FAD GADGETS

Rhodri Marsden on three of the latest must-have gizmos currently putting the prog in progress…

AX-EDGE

Some readers may recall the legendary performance of Frankenstein by the Edgar Winter Group on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973, which featured a white-haired Edgar with a colossal keyboard hanging around his neck. Since then, many companies have tried to create a keytar that didn’t attract ridicule, and this is the latest failed attempt. “Step into the spotlight” is the slogan, calling on keyboard players to step out of the shadows with this bladeshaped instrument with an optional leopard skin trim. Speaking as a keyboard player myself, I’d prefer to continue sitting in the shadows to avoid the jeering.

www.roland.com

KYZEN

We’ve featured a number of Bluetooth speakers in this column over the years, but we’ve never acknowledged the fact that pairing speakers with devices and switching between those devices is tedious, time-consuming and irritating. This neat idea allows five phones to connect simultaneously to the same speaker, cue music from any app, and leave it to the speaker to play those tracks round robin style. Essentially a Bluetooth jukebox. The makers describe it as a “must-have” accessory, but sadly it didn’t make its Kickstarter target. Maybe they should try again.

www.bit.ly/ky-zen

OP-Z

This pocket-sized synth and sequencer is faintly reminiscent of the Casio VL-1, the tinny noise generator that provided the awesome sonic power for Trio’s Da Da Da.

But now we’re firmly in the 21st century, and a device that’s even smaller and thinner than the VL-1 (“So small we guarantee it will upset you,” says the blurb) is capable of so much trickery that it feels like witchcraft. As Kraftwerk once sang, ‘By pressing down a special key/It plays a little melody.’ And much else besides.

www.teenageengineering.com