VIDEO: Yamaha Vocaloid Keyboard

Yamaha's Vocaloid Keyboard: who fancies making an English-speaking version?
Yamaha's Vocaloid Keyboard: who fancies making an English-speaking version?

We don't think Yamaha is actually showing it at Musikmesse - apparently, there are no plans to release it commercially - but the Vocaloid Keyboard is certainly one of the more interesting products we've come across recently.

As its name suggests, it takes Yamaha's Vocaloid 'singing synth' software technology and puts it in a piece of hardware. It can be made to 'sing' in real-time by using the 16 Japanese consonant, vowel and voicing mark buttons on the left together with the standard musical keyboard.

Although you'll probably never be able to buy this, Yamaha has said that its sound chip can be removed and could be used by other interested companies.

(Via Diginfo)

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.