Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

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Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by Sounddesigner »

The new Roland Keytar looks amazing and sounds really nice. For those that don't know a Keytar is a cross between a Keyboard and a Guitar, it is the child of both of them. Roland are the best at Keytars with regards to looks, more keys (49 keys(, Sound (Roland usually has a built in synth engine as well as many physical-modeled instruments included such as piano, violin and I think guitar, etc). It's list price is $999 and I'm sure i'll be getting one soon after Christmas. I really like these things but the Market does'nt seem to care for them since there's never much on the Market with regards to Keytars.


i'm gonna start collecting Keytars since they are so rare. Only two companies have Keytars on the market right now wich is Roland and Alesis and sadly Alesis's is a very weak toy in comparison since it is only a MIDI Controller and has no synth engine and does not look enough like a guitar. All others have been discontinued and don't seem to stay on the market long enough, I suspect Keytars aren't that popular. I currently have one of the very old Yamaha SHS 10 from the 1980's wich I bought off Ebay about a year ago for under $200 but it is a toy compared to what Roland is doing. Roland has been the best at Keytars for a long time now. I was going to buy a used AX-Synth off Ebay wich is a older and now discontinued Keytar from Roland but they are expensive at $1600, but now Roland has released the new AX-Edge the next generatioand i'll get it now and buy the used AX-Synth later since the new one will force the older one's price down now. Both versions look different and function differently and both are worth collecting.

There's not a lot of Youtube videos demonstrating its sound, here's one Youtube link wich shows someone jamming with the new AX-Edge Keytar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChFUbTwhSBk


Here's a link to the Sweetwater's Marketing Speak on the new AX-EDGE - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ynthesizer

Here's a link to the older AX-Synth in action - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dtfTibRHYg


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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by JoPo »

The lab coat of the guy is perfect ! :lol: (1° video)
> > > > > > > > > > > > --- Musica --> here ! ---< < < < < < < < < < < <
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by yayajohn »

Well the sounds are sure nice! Just like the old one. And having great internal sounds is certainly a plus. Priced a little too steep imho.
I have the Alesis Vortex wireless II. Yes it's a nice toy.
Is the new Roland wireless? The latency of the wireless Vortex II does not seem too noticeable to me and it sure is nice not to be tethered which to me is one of the main reasons for a keyboardist to have one of these the other being expression capabilities. The vortex also has an accelerometer for pitchbend or CC but it's very choppy so pretty much unusable, nice idea though.
TBH though I really haven't spent much time with it the past couple of years to really get comfortable with it.
I would love to try out the old/new Roland AX's sometime.
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by dawman »

Cool stuff.
Lab coats are a Roland trademark.
There believe that people will associate the products with science.
The V Piano video was truly hilarious.
Scientists with note pads walking around acting scientific and shit.
A Pianist performing inside of a glass isolation booth, being studied by the Roland scientists, etc.
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by Bud Weiser »

yayajohn wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 3:50 am Well the sounds are sure nice!
Matter of taste ...
yayajohn wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 3:50 am
Is the new Roland wireless?
Bluetooth is MIDI only,- no audio ... :-?

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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by Sounddesigner »

yayajohn wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 3:50 am Well the sounds are sure nice! Just like the old one. And having great internal sounds is certainly a plus. Priced a little too steep imho.
I agree the price is a bit high. I think that is cause it has a versatile synth engine, and a lot more keys than usual, and seems to be a rare and niche product plus Roland doesn't seem to have any real competition right now (Roland's other hardware synths are usually pretty expensive also, atleast the desired ones :) }. Korg just recently discontinued their RK-100S Keytar wich had a built in synth engine and costed around $500 (but had only 37 Keys and no physical-modelled instruments, and did'nt look as good as Roland's Keytars. Roland understands Aesthetics a little better than others when it comes to Keytars). Basically Korg was cheaper but had less so the competition is stating that Roland's AX-EDGE price is right for the Market. Roland's AX-EDGE list at $999 but one should be able to get it a little cheaper if one buys at the right time and right place. I find the price high to but I still want one really bad. The more I hear new videos demonstrating its sound and talking about it the more I want it. It's not just a wireless controller but a rare instrument also. Would be nice if Audio was wireless as well but is not as Bud Weiser pointed out.
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by Sounddesigner »

yayajohn wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 3:50 am Well the sounds are sure nice! Just like the old one. And having great internal sounds is certainly a plus. Priced a little too steep imho.
.
Yamaha just released a low priced Keytar about a month ago, the Yamaha Sonogenic SHS 500 and it costs around $299. The good news is that it has a internal sound engine with great sounds. The synth engine definitely sounds pro and it's still usefull for playing at shows and jammimg with IMO. Here is a linj to more info and video demo - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ytar-black

I finally ordered the Roland AX-EDGE Keytar during the Memorial Day discount sale. Waiting on backorder delivery. I most likely will end up adding the new Yamaha Sonogenic to my collection as well.Keytars are very rare and i really like them a lot.
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by next to nothing »

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xg8qDPGeFMU
Nice trick to save some money of it.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by yayajohn »

next to nothing wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 6:34 am https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xg8qDPGeFMU
Nice trick to save some money of it.
:lol: Too funny. I'm glad he figured out something to do with his. Mine mostly sits on the shelf until I feel like walking around the house irritating my family occasionally.

@Sounddesigner: Not sure about the yamaha. I like the price but not the small keys and the sounds are meh but what would you expect. It really makes me laugh when I see someone demo a keytar and then try to play it like a traditional keyboard with 2 hands. Awkward.
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by dawman »

Damn, Danny boy is being well fed @ Sweetwater.
Could have sworn he was in the Country Bear Jamboree @ DisneyWorld.
He’s still my favorite reviewer with chops.
I can’t stand these guys who love to hear themselves talk.
Shut the fuck up and play.


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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by yayajohn »

:lol:
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by garyb »

blood in the saddle....
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by Bachboy »

Sounddesigner wrote: Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:41 pm
yayajohn wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 3:50 am Well the sounds are sure nice! Just like the old one. And having great internal sounds is certainly a plus. Priced a little too steep imho.
I agree the price is a bit high. I think that is cause it has a versatile synth engine, and a lot more keys than usual, and seems to be a rare and niche product plus Roland doesn't seem to have any real competition right now (Roland's other hardware synths are usually pretty expensive also, atleast the desired ones :) }. Korg just recently discontinued their RK-100S Keytar wich had a built in synth engine and costed around $500 (but had only 37 Keys and no physical-modelled instruments, and did'nt look as good as Roland's Keytars. Roland understands Aesthetics a little better than others when it comes to Keytars). Basically Korg was cheaper but had less so the competition is stating that Roland's AX-EDGE price is right for the Market. Roland's AX-EDGE(review) list at $999 but one should be able to get it a little cheaper if one buys at the right time and right place. I find the price high to but I still want one really bad. The more I hear new videos demonstrating its sound and talking about it the more I want it. It's not just a wireless controller but a rare instrument also. Would be nice if Audio was wireless as well but is not as Bud Weiser pointed out.
It's still available at a similar price on sweetwater. Sorry for the up, pals, what Roland's keytar can you advise? (cheaper, similar functionality)
Thanks in advance
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Re: Roland's new Keytar the AX-EDGE, WOW. Impressive!

Post by Sounddesigner »

When it comes to high-end Keytars Roland is the only game in town, and the AX-EDGE is the only one they sell. The Keytar market is hyper-niche with only 2 companies making them, with Roland being the high-end and Yamaha the mid-range. Roland has been the best at Keytars for a very long time and when it comes to high-end there has'nt been any other for a long time, only Roland. Keytars are not like other Audio gear where there is a wide variety and many companies so the best can be hard to determine, with Keytars there are usually just 2 or 3 companies making them so it's very easy to determine the best. Roland has no competition and its been like that for a very long time.

Musiciansfriend.com's advertised price for the AX-EDGE is about $10 cheaper than Sweetwater and if you call them directly around the Holidays you may get an even better un-advertised price. I called them on the phone around Memorial Day and i think i got around a 10% discount on my AX-EDGE a couple years ago. Black Friday, Cybor Monday, Christmas, and New Years are all basically here, try calling them and others.
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