I read someone's remark that they weren't sure who this machine is marketed toward... I feel like it just *has* to be me. Like I said, I'm wet behind the ears when it comes to synths, and I've already been able to toy, tweak, and play my way into moments of "Hey! That's the KLF!" or "this sounds like something off David Gray," etc. As if someone has suddenly granted me some very groovy magic powers.

My wife is going to miss me!

When I bring it to rehearsals and gigs, it either evokes 1) How old is that? or 2) What the hell is that? (Followed by mocking laughter.) However, without execption, after I turn it on, everybody is amazed with the sound quality, and the laughter comes to an abrupt halt. The sound is fat, and the filters are quite smooth. I think that with the latest generation of modelling machines, we are edging closer and closer to the real analog sound and vibe. It may no longer make sense to remain fixated on unstable, aging machines with their inflated "vintage" pricing.

In terms of ease of use, I am becoming comfortable with the matrix style editing of the front panel. I would obviously prefer more knobs, but it's quite workable, and sells at a compelling price. The mini keys are a bit of a drag, but it's a compromise; I think I prefer it to the K-Station's 2 octave board. Of course, one can MIDI up a more suitable controller if one wishes.

I find it hard to fault this machine because I feel it's so reasonably priced. I wish it had an even/odd note receive so that you could cascade two together for eight note polyphony, and the preset style categories border on the cheesy side. I'm guessing that it was done to make the synth appear more accessible to first time buyers, and musicians with non-keyboard specific backgrounds. The only other wish I have is that more things could be asssignable in the mod section, like routing an LFO or mod wheel to the DWGS waveform number for wave sequencing type effects.

To wrap up, this synth may look toyish, but it's definitely the real deal. I appreciate having multi mode filters, tempo synced LFO's, the vocoder, and the list goes on. Once they hear it, it makes the people who hire me very happy. I will still seek out a real high end machine eventually, like a Nord 3 or Andromeda, but for almost all the analog stuff I use on a gig, this little board more than cuts it. Plus, it makes a perfect fit on top of my VK-7; I couldn't ask for more tone in less space. Highly recommended.

P.S. While searching for a gig bag, I came across the bag Line 6 sells for it's pedalboard/Pod combo. It fits great, so check it out.