12.23
It’s a xylo! It’s a synth! It’s a Xylosynth™.
Ever want a synth sound using mallets on a keyboard? Introduced to consumers at PASIC in November, the Xylosynth™ is claimed to avail players to “unlock the flexibility and convenience of MIDI whilst retaining the physical playing experience of an acoustic instrument” as it does to “unlock an unparalleled level of nuance and playability in any MIDI sound source.”
See, this innovative new product was actually used by both RhythmX and the Bluecoats in 2009. Manufactured by Wernick Musical Instruments in Britain, these hybrids are available with bubinga, stained birch and birch laminate keys. Built as two to five octaves, they are lighter that the marimba (with the profile of an electric keyboard) at up to seventy pounds (half that of grands) and the larger ones fold!
What about the feel, the rebound—is it reminiscent or robo? You’ll have to take a spin with one. Al Murray, U.S. representative, reports that “the latency is about .003 of a second. The wood bars respond just as a marimba and they respond to the sensitivity of touch and dynamics just as if you were playing an acoustic board.” Traditionalists and progressives will both like this. And arrangers will love this: “The unique transpose pedal allows the player to shift to any key signature or switch octave in real time.” Moreover, “what you hear is exactly what you played.” With the ability to process live playing in this manner, this is a ripe platform for sound on the floor.
As revolutionary as it sounds, the development of this new, potentially key instrument has actually been decades in the making. The company’s website (www.wernick.net) relates the story: “Will Wernick first took a commission for a ‘Xylophonic Synthesizer’ in 1986 for an English pop band called Drum Theatre but the Instrument was used only as a visual prop in their video as the electronics supplied by someone else never materialised.”
The industry has yet caught up and today’s marching percussion is again a beneficiary.
Xylosynth...... Get yours today!!!!!