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Did you see this?!

Great - seems someone listened ;

- 88 key weighted with aftertouch (!!!)
- 19,8 KG (not ultra light , but quite manageable)
- plenty of controls
- modular design - you can add sound engines.

Wonder when it will be available and what it will cost. Also what 88 keys are inside ; TP40Wood again ? Considering the Numa Concert is only 20kg it should be possible. Would love it if that is true.

Any prices yet in Italy?

... no sorry, I'm looking forward!

I hope it will keep the same price range of Numa Black and VPC1

My feeling says € 1999 here in Europe at the big retailers. I don't expect it to come cheap (like Numa Black / VPC). Why should it ; has a lot more controls and potential and is much more portable. Finally a real master-keyboard controller like they used to be in the 80's and early 90's !

Who's building the action? Is this a custom made new action, and using what technology out of the blue? Or is this the same old Fatar action again every other maker uses? I'm afraid I don't want to get to know the answer...

The FATAR actions seem to be renewed as of lately. The TP40Wood got three sensors now, more keybeds come with aftertouch and the TP100 seems to have been enhanced as well (three sensors, who knows what other improvements). I wouldn't write off the latest incarnations of the FATAR's right away without having tried them for real. What I hope for is finally:

TP40Wood with triple sensor , aftertouch, Ivory touch and product enhancements where needed
TP100 with triple sensor , aftertouch, Ivory touch and product enhancements where needed

A new TP100 may still not be graded , but on the other hand it's light weight and may be a good compromise in portability and decent playability.

Hope some people get to know more and try the new FATAR's on the show floor

One of these is just the keyboard, without the engine, which can be added, and the others have the engine already installed?

Excellent!

Greg.

In the specs list for the K4-K5, there is mention of two expansion slots:

EXPANSIONS - 2 x Sound Expansion Slots

One would be for the Physis piano engine. The second would be for sampled sounds?

According to Viscount the K4 will have the same keybed as the H1; the TP40Wood tri-sensor keybed.

Not bad, considering it's even a bit less weight than the already lightweight same wood-key Numa Concert AND has all these nice controls + after touch. Let me repeat : + aftertouch (in a high end piano keybed). And the option to add Phyis Piano models later on...

My estimated street price € 1750 ~ € 1795 (retail € 2050); delivery in september.

Very nice board so it seems. Pity it's not available right away...; for those wanting a portable (!) gigging controller with good keys and all the controls you may wish for - and even optional soundboards - this is the machine you've been waiting for.

Sidenote: if Korg would be wise they add this keybed in their next Kronos incarnation too and get rid of the clumsy RH3 failure , making the product finally worth it's price...

It looks like you're right, at least for K4. First rumors from Musikmesse tell of 2000 euro with no sound board. It's a pity, it WAS interesting!

Yes, $2000+ US for just the controller seems very high.

OTOH, I think the closest board to this might be the old Roland A90, which I think sold in about that price range 15+ years ago. And while the electronics for sounds has gotten much cheaper since then (the computer based stuff... DSP processing, memory, etc.), the elements of a soundless controller really haven't.

32 lbs for 76 keys is reasonable. I wonder if they just lop off the top octave?

But those knobs stick up kind of high (fragile looking) and I sort of hate sliders (I sort of hate any kind of potentiometer used for digital input because the current position is often meaningless, and the current setting is often destroyed by fiddling with it - I suppose there are 9 here for drawbar organ use).

If the streetprice is indeed around € 1750 , that is a considerable amount of money - but seen in the light of the features the K4 seems to offer I am not surprised.

Just for the idea; if you take an MP10 or RD-700NX and strip it of the sound engine, how much would it save you in terms of money. Streetprice RD700 is roughly € 2400 over here. Leaves a difference of € 650 for just the sounds. The K4 offers for this money less weight , has a wooden / responsive keybed , a ton of controls and connections, aftertouch and hopefully a good way of programming and interfacing with your preferred software. And still has the option to add internal sounds, if you decide you can't live with a software only solution in the end. If the build quality is good - and the physis seems to be well made as a reference - I think a 'professional' price is justified. It can be of service for many years ; considering how flexible it may be.

I know - still lots of "if's" until the product is out and the reviews are there, but to dismiss it already on price alone...don't know; it can be worth the money and a very versatile board for many live players and/or studio producers.

It doesn't seem that way. The specs imply that they have two different actions:


- 88 Hammer-Action Weighted keys with Aftertouch (K4)
- 76 Hammer-Action Light Weighted keys with Aftertouch (K5)

First listing I encountered is on pro music.dk for 14999 DK which translates to a bit over 2000 euro. Ouch !

€ 1500 ~ € 1700 was more my expectation. No word about availability.

Oh...and http://audioelectric.de for € 2999 euro. I say no more...

A little while later, the early adopters have probably taken the intro price - and the controller is down to $1800 http://www.kraftmusic.com/sitesearch/?q=physis

$2500 with the piano engine.

This seems acceptable (to ME) Well,,, it might if I could get my hands on one to actually PLAY - - and if I was in the market for a new set of keys, but my KX-88 is still kickin'

OTOH, $700 for the actual SOUND generator... is about what I paid for a Roland U-220 "back in the day" and those were early 80s dollars.

Hi, i prefer Kawai RHII or Roland PHA4 Concert key action over any Fatar, included their top of the line TP40 wood tri sensor. Not only is for the feelling theme, is about reliability too. Cheers!...