Roland A-500S - USB MIDI Keyboard 49 Key MIDI Controller With Sonar 8.5 LE

The ROLAND A-500S is a 49 KEY USB MIDI KEYBOARD CONTROLLER designed by Cakewalk and ROLAND. The A500S provides real KEYBOARD feel and response in an ergonomic and portable design. Perfect for anyone making music at home or in a project studio with a computer, academic settings needing great sound at low cost, or live performances and mobile recording applications.

The new "ROLAND" A500S replaces the same product previously branded "Cakewalk by ROLAND" from second half of 2010. These new ROLAND branded products share the same excellent features and high performance that you expect from Cakewalk branded units.

You have a computer, you have inspiration, now is the time to start playing and recording your music. The A-500S is the perfect musical KEYBOARD for use with a wide variety of software on Mac or PC including SONAR, Music Creator, Garage Band, FL Studio, Ableton Live, Sequel, Cubase, Reason, ACID, and others. For Windows customers just getting started the A-500S includes the Cakewalk Production Plus Pack. Best of all, the A-500S is easy to set up if you can plug-in a USB Cable, you will be making music in no time at all.

With a newly designed key mechanism taken from ROLAND's 30 years of synthesizer development players can control a wide dynamic range with incredible subtlety. The new key assemblies have a rounded shape for better reaction to the player's touch and more comfortable glissando, plus enhancements have been made to reduce the already low mechanical noise of the A-500S and eliminate vertical shake on the key strokes. The newly developed pitch bend and modulation design offers you easier and more expressive control. All these features add up to a KEYBOARD that even the most discerning player can appreciate.

Pick from 12 velocity curves to precisely match your playing style. As the A-500S has 4 different velocity curves and 3 kinds of sensitivity (Light, Medium, and Heavy), you can find the combination that perfectly suits you, so you can produce the precise MIDI performance and programming of a true professional. In addition a Fixed Velocity Mode is provided where the A-500S always outputs a fixed velocity (from 1 to 127) providing practical input for drum and percussion programming in step recording.

The ROLAND A-500S cleanly provides connections on the side panel so that you can easily have a computer monitor or laptop in the ideal position behind the KEYBOARD a must for educational use. All connections are located on the side USB, MIDI OUT plus separate Hold and Expression pedal ports.

MIDI control on the A-500S is provided via a rotary encoder, which is both easier and faster than using the notes for numerical values. With this knob you can set up MIDI channel, Program Change, Control Change and more and instantly see the values on the LED. When working with virtual instruments, you can set this knob for quick control of your favorite LFO, Filter, or other controls.

Don't trust your MIDI to anything else! The A-500S offers MIDI Transmission using ROLAND's proprietary FPT (Fast Processing Technology). You can rely on FPT for stable, high speed, low latency, and low jitter MIDI transmission. In layman's terms, that means that subtleties of your performance are going to be captured regardless of the music application you are using. And when working with virtual instruments, FPT provides lower latencies to give you the inspiring feel of playing a real instrument.

The Production Plus Pack is a powerful suite of music creation software that ships with the A-500S. It includes SONAR 8.5 LE recording software (PC only) and three high-quality and versatile virtual instruments for Mac and PC: Rapture LE, Cakewalk Sound Center, and Studio Instruments Drums.

No matter what environment you are in, you’ll be able to use the A-500S because it offers the flexibility of three separate power sources: USB bus power, batteries, or AC Adapter. The A-500S is compatible with USB-Bus power. No power supply is required when connecting via USB cable. The A-500S can also be powered via batteries (AA type x 4) or by an AC adaptor. 3 choices of power for any situation. Batteries and AC adaptor (BOSS PSA Series) are optional accessories.

ROLAND A-500S KEY FEATURES

• 49-note, velocity-sensitive, standard KEYBOARD
• Quality feel & response for serious players
• Match your playing style with 12 velocity curves & fixed velocity mode
• Sure grip, rubber-coated Pitch Bend/Modulation Lever
• Rotary encoder and 3 digit 7-segment LED Display
• Octave buttons
• Expand playability by adding Sustain and Expression Pedals (available separately)
• Side panel connections for streamlined routing
• MIDI Out port with low latency FPT transmission
• Choose your power: USB Bus, AA Battery, and AC Adaptor (Optional)
• Includes Production Plus Pack: 3 instruments and SONAR 8.5 LE recording software