The

Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has fact ...

has manufactured several

keytars The keytar is a lightweight synthesizer that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboards ...

List of Roland keytars

AXIS

Roland's first keytar was the

AXIS An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...

(officially the AXIS-1, leading to its frequently being confused with the AX-1). It was produced between 1985 and 1987, and is notable for being a significantly different design than later Roland keytars. It features a 45-note keyboard that is sensitive to both velocity and aftertouch; aftertouch sensitivity was removed on the AX-1 and not restored to any Roland keytar until the AX-Edge in 2018. It uses three conventional wheels for pitch bend, modulation, and volume, rather than the pitch ribbon and modulation pressure bar on later designs. It is AC-powered with no battery option – a proprietary multipin cable connects the AXIS to a Power Supply Unit on the floor. The PSU has non-slip rubber sides and features a power cable, power switch, multipin cable input, and MIDI output, as well as a footswitch for sustain while playing.

AX-1

The Roland AX-1 was produced between 1992 and 1994. Like the AXIS, it does not produce sounds, but controls other devices (such as keyboards, sound modules and samplers) via

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

. The industrial design of the Roland AX-1 was done in a basement studio in London, U.K. by two designers, David Sherriff and Andrew Leggo, who ran a small design studio called Space Logic. The electronic design and engineering was done by Roland Europe, Italy.

AX-7

The Roland AX-7 was manufactured from 2001 to 2007. This modern instrument contains many more advanced features than early keytars such as its predecessor, the Roland AX-1, and the

Yamaha SHS-10 The Yamaha SHS-10, known in Yamaha's native country, Japan, as the Yamaha Sholky, Sholky being derived from "Shoulder Keyboard", is a keytar (a musical keyboard that can be held like a guitar) manufactured by Yamaha and released in 1987. It h ...

. It runs on 6

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or an external power source. It has 45

velocity sensitive Keyboard expression is the ability of a keyboard musical instrument to change tone or other qualities of the sound in response to velocity, pressure or other variations in how the performer depresses the keys of the musical keyboard. Expression t ...

keys (without aftertouch), and a 3-character

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

display. Several features aimed towards stage performance are present, such as a pitch bend ribbon, touchpad-like expression bar, sustain switch, and volume control knob, all on the upper neck of the instrument. There is also a proprietary "D-Beam" interface, made up of infrared sensors that detect nearby motion. In 2007 the Roland AX-7 was discontinued and was succeeded by the AX-Synth in 2009, followed by the AX-Edge in 2018.

MIDI functionality

This instrument functions as a

controller; it produces MIDI messages that are sent to an external synthesizer or sound module. (Thus it produces no sound on its own.) It is fully compatible with General MIDI, General MIDI Level 2, and Roland's own MIDI#GS and XG, GS MIDI implementation. It has both MIDI in and out ports, and can store up to 128 patches.

AX-Synth

The Roland AX-Synth was released in late August 2009. This modernized instrument builds on the features of its predecessor, the Roland AX-7. The most notable change is the addition of an internal synthesizer. A UV Black-colored "premium" model called "Black Sparkle" was released in September 2010. The AX-Synth has now been discontinued.

AX-9

The Roland Lucina AX-09 was released sometime in the 2010s.

AX-Edge

, Roland's latest keytar is the Roland AX-Edge released in September 2018. The model introduces customizable edge blades (these are cosmetic, not functional).