jeff shuck

Since I wrote my last post about the Axis Natural Keyboard, I’ve been doing some more digging. Their site has a number of artist testimonials, but it’s hard to really know what those mean because many tend to be paid testimonials. More interesting was a short video from NAMM posted atSonic State, which shows the Axis in action as someone walks it through its paces playing a rather unfortunate piano patch. I must say I’m more interested than ever, and have been emailing someone overseas about getting one sent over here. Apparently it comes with a transformer to run on U.S. power.

The layout of the keyboard continues to intrigue me but I’m doing more thinking about the fact that it is really a new instrument that will take time to learn. I think I’m up for it, but I do have a small graveyard of backlogged gear/books/software/foreign languages that I’ve “decided to learn” only to find I don’t have the time. I think this will be different. Hope springs eternal!

I found a different review from NAMM by someone who used the keyboard and said the layout is interesting but the feel of the keys is such that playing the Axis is similar to trying to play music from a computer keyboard. That comment, which the author intended as a criticism, is interesting to me given that nowadays I believe many music producers (particularly DJs, but also rock and pop producers) spend at least as much time at a computer keyboard as they do at a guitar or piano. In actuality, I type about a hundred times more a week than I play the piano, so a musical instrument that leverages that muscle memory seems a natural next step to me. In fact, both Apple Logic Pro and Ableton Live include “computer keyboard” functions that let you flip a setting and use the QWERTY keyboard for note entry.

So that’s all by way of saying that the “feels like playing a computer keyboard” criticism may actually be the Axis’s strength, particularly given the crowd at which it seems to be aimed.

I think I’m going to take the plunge, so if I can ever navigate the language barrier with England and place and order, I’ll let you know my impressions!