rsk@pucc-j (Wombat) (12/05/85)
--- Andy Lieberman, I got your mail but the return address is hopelessly mangled; if you've got a uucp-only path to pur-ee, please let me know. --- Jim Tomcik sent me some questions about the AX80; I thought that the answers might be of general interest... > First, how do you like the keyboard touch? Is it heavy enough? > My impression is that it's heavier than a lot of others, but not like > the Roland Jx-8P. 'Tis true. I have an organ, not piano, background, tho' and as such I'm not sure my idea of what a good touch is would be anything close to a pianist's. The keys are not weighted, making it somewhat difficult to play passages that are fast *and* quiet. The keys do not have the snap-action of the Korg DW8000; but the resistance to movement does seem to vary slightly about midway down. So far, none of this has been much of a problem; I work around the fast-vs-quiet problem by using a volume pedal (boo, hiss). > Next, do you find it a limitation to not have a noise source > on board? Most other keyboards I've tried do have this feature, and it > seems somewhat important for more esoteric sounds like chimes, etc. Not really--but I suppose this really depends on what kind of sounds you need to make for the music that you're playing. Most of the time I'm playing organ/piano/e. piano patches, and the noise isn't missed; however, it would be nice to dirty up some of the lead patches on occasion. My other synth (a Kawai SX-210) does have a noise source, and I do use if somewhat. > I also noticed that there's no on-board chorousing, and wonder > how important you find this option. This one is a simple one to correct, > since a chorousing pedal will fill the bill nicely. Now, this I really have missed; the Kawai also has a chorus, and the effect works well with many patches; I'm considering an outboard unit of some sort in order to make up for the lack of one on the Akai. This is one of the I-wish-they-had features of the Akai. > How do you like the editing scheme? Have you had any mechanical > problems with an analog potentiometer adjustment for different params? It takes a little while to get used to the notion that some of the edit parameters mean different things depending on the settings of other edit parameters; the most notable instance of this are the EG settings. One just has to concentrate a bit more, that's all. I think one of the criticism's leveled by Keyboard was valid; the numeric display should be capable of showing which patch you're editing after you start to edit. As far as the adjustments, they're really not much of a problem--I'm used to knob-twiddling from the Kawai. One drawback is that the potentiometer setting does not necessarily correspond to the setting of the parameter; it would have been nice if the pot was re-zeroed (in software) each time a different parameter was selected--and it would have been cheap to do. > How are the manufacturer supplied presets? Are they useful in themselves, > and do they provide a good starting point for setting up your own patches? I think they're quite good; I use a couple of their organ patches, and one of the synth strings. The grand piano patch I posted a while back is based mostly on P-1, by the way. The bass sounds pretty good; and the e. piano makes (as you say) a good starting point. > Also, how is Akai's documentation on the instrument? Extensive? Unfortunately, no. If you don't have any previous synth background, you'll be lost. They do describe the function of each component, but no overall picture of the interconnectivity of the pieces is presented. If I hadn't been playing with my other machine for 6 months or so, I'd be lost. On the plus side, what's there appears to be accurate and concise. The MIDI implementation sheet is ultrabrief; luckily for me, the latest issue of the Roland User's Group mag contains a how-to-read-a-midi-spec article which should help out a lot. > Have you tried out the MIDI interface at all? Nope; the Kawai doesn't speak MIDI. Hopefully, I'll be able to hook it up to a Korg DW8000 soon (cross your fingers). --- Steve Frysinger mentioned that he was looking at a Roland Juno-106; Steve, I'd really consider the AX80 (or DW8000) as alternatives; they're both 8-voice as opposed to 6, and both are touch-sensitive. --- Mike Knudsen says: "My impression is that the Korg is more powerful in the long run, but the Akai is much easier to fool with the patches, at least at first." Good point; after looking closely at the Korg over the weekend, I tend to agree---but I still feel the Akai is a lot of bang for the buck. I just wish (as you pointed out) that Korg had used modulation wheels instead of that silly joystick. -- Rich Kulawiec rsk@pur-ee.uucp rsk@purdue.uucp rsk@purdue-asc.arpa