Once a week, createdigitalmusic‘s Peter Kirn checks in with favorite music equipment picks. This week brings a new keyboard from pioneer Dave Smith; it’s not even out yet, but blinking blue lights, lots of knobs, and the combination of two generations of synthesis technology with both analog and digital circuitry might make even a non-musician salivate.
Forget the analog-versus-digital debate: why not have both? Legendary electronic music pioneer Dave Smith (the man behind Sequential) quietly teased synth fans on Christmas Eve with a glimpse of a new keyboard that does just that. This beast has the synthesis power of four of the popular Dave Smith Evolvers (see Ken Hughes’ great review from Keyboard Magazine), in a must-have keyboard case. Sound is produced by both analog and digital oscillators and processed by analog filters and digital effects. That alone would make this a drool-worthy gadget, but the package is finished with the kind of specs that really seal the deal: glowing blue-backlit wheels, blinking blue lights, and 78 knobs and 58 switches. Dave Smith is known for being the anti-soft-synth: no mouse here, just good, old-fashioned hardware. Look for in-depth stats at createdigitalmusic in late January if this sort of thing makes your pulse quicken (or your wallet quiver).
