Roland AX-Edge

B
ack in 2009, I was
one of the fi rst to
get my hands on
Roland’s AX-Synth,
their previous
fl agship keytar. At
that point it was
one of the fi rst keytars to feature a
comprehensive, editable synth engine
and it was adopted by many
prominent keytarists including Herbie
Hancock and Laura Mvula. Almost
10 years down the line and with
second-hand prices skyrocketing for
the AX-Synth (due to its
discontinuation), Roland have just
launched their latest fl agship keytar...
Grand design
The AX-Edge certainly has the ‘wow
factor’ in the looks department
(which is ultimately what you want
from a performance instrument that’s
going to take centre stage)! Available
in white with standard black/white
keys and silver and gold ‘edge blades’
(the blade is a customisable/
removable strip running along the
edge) or in black with a black
keyboard and red/silver blades, the
AX-Edge is the most striking-looking
keytar range I’ve seen and I’d have
no qualms getting out front with
either model strapped on!
Build-wise, Roland are using the
same tough but lightweight plastic
casing found on many of their synths
(including their JD-XA) and certainly,
there are a few design cues that tie
the Edge together with the JD range,
including the same keybed as the XA.
Once strapped on, the Edge feels
very nicely balanced and the various
strap attachment positions allow
(I’d love a full Mac editor too). There
are four parts available per-
programme with four partials per-part
and to add to the versatility, there’s
splitting/layering, favourites, a very
comprehensive effects
implementation, a decent vocoder
(with jack mic input) and importantly
everything sounds on the money too.
To top things off, the Edge also
features Bluetooth MIDI, battery
power, fl ash drive storage, standard
MIDI, and 256-note polyphony; this
really is Roland’s fi nest keytar yet, in
terms of looks and features. If using
a keytar is your signature, then the
AX-Edge is unquestionably the one to
own/play!
comfortable single-handed and
dual-handed playing too. Generally,
everything is where you would expect
it to be – under the neck you’ll fi nd
controls for hold (sustain),
portamento on/off and unison, along
with an assignable wheel and volume
dial. Roland provide rubber rings to
place on these dials to make them
more grippy too. Further to this, the
programme-changing buttons are
now within much easier reach on the
neck and there are now two displays;
one for deeper editing and a large
three-digit patch number display, so
you can always see which patch you
are on clearly in the heat of
performance! There are seven
assignable buttons too (but alas, no
D-Beam!) and the familiar
modulation bar and touch-sensitive
control ribbon from the AX-Synth can
both be freely assigned to control
onboard parameters/functions.
Technological edge
The Edge’s new sound engine is
surprisingly deep with a huge number
of wide-ranging waveforms available
for all styles of music (making it a
very serious second-tier or main
synth). You can edit many key
parameters/functions onboard or use
the Bluetooth editor App to go deeper
THE PROS & CONS
+
Looks superb
(especially the
all-black model)
Aftertouch, battery
power and Bluetooth
MIDI connects
Bluetooth apps for
external sounds
A deep,
customisable sound
engine with a vast
array of waveforms
and effects
-
Costs a fair amount
(but worth it)
N o DAW editor and
the editor app feels
unintuitive at times
No wireless audio
built in
FM VERDICT
9.2
The most fully-featured, best
looking and fi nest sounding
keytar around. It improves
on the well-established AX-
Synth in all the right places
This really is Roland’s fi nest
keytar yet, in terms of looks
and features
Roland AX-Edge | Reviews
97
FMU340.rev_roland.indd 97 13/12/2018 16:24