NAMM: AKAI PROFESSIONAL ANNOUNCES iPK25 AND SynthStation Studio FOR iPhone AND iPod Touch

"Keyboard Controller Works With Akai Pro Music Production App, Third-Party Apps

Cumberland, R.I. (Jan. 14, 2010) – Akai Professional, the name synonymous with music production, announces the iPK25 keyboard controller and the SynthStation Studio music production app, both for iPhone and iPod Touch. Akai Pro will unveil the iPK25 and SynthStation Studio at the 2010 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA, booth 6400, January 14–17.

The iPK25 and SynthStation Studio transform a musician’s iPhone or iPod Touch into a portable music production studio for mobile music creation. While the SynthStation Studio app is powerful enough for professional musicians, virtually anyone can use it to easily create music. The app gives musicians three synthesizers for creating and modifying sonic textures used for melodies, chords and bass lines. Built around Akai Professional’s history in synthesis and drawing on the company’s newest MINIAK synth, the SynthStation Studio app sounds great and offers wide-ranging sonic flexibility with its virtual analog synthesis.

SynthStation Studio users can create and save sequences and complete songs. The app contains three different three-oscillator synths, and drum kits, which musicians can sequence and mix right in the SynthStation Studio. For creating melodic and accompaniment parts, the SynthStation Studio contains an arpeggiator with preset patterns, built-in effects and filters and an XY control interface for expressive control of key parameters.

The SynthStation Studio features an on-screen keyboard for use on the go. It is also designed for use with its companion keyboard, the iPK25. This 25-key MIDI keyboard features a built-in dock for the iPhone or iPod Touch. It gives users two octaves of velocity-sensitive, synth-action keys, pitch and modulation wheels, and physical buttons for the most commonly used controls including octave up and down and sound-bank selections. The iPK25 also features a stereo pair of RCA line outputs and a headphone output for connection to recording and sound reinforcement systems. The iPK25 also has a USB/MIDI output for use as a controller for other MIDI software on Mac or PC and MIDI hardware devices.

“The package of the iPK25 keyboard and the SynthStation Studio app transform the iPhone into a professional musical instrument,” said Adam Cohen, Director of Business Development, Akai Professional.

The iPK25 will be available from pro audio and musical instrument retailers in March 2010. It has a U.S. Retail Price of $199.00 and an estimated street price of $149.00 The SynthStation Studio app will be available from the iTunes App Store in January 2010.

iPhone and iPod are trademarks of Apple Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries."
via http://www.akaipro.com/content217667

NAMM: Akai iPK25 Videos

Namm 2010 AKAI iPK25 &Synth Station demo

YouTube via RockoNCompany. Note what he says at 2:30 on. This and the upcoming iSlate is what I've been waiting for and what I've been talking about for some time now. It will finally bridge the gap between software and hardware. Soft synths that you can interact with like hardware. No mouse, not keyboard, no detached screen. The software will be like hardware - direct and tactile. At 2:19 he states "this is a $99 US prduct." Did I hear that right? If so I will definitely be picking one up.

ipk25 1

YouTube via SoundRecordingJP

ipk25 2

NAMM: AKAI iPK25 and SynthStation Studio Winter NAMM 2010 Demo

YouTube via SweetwaterSound http://www.akaipro.com
"More info at www.sweetwater.com. The new iPK25 USB controller keyboard includes the SynthStation Studio app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The iPK25 is a 25-key controller that works great with virtual instruments and DAWs, but its handy iPhone dock and included SynthStation Studio app lets you "play" your iPhone or iPod Touch like never before."

Akai iPK25 is MIA?

Just read this on Palm Sounds. Apparently all reference to the Akai iPK25 featured in these posts is MIA on the Akai website. The original press release came from this link: http://www.akaipro.com/content217667. Note the Synth Station is still listed on their site. Anyone know what's up? It would be unfortunate if the iPK25 never comes out. I was looking forward to it but then I kind of wonder what happens when the new Apple slate comes out. I'm guessing not everyone with an iPhone or iTouch will get the slate, so there should be a market for both, although one controller that can dock either would be ideal.

NAMM: AKAI iPK25, MPD8 y LPK25

YouTube via Hispasonic. The SynthStation25 comes in at 1:31. Note the iPhone sits on an anti-slip pad vs plugging into it. The connection is wireless.
"Presentación de los minicontroladores de AKAI y del sistema para iPhone iPK25. Recuerda que los vídeos de Hispasonic se ven con mejor calidad en www.hispasonic.com, y siempre se publican allí días antes que en Youtube."

The Akai iPK25 Still Lives?

It's listed for $99 on the Nova Musik website here. No release date listed, but according to Chris in the comments of this post, Guitar Center and Musician's Friend have the release date listed as March 3rd. Still nothing on the Akai site.

Update: I heard from Akai. It is still on track, same price and release date. The name has officially changed to the SynthStation25. The info page was removed at Apple's request.

"The Akai iPK25...now renamed SynthStation25 does in fact live. When developing hardware for Apple ipod products, Apple has a large number of hoops for developers to jump through. There was one hoop we missed so Apple made us take down the information from our web page. We are now working our way through this issue and it will be back up on the web page when we are allowed to put it back there. This has not affected shipping dates or anything, just our ability to have info regarding it up on our web page."

More Info on the iPK25 Now SynthStation25

See the update in this post.

Producer's Edge Online Magazine

" Issue 07 1st Quarter 2010

Welcome to special issue 07: Near Gear 2010
We're powered by Winter NAMM and bringing you an early look at the tightest products coming out. Start saving your pennies now while you clear up hard drive and shelf space. Some of the highlights include:
Lemur Jazz Mutant V2
Akai iPK25
DSI Mopho Keyboard
KORG Kaossilator Pro
Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2
...and a whole lot more!
Click HERE to read it."

Be sure to see http://www.producersedgemagazine.com/ for more issues.

A New World in Synthesis

YouTube via Pic2008Lex

Note the above video does not feature any synths. It is a concept video for a tablet UI. The hardware looks like the majority of artist renders for the upcoming Apple iPad/iSlate. If you haven't heard, tomorrow, Apple will announce their new tablet device. Rumor is it will essentially be an iTouch with a 10" screen, more power, memory and may have the ability to run multiple apps at the same time. [Update: it most likely will]

Why is this a new world in synthesis? In short this is a new hardware platform for synthesis. Yes it is an extension of the iTouch platform, but the obvious key difference and game changer in my opinion will be the size of the screen. For example, imagine controlling all of your synths running Numerology on the device in that video. Imagine interfacing with your modular with a UI optimized version of VOLTA or Expert Sleepers. Imagine running Way Out Ware's iSample, or how about an ARP2600 emulation with sliders. Imagine running Audio Damage's tattoo on one, etc. And don't forget the accelorometer. Processing power, additional memory, and potentially running multiple apps at once will only add to the advantage the slate will have over the iTouch.

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