Wish list, huh? Okay:

• Windows editor for the Roland AX-Edge.
• An optical stereo analog volume pedal.
• Invisible Stand reboot made of carbon fiber.
• A real follow-on to the Casio PX-5S with similar or better MIDI controller capabilities.
• Is it too early to ask for a PC4-76 or -61?

There are a lot of people who are joining you in that particular wish, so I’d say it’s definitely not too early. My own wish list?

On the Kurzweil front, I don’t expect they’ll keep the Forte in market for too long with the surprising list of missing features compared to the PC4. It’s still their flagship and I still love mine, of course. The 16GB of factory samples are lovely, as is the keyboard action and the LED ladders on sliders. On the other hand, the PC4’s polyphony advantage, 1/4” audio inputs, addition of potentiometers to the real-time control set, and dedicated buttons for sequencer transport, arpeggiator, and editing are all conspicuously absent on the flagship. I would love to see a proper successor, but I’d settle for a Forte v4 that simply adds a few of these niceties (as I’m looking for a second Kurzweil in a different location.)

I’d love to see the Pro 3 Sequential trademarked earlier in the year. I only narrowly revisited temptation with the Pro 2, so depending on what direction it goes I may be unable to hold back. There’s serious danger of something along these lines getting me to tinker with Eurorack and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

I’m eager to see the next round of high-end analog poly keyboards now that the Moog One is out there. Will Roland finally deliver another collaboration with Studio Electronics? Will Sequential throw its hat in that ring with a dual filter poly?

I also half expect a true Montage successor in 2020 or 2021. If they improve usability, perhaps moving to a capacitive touchscreen along the way, I could be tempted to stray from Kurzweil depending on the rest of the feature set and character of any expansions to the ROM sample set.

All I know is, I'm REALLY looking forward to the ASM Hydrasynth. Not least because it should make a really good home studio controller (poly aftertouch, ribbon). Fairly sure it could do analog-type sounds for cover band use as well, though most demos have concentrated on the crazy stuff (and who can blame them!)

I think you're in for a long wait.

Wish list for me - the PC4 pretty much took care of it.
Anything else that I don't already have would be icing on the cake (and superfluous).

I’d like to see the big 4 compete with the Numa Compact 2x. Can Roland or Korg pack that much value in a comparably-priced board? I’d love to see them try.

Nord Piano - Rack

As much as I admire many of the Hydrasynth's features, there's never been a moment in one of the demos when I thought that sounds great. It has that in common with Waldorf's Kyra. Quite the contrast to the Super 6 which had me spellbound from the outset despite the relatively simple architecture. I do hope ASM manages to kick off renewed interest in poly aftertouch, though, and would welcome more instruments or controllers that bring this long dormant MIDI capability back to life.

I actually kind of agree...from demos, I'm actually more interested in the Prophet rev2, partly because I've wanted a Prophet for 30+ years But I am partial to that traditional analog sound. So I'll have to see if the Hydrasynth than do the simpler stuff as well. There have been a few patches and stretches in the demos I have heard that give me some optimism ....but I may end up with a Prophet rev2 at the end of the day just to hit a bucket list item

The Poly-AT is definitely interesting. I have a VAX-77 as my synth controller keyboard. It is more expressive than anything besides a Roli Seaboard. And for most things, it is better than the Seaboard for the simple reason that piano technique works on it. For monophonic lines the Roli is better. The Hakken Continuum is better yet, once one decides that a piano style keyboard is optional.

The great thing about the ASM is that it has powerful oscillators. This is the next trend in synthesis. The basic subtractive waves are too static and simple. Morphing oscillators, wavetables, even the mighty Schmidt 8 voice has this in pure analog. It has oscillators that use cascaded ring-modulation to produce very "non-analog" sounds. Sure, it can do a saw filtered pad. But why? It can do so much more. The ASM is this way, as is the Quantum. Filtering is filtering, but if the oscillators have life in them through extensive modulation, it makes the whole sound better and more interesting.

I think this is also why the initial demos are underwhelming. Taken just as subtractive synths, they don't sound THAT different. But if you don't rush for the filters to remove the harmonics, but instead linger in the oscillators and use several of those five envelopes.... that's where the new sounds live. The Schmidt is this way. The Bowen Solaris is this way. The Non-Linear Labs C-15 is this way, and then has a comb filter too. None have "blow you away" presets. But if you take the time, they can be truly unique, outstanding and special. These new synths masquerade with familiar terms, but they really have to be approached differently to find their true voice. And that voice isn't a Moog or a Prophet.

Real instruments have complex oscillators and resonant bodies that radically filter and shape the sound. These new synths all approximate that in a different way. But I think that the focus on "better oscillators" is interesting. It crosses vendors. Add in a better keyboard, and it is sure to have new sounds and expression in it. The price is fantastic.

Difficult to say, an upgraded yamaha montage, a nord stage with kawai keys, nord modular g3 + nord keytar 1. Korg will relase a kronoskiller,

When there is no Kronos successor thuis year at NAMM at the Korg Boot, I would take that as a “yes , we’ve abandoned the WS market and moved somewhere else”. Leaves Roland and Yamaha (and Nord ?) as competitors in that market. Rather see a K3

These are the companies I am going to wait and see what they have at NAMM:

1) Casio - what low priced marvels will they show, with their newest processor

2) Dexibell - rumors abound

3) Studiologic - replacement for the Numa Compact 2X?

4) Kurzweil - not sure why, just curious

Yamaha - yawn
Roland - yawn
Korg - I’m afraid to get my hopes up

Moog, Sequential and the rest of the analog-philes - yawn