The Roland AX-Synth is a

keytar The keytar is a lightweight synthesizer that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboard ...

that is manufactured by

Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has f ...

, and was released in late August 2009. This modernized instrument builds on the features of its predecessor, the

Roland AX-7 The Roland AX-7 is a keytar that was manufactured by Roland Corporation from 2001 to 2007. This modern instrument contains many more advanced features than early keytars such as its predecessor, the Roland AX-1, and the Yamaha SHS-10. It runs on ...

. The most notable change is the addition of an internal synthesizer. A UV Black-colored "premium" model called "Black Sparkle" was released in September 2010. The AX-Synth has now been discontinued as well.

Features

The AX-Synth extends the keyboard to 49 keys (from the AX-7's 45) and also adds dedicated V-Link functionality to control audio and video onstage. It runs on 8

AA batteries AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * '' America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army * '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992 * Aa!, a J-Pop musical group * Do ...

or an external power source. It has 264 built in tones, 128-voice polyphony, and a 3-character

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

display. The AX-Synth also has all of the AX-7's stage performance functions such as the

touchpad A touchpad or trackpad is a pointing device featuring a tactile sensor, a specialized surface that can translate the motion and position of a user's fingers to a relative position on the operating system that is made output to the screen. Touch ...

-like

pitch bend In electronic music, a pitch wheel, pitch bend or bender is a control on a synthesizer to vary the pitch in a continuously variable manner (portamento). The first synthesizer with a pitch wheel was the Minimoog, in 1970. Alternatively, pitch ben ...

ribbon, expression bar,

sustain In sound and music, an envelope describes how a sound changes over time. It may relate to elements such as amplitude (volume), frequencies (with the use of filters) or pitch. For example, a piano key, when struck and held, creates a near-immedi ...

switch, and volume control knob, all on the upper neck of the instrument. As with the AX-7, there is also a proprietary "D-Beam" interface, made up of

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...

sensors that detect nearby motion. The AX-Synth also has a wide variety of sounds. Many are synthesised, however, there are many samples of real sounds, from brass to a 'Jazz Scat' sound; this varies depending on the velocity with which the note is played, as seen i
"Funky Keytar Duo"
The AX-Synth has been often criticized for the large size of the keytar (as seen here dwarfing a large framed Roland re
"Roland AX-SYNTH keytar DEMO"
which was necessary to contain all of the sound generating hardware vs. the sleek stylings of previous Roland Keytars like the Roland AX-1 and Roland AX-7.

MIDI functionality

The AX-Synth has full

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, an ...

functionality like the AX-7, but also adds an internal synthesizer with 128 voice polyphony and stereo output. It has both MIDI in and out ports and as is common with more recent synthesizers, it also has a

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply ( interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broa ...

port which can also be used to communicate MIDI messages, and edit the sounds via Roland's free patch editor/librarian software for PC and Mac.

Notable users

French composer

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompani ...

used a prototype version of the AX-Synth during the first concerts of his

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

IN>DOORS tour. Pop star

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

has several customized versions of the AX-Synth, used for various performances. Doctor Sung of the Canadian synthfunk band TWRP primarily uses an Ax-Synth.

References

External links

*
Official Roland AX-Synth website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roland Ax-Synth Keytars MIDI controllers Digital synthesizers

Features

MIDI functionality

Notable users

See also

References

External links