Future Retro shared this sneak preview of a new touchplate keyboard that they are working on – the FR-512.
It’s a combination MIDI & CV controller, so it should be capable of controlling just about any synth.
Details on the FR-512 are still to be announced, but there’s a lot revealed in the image above.
Here’s what we can tell about the Future Retro FR-512 touchplate keyboard, based on the teaser image:
- It features a two and half octave touchplate keyboard, with touchplate pitch bend and mod controls
- It includes a Arpeggiator
- It supports MIDI – with MIDI IN, Thru & Out
- It supports analog synth control, with CV’s for clock, gate, Key CV, Velocity & Touch
- It is transposable over 9 octaves
- It has a built-in sequencer that looks like it’s got some DNA from other 303-style Future Retro sequencers, including the FR-777, the Moebius and the ORB.
- It’s the same size as the Future Retro XS synthesizer, but thinner. It can be racked or used as a desktop unit.
Official details, pricing and availability are to be announced.
Future Retro head Jered Flickinger says, though, “There’s still plenty left to be done… coding, testing, tweaking, manual writing, and assembly. Hopefully these will be ready by NAMM.”
via Future Retro, CDM
Looks very interesting!
Nice!
very, very cool… but it will live and die by the price point
Let’s hope some features of the zillion can be thrown in as well. THAT would make a real novelty.
This looks like an instant hit for the eurorack crowd.
Looks super nice! Would probably prefer the MIDI connections to be at the back but hey, that’s nitpicking!
It wouldn’t be rackable with connections at the back
This thing looks killer. If the arpeggiator and sequencer have midi and CV out, and the price is right, count me in!
Hi all.
What is the intended use for this keyboard? I mean, is there an advantage over a regular keyboard?
Not trolling, honest question.
Thanks for your answers
It allows you to turn your sub 37 into a volca keys
Thank you, that was informative. Wrong crowd apparently. I think I’m gonna ask in the mini-keys subforum then.
I didn’t think that was a bad answer. Although I would have said Stylophone. What purpose could there be, except to give you a unique way to play? Anything that sparks some creativity can be worthwhile.
I imagine you can slide your fingers along the individual keys to affect pitch, modulation, etc., vastly increasing the expressive potential.
The main advantage is having no travel for the keys, so finger contact is on, and no contact is off – so you can technically play brisker.
Hmm… This could revise my ambition to save up for a Verbos touchplate keyboard. All depends on the price.
JARED IS THE MAN.
This looks great… his prices are usually sensible too.
I wonder is velocity or touch the y position – or is touch the total amount of surface connection?
Looks cool. Would be awesome if it had chord memory!