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

Kurzweil has released a portable digital piano with a “mid-modern aesthetic” that’s said to be “beautiful from all angles”. With a look dreamt up by renowned synth designer Axel Hartmann, the KaP1 is actually billed as a stage piano, but could easily fit with the decor of a contemporary home or vibey studio.

It’s not all about the visuals, though: thanks to the inclusion of the Kore 2.0GB sound library, the KaP1 shares its 9-foot German grand piano samples with Kurzweil’s flagship K2700 workstation and SP7 Grand. Additionally, there are string, electric piano and organ tones in here.

The H1 Ivory Hammer-Action Keyboard is designed to replicate the touch and feel of a real piano. The KaP1 also features a 4-speaker stereo sound system that’s powered by dual 15W digital amplifiers, and has Bluetooth audio and MIDI connectivity.

Other player-friendly features include splitting and layering, pre-programmed backing rhythms, a metronome and a MIDI song recorder. The stand options are a traditional looking 3-pedal rig, the ST-4, or the more hipster ST-C1, which gives you those mid-century thin metal legs.

The KaP1 is being launched into the US with Artesia Pro and will be available in blue, white and black colour options. The KaP1 is available now, with a street price of about $800, and you can find out more on the Kurzweil website.

Roland launches the RD-08, a compact stage piano that comes with built-in speakers, SuperNATURAL and ZEN-Core sound engines, and Roland Cloud expansion support.

Roland has announced the latest addition to its RD stage piano range, the RD-08, and the good news is that it’s the most affordable model yet.

At first glance, this looks like an even more simplified version of the RD-88, which was released in 2020, and promises “no-compromise” sound in a portable package. There are built-in speakers for home and low-volume rehearsal/performance use, and Roland Cloud compatibility means that the RD-08 is expandable with more sounds.

This is an 88-note instrument that uses Roland’s PHA-4 Standard Keyboard tech, which offers a hammer action, Escapement and Ivory Feel. There are three sound generators – SuperNATURAL Piano, SuperNATURAL E Piano and Roland’s ZEN-Core synth engine – and three parts.

The RD-08 offers 100 scenes and more than 3,000 tones, along with a comprehensive roster of effects. Hands-on control comes courtesy of assignable pitchbend and modulation wheels and four control knobs, and there are inputs for a damper pedal and two further assignable pedals.

Other features include the option to favourite sounds, a song player and a metronome, while audio I/O compromises a 1/4-inch headphone jack, stereo 1/4-inch output jacks, a 1/4-inch mic input and a line input minijack, presumably so you can play music through the speakers. There’s no mention of Bluetooth, either for MIDI or audio, but you do get MIDI Out and USB ports.

The Roland Cloud compatibility enables you to install the Acoustic Piano 3, among other expansions (we’re guessing these will come at a cost), and for live performers, there’s also Apple MainStage support.

The RD-08 is available now priced at $1,000. Find out more on the Roland website.

Korg Poetry, a ‘Chopin piano’, could be the most unexpected signature instrument ever – ‘Inspired by Chopin’.

There are plenty of signature guitars, and even the odd artist-endorsed synth, drum machine and plugin, but we weren’t expecting Korg to rock up at NAMM with a digital piano that bears homage to a composer who died more than 150 years ago. That’s what we’ve got with the Poetry, though – an instrument that “resonates with the spirit” of Romantic era icon Frédéric Chopin.

This is certainly a surprising move from Korg – not least because it missed a golden opportunity to call it the ‘Chopiano’ – but if you’re a Frédéric fan, the details of this instrument could be very exciting.

The first of Poetry’s two piano tones is based on Chopin’s 1843 Pleyel piano, which had 80 keys and was pitched at 430Hz rather than 440Hz, the modern tuning standard. This gives it a distinct tone that promises to be authentic to the one that Chopin would have experienced.

The second piano is derived from a contemporary Italian concert grand that’s used in the International Chopin Competition, no less. This one has a “breathtaking, transparent and profoundly expressive sound,” says Korg, adding that, “Were Chopin alive today, he would surely find inspiration in expressing his soulful genius through the resonant notes of this modern masterpiece”. We’ll never know if that’s true, but if it sounds good.

Based on what we can see in the pictures, the Poetry is certainly a tastefully designed piano, coming in a ‘Poetic Brown’ woodgrain finish and sporting gold-trimmed pedals and toes. It’s also nice and compact – with a depth of just 26cm and a flat top when the lid is down, it could be a good option for smaller rooms.

The Poetry uses Korg’s RH3 Real Weighted Hammer Action, which is designed to replicate the feel of a grand piano as closely as possible (the keys feel heavier at lower registers than they do at higher ones, for example) and you can choose from five touch sensitivity options. There’s a three-pedal setup with half-damper capability, and the piano is pre-loaded with 50 Chopin pieces that you can listen to at your leisure. Poetry also ships with 23 piano scores for you to play yourself.

A 2-track recorder enables you to capture your performances, too, and you also get such modern niceties as a built-in metronome, sound layering (so you can create a piano/strings sound, for example) and a Partner Mode that splits the keyboard in two and can be used for teaching purposes. Connectivity includes a line input, two headphone outputs, MIDI I/O and Pedal and Speaker connections, and the built-in sound system comprise two 25w speakers.

Poetry is set to ship in March priced at around £1649/€1899. Find out more on the Korg website.