WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

At the 2025 NAMM Show, held Jan 21–25 in Anaheim, CA, Roland is showcasing EARTH Piano, a powerful software-based musical instrument available on Roland Cloud.

EARTH Piano features multiple acoustic piano types and deep customization options, via an intuitive user interface. It’s based on detailed multi-sampling with proprietary modeling techniques.

The official intro video:

EARTH Piano includes seven distinctive instruments that can be modified to taste.

There are resonant concert grands for jazz and classical styles, polished and punchy pianos for studio tracks, and upright, felt, and toy pianos.

Players can control the temperament, stereo width, and dynamic range and tweak physical sounds like cabinet resonance, string resonance, pedal noise, and more. They can also adjust each key’s tuning, volume, and character to create the perfect tone and response for a performance or track.

EARTH Piano’s Venue effect leverages advanced convolution techniques to place a piano in nine different spaces derived from real locations, such as a spacious cathedral, a world-class concert hall, or an intimate studio or lounge setting. With a click on the visual display, the listening perspective can be changed to access a variety of aural experiences within every space. Algorithmic reverbs are also available for standard mixing applications.

EARTH Piano includes a wide selection of integrated studio-grade effects for enhancing sounds. Users can shape the overall tone with a three-band EQ and use the multi-mode compressor to create the ideal dynamic response. There are also 90 multi-effects combinations available to add subtle color or take conventional piano sounds into unexplored sonic territories.

The Roland EARTH Piano is now available with a Lifetime Key purchase or Roland Cloud Ultimate membership, which users can try for free with a 30-day all-access trial. To learn more, visit Roland.com.

Chinese manufacturer Donner has been building quite the reputation over the past few years, as it steadily expands its catalogue of accessibly-priced gear and instruments to encompass such wallet-friendly wonders as the Medo and 303-inspired Essential B1 bass synth.

2025 NAMM Show: Donner has announced that the L1 synthesizer – a budget and unique new synth that has a removable keyboard – is now available to pre-order.

The Donner L1 is a new design, but builds on the sound architecture of the Roland SH-101. It’s the first of their Essential Synth Series, and has two sections that connect with magnets – a synth module, and a keyboard:

L1 is built around a 3340 analogue oscillator and 3109 voltage-controlled four-pole filter, a recreation of the SH-101’s original filter chip that features the same self-oscillation abilities. L1’s oscillator can produce saw, pulse and triangle waves, along with noise and a sub-oscillator.

These are joined by a single multi-waveform LFO and two envelope generators – one more than the original SH-101 – the first can modulate several parameters including pitch and filter cutoff, while the second shapes the VCA. The synth also features a 64-step sequencer, with storage space for 128 patterns and 32 songs, and a multimode arpeggiator.

The most striking element of the L1 is its detachable keyboard: connecting to L1 via the S2C (Snap2Connect) magnetic keyboard system, the 32-key KB-32M also features dual touch strips for pitch bend and modulation, and will be compatible with future Donner products in the Essential range. It’s sold separately, and you can also use it as a basic standalone MIDI keyboard.

Here are the features of the two components:

At the 2025 NAMM Show, being held Jan 21–25 in Anaheim, CA, , Nonlinear Labs is previewing an update to the firmware of their C15 synthesizer that doubles the instrument’s polyphony, adds new options for expressive control and more.

The C15 is performance-oriented synth, designed for playability and detailed sound editing. The digital synthesis engine is based on phase modulation, a comb filter, and a feedback structure, giving the C15 a unique character.

What’s new in the upcoming Nonlinear Labs C15 firmware update:

• The polyphony will be increased from 24 to 48 voices, at the previous sample rate of 48 kHz. Alternatively, a higher sample rate of 96 kHz with 24 voices can be used.
• The C15 audio engine has been expanded to support polyphonic modulation sources. In the first step, polyphonic aftertouch can now be received via MIDI.
• Pitch bend and sustain functions can now also be used independently of macro controls, freeing them up for other modulations.
• A sostenuto pedal function and the ability to switch presets and banks via footswitch have also been added.
• There are also a number of improvements to user-friendliness and optimizations to the operating system.

Nonlinear Labs C15 2025 Firmware Update Overview Video:

Topics covered in the video:

00:00 Intro
00:32 Global Pitch Bend Parameter
00:47 Global Sustain & Sostenuto
01:12 Footswitch to change Presets
01:28 96kHz Sample Rate
01:43 48 Voice Polyphony
02:02 Improved Internal Recorder
02:33 Graphical UI – new Zoom Buttons
02:44 Polyphonic Aftertouch via MIDI
04:11 Copy Modulation Assignments
04:26 Copy Hardware Source Assignments & Amounts
04:41 Summary

C15 Audio Demos:

Details on the new firmware are available at the Nonlinear Labs site.