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Music Media Hardware

MIDI Keyboard/Computer: Neko64 348

Posted by michael from the meow dept.
An anonymous reader gushes "Just got back from NAMM, and saw the coolest thing for music geeks - it's a MIDI keyboard with a dual Opterons and a 15 inch touchscreen. While other vendors crow about 5 inch screens (Now With Color!) these guys have a beautiful UI on a live performance instrument that is also awesome studio gear. 4 interchangable control surfaces, and battery backup to boot! If the power cord gets yanked out in the middle of a performance, there's plenty of time to bitch out the roadie and get it plugged in without missing a beat. These guys truly Get It."
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MIDI Keyboard/Computer: Neko64 More

MIDI Keyboard/Computer: Neko64

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  • Doom? (Score:4, Funny)

    by DrInequality ( 521068 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @09:56PM (#8017310) Homepage
    Yeah, but can I play Doom on it?

  • The one thing missing on all those pages... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by bc90021 ( 43730 ) * <bc90021.bc90021@net> on Sunday January 18, 2004 @09:56PM (#8017313) Homepage
    ...is the price.

    How much is this thing likely to cost? And since it's essentially a server and a midi-instrument all rolled into one, will anyone outside of major studios and universities be able to afford it?

  • high (Score:4, Funny)

    by name773 ( 696972 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @09:58PM (#8017328)
    These guys truly Get It.
    and the reason nobody else got it or will get it is the price.

    • Re:high (Score:3, Insightful)

      by jackb_guppy ( 204733 )
      But it is called open and the talk about the its openness, until you reach the end...

      Windows XP.

      They don't totally get it.

      • Re:high (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Phs2501 ( 559902 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @11:21PM (#8017789)
        Well,

        a) Windows is where the pro audio software is in Intel land. People probably want to install out-of-the-box performance software on this thing, otherwise there's really no point.
        b) It looks like the computer hardware is standard. Nothing is stopping you fom installing another OS on it. The site even says, "NEKO 64(TM) utilizes industry standard micro-ATX motherboards and processors that allow you to run standard operating systems." (Emphesis mine)

        Of course, you may not be able to talk to the sound hardware once you replace the OS. Start reverse enigneering! :)

  • Hmm looks pretty nice (Score:5, Funny)

    by CrypticSpawn ( 719164 ) * on Sunday January 18, 2004 @09:58PM (#8017329)
    I am getting a casio keyboard on monday, but this keyboard looks really nice, wouldn't mind giving it a shot. What is the price?

  • Oh yeah, midi (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 18, 2004 @09:58PM (#8017332)
    That's how we pirated music a decade ago

  • Red Green (Score:2, Funny)

    by Nihynjahs ( 680486 )
    looks like the thing that that Harold has on the red green show, if anyone here has ever seen it.. you know "if the women dont find you handsome they can at least find you handy"..

  • Did you actually SEE it running? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by netsrek ( 76063 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @09:59PM (#8017338) Homepage
    If i remember correctly, this thing has been demoed at at least the last NAMM, and possibly the one before.

    From what I heard, it was pretty much an empty shell last year and was utter vapourware....

    Did you see it on?

    Did it boot?

    Could you do anything with it?

  • Tough price point (Score:2, Informative)

    by (1337) God ( 653941 )

    The only problem with this kind of high-end equipment is that traditional capitalistic methods cannot bring prices down through competition.

    The only North American dealer is http://www.coastrecording.com/ [coastrecording.com]. In Europe, your only choice is probably http://www.electricsound.com/ [electricsound.com].

    That being said however, I've read some great reviews of this keyboard, and it stacks up well against the Triton and Yamaha (potential competitors) in terms of features, quality, and price.

    Here's my goal for next year:
    1) Buy this th

    • Re:Tough price point (Score:5, Funny)

      by LinuxGeek ( 6139 ) <djand.nc@gm[ ].com ['ail' in gap]> on Sunday January 18, 2004 @11:18PM (#8017768)
      Here's my goal for next year:
      1) Buy this thing
      2) Become a rockstar
      3) Get tons of ass
      4) ???
      5) Profit!
      --

      Background: 28/M/Bi-Sexual; Owner of a Linux company; MBA Harvard 2002; B.S. Comp Sci Dartmouth 1999

      Uhhhhh, guess you weren't kidding about step #3.
    • 1) Buy this thing 2) Become a rockstar 3) Get tons of ass 4) ??? 5) Profit!

      I tried this same business model once, with an Athlon MP, only I substituted "Become a Geek" for step two.

      I never got to step three.

    • Big fat hairy deal (Score:3, Insightful)

      by C10H14N2 ( 640033 )
      Basically they've packaged a software synth into a cheap keyboard. I'd rather spend the cash on a decent dedicated, properly weight keyboard and connect it via midi to whatever. Software synths have been around for ages, this is nothing but bells and whistles.

      "Semi-weighted?" What the hell is that? A euphamism for "cheap piece of crap?"

      Whatever. No professional will be impressed. Oooh, a $1500 computer with a $500 keyboard for $6,500. Wow. I'm thrilled.

      Let's see, a fully weighted proper 88 key Korg SP-50

  • awesome! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:02PM (#8017360)
    The first time I ever played with Reaktor [native-instruments.com] I thought to myself "damn when is somebody just going to put a PC in a synth with a lightweight real-time customizable OS (open source if possible), a big screen, lots of programmable control surfaces, and a something flexible and powerful like Reaktor?"

    And here it is .. except for the OS. Still this is pretty damn cool!

    PS: Anybody else get a chuckle out of this:

    NEKO 64? frees you from all of the frustrating limitations imposed by closed, proprietary systems, while still maintaining the virtues of an all-in-one keyboard instrument. ..later..

    NEKO 64? is so versatile it can virtually run any plugin or application designed for the Windows XP operating system including products from Steinberg, Native Instruments, Synapse Audio, IK Multimedia and many others!

    I guess their definition of "proprietary" is different than mine!

    It's probably not so important for the average musician but I hope all the interfaces are MIDI or otherwise accessible by the programmer.

    • Re:awesome! (Score:3, Insightful)

      by brsmith4 ( 567390 )
      I think they are refering to the hardware, not the software. Think about it.
      • And not only the hardware, but the choice of interfaces; software interfaces. You can use virtually any type of audio plug-in and probably any type of software you want.

        I hate to admit it, but if they wanted to do all that under linux, it would be possible but it would probably take a lot more effort for them to provide these levels of software compatibility.

        Maybe the next version. Or maybe the competition. This isn't the first or last digital workstation built on a PC.

        I still think it's pretty cool.
    • I don't know.. I seem to see "proprietary" used most often as the opposite of "standard".
      Like it or not, Windows XP is pretty much a standard.
      • At the risk of looking stupid replying to my own post, i have just RTFA and thats exactly the way they are using proprietary.

        They go on later talking about the standard hardware they use, and standard synthesizers...and of course, standard operating systems. (On the other hand they really do say "systems")

  • 128 Voice Polyphony (Score:4, Funny)

    by BrookHarty ( 9119 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:04PM (#8017368) Journal
    Thats the biggest microsoft smart phone ive ever seen!

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) * on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:04PM (#8017369)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • I have a mirror of the photo and specs here. [dougellington.com] I'll work on getting the website mirrored next.

    • Re:Already dieing (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Basehart ( 633304 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:24PM (#8017488)
      Tying a keyboard to the computer isn't such a good idea for a number of reasons, the most obvious being the inability to move up to a bigger, or better, keyboard.

      In the days of the Prophet V, Emulator, Juno 106 Etc. the keyboard was a part of the whole instrument, tied in via several cables. So if you really wanted the Prophet V sound, but didn't like the keyboard, you were screwed.

      Today there are few compelling reason to having the all in one thing going on, unless you really must have an all in one unit. Just stick a couple of modules into a rack and control them using a keyboard that has the feature set, and the type of key action, that really suits you.

      Better still, just run all those synths and samplers in soft mode within a G4 PowerBook.

  • Mediastation open source alternative (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:04PM (#8017370)
    Some linux developers have developed a similar keyboard that is based on opensource software. I haven't compared specs in detail but I'm guessing the hardware is similar based on voice count.

    http://www.lionstracs.com/

    I'm totally linux-centric (unlike most slashdotters) so I wanted to make reference to those musicians who'd like to support *true* opensource development.

    -ry
  • I could get my wife to buy it!!

  • OpenSynth NEKO 64(tm) as in 64-bit? *hum* (Score:5, Insightful)

    by danalien ( 545655 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:06PM (#8017381) Homepage
    I read the '64' *green'ish* as they mean it uses 64-bit computing (if you check their other products, one would see 'a simple brand' and a 'simple + 64 added to it barnd)...and they go on to say "64 bit Processing"

    *anyway* what I wanted to say

    is how could it be 64-bit computing, if they run 'Microsoft Windows XP Professional' ?

    Am I missing something? do they run something specially licensed from M$? *something in those lines?, like 'they're running a beta of their upcomming 64-bit XP..'?*

    • What is 64-bit? (Score:2, Informative)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      how could it be 64-bit computing

      Depends how you define bitness. PC data buses have been 64-bit ever since DIMMs first became popular as a RAM form factor. I'm guessing that some of the signal processing is done in IEEE double-precision floating-point, which is 64-bit. And no, pointer size isn't everything; even "16-bit" MS-DOS apps used pointers with 20 significant bits.

    • They must be using double precision floating point? :)

  • One minor problem.... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by haggar ( 72771 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:06PM (#8017384) Homepage Journal
    I make music for hobby, and am married to a musician - plus, I know lots of other people that make music for a living or for fun. I know that these people are put off by the slightest alien noise, when they "work".

    And this device consumes a lot of power. Have a look at the specs: "Whisper Quiet Cooling Fans (Internal Chassis, Processor & Power Supply)"
    Well, they may be whisper-quiet, but they'll annoy all the musicians I know. Some of them have chosen iMacs for the only reason that they were quieter than anything x86. I may not be that picky with regards to PSU fan noise, but all others certainly are.

    Of course, I expect that such an expensive and complex piece of gear must have had some serious marketing and product management work done before they nailed the product specs, right? Therefore, these particular PSU fans are actually unhearable. I hope. Hmmm......
    • Why do they need fans at all... they should have developed some sort of water-cooling/heat-pipe for this sort of device. The other thing you can do is put in a high Mhz CPU and under-clock it so that it runs a lot cooler than normal.

  • "Open" Labs? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by femto ( 459605 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:08PM (#8017399) Homepage
    Can anyone please tell me what is open about 'open labs'? From their web site:
    Because it is based on our OpenSynth(TM) platform, NEKO 64(TM) frees you from all of the frustrating limitations imposed by closed, proprietary systems, while still maintaining the virtues of an all-in-one keyboard instrument.
    and from their developers page:
    The OpenSynth(TM) Developer program is open to any software or hardware controller developer with a compatible product offering. Open Labs offers many opportunities to developers to market their products including software bundling, eCommerce via the Open Labs website, and exposure at tradeshows as well as in marketing materials.
    Apart from the above quotes, I cannot find any of the usual 'open source' characterstics, such as souce code. Also, the product seems to run MS Windows XP as its operating system.

    I'm intrigued to know what is open about this product, apart from the name. Am I missing something? Perhaps 'open' is just a term which is open (sorry!) to wide interpretation?

    • Ahh you misunderstand!

      It's "Open" as in "Caldera OpenLinux" or "Microsoft Shared Source"

      Cheers
      Stor

    • Re:"Open" Labs? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by bugbread ( 599172 ) on Monday January 19, 2004 @01:02AM (#8018219)
      You're thinking "open" as in computers. They're talking "open" as in music equipment platforms. Most music equipment uses huge amounts of completely proprietary systems. Their reference to "open" means that you can buy off-the-shelf products that have no ties to the company that makes the keyboard. If you want to install Fruity Loops, Reaktor, Acid, Reason, Traktor, Logic, etc. you can. This is very VERY open when it comes to music equipment.

      And, yes, "open" has a lot of meanings. Open source, open store, open marriage, open secret. To speak of which, do they even mention "open source", or is it just a slashdot thing where readers see "open source" whenever they see the word "open"?
  • Open System: NEKO 64(TM) utilizes industry standard micro-ATX motherboards and processors that allow you to run standard operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows

    now if it ran debian, then this statement wouldn't be so missleading
  • Sorry, but most nobody will want this. it can't do 1/2 of what my laptop + portable 1/4 rack full of synth modules + 3 keyboards can do in regards to sound quality and playability. it's got a 1/2 assed el-cheapo keyboard on it for cripes sake. if you dont have fully weighted keys that have velocity + pressure sensing it's worthless junk.

    This is not something for professionals. I'll stick with my Ensoniq and Roland equipment + a cheap laptop with a midi interface card.
    • Mod Parent Up.

      Integrating all of this equipment into one keyboard, just to save a few cables? PC specs keep changing, I upgrade controllers all the time. But my sound production equipment doesn't get outdated -- it's purchased for its ability to produce sound. Why integrate a short-term controller into a long-term musical instrument when there are much more elegant solutions..?

  • Ummm, no (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Gogl ( 125883 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:13PM (#8017437) Journal
    Maybe if by "music geek" you mean "guy who knows more about computers than music". Any *actual* music geek would prefer a good, straight up keyboard: 88 keys, hammer action, weighted (at least partially, preferably fully), and minimal other crap. Maybe a pitch bend wheel or a few programmable hotkeys, but not a gigantor LCD screen and a full qwerty keyboard: that's just going to get in the god damn way.
    • They are huge with lots of gadgets [korg.com]. How about a Yamaha 9000 Pro [yamaha.com] perhaps? Hell, how about even a old analogoue Prophet 5 [synthmuseum.com]?

      There are TONS of huge, complecated, expensive, synthesizers out there and they do get bought and sold. This one is the same, but features teh ability of have software synthesizers and the like loaded on it. Those have become rather popular, and in fact some companies sell nothing but soft synths.

      There is plenty of market for this sort of thing.

  • Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Zapdos ( 70654 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:16PM (#8017450)
    Is listed as a feature. It will give the musician the ability to blame a virus for a missed beat.
    Did you update your keyboards anti-virus?
    Does it require MS activation?
    I do want a keyboard with DRM, just in case I need to pay some royalties for playing "Happy Birthday to You"

    • Re:Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      More likely Clippy will pop up "You appear to be trying to play 'Happy Birthday to You'... badly - shall I play it for you?"
    • Which this guy thinks means "they made something I like." However, I thought "getting it" meant you understood the net gains from freeing software.

      Oh, well . . . I guess some people just like using the lingo even though they don't have a clue what they are talking about. Imagine that . . . "Geek wannabes."
      • Sorry, not every "geek" is a rabid open source zealot. There are many varieties of geek. And the music geek does not worry about open source software. The music geek worries about performing, in a band, in front of people, and doing it well. The Neko64 is targetting musicians, and music geeks. If they satisfy the requirements of a music geek which includes often-overlooked but greatly appreciated features like "what happens if a cable gets pulled, or a breaker trips?" then I think it's pretty fair to say th

  • Just got back from where? (Score:4, Funny)

    by some guy I know ( 229718 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:18PM (#8017459) Homepage
    Just got back from NAMM
    Dude, the war ended nearly 30 years ago.
    What were you doing over there all this time?
  • ...your bands gets picked up by a major label....you're a rock star now.....you sell out a 10 city tour in minutes....then you get up on stage for your first gig....start playing....and your PIECE OF SHIT WINDOWS-POWERED KEYBOARD CRASHES HALFWAY THROUGH THE FIRST SONG!

    Or worse....your keyboard gets a nasty virus when you're transferring MIDI files to it which erases your entire sample library from its hard drive.

    -psy

  • Omg! LCD! Omg! Opteron! ... b.f.d. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by cpu_fusion ( 705735 ) on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:27PM (#8017501)
    - "An anonymous reader gushes"
    - "These guys truly Get It"
    - Runs on Windows XP
    - (No sound samples on the web site)
    - (May just be a "shovel us money" prototype)
    Um like ... this is news? I could like, hobble something like this together with a laptop and an old keyboard, ... could I be on Slashdot then? Please?

    and last but not least...
    It's all about the music for godsakes. If you need this piece of gear to sound good and can't do it on a freakin' roland juno-106 from the 1980s... or a piano ... please, break your hands now and spare my ears.

    (Not flamebait, and/or troll... just a musician that is sick of crap like this. It is the opposite of inspiring.)
    • I'm not sure how this keyboard works to communicate with software, but you might be able to get it to work with the Linux softsynths like SSM and zynaddsubfx (and record with ardour.)

      But that aside, I think you're missing the point. This isn't just a synth. Its a workstation... With a computer in it.

      I'm sick and tired of all the Korg Triton crap and blah, but this computer/keyboard seems more than that IMO. As in you can write your own stuff for it. (However, shut up with all the Open crap, OpenLabs, if y

  • 8GB or 16GB? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Stonent1 ( 594886 ) <stonent.stonent@pointclark@net> on Sunday January 18, 2004 @10:29PM (#8017512) Journal
    The specs say it can take 8gb but the product info says it can take 16gb of ram.
    • This is probably that issue about there being no 2 gig sticks of ram at the moment. It has 8 DIMM slots, but you can only get 1 gig sticks realistically. Maybe in the future they will have larger sizes, but until then...

  • Stupid, IMO. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by a whoabot ( 706122 )
    It's much better to get a laptop and an MIDI controller. The point of integrating the two is silly, IMO. I could destroy that thing with my setup no problem, and it's MUCH cheaper. I can put whatever program on, and yes, it can run Linux! The only thing it wins in is portability, and even that is questionable. I'd rather carry around my laptop and a nice small light controller than that.

    This is good as like any other powerful keyboard. It's good for lame session players doing lame comping, IMO; and who
  • The web-site says:

    Modern Art: With a sleek, modern design incorporating an aluminum chassis and rubber endbells, NEKO 64(TM) is as beautiful as it is powerful.

    Which couldn't be farther from the truth. Maybe having a computer keyboard, laptop screen, and several generic looking banks of controls wedged in right above the (synth) keyboard is handy, but man, does it look clunky (and frankly, ugly).

    It also appears to be heavy and awkwardly large, to the point where having a separate laptop and music keyboar

    • It's not so much the look of the thing. I would just have an issue calling it a synthesizer. It's got a CD burner, for crying out loud. It looks more like an all-in-one digital workstation. I would never carry anything that bulky on a gig. And if I'm recording at home, I would rather use a standard computer setup than deal with something like that. I'm not sure what the market for this thing is going to be. It's an interesting bit of tech, but I'm not sure what to do with it.
  • ... tell me I can plug my Radeon into it.

    Man that's sweet. Motivation to get my arse into gear and make some music!
  • Get a MIDI keyboard, one of the ones which is just a controller, and get a decent synth program. There are plenty of Free Software synth programs out there.

    Hook the two together and viola, you've got something which is close, if not better in some cases, than this thing.

    GJC

  • Noise? (Score:2, Informative)

    by arrianus ( 740942 )
    This is a dual Opteron, with 350 watt power supply. They claim "quiet cooling fans," but as a practical matter, dual Opteron in a small, enclosed space will not be that quiet. For a piece of audio equipment, wouldn't it make more sense to cut back a bit on the processing power, and go for completely silent? Or alternatively, one could physically seperate the noise from the source. I don't think this would matter much on-stage with mega amplifiers, but in a recording studio, or for quieter music in a smaller
  • Ok, predictably lots of comments about the use of the term "open" and the choice of Windows XP as an OS.

    So, let's say they did based it on Linux. Would it make the slightest bit of difference? Yes. They wouldn't be able to run all their favourite windows music software, plugins, etc. Open is relative to your point of view. From the point of view of someone who has just spent in the ballpark of $8000 to make music, Windows (or arguably OSX) *is* the most open OS, not linux.
  • ...They're actually going on tour.

  • No spec on weight (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Phiz ( 21461 )
    As a someone who has worked as a roadie, I'm curious how much this thing weighs. I couldn't find it listed on their webpage.

    Luckly I don't think many musicans would take such a contraption to a live gig. Too complex -- too much could go wrong.
  • This looks like a bad 3d-render. And this sounds suspisiously like another keyboard hoax [passagen.se] that was making the rounds before MOOG came out with the Voyager.

    This page is full of the latest buzzwords, and the fact that the submitter is an AC leads me to believe this is a hoax. More info here [synthesizers.com].

  • Sorry, but for $5000 at the lowest price point, synth action is not acceptable, even if it's integrated with a computer. Weighted hammer action (like a true piano) is the only way to go. The Triton they compare it to has this feature, yet of course it's not mentioned in their comparison.

    Plus, the Motif ES *does* actually have 128 note polyphony [yamaha.com], thank you. I could put together a decent DAW with an M-Audio or Terratec audiocard and Cakewalk Sonar and still come in under budget. Plus, I would have a real, e

  • Something that's not addressed anywhere in the ad is the issues that will crop up when using an "industry-standard" motherboard. What happens when the mobo dies, and an exact replacement is not available because it's no longer manufactured? I've had the not-too-pleasant experience of having to replace mobos, and invariably there are chipset, video, and other differences that can make it difficult if not impossible to boot a Windows box off the original hard disk without reinstalling the OS, not to mention

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