A new digital accordion by Korg

[J.F.N.]

48 minutes ago, jerrythek said:

Well the OP was going further back in time, to the SV2 and others, so that was what I was reacting to. Sadly, after Korg does major products, they do fall into these slight variations of features and colors. I am not talking about that.

 

Sales (and the lack thereof) often cause products to fall out of production. It's a sad reality of running a business. I do agree that discontinuing the Kronos (the last project I worked on at Korg) and following it up with a scaled-down product never intended to be a Kronos replacement was a bad decision. Had the Kronos remained, then the Nautilus could have been seen as what it really is, a lower-level Kronos. I think the Prologue was a "could have been great" synth, but Korg did not support it well, and really mishandled customer support and communication with its problems. But I assume that sales were not good.

 

But step back a little further than the last year or so, and I still feel that Korg remains the boldest of the big manufacturers, and is doing a lot of interesting things in both the hardware and software space.

 

I'm a KORG fanboy (as you can see in my signature) though I still am clueless about their marketing strategy (I work in audio production software with communication), as nothing the last 2ish years makes no sense whatsoever from any perspective!

[MPN21]

16 hours ago, Mark Schmieder said:

I tried the Roland ones a few years in a row when they were new; button and keyboard models for contrast. They're well-done overall, but super pricey, as is the new one from Korg. I can't imagine spending that kind of dough just to be able to use an accordion as a controller, unless accordion is your main/only instrument.

 

I wish I could afford a low-end model from a intermediate to pro acoustic accordion manufacturer, but home repairs keep getting in the way. I've been upset how pricey they are, but I'll stop complaining now because they're well less than half the price of a digital model!

A midi/digital accordion does make a powerful midi controller.   Companies like Casio could make a decent one with just accordion and a few orchestral instrument sounds for less than $2,000.    A digital accordion doesn't have to be expensive like a fine handmade acoustic accordion. 

[MPN21]

On 9/10/2024 at 9:43 AM, stoken6 said:

Melodica, but it's a MIDI controller with breath CC. Price it right, and it would sell like anything.

 

Cheers, Mike.

Just about every key player will buy a digital melodica.  I don't know why any big company has not embarked on it yet.  I had been encouraging a small midi hardware to do so.     Until then, I keep playing my Hammond 44. 

[jerrythek]

1 hour ago, J.F.N. said:

 

I'm a KORG fanboy (as you can see in my signature) though I still am clueless about their marketing strategy (I work in audio production software with communication), as nothing the last 2ish years makes no sense whatsoever from any perspective!

Get used to it... Korg is a quirky company that can't be analyzed by any typical marketing logic. The President/chairman follows his gut and he calls all the shots. His father (the founder) had really good instincts, but still did wacky things from time to time. That's one of the things that I like(d) about them - they're not afraid to color outside the lines, so to speak. But it can (and will) confound you at times.

[J.F.N.]

1 hour ago, jerrythek said:

Get used to it... Korg is a quirky company that can't be analyzed by any typical marketing logic. The President/chairman follows his gut and he calls all the shots. His father (the founder) had really good instincts, but still did wacky things from time to time. That's one of the things that I like(d) about them - they're not afraid to color outside the lines, so to speak. But it can (and will) confound you at times.

 

It's not helping them in any way. We all know the story about Kronos -> Nautilus -> Nautilus AT... Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb..

 

The misguiding marketing of the Prologue as a Polyphonic Analogue Synth, making it end up being head to head compared with other more prominent Polyphonic Analogue Synths, losing the game, instead of selling what it is, an amazing hybrid with the user multi oscillator section, capable of things that are both unique and very cool sounding...

 

And on, and on, and on...Waste of potential revenue!

 

But that's for another thread..

[MortenL]

On 9/11/2024 at 7:03 PM, MPN21 said:

Just about every key player will buy a digital melodica.  I don't know why any big company has not embarked on it yet.  I had been encouraging a small midi hardware to do so.     Until then, I keep playing my Hammond 44. 

 

If you do not want to wait for a commercial midi melodica I can only encourage you to try and build one yourself. I say this because I did recently, and I am by no means an engineer. The one in the video below is my first shot, hence the mess of cables and the crude design. Basically, it is a 5V pressure sensor circuit, a midi keyboard, a Doepfer Midi Pocket Electronics unit, and a joystick+potentiometer for pitch/modulation, all wired together. This combination was inspired by a diversity of people on the internet experimenting in different ways.

 

The virtual instruments used in the video are the SWAM tenor saxophone, the SWAM flugelhorn, and the Model D, all iPad versions. Backing tracks are from the Session Band apps. Please excuse the crude clipping and the injure on my hand in the last sequence.

 

All best, Morten

[mauriziodececco]

On 9/11/2024 at 7:03 PM, MPN21 said:

Just about every key player will buy a digital melodica.  I don't know why any big company has not embarked on it yet.  I had been encouraging a small midi hardware to do so.     Until then, I keep playing my Hammond 44. 

Yes, but you need a bit more than a breath controller stuck on a MIDI controller; the experience of playing an H44 is not at all like using a breath controller, physically, i mean. The H44 need less breath, and you can really articulate and express with some degree of control; i want a MIDIfied H44 :).

 

Maurizio