Musikmesse 08: Fatar Numa puts playability to the fore

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Long renowned for its high-quality Studiologic master keyboards, Fatar is set to unveil a new 88-note model at Musikmesse. This is known as the Numa, and it looks to be several cuts above the cheap and cheerful controllers that many companies produce.

Designed by synth guru Axel Hartmann, the Numa puts the emphasis on playability rather than control. To this end, it features a progressive hammer action that´s said to simulate the feel of a full concert grand piano.

There´s also an ‘intelligent dynamic system´ that enables you to quickly and easily set the keyboard up to respond perfectly to the way you play. Control of the Numa is via a touch-sensitive panel, and a graphic LCD display is included to give you visual feedback.

Finally, we should mention the design. Numa looks pretty sleek and features an aluminium cover that can slide back to give you space to put your laptop or other control surface on top of the keyboard. A removable, transparent music stand is included too.

The price of the UK is still to be confirmed, but it's expected to arrive in April. Preliminary information has already been posted on the Fatar website, and we expect more details to be added very soon.

Video - We caught up with the folks at Fatar in Frankfurt and they were nice enough to give us a video demo of the Studiologic Numa in action.