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50 Years of "Progress"...
Welcome to the Mini Key Revolution!
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50 years ago, we didn't have VST/AU plugins. 50 years ago, everything was recorded to tape (which now is emulated through optional plugins) and DAWs did not exist. 50 years ago, there was no such thing as MIDI. 50 years ago, hardware synths were not as advanced as they are these days (although that's not to say geniuses like Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre couldn't make music with what was available back then), and many of the synths that have been miniaturised didn't exist. 50 years ago, sure there were computers the size of rooms and the first (brick-sized) cellphone was invented, but no such thing as personal computers let alone iPads, iPhones, or even the Atari ST, etc.
Nice try-hard meme about Mini Keys, but honestly the wording about "music technology supposed to include progress" is rather ignorant to how music technology actually progressed. Learn the history and try again.
'Rick Wankman' is the icing on the cake on that one...
...hopefully no stringwankers were harmed during the creation!?
But all those synths onstage are just for the stage show.
The real sounds are running on a laptop hidden offstage.
Rick got the idea from some metal band that had 20 full Marshall stacks onstage but unplugged just for visuals, with the the sound coming from one Fender Champ mic'd into the PA.
it is great progress, on same space 5x as much synths :-))) At least …
Unfortunately, the cape remains the same.
Lol. 😂
And the hair. . . . And the expression pedals, no progress there at all.
Lolol! Now that I agree with, haha.
I like the slight alteration in the spelling of his name.
Since I have been using synths and audio technology since the early 70s, I am very much aware of every chapter of the history I lived. There WAS progress from the 70s to the 80s, 90s and beyond, and I bought and sold gear with each advancement -- polyphony, patch memory, built in effects, computers and software, etc... Everything WAS advancing until ..,
But this meme was inspired by comparing the Yamaha Reface DX I just bought (37 mini keys, 32 presets, no aftertouch, etc. ) to my DX11 I owned in the 80s (full sized keys, 128 presets + user memory + cartridge, aftertouch, etc.). Having gone from once owning a mothership of vintage keyboards like the upper photo, to digital synths in the 80s, ROMplers in the 90s, and like everyone else, jettisoning so much hardware in the 2000s for an all "in the box" software solution ... I looked around and this week and between the Reface, my Arturia MiniLab 3, iRig Keys i/o, and several other little 25 note keyboards, I realized I had the makings of Rick Wakeman's 70s keyboard mothership in troll-sized miniature! I wanted to create a meme of a troll doll Rick Wakeman surrounded by today's toy-like synths, but I couldn't make the troll doll part of it work, so this was the best I could come up with!
Look at what Roland, Yamaha, and Korg have been up to nowadays... WTF, why can't they just offer a synth like the did in the 80s with a few modern amenities like bigger screen, more knobs and sliders, and more memory!! What's with this three-steps-backwards compromise model we seem to have fallen into? When I started out all those years ago with an ARP Odyssey and I dreamed about synths 50 years in future I didn't picture this version of the 2023! If you look at the keyboards we had in the 80s and early 90s, one would have thought it would just continue to advance. The same thing, just more features and cheaper. Now everybody is paying obscene amounts for 80s synths because what they make today is so comparatively lame. Ha! I was texting to a Yamaha rep friend of mine (someone who was a designer of many of the classic presets back in the 80s), ranting about the paltry 32 patch slots on the Reface (all rewritable) and literally exclaimed, "Wasn't the future of music technology supposed to include progress!" Which is pretty much what I feel when I look at the Boutiques, Volcas, and just about anything that costs less that $4000 these days.
So there you go. hashtag memesplaining.
Yeah, the modern hardware synths aren't anything new or progressive nor look great on a stage, not like Jean-Michel Jarre's extraordinary impressive stage setups. A keytar looks cooler on stage than miniature synths, lol. I agree that I'm not sure what the purpose of miniaturising everything is other than to possibly fit hardware synths into a bedroom producer's uh, erm, small bedroom, lol.
More like "there you go, sarcasm and drama".
But the explanation is very thorough and insightful, so at least you gave me a bit of better understanding, so cheers. 🥂
But it's portable! I can wear flowers in my hair and commune with the mini key generation on the great lawn.
Sounds good to me.
True, a lot of things are becoming more portable these days.
This is an ipad/iphone forum - it’s the epitome of miniature!
I also had a DX11 and now have a DX Reface. The Reface scores for ease of use. I couldn’t have used the DX11 in an armchair. It also beats the DX11 for having effects, a (rudimentary) looper and audio input. It’s easy to program, too, and The key action is actually very good. The built-in speakers are great for noodling around. It’s not designed as a stage instrument, but it fills its intended function very well.
You’re right about the preset restriction, but you can use the app Yamaha provides.
Of course, there are some advanced synths still being made today, if you want to spend MEGA big bucks, mostly by American companies, like Moog and Sequential offer some stuff that achieves a pretty cool combination of a state-of-the-art vintage/modern hybrid -- for the "high-fidelity first-class traveling section-I think I need a Lear jets" class.
But it seems the big Japanese giants of the 80s latched on to this "cuteness" marketing strategy. Yes, they also offer the $4000 tier (the latest Fantom is mind-blowing). But it seems they mainly realized they could cash in on getting average people to spend $400 or $500 here and there and start collecting cute little action-figure replicas of real synths.
I will say, people in the 70s and 80s may have literally sacrificed their firstborn in order to own a full FM synth for $150 and a CS for $300. Perhaps some lifelong synth enthusiasts are finally glad they can afford the synths they grew up admiring, even if as miniaturised versions.
Honestly, I just don't get your problematic pretentious outlook on what are perfectly fine hardware synths. They may not look "cool and awesome" on stage, but do they still function? Do they still make sound? What average music listener would know the difference when listening to a song produced with them on Spotify?
Yes, all this for sure.
Clearly I knew I was getting into mini keys, single pitch joystick, all that… And yes, the built-in effects were a big part of the appeal, since I’ve always wished for that on my TX81Z. But caught up in the impulse moment of the auction, I foolishly assumed when I saw those 8 bank buttons that it would mean something more than a measly 4 patches per bank! I further assumed there would be a factory and user section, like every other synth i’ve ever owned. My bad, of course for not doing more research. Like I said, I jumped in at the last minute on an auction.
We’ll see.. I’ll definitely do my best to vibe with the whole concept once it eventually arrives. I’m curious to see how the whole “Soundmondo” thing works, but wary since every other online patch sharing system I’ve ever seen — and I’ve been through many of them! — eventually shuts down and orphans all the users. Fortunately, I hear the iOS app version allows you to store your patches locally.
And even though I can’t resist a good laugh over it all, I’m actually not seriously hating on the mini key revolution. l do, however, wish the pricing could get a little more down to earth, which would make all the 3-steps-backwards compromises go down easier.
Ah okay. Good to know.
Any interest in the new Korg Opsix SE or Wavestate SE?
Well the screen on each is the same size as their smaller sibling, unfortunately. But some specs are higher - eg. polyphony. And aftertouch on both!
That’s a hilarious “rig rundown” for a low budget Rick Wakeman Tribute Band called “No”.
Releases an album called “Journey to the Center of the Mall” that features “Rick Wakepersons” compositions.
Most feature the “demo” mode of one of his “keyboards” as a theme. He can’t actually play but he owns a van
And his mom makes the costumes.
🤣
I want to see the tour documentary now!