A new pretender...

Kevin Nolan · Post by **Kevin Nolan** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:00 pm

http://www.harmonycentral.com/blogs/New ... d-ikeydock

cello · Post by **cello** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:34 pm

Interesting spec... And price is not break-the-bank either.

I guess it'll be down to how it sounds/responds, etc.

But I love the strategy behind this - sits right between the DAW/VSTi-only users and hardware-only users. Brings it all together in a complete integrated studio.

Not sure it it's a pretender or a contender! Time will tell...

Synthoid · Post by **Synthoid** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:56 pm

From the former CEO of Open Labs..... hmmm.

Post by **Sharp** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:59 pm

Cool beans.... Another OPEN Keyboard. Roll on the future.
Wonder how it compares when put up against Liosntracs and Openlab$.

Cheers
Sharp.

Post by **Sharp** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:05 pm

Synthoid wrote:From the former CEO of Open Labs..... hmmm.

Ouch...!!! That's a pity. I had hoped that this was a new company and not a wolf in sheep clothing.

CfNorENa · Post by **CfNorENa** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 10:01 pm

Sharp wrote:
Synthoid wrote:From the former CEO of Open Labs..... hmmm.

Ouch...!!! That's a pity. I had hoped that this was a new company and not a wolf in sheep clothing.

Actually, this product looks intriguing to me. But it sounds like there's a "back story" here that I should be aware of. Can someone explain why one might be wary about a company with this particular background?

Trinity2112 · Post by **Trinity2112** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 10:16 pm

Interesting specs:

http://www.musiccomputing.com/studioblade

Does the position of the screen seem odd to anyone else? Perhaps it's something one could get used to over time.

Post by **Sharp** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:03 pm

Does the position of the screen seem odd to anyone else?

I don't think I'd mind at all so long as it could be rotated. If not, then that's not good at all as all LED displays have off axis viewing problems regardless how good they are.

Just my 2 cents.

Sharp.

Post by **Sharp** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:16 pm

CfNorENa wrote:Can someone explain why one might be wary about a company with this particular background?

Basically during his time he bankrupt OpenLabs and sold out. The apparent company policy online was also in my experience that of censorship and threatening behaviour.

Regards
Sharp.

CfNorENa · Post by **CfNorENa** » Wed Nov 10, 2010 11:26 pm

Sharp wrote:
CfNorENa wrote:Can someone explain why one might be wary about a company with this particular background?
Basically during his time he bankrupt OpenLabs and sold out. The apparent company policy online was also in my experience that of censorship and threatening behaviour.

Regards
Sharp.

Ouch. OK. I'll be suitably wary...

Akos Janca · Post by **Akos Janca** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:23 pm

Kevin, thank you for the info.

I definitely like the idea of StudioBlade and iKeyDOCK: the look, the specs and the flexibility. But I would buy only after trying it personally according to the good old aspects: sound quality, latency, polyphony, keyboard feel, knobs, sliders, build quality, durability, portability. (I have found that the 88-key StudioBlade - not pictured yet - is a bit heavier than OASYS 88.)

Synthoid · Post by **Synthoid** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:26 pm

Sharp wrote: The apparent company policy online was also in my experience that of censorship and threatening behaviour.

What happened exactly? I'm confused...

Kevin Nolan · Post by **Kevin Nolan** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:44 pm

Agree with you Akos. I'm a little sceptical of this type of solution - if latency issues persist with actual computers, do they exist here.

I also find this solution a little underwhelming - its essentially a repackaging of existing computer parts.

That said, the price is keen, it does look quite good and certainly Sharp makes a good case for this type of solution.

As Sharp indicates, the originator of the product is a concern. Would appreciate any insight you have Sharp. And - how has Stephen Kay faired, given his connection with Open Lab. a total aside, but I really believe / hope Stephen is putting efforts into a software only Karma Engine to be used in any DAW environment; or even as an iPad App. I'm convinced he'd make a killing.

As another aside, I read a very interesting article by Dan Phillips on the OASYS in the Korg Magazine for 2007 (visited a Dublin music Store and they still had copies of it). Dan - it was an intriguing article, indicating the history and development of the OASYS; and its true quality. And true to his word and our eventual realisations, the OASYS was from the outset about delivering stat-of-the-art synthesis engines - and boy did they work hard behind the scenes to deliver. A very enlightening article.

Kevin.

Post by **Sharp** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:27 pm

Synthoid wrote:
Sharp wrote: The apparent company policy online was also in my experience that of censorship and threatening behaviour.
What happened exactly? I'm confused...

I was personally threatened with legal action if I did not remove certain worlds I had used in a Meta Tags over on YouTube for the search engine. Basically they wanted to control what people saw when they searched for “Neko” for example. They didn’t like the fact that video’s of me playing a Lionstracs keyboard came up in YouTube searches.

If they did that to me, what else did they doing to other people? They only suit their own needs when they see fit. I remember not too long ago they had images of a range of top Workstations posted on their website with the comments all your keyboards are ours or something like that. Suited their needs to use KORG, ROLAND and YAMAHA copyrighted images and to make commnest like that, but nooo… little old me cant use the words Neko in a search engine tag on YouTube.

I also don’t approve of how they moderated their own forums and removed content to suite their vision of a “Happy Place”. Don’t have an official forum if you don’t want people to have a voice.

Add that to the past history and eventual bankruptcy…. Err…. That’s why I’m not happy to see this new company ran by the same guy who ran Open Labs.

Akos Janca · Post by **Akos Janca** » Thu Nov 11, 2010 8:52 pm

Sharp wrote:I was personally threatened with legal action if I did not remove certain worlds I had used in a Meta Tags over on YouTube for the search engine. Basically they wanted to control what people saw when they searched for “Neko” for example. They didn’t like the fact that video’s of me playing a Lionstracs keyboard came up in YouTube searches.

Unbelievable. Do they have rights for that on YouTube? I guess you haven't depreciated Neko. (Maybe they liked the horrible old ad better where - if memory serves - a guy burned down a synth...? Was it a Neko...?

)