128MB SD RAM on board for samples, optional flash boards, max 2.1GB, improved file management, new keyboard action, user definable LCD colour scheme, drum kit edit within mixing mode, optimised category search, TAP tempo function, Loading time for flash is approx 2.4 seconds for 1MB. 512MB takes about 20mins to load.

Available Soon and for a great deal, please visit :- Absolutemusic

Here it is: - the Roland Lucina AX-09 shoulder Synthesizer. OK, so I am in front of a great big mirror, I have put on my 80's clothes, made my hair look three times bigger than it normally is, picked up a guitar strap, attached it to the new Roland Lucina, plugged her in and switched her on. I must say I like the name of this Synth taken from Greek Mythology. Roland say that they have selected the name Lucina from the Goddess of Birth. They are hoping that this little beauty will inspire a new generation of children to become synthesiser players. I thought I would put Lucina through her paces to determine whether or not it was a serious instrument, a kid's toy or something that would truly encourage children to start to understand today's synths and all the fun that it brings to the world of music.

For more information and / or a great deal please visit :- Absolutemusic

The Roland Fantom G8 is without doubt the best Piano / Synth Workstation I ever owned. The points that sell it are simply - its looks - its keyboard action and feel / playability and its huge 8.5" TFT colour screen which is mouse-controlled. The sound has a clarity that out-classes the Fantom X. This difference is like the difference between 16bit and 24bit sounds. Everything sounds just that bit crisper and cleaner. I particularly love the fact that the screen displays what you play and where and you can see exactly where your keyboard splits are. On most other keyboards, you would have to guess for example where your piano range ends and where your brass begins or you may have many splits where it is even more difficult. With the Fantom Gs you can clearly see it right in front of you in colour. The keys themselves are weighted and have a lovely non-slip un-shiny ivory feel to them. Whilst the purists out there will always argue that a real piano is better, I would say that you can only make this comparison with its piano sounds and you cannot lose sight of the fact that this is an awesome synthesizer with keys that are so close to the real thing and some beautiful piano sounds - what more could you ask for. Well there is plenty more; there are 2153 waveforms that provide you with 1500 preset sounds to keep you going covering all types of music. If this is not enough you can have another 512 user patches per project and you can have as many projects as you like. You can store them on a memory stick and simply load your project in, so you can invent sounds for the rest of your days. On top of this there are 512 preset “live sets” and “128 studio sets” and of course you can have another 512 user “live sets” and 128 user studio sets per project. There is a fantastic sequencer which is 128 midi track / 24 audio track and you have such a large screen to edit your songs. You can have up to 50 songs per project and the note capacity is 1,000,000, and song length is a massive 9998 measures.

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

When I receive a new product, the first thing I like to do is play with it without reading the manual. This is partly because I cannot wait but more importantly I want to test how use-friendly the item is. I am pleased to say that the Kaossilator was ready to go the minute I put in the four batteries and plugged in my favourite headphones. You switch her on and start to run your fingers across her touch-sensitive surface or tap away rhythmically and an assortment of cutting - edge sounds phases, flanges or auto-pans across your disbelieving ears. Why do you disbelieve? Well for a start its coming from something that is only approximately 5 x 4 inches in size.

As I played away previewing the brilliant presets I quickly became aware that I would not be able to play notes in the same way as I do on a keyboard. I was amazed by the way you could bend, slide, have portamento and additional sounds and effects come into play by a simple move of one finger across the surface. Movement along the horizontal axis changes the note or pitch, while the vertical axis brings in the fun elements such as cutoff, modulation and feedback. The 100 presets had a great variety of sounds, some of them with very delicate subtleties and nuances that added just that right amount of interest to have you wanting more. Squelchy acid sounds, trance plucks, vocal loops, reverbed piano and drums that on the fly you could build from a single bass drum to a bass drum and hi-hat through to a complete kit, again with simple moves of a finger. There are 20 lead sounds, 20 bass sounds, 20 sound effects, 10 drum sounds, 10 drum patterns, 10 chords and 10 acoustic sounds.

If you are considering buying a KP3 and want the best price possible, please click here :- Absolutemusic

Another little nice one from Roland - The GAIA SH-01. Good decision on Colour. I don't wish to sound like a girl, but it is amazing how many times you see Artists who have products made specially in white. Why ? - because they look so good on stage. Access did it with their "Limited Edition" Virus. If people like the"White" look, why is it that manufacturers do not get this fact from their market research?

Anyway, back to the GAIA. GAIA is a word from Greek Mythology meaning "Goddess of the Earth". Well it certainly gives that impression when you first see this white keyboard with a black panel full of colourful lights and tweakable knobs to create powerful analogue sounds easily. All the controls are laid out for you in a very logical fashion. Roland have designed this instrument vey much like it's predessors to be a fun and very inviting, pulling you in to make your own fat sounds.

More info and a great price at :-
Absolutemusic

I know I have already mentioned the Access Virus but yesterday I had a chance to try out a Virus Ti2. It has been a few years since I had a play around with a Virus. What put me off a little bit back then was the fact that although it was very expensive the build quality seemed a little flimsy. The plastic controls seemed very weak as if they could never survive life on the road. I do not know how much they have changed under model Ti2 but they  seemed pretty good to me. Maybe I was being a little harsh on the earlier models  but that is just how I remembered them to be.

Well what is there not to like about an Access Virus Ti2? For a start I did not have time to preview all of the presets - Why? - well that is because there are so many of them. There are 512 RAM patches and 26 banks of 128 ROM patches making an overwhelming total of 3840 patches. If that is not enough to keep you going on the long winter nights then you can download more free from various places (including Access themselves) or purchase from some of the many sound creators around the globe that have put packages together for modest sums.

For more information on all Access Virus Synths and / or a great deal / sales visit :- Absolutemusic

I can't really make up my mind about the new Korg SV-1 Stage Vintage Piano. It is advertised as "New Body - Old Soul". I have tried this keyboard out a couple of times now in my local music store. The first thing that grabs your attention is it design, shape and Colour. Keyboards should be Exciting, Dazzling, Colourful and Innovative and we do not see enough of this from the keyboard manufacturing giants. Keyboard players not only want to sound good but look good on stage they also want to compete with their guitarist. If you compare the number of guitar designs and colours used you would appreciate how few there are in the keyboard world.This keyboard comes in two models a 73 note and a 88 note. I really like the 73 note for its weight and portability and that it is red, it had curves with a great layout angled back and upright in front of you.

For more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

I have just been onto http://www.access-music.de/page/render/lang/en/p/1/do/The_Virus_TI___Totally_Integrated_Synthesizers.html This is the home of the great Access Virus Synth. I have always wanted one of these. They are a bit expensive but have a great sound.

The good news is at the NAMM Show in a couple of days time they are going to anounce an update to the Virus TI operating system. However, they are kindly letting us have a sneak preview of the new sounds now. You can download an mp3 to hear in advance of NAMM.

For more information on all Access Virus Synths and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

I am quite taken with new Roland AX-Synth. Many Bands are using them at the moment. I even saw Hawkwind with one a couple of weeks ago. Not only do they give keyboard players that freedom to move around and compete with the Guitar player, they now have onboard Fantom G sounds so you don't need any midi connections. I can't help it - they do look good and I want one. It seem so much fun. It has  a Ribbon controller, D Beam, modulation bar, knobs, and easy-to-see display for stage use.

Does anyone remember the Quasimidi Sirius?  Over 10 years ago, Future Music did an article on this great machine and questioned "Was the Sirius the definitive dance tool?" This was a keyboard that I always wanted but never actually purchased. It just sounded so much fun. I remember listening to the sounds on the CD that I was sent demonstrating it’s capabilities. I loved it’s drum sounds. It reminded me of music made with software rather than hardware. A bit like making music with Reason and Thor but having an actual keyboard in front of you.

Yes it is German and has that very 90’s German analog Synth sound. If I remember correctly Kraftwerk did a couple of the demos for this.

It even has a random sound button. I tried this in a store at the time and was very surprised what it came up with. Maybe I should buy one now second-hand on e-bay?

For the best in today's Synths - more information and / or sales visit :- Absolutemusic

I had a play on the S90SX this week. This is a great keyboard; the weight of the whole thing is fantastic, given the fact that it has 88 note weighted keys. The feel of the keyboard was very good and it is impossible to find a keyboard like this anywhere. They even make a 76 note version that is even lighter. For a gigging musician, this is a godsend. I still do not understand why this has taken so long to produce. Nearly every keyboard player out on the road, wants good weighted keys a great piano sound and a vast range of synth sounds but hates the thought of lugging a great heavy keyboard around. This has them all - with the Motif as its sound engine and the addition of a huge additional 146 megabytes just for piano waveforms on top.