PIANOS, KEYBOARDS & SYNTHESIZERS
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At NAMM, manufacturers showcased the rapid expansion of synthesizers, portables and hybrid models. — By Ed Enright
A t NAMM, the keyboard market dem- onstrated how it’s continuing to ride an upward trend stemming directly from advancements in modeling and sampling technology, the convenience of operating systems upgrades and the unrelenting drive of creative R&D. From Kawai’s new NV6 and NV12 Novus Series hybrid pianos, to Roland’s Earth Piano platform and Yamaha’s updatable lines of portables, synths and arrangers, the keyboard universe is expanding at a rate that translates to giant steps in creative capabili- ties, an improved experience for end-users and sales opportunities galore. Some of the most interesting technologi- cal work has been going on at Korg, which released its interactive phase8 Acoustic Syn- thesizer with vibrating steel resonators after years of development and experimentation. “Since the beginning, it was really just to do something different in synthesis,” said
Samantha Melnyk, product designer for Korg. “We wanted to work on something more or- ganic that feels like more of a bridge into the world of synthesizers. With this, it’s not just a bunch of synth knobs; there’s something very inviting that you can interact with. It also has potential for real-time interaction, so it’s never going to do the exact same thing each time you play with it. “It’s really like feedback with your environ- ment,” Melnyk continued. “You have people who are guitar players and percussionists who are interested in it. It’s something different, so people are curious, they’ve had a lot of fun interacting with the acoustic frame. For us, it’s very exciting to see this kind of enthusiasm. We were very public with the development process, so a lot of people have come on that journey with us. And we’re meeting some of them [at the show] who followed it for years through the progressive phases and are so
happy that it actually turned into a product.”
NEW TOOLS FOR PLAYERS & DEALERS Existing designs always make great candidates for frequent upgrades, and Yamaha’s keyboard lines were no exception this year. Making sig- nificant improvements to its popular PSR-E473 and PSR-EW425 portable keyboards, Yamaha introduced the PSR-E483 and PSR-583, with advanced performance features and more voices and preset styles. “Something for the dealers: Out of the box we’ve included this POP display that makes getting started easy as one-two-three for the customer,” said Yamaha product specialist Kramer Ison about the new portables. “You start by choosing a registration memory, hit the start button and it starts playing. If the salesperson is a little busy, the customer can already be enjoying themselves.” In arranger keyboards, Yamaha highlighted
54 I MUSIC INC. I APRIL 2026
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