If you’re an accomplished pianist and want to take your keyboarding with you on the go, this $30 cheap-ass USB keyboard might just do the trick. It rolls up for portability and rolls out the jams for good times. Just imagine bringing your laptop and this thing to a park and busting out a Journey solo. The ladies will flock to you like pigeons to stale bread. Though the price is right, if this thing had MIDI ports, it’d be a heck of a lot more useful. You can find it online, in stores, and your little brother’s playroom.
Roll-up USB Powered Piano Keyboard [Gizmodo]
Editors Note: Rick Wakeman is the insane keyboardist from the band Yes
This is a finger killer… I guess you would have to “splurge” another 10$ for a pad to put underneath… hitting a keyboard all day is one thing, hitting my desk is quite another. I wonder how long it will be before they have “blow up” keys to solve this problem? Maybe sell it with a blow up doll as a package deal?
Jon
(And the USB daisy chain continues!)
I’m suddenly reminded of a large keyboard that people would have to walk on to hit the keys, but I don’t remember if that was just a dream or it’s somewhere (Mall of America?) Also, when you mentioned Yes, the first song that came to mind was “Owner of a Lonely Heart” (it being three years older than I am).
Probably doesn’t help that I haven’t went to sleep yet. :o
Isaiah… who needs sleep when you got a brand new Nikon D40 up for grabs? My fingers are full of blisters… my teeth have reached new levels of brown and I haven’t gone to the bathroom (or shower) for a week. Maybe two thousand years from now people will be praying for MY return?
Oh ya… still don’t like the USB keyboard… although when I am in my tropical paradise in less then two months from now… it may come in handy to get the fish closer to my boat. I will have to think more deeply about this…
Jon
S’not that bad, I’ve only been up since 3pm PST…yesterday. XD There’ve been quite a few interesting articles since then (like this one) but I’m curious as to who’s going to snag the Nikon. :D
Dude this is sweet. I could see this being a part of ninja bustouts in the middle of random places with accompanying bucket-drummers and acoustic guitar/bass.
I think everybody is… what time will it be posted on this website Blake? I need a shower, food and a coma for the next few days to recover ;-)
Jon
A couple thoughts from an accomplished (haha, I guess 15 years will get you somewhere) pianist
Piano players live on the feel of a keyboard. I’ve tried several keyboards like this, and they play ok, but it is so hard as the musician to really feel the music because there is zero, zip, zilch tactile response. Which makes sense because it is a portable keyboard, but again, it’s hard when you feel completely detached from you instrument.
It is a brilliant idea, and it is awesome they ported it for USB. I can’t imagine anyone actually jamming or attracting a bevy of girls like moths to the flame, but this would be awesome for having some fun on the road. I’ve been on trips with my jazz combo and we’ve always wished we could play the piano on the road when someone comes up with a great lick.
All in all, more for the “on the road studio” then at your local blues bar…
Ishaha – the keyboard you’re thinking of is from FAO Shwartz. It’s pretty fascinating. Around christmas they hire a dance troup to dance their way around christmas songs.
It reminds me a lot of this roll-up keyboard I got myself for $10 a few years ago. It was surprisingly nice (and waterproof, which is a plus), but you really needed to put it on a solid surface for it to work. If anyone’s thinking of using this (or any roll-up input device) for plane trips, it’s no good unless you’re in first class
We got these in at my work. We grabbed one and plugged it into one of the machines to try out. It sucked. There’s a significant delay between when you press the keys and when it actually makes a sound, and the software it uses is absolutely horrid (in both usability and visually). Not recommended at all.
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