sounds pretty good too...looks like they recorded out of the headphone jack

I wonder who want to play these tiny keys. Not me. Very toyish

I expect there's a MIDI in so you can play it with your regular keyboards.

I never had a problem with mini-keys...used to use a Yamaha DX-100 for synth use and for vocoding (also I have a Yamaha CS-01)...however, using a midi controller with regulation sized keys, does make it much easier for some.

Ian

Pretty kool Hammond simulations also in a compact unit you can take anywhere....

Especially for $599

The Microstation is a very cool little product. 'Big Boy' sounds and functions in a pocket-sized, price of a bag of peanuts product. The only similarity to a toy is the plastic housing. But a plastic case isn't exactly unheard of around here, is it? As for the mini keys, they feel great! That's right, that's what I said. There is a review of the Microstation in the recent Keyboard Magazine. In it the reviewer suggests to look at the mini keys as its own instrument, in other words don't think of it like playing a piano or organ. How many of you play accordion? Are not the keys on an accordion a bit smaller that those of an acoustic piano? Or how about a melodica or melodion? They have keys even smaller than the Korg micro series. Korg didn't design the Microstation to be the main axe of your performing rig. In fact they probably don't expect that many Microstations to appear in many live rigs at all. Then again, I put mine on top of my Hammond XK3 where it fits perfectly. Originally I triggered it from either the XK3 or my Roland RD700GX but then found that I preferred playing directly from its own mini keys because their size allows for some intervals that I could never pull off on a full-sized keyboard.

Dave

Dave, thats a VERY expensive bag of peanuts there

Dennis

Well, maybe more like a bag of hazelnuts...covered in chocolate...wrapped in gold leaf.

But seriously, it's not just the price, which I think is very fair considering what this instrument is capable of and how good it sounds. But the small size is one of the biggest features. To have this much capability in such an easy to carry size is a huge benefit.

Dave

A man walks into a pub with a suitcase and a fancy watch on his arm, he starts to show the watch around and one chap is interested. He says look at the functions on this watch and starts the demo, temperature in Japan, barometric pressure in Australia, humidity in Cyprus, cost of a barrel of oil and so on, the prospective buyer says, “ what’s in the suitcase?” "The batteries" ..... Doh!

Funny, though I'm not sure how it relates to the Microstation. Other than the fact that I wish it had the option to run on batteries. That will probably be the Microstation II.

Missed the point you need a bloody great set of speakers to play it through!

I played the micro station at a local GC yesterday. The keys are very small. I suspect if you have large hands it would be nearly impossible to play. The sounds are fantastic and the user interface easy to use and figure out. Now I have to figure out what I would actually do with it. I wonder how it would work with either Varranger or the new Roland module?

Hammer