WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Information and updates on the latest and popular Portable Keyboards

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The new full size controller keyboard from Akai’s Professional was unexpected. The Akai Pro MPK Road 88 is designed for touring and gigging.

With 88 hammer-action keys, velocity sensitive and aftertouch response and a built-in four-output USB interface so with this plugged into your laptop you do not need any other gear. The MPK Road also comes with a bundle of useful software including Akai Pro VIP, AIR Music Tech DB-33, AIR Music Tech Velvet plus AIR Music Tech Mini Grand for Road 88.

Other connectivity options include dual expression and sustain pedal inputs. Pitch and modulation wheels sit alongside a volume control, and you also get transpose functionality and split modes.

As we know most MIDI controllers of this size have features including knobs and pads, sliders and buttons whereas this has less features. The Akai MPK Road is not complicated and it is not trying to control your DAW and you can handle any situation with ease. It is just there to let you get the best playing performance out of your virtual instruments or MIDI gear. An integrated travel case with handle means that your MPK Road will stay protected and be easy to carry.

Akai MPK Road 88 will be available soon priced at $899

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Though Sequential is saying goodbye to the Prophet 12 synth, but it is not going quietly. Sequential has announced that its Prophet 12 synth is about to be discontinued, but the company is seeing it off with a limited edition.

When we say limited, we really do mean it: only 100 Prophet 12 LEs will be made. After these have rolled off the production line, this hybrid analogue will be no more, unless you are lucky enough that is, to own one.

Paying tribute to the Prophet 12, Sequential boss Dave Smith in his speech said: “It’s nice to give the Prophet 12 a proper send-off with this special edition. The P12 was a real milestone for us in terms of pushing the synth envelope. As a hybrid instrument, it gave us a chance to explore the interaction of digital oscillators and analog filters and see how far we could take that idea. It’s still a great instrument and has found its way onto a lot of stages and studios, and into a lot of music.”

The Prophet 12 Limited Edition features 61 key semi-weighted keyboard with velocity and channel aftertouch, is the same as the standard model. As well as the white colour scheme, it also has maple end caps.

With the discontinuation of the Prophet 12, most people are bound to speculate on what, if anything, might take its place in the Sequential product line. And with NAMM 2019 just around the corner, we might not have long to wait before we find out.

The Prophet 12 LE is available in December 2018, and you can also purchase it at zZounds

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The new Roland Juno-DS76 Synthesizer is portable but has plenty of performance potential. Roland already had 61- and 88-note Juno-DS synths on its roster, and now it is bridging the gap with the launch of the Juno-DS76. If the 61-note model was too small and the 88-note version too large, try this.

The Juno-DS76 features a lightweight design and a 76-note synth-action. Designed for those who want something a little more portable than the Juno-DS88, but still with a keyboard large enough for serious playing and splits, this is a performance-friendly 16-part instrument that contains more than 1,200 patches, 30 drum kits and 64 performances. There are effects and a pattern sequencer, and if you hook the keyboard up to a computer over USB, you can engage DAW control mode.

For keyboardists who mostly play organ, synth, and other sounds, the Roland Lightweight, 76-note Weighted-action Keyboard with Pro Sounds provides increased playing comfort when different sounds are assigned to the upper and lower note ranges. The keys are also a little longer than a standard synth keyboard, offering a playing feel that is smooth and consistent no matter where the key is pressed. And with a weight of just 15.25 lb, the JUNO-DS76 is much more portable than typical 76-note synths.

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The new Moog One could be the Moog polysynth that you have always wanted. Any Moog synth launch is greeted with excitement, but when it is the company’s first polysynth in more than three decades, it is a particular big deal. The new Moog One is described as an “analogue dream synth”, and boasts what Moog is said to be calling the most advanced architecture ever for one of its instruments.

Available in eight- and 16-voice versions, the Moog One comes with three VCOs and two independent analogue filters (a variable state filter and a Moog ladder filter) that can be run in series or parallel. On top of that there is a dual-source variable analogue noise generator, an analogue mixer with external audio input, four LFOs and three envelope generators.

In addition, the Moog One is tri-timbral, so you can effectively play three synths simultaneously. These can be split, layered or zoned across the keyboard, all within a single preset. Each of these synths can have its own parameter settings, note range, arpeggiator, sequencer and effects, so the sound design potential is massive. On the effects, you get plenty, which can be applied on the aforementioned per-synth basis or to the master bus. The likes of chorus, delay, phase, bit reduction and vocoding are supplemented by a range of Eventide reverbs. The effects are digital, but you can ensure an all-analogue signal path if you ‘true bypass’ them.

The Moog One is capable of storing tens of thousands of presets, all of which can be browsed from the central LCD panel. You can also assign presets to the front-panel Performance Sets for quick access, while a Snapshot button enables you to capture all current settings immediately. Presets can be shared via USB drive, too, so it is easy to take the sounds of one Moog One to another. In terms of control, you get 73 knobs and 144 buttons, while additional parameters can be accessed from the LCD centre panel. The synth has a handcrafted ash cabinet and an aluminium front panel, while the 61-note keybed comes from Fatar. An assignable pressure-sensitive X/Y pad provides further expressivity options.

The new Moog One will exceed your every expectation as it inspires your musical creativity and opens portals to a vast sonic universe.
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Sequential has gone large with the Prophet X and added a larger keyboard and doubled the polyphony with a new performance mode.

The Prophet XL is a 76-key version of the flagship Prophet X and features the same samples-plus-synthesis hybrid engine. Featuring a premium-quality Fatar keybed, the XL now adds a semi-weighted action, which should appeal to the performers.

In addition, the new performance mode increases polyphony to 32 voices when using a single sampled instrument and a single oscillator. In standard performance mode, the instrument provides bi-timbral, 8-voice-stereo, or 16-voice mono operation.

Dave Smith commented: “We designed the Prophet XL for musicians who wanted more of a good thing. By adding an extended, semi-weighted action keyboard and enabling 32-voice performance mode, we’ve made it even more satisfying to play the acoustic and electric pianos and other instruments where increased polyphony is crucial. We’re making 32-voice mode available on the Prophet X, as well, so that all of our users will benefit.”

Both hybrid Prophets- Prophet XL and Prophet X provide 50 GB of internal storage for importing ad-ditional samples and support for user-created sample content is still on the cards and should be arriving in December, 2018.

The Sequential Prophet XL will be available in November of 2018