MIDI melodeons

Subject: MIDI melodeons
From: Greg B
Date: 07 Jul 06 - 03:33 PM

Has anyone here had any experience (seeing, hearing, or playing)
any of the available MIDI melodeons that are beginning to appear?

I find that I alternate between thinking "what a dumb idea" and
being intrigued with having, say, a three-row instrument devoid
of reed weight that could play in any key with a variety of
voices.

The revulsion comes, I guess, from the idea that perhaps the
inherent rhythmic advantages to the box would be lost, as well
as the sense of loss of organic 'feel' which comes from real
steel vibrating as a result of real air in a real wooden box.

Subject: RE: MIDI melodeons
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 07 Jul 06 - 03:56 PM

One of these?? Main advantage being that you can plug in headphones and nobody else has to listen, Hurrah!

Subject: RE: MIDI melodeons
From: Lester
Date: 07 Jul 06 - 04:25 PM

I have a Streb on order, due to arrive late summer. Can't wait

Spend a lot of time in hotels with my job so the headphone thing is a definite advantage. The ability for it to switch between D/G, C/F, G/C, A/D, C/C#, C#/D, Dminor/Gminor etc will save having to carry more than one melodeon. The voices available include samples of various real melodeons so, for instance, when I play in my band and want a wet Hohner sound for the dances and a dry sound for song accompanyment its all just a switch away. The other non-melodeon voices let you have real fun. The ability to have differnt keybaord layouts, another switch, means I can have keyboards with accidentals, without accidentals, with Andy Cutting's layout of the half row, with my layout of the half row etc etc (will lead to terminal confusion).

Plus every one I have seen play one has had a big stupid grin in seconds