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At the 2025 NAMM Show, held Jan 21–25 in Anaheim, CA, Ketron introduced the Fusion Real Arranger, an arranger workstation keyboard that supports international musical styles.

Arranger workstations are synthesizers that focus on letting you perform live with a full arrangement.

Key Features:

• Full Audio Styles
• Live Drums, Real Bass & Real Chords Style Modeling
• Massive Audio Library Customizable Real Styles
• Top Professional Sounds
• Unique Real Solos Twin Organ
• 240 Gb Disk Storage

Specifications:

• Polyphony: 216 notes, multitimbral.
• Keyboard: 61-note light weighted action with velocity and aftertouch. 4 Dynamic curves.
• Controls: Aftertouch. Portamento. Legato Mono/Poly. Transposer +/- 24. Octave +/- 2. Sustain pedal. Volume/Expr.
• Pedal with 6 curves. Joystick with Pitch and Modulation. 2 Articulations. Ribbon controller: Arabic Scale. Arabic Set.
• 10 sliders with rgb led.
• Display: 7” touch capacitive display. Brightness control. 5 different skin colors.
• Factory Sounds: 10 Voice Families : Piano, Strings, Organ, Brass, Sax, Pad, Synth, Guitar, Bass, Ethnic. 464 Factory
• A single Preset can be made with up to 5 different sounds. Second Voice. High quality multilayer sounds with a great selection of Real Solos ® and a large variety of oriental instruments. Advanced Voice Editing. Factory overwrite and restore. Up to 1.280 User Voices available. Preset programmable Arabic scale and key shif.
• User Sounds: 4 GB non-volatile Flash memory for additional sounds ( 2 GB for Sound Banks and 2 GB for User Samples ). Sample Editor : up to 32.768 samples ( max 6 seconds per sample ). 128 stereo instruments ( Voice or Drum Set ), up to 4 layers per instrument and up to 64 splits per layer. Advanced editor with Split, Octave, Level, Range,
• Tune, Cut off, Velocity, Adsr. Sample Loop utilities. User Drum kits.
• Adsr/Filter: separate controls for Attack, Decay, Sustain, Lfo, Cut Off and Resonance.
• Drum Set: 44 Drums kits. 18 Oriental Kits. 32 User Drum kits with Remap, Filter, Tune, FX controls. Drum Mixer : 9 sections with separate controls for level, pan, reverb, pitch, velocity compression. 86 Midi Drum styles ( Pattern )on Grv1_Loop section.
• Arranger : More than 550 International Styles. Audio, Live and Midi styles. Freeze real control. 260
• Live Styles. Over 64 Oriental Styles. 10 groups : Ballad, Pop, Dance, Rock, Swing, Latin, Country, Folk, Party, Ethnic. 3 Intro, 3 Ending, FIll to End, ABCD, 4 Fills, 4 Break. Reintro, Count In, Pause, Key Start, Key Stop, Variation. User Styles with unlimited store capabilities.
• 5 Midi Chords and Bass. Close, Parallel, Logic mode. 3 x Lower with Mono/Poly function. Chord Variation. Varitone. Voice to ABCD. Auto Fill, Fill to Arrange, Fill to Aftertouch. Chord modes : Easy1, Easy2, Easy3, Fingered 1, Fingered 2. Orch. Variation Morphing. Rootless mode. Manual Bass, To Lowest, To Root. Bassist and Pianist mode ( Standard/Expert ).
• Live Drums: over 500 Live Drums with a complete Arranger structure ( 3 Intros, 3 Endings, ABCD, 4 Fills, 4 Breaks ). Oriental and Latin Percussions loops. Reverb and 3 band Parametric Equalizer with 10 presets, programmable on each style. Drum Boost. Possibility to load external User Live Drums.
• Drum Pad: real time control for percussions.
• Grooves: 3 x independent Groove sections. Huge library of more than 780 Latin percussions, Electro and Acoustic
• Drum loops, Single percussion hits. Groove to Variation. Separate volume and EFX controls.
• Live Guitars: 216 sliced Guitar patterns including Long Chords. Separate volume and EFX controls.
• Real Chord: Real audio accompaniments covering a full chord range ( up to 13 different chords ). A big variety of electric, acoustic and jazz guitars patterns and other orchestral sequences synchronized to Midi. Dedicated Insert EFX with full editor, programmable for each style. Possibility to load external User Real Chords. Possibility to modify the Style voices with Adsr, filter and Q.
• Real Bass: Real audio Basses.Twin Bass. Support to external User audio Basses. 3 band Parametric Equalizer with 10 Presets, programmable on each style.
• Style Modeling: navigate and choose Drums, Grooves, Bass and Chords from the massive Midi and Audio Library. Multichord and Multibass templates.
• Style Edit: advanced pattern recording and editing. Copy, Quantize, Velocity, Octave functions. Special quantize available for oriental styles ( 7/8, 9/8, 13/8, etc. ). Single GM voice edit with ADSR and Filter.
• Registrations: 4 Banks with unlimited Registrations controlling the global set up of the keyboard.
• Performance: fast access to Styles, Registrations, Mp3, Wav, Midi files and Subfolders. 7 Sets with unlimited file storage.
• Play Mode: Master, Accord/Style, Accord/Classic, Organist.
• Phrase: real time recording and play for Style chord sequences.
• Footswitch: 20 programmable Set. Assignable to the most relevant machine functions and features.
• Arabic Scale : 16 sets. 6 scale memories.
• Dsp: Reverb, Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Overdrive, Distortion, Tremolo, Autopan, Equalizer. 2 Stereo EFX Inserts (one dedicated to Voice and one to Style/Midifiles). 64 Single Presets and 64 Chain Effects. Deep editing. Dedicated reverb and EQs for Drumsets. Dedicated reverb for Arranger section.
• Stem: 4 Scenes. 5 audio tracks per scene to be played simultaneously. Lead track, Transpose, Time Stretching, Loop, Solo, Mute, Autoplay. Fixed pitch for Drum section. Support for external User Stems.
• Player: Transpose, Audio Time stretching, GM, Jukebox, Playlists, Drum Remix, Markers, Lyrics, Cross Fade, Search, Midi Mix, Karaoke Backgrounds. Support for wav, midi, mp3, mp4, avi, mov, flv, cdg, jpg, png, txt and pdf files.
• KTune: audio Wav files can be assigned to keys. Synchronization with Style (Bar, Beat).
• HD Recording: 1 stereo audio track. Midi and Song Style recording.
• Audio Multitrack: 5+1 audio tracks with separate track control.
• Micro: 2 x Micro inputs. Micro 1 ( XLR ) with gain control and phantom power. Effect with Reverb, Delay, Equalizer,
• Pitch shift. Micro 2 ( jack ) with volume and reverb control.
• Voicetron: 3 voice vocalizer. Assignable to Arranger or Midi file with Presets, Equalizer, Mode functions.
• Video: HDMI connection for displaying lyrics, pictures and videos. Mirror mode. Up to Full HD Resolution. Support for external touchscreen displays.
• Bluetooth: Streaming audio input ( ad2p profile ).
• WiFi: remote control via VNC.
• Storage: 240 GB internal SSD disk ( Up to 60 GB reserved for System ). Optional external SD Card ( up to 512 GB ).
• Side Connections: 2 x USB device. USB Host. HDMI.
• Rear Connections: Main Out Left / Right. Headphone/Aux. Sustain pedal. Volume pedal. Footswitch. Midi In, Midi Out. Micro 1, Micro 2.
• Optional: Volume pedal normal or deluxe. Sustain pedal normal or piano type ( available also with Footswitch connector). Footswitch 6 or 13 switches. Midi Pedalboard 13 notes ( K8 ). Soft bag. Trolley for bag. Hard case.
• Dimensions: 99,5 x 36.6 x 11,5 ( 39,1 x 14,41 x 4,53 inch. ).
• Weight: 11 Kg ( 24,2 lbs )

Details are still to come at the Ketron site.

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The Sound Stone shared this preview of the String Armonica mkII, an updated version of their electroacoustic instrument, based on ‘acoustic synthesis’.

Acoustic Synthesis is based on the idea of electronically controlling acoustic instruments to allow them to synthesize sounds that would not be possible using traditional performance methods.

With the mkII version, the String Armonica has been upgraded with several key improvements and new features to expand its capabilities. This version includes adjustable string height with redesigned bridges and custom-polished steel pickup plates for improved tone and performance.

New built-in modes include:

• Staccato Mode: Adjust note duration for sharper, more defined sounds.
• Harp Sweeping Function: Use the pitch wheel to sweep seamlessly across strings.
• Arpeggiator: Choose from five patterns for dynamic, rhythmic sequences.
• Envelope Mode: Notes automatically fade in with adjustable timing for smooth, expressive playing.

A demo of the new functions:

What The Sound Stone has to say about the String Armonica:

“The String Armonica reimagines musical synthesis by using strings, instead of electronic waveforms, as its sound source.

This instrument employs 12 chromatically tuned strings, each harmonically resonating through a custom-built internal synthesizer. This setup enables users to play a range of four octaves using a MIDI keyboard, with all strings capable of sounding simultaneously in full polyphony. The strings function similarly to speakers, being precisely tuned to respond to the synthesizer’s output. Imagine an array of 48 strings, each with its own Sound Stone sustainer, but all controlled through a keyboard or MIDI interface for a unique and rich musical experience.

The String Armonica also features additional expressive controls for enhanced musicality. An external expression pedal allows for nuanced dynamic control, and an onboard tremolo system can be operated through a MIDI keyboard’s mod wheel. This functionality gives the player the ability to pulse the strings, adding depth and texture to the sound.

The String Armonica has a unique timbre, reminiscent of the Glass Armonica, which is how we stumbled upon the name. It can sound like a variety of instruments including a celesta, a reed organ, or singing bowls. We believe it will be a great tool for composers to add a new layer of high harmonic richness to their compositions.

It’s capable of producing both infinitely sustained and staccato notes. Players can control the decay of these notes using the included felt damper. Each string is equipped with an individual pickup, which is summed to a stereo output, allowing a wide sound field and immersive experience.”

The String Armonica is available now for $1,600.

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Switchtrix Electronics shared this preview of their Synthe A100, a new EMS-styled synthesizer.

The Synthe A100 is not a direct knockoff or clone, but is an original synth that leans hard into the EMS design language.

Switchtrix Electronics Synthe A100 Demo Video:

Switchtrix says that the Synthe A100 is a hybrid of the Synthi A and Synthi 100, in an Explorer hard case with a 32 x 32 analog switch matrix.

Details are still to come at the Switchtrix site.

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