I wrote a review of the unit, here are my thoughts:
I got one of these as soon as they were released to potentially replace my Casio AZ-1. The AZ-1 is a vital piece of gear for my live show and I'm not crazy about relying on 25 year old tech. I have yet to gig the Vortex but will give it a shot soon. I love this style of keyboard but will be the first to admit that in the wrong hands (which is most of them) they are cheesy. But that is a topic for another day.
I like that the Vortex has aftertouch. Aftertouch is such an overlooked but useful controller and on a keyboard like this where one tends to play one handed it is vital. The AT works well on the Vortex but the keyboard action itself is a bit crap. I can get used to it but need to put more time in to getting a feel for the keys.
I was hesitant about the thumb controlled pitch bend and my fears proved to be legitimate. It is very difficult to use the pitch bend and the ribbon controller at the same time, and I often use two wheels at once on my AZ-1. (The AZ-1 has three wheels in the neck, two of them assignable)
I tried using the ribbon controller for pitch bend but unfortunately, at least on my unit, when I go to either end of the ribbon it resets to zero, so a full octave is hard to accomplish. This is a real problem as I use the pitch wheel ALOT on my AZ-1 to compensate for the shorter keyboard. I guess I should send mine back to get the ribbon issue addressed.
Getting back to the keyboard, I do wish that this unit had 41 keys. I miss the keys up top when I'm playing but with some re-programming and re-mapping of my key splits can overcome that, I just haven't put the time in yet.
The Vortex is very, very light. I never considered my AZ-1 to be heavy but the Vortex puts it to shame in that department.
I like that the neck isn't overly long (my biggest beef about the AZ-1) and the controls are pretty well placed. With more practice octave switching will become easy and being able to assign the ribbon to three different controllers will become handy in time. The accelerometer is going to be a very useful feature once I have it dialed in and really practice with it. Being able to use a little 'english' on the keyboard will add to the performance if used with restraint. One 'feature' not pointed out in the literature are the three LEDs at the end of the next that light up when played. They are a very bright blue color. I'm not crazy about them but maybe will warm up if I can replace two of them with red and green. (I'm redgreenblue, so it would be fitting)
The drum pads are well placed and being able to assign cc or notes is great. I can see lots of potential for this. My live setup has me never touching the computer and being able to trigger notes, sequences and cc events from the drum pads will be very useful.
The USB connectivity makes this a very useful keyboard for lying on the couch and playing with soft synths on the iPad. Alesis deserves praise for making this IOS compatible.
But that brings me to the next issue and my biggest complaint about the unit. Take a look at the shape, and specifically take a look at where they connectors are. How does one set the unit down when they are not playing it? There is NO reason for this not to have right angles so you can set it down guitar style when not in use. And having the cables on the 'bottom' means you couldn't set it down that way anyway! I alternate between the AZ-1 and a regular keyboard in my show and don't want to spend a lot of time setting it down. And I don't have the space to carry a guitar stand. This drives me nuts.
Overall I do like the Vortex. Not as much as my AZ-1 (plural, I've ended up with three of them for backups/parts) but will eventually program a set that will combine the Vortex with a Remote SLZero for my super-portable rig. And I definitely like it more than the absurdly stupid Roland units. I hate almost everything about the AX-Synth: too big, too heavy, too expensive, a synth engine that NOBODY wants, no aftertouch, midi port in the middle of the unit….The only worse decision they could have made for that unit would be to paint it with a lead based paint. The AX-9 is less stupid but still nothing I have any interest in.
I'm glad that this style of keyboard is being manufactured again. I'd love for Roland to get their head out of their backside and make a new AX-7 with no synth engine, which again, nobody who actually uses one of these on stage wants. Scoff all you want, with the right player these keyboards can be expressive and creative tool. And if you don't believe me, come see me play sometime.
Originally Posted by DJKeys
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