AKX10 first review!

[RedEyeC]

Love my AKX10!

Unless you elaborate, we are reluctant to believe you Scott.

 

[Biggles]

Unless you elaborate, we are reluctant to believe you Scott.

Scott divorced his Love, and sent it packing.

Or rather it was packed and back to the supplier for a refund.

He then departed the forum.

 

[ktnwin2022]

Here is a youtube video I just upload showing a few styles and voices that I frequently play in parties. Please note: hearing live sounds much better than recorded by my smartphone Samsung A32.

 

[RedEyeC]

Here is a youtube video I just upload showing a few styles and voices that I frequently play in parties. Please note: hearing live sounds much better than recorded by my smartphone Samsung A32.

Thank you for sharing this ktnwin2022.

 

[rebosprj]

For those interested here is first proper English review of Medeli "unicorn keyboard" AKX10. It looks like Medeli managed to build a very solid arranger-workstation hybrid for 700 EUR. AKX10 is expected in EU after March 15.

I think that with this model Medeli actually cleared with ease all arrangers up to Korg Pa1000 and Yamaha PSR-SX900 keyboards. Its a direct hit to Korg and Yamaha arranger monopoly. No more sleeping on minor upgrades every 5 years or so for this two brands. Competition is always good for us end customers.

P.S. Medeli is OEM manufacturer for many respectable brands including Kurzweil and Yamaha so I suspect that AKX10 is actually a demo for upcoming products for those brands.

Did you get it to save performances and to albums?

 

[rebosprj]

Unless you elaborate, we are reluctant to believe you Scott.

Have you had any luck with saving performances or to albums. Mine don't work but I love the keyboard

 

[Biggles]

Do you mean Roland FA? (I don't know a Korg FA). The big hoopla about the Medeli AKX10 (and Thomann clone) can't be warranted - good or bad. Jeremy See claims he isn't affiliated with any keyboard manufacturer, but c'mon... What really keeps me from pulling the trigger and buying this "oasis" of a keyboard is there is nowhere to have it serviced or repaired - unlike the big 3 makers who have many repair shops around the world.

No, sweet FA refers to sweet feck all.

I briefly considered the AKX10 but soo decided it would be a total waste of cash.

Its now a moot point anyway as since my post Korg has released their Pa5X.

Yes, I would rather pay £4000 for the keyboard I want rather than £650 for a wannabe keyboard.

 

[RedEyeC]

Have you had any luck with saving performances or to albums. Mine don't work but I love the keyboard

I'm sticking with my 18 year old Roland Fantom X6, not that I have anything against the Medeli AKX10 - it's just my Roland is proven and responsible for over 500 professional productions. All this with zero upgrades and zero malfunctions.

 

[OldTimerBill]

@Biggles I know you have provided a lot of good information to a lot of people on all of these forums (including me) but I didn't think your "wannabe keyboard" comment was necessary.

 

[rebosprj]

No, sweet FA refers to sweet feck all.

I briefly considered the AKX10 but soo decided it would be a total waste of cash.

Its now a moot point anyway as since my post Korg has released their Pa5X.

Yes, I would rather pay £4000 for the keyboard I want rather than £650 for a wannabe keyboard.

The AX10 is awesome. I've had yamaha and korg both and this is right up there with my Korg pa1000 for 1/4 the $$$$$

 

[RedEyeC]

The AX10 is awesome. I've had yamaha and korg both and this is right up there with my Korg pa1000 for 1/4 the $$$$$

No doubt the Medeli AKX10 is "right up there" with the big names - the problems though: numerous programing / build glitches so far & very limited repair facilities. That's enough - even with the grandiose patches - to keep buyers away.

 

[Johnny B]

I have a yamaha psr s910. It comes with Indian and Arabic drumkits. AKX10 does not looking at data sheet manual. Is there any way to install such drum kits on AKX10 by any means (expansion pack etc)?

 

[PSRkey]

Purchased the Medeli AKX10 last month but returned it after a few days. I found the styles disappointing. It felt like they weren't playing in the right beat and the sounds weren't what I expected ether.

 

[RedEyeC]

Purchased the Medeli AKX10 last month but returned it after a few days. I found the styles disappointing. It felt like they weren't playing in the right beat and the sounds weren't what I expected ether.

Thanks for the info on the Medeli. I've been happy for 19 years with my Roland Fantom X6 workstation. And live performing now it's the Yamaha PSR EW425.

 

[Gourockian]

For what it's worth, here is a copy of my posting under the thread "Piano sounds on Medeli keyboards" where I gave my reasons for returning my AKX10:

I had a Medeli AKX10 for about a week but decided to return it, for a number of reasons. Some of the sounds and rhythms were a bit disappointing but for the price, I was okay with that.

However, one big issue for me was the keys. Not only are they slightly narrower than standard piano keys but the sides at the front are not flat vertical surfaces. As can be seen in the attached picture, each key has a strangely shaped indented area on both sides which creates an overhang of the key surface. I found it annoying when playing adjacent keys, unless deliberately playing further back from the front of the keys. as it sometimes felt like it added resistance to lifting off the keys, especially when playing fast. I have no idea why they are designed like that and none of the many keyboards I've owned over the years have had this 'feature'.

Then on two different days, the keyboard froze, where I could not change from one sound to another, except by rebooting. That was the final straw, so back it went. Shortly after, I bought a Korg Pa1000, which has full-size keys. Yes, it was a lot more expensive and I had to wait 8 months for it to be shipped but i think it was worth it.

Incidentally, as far as I am aware, none of the current Yamaha DGX or PSR keyboards utilize full-size keys. They are almost the same width but if used to playing a regular piano or organ, the difference is obvious.

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[RedEyeC]

Wow - thanks for the Medeli info. My Yamaha PSR EW425 has full size keys. I wouldn't be able to play a narrower keybed well (Korg O1-W has a narrower keybed) - as I rarely watch the keys when I play (and sing).

 

[Gourockian]

You're welcome. I'm not familiar with your model (or the Korg O1-W) but I was told some time ago that none of the PSR range actually have what are true full-size keys. That might have changed of course or it may be that, like many of the Yamaha medium priced models, your keys are almost full width. That's not a problem for some players if it's what they are used to playing. I used to occasionally play a friend's Yamaha DGX-505 and the slight difference was fairly noticeable.

An easy way to check key width is to measure a key, an octave and the whole keybed, and compare it with a similar range of an accoustic piano. If they're the same, you definitely have full size keys.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

You are correct that Yamaha's PSR "full-size" keys are actually a little bit narrower than the keys on a standard piano keyboard, but the difference is almost unnoticeable unless you've got it stacked on top of another keyboard that has true "full-size" keys.

 

[RedEyeC]

You are correct that Yamaha's PSR "full-size" keys are actually a little bit narrower than the keys on a standard piano keyboard, but the difference is almost unnoticeable unless you've got it stacked on top of another keyboard that has true "full-size" keys.

It's got to be unnoticeable - I also play a Baldwin Acrosonic and other than it having full weighted 88 ivory keys other than my Yamaha having non-weighted 76 - I see / feel no difference.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

It's got to be unnoticeable - I also play a Baldwin Acrosonic and other than it having full weighted 88 ivory keys other than my Yamaha having non-weighted 76 - I see / feel no difference.

If the two were stacked one atop the other and you tried to align them so the octaves were the same-- say, putting one so its Middle C is precisely aligned with Middle C on the other-- you would see that the PSR's octaves aren't quite as wide as the Baldwin's. If you don't care about having them perfectly aligned then it won't even make a difference to you; but some keyboardists can be irritated by little things like that. And if your hands are used to stretching a certain distance to play two notes an octave apart, it might throw you off if you're trying to play without looking at the keys.