I recently ordered the Openlabs Miko. www.openlabs.com This is one of the Openlabs pieces that Morris Hayes uses. He was using them on SNL. This piece of gear is the next level. It successfully intergrates music with computer. I'm tired of having to try and figure out how to make digital music without being a computer tech. I will still have my hands on and irreplaceable analog synths (Andromeda,PEK,Obxa,Juno60) and V-synth, but it will be cool to blend the analog and digital this way. One great feature is the cloning software. It allows you to clone sounds from other boards. If I want the sounds from a Virus Ti, I can rent one and copy the patches I like. There's no other machine like it, well except for the Neko64, its big brother! I can't wait until mine arrives.

holy crap - a keyboard BUILT INTO the synth? And a 15" touchscreen? Daaaaamn.

Can you play table-top pac man on that mother?

yeah, looks pretty good. Shame its windows based tho... I don't see how this is going to cut down on your need to know about Computer Music? If you want to create whole compositions, you are still going to have to learn a Sequencing/Audio package like Ableton or VST. The only difference is that its going to be on a PC with a keyboard stuck on the front. A nice item, but not that much of a jump from running Ableton with a laptop and quality MIDI trigger, IMHO...

Actually I already have plenty experience recording in Cubase and Logic. I would prefer to bypass the whole Windows experience which you can do with the Miko and Neko. These machines turn your daw into a musical instrument, not a computer that you have to try and make everything work together. The Neko has been around a few years and is obviously becoming a well sought after piece. The cool thing about Openlabs is their response to their customers is direct. I posted a message on the forum and the president welcomed me personally. Any questions you have someone from Openlabs will have an answer for you usually the same day. I would rather support a small innovative company bringing something that's going to benefit us all in the end. The fact that it's Windows based is not an issue. I currently use a Mac and have no concerns. Don't be afraid of the future. Perhaps you should take a second look. If Prince allows 2 of these to be used on his live television Performance, it must be a pretty cool piece of kit.

www.openlabs.com

Shame about the price. Of course, it's not like it'd be the cheapest to manufacture either, but still.