4:20 I’m glad that you like the pads… I’m the one that designed them, and somehow it’s not unlikely that I had your keyboard in my hand at some point since I was helping production from time to time when I was not in R&D. I’m glad you still like it and rock it. It’s a good testimony that it was designed to last and be rock solid. Cheers
Well thanks for your contribution! I wish I could find a D-Beat somewhere. I have looked for years but can never find them. Neko and Miko were ahead of their times which is why they still hold up. Im betting in todays market they would do well
@@gullcreekstudio1391 well, to be honest, in today’s market, with the advance power of Laptops (both Mac and PC), I think we can easily use a laptop with a controller. The only downside, I haven’t seen a really good controller that would look like a full workstation keyboard. The closest thing I can imagine would be the new Akai MPC Keys. The advantage is the size and weight. NeKo/miKo were indeed ahead of their time, but they were designed to use full size computer component… which is awesome for future evolution too. However, in today’s market, we could definitely design something smaller, lighter and therefore with better mobility. Computer components can be very powerful, and yet very small now. I think about Mac Minis, Intel NUCs and such. No need for PCI(e) cards anymore, no need for HDD and use smaller and lighter NVME and other component of new technologies like that. So overall, yeah, we could have a “new” neKo/miKo that would be smaller & lighter. It was already the direction we were taking with the D-Beat, with also evolutions by having boards directly mounted on the chassis, removing the needs for additional board and the rubber gasket around each controller module. We did produce quite a bit of D-Beat, so it’s not impossible to find some in the wild. I guess their owners are just happy and don’t want to sell them… they were also évolutive with mATX board, smaller power supply, etc… It’s almost sad that no other company took it from where Open Labs stopped. It was such a great venture. And I’m glad, after all those years, you can stil enjoy it. It gives me the feeling that at least, we did some good job. I’m sad because I think we could have done more, we had so much great idea for the future, but I don’t regret anything. Enjoy it! Cheers
Awesome to see others getting use of their open labs still. I myself still have a miko lxd, a dbeat, and a 61 key xxl neko. Might want to sell the dbeat since im not really using it but not sure yet. I even have a 88 key music computing studioblade which people tend not to talk about much. Was built when victor wong left open labs and started his own company. It handles crazy memory if i remeber correctly i think like 198 gigs or something like that. Well either way enjoy your hardware and continue with your videos, I enjoyed it. Later
Such a cool idea back in the day. I tell you.. today with all the advancements in hardware, software synths, DAWs, etc.. my plan is to build a studio desk on top of some sit/stand legs, build a powerful computer inside the desk to hide everything.. and have a top notch controller keyboard slide out. I run Cubase myself and that with dozens of VTSs.. have a vast library of 10s of 1000s of sounds and drums. With USB4/TB4.. it's easy to plug in a "just as fast" external drive setup as if it were in the computer so you can expand/etc all you need. Multi display.. as long as you don't need to take it anywhere.. it's the way to go these days. Or build a small ITX or even NUC based system just for music production.
Great video, I record albums with my miko and neko. I upgraded mines with hardware I had laying around with Intel i5 and i7. Windows 7 with all my plugins work great. They are rare now, and the keybed its a fatar keybed made in Italy. I will never get rid of mines because it can be upgrades to current PC hardware if you want to and the adats on the FireWire are super clear.
I repaired a Timbaland Neko and had it for a year to play with before I returned it. I loved it. But the thing that I loved the most was Karsyn (then) I am not sure what the later version of Karsyn was called. Anyway someone put me onto Unify by Plugin Guru. Unify is a million times more powerful than Karsyn ever was and I highly recommend installing it. Good news is that it runs on Win 7 as well. The only thing to watch out for is, if you do pickup a Neko and it's not working properly you may be in trouble as there are no parts available or the original Open Labs software is also not really available. So you might be in trouble getting some of the original Open Labs programs which are essential to its operation. Also I used a second large screen monitor with the Timbaland and it was really great. Its not something either that you want to be moving around a lot eg live. Its best left in the studio I found. Today you can recreate everything it does with a computer in your studio and go way further. But I did like it a like a lot. They are well made and feel nice to play as well.
Thanks bro. Thats why I stayed on windows 7 where I had the drivers and have a mirrored HD woth the original system on it. After I installed the SSD drives and ram..everything was stable enough to just bulk up vsti and let it be. Its ran for 7 years rock solid
@@gullcreekstudio1391 Damn, that's what's up. I'm thinking about changing the motherboard but I don't know which one to get. someone had sent me the driver a while ago for mine. But it keeps crashing windows 10. I love the Neko, I don't want to get rid of it. I wish they would come back. That machine is very expensive for them to do us like that.
@@knowledge25k try running the version of windows below 11. Its the best and most stable. The windows 10 (2004) edition is horrible. Ya man I stayed with windows 7 and have never had a problem
Thanks for your video bro, I wish I can get my hands on a working mirror copy on HD or SSD because my MIKO LXD Open Lab Miko drivers & software on windows 7 as been corrupt since the day I bought it at a pawnshop which the pawnshop didn't know what it was so I got it at a great price! Had it for 6yrs but never got her to run right.... I'm still wishing I can get her up and running!!! MY music make would be so much easier.
Check out the Akai MPC Keys 61 technology has come a long way. Like you said it was ahead if its time and I’d love to see an updated version that is fanless.
I seen the leak pics of the mpc keys 61. Its a good direction for them to move in. The only bad thing is that its a closed architecture system. You wont be able to add or use your favorite vsti or vst's. Back in the day (mid 90s) I use to play on an Akai sampler keyboard that had a really good sound to it.
@@gullcreekstudio1391 I agree the only bad things is it is a closed platform. On the positive the hardware of the MPC Keys 61 If you compare to the Neko shows huge leap in technology. The technology is ripe for us to finally have an open source real-time operating system running on audio devices and hosts. Processors have become more efficient thanks to the smartphones, tablets and laptop market, while also increasing performance considerably. We now have 4K HDR 120Hz touchscreens, PCIe based M.2 NVMe SSDs, LPDDR5 RAM, fast i/o like Thunderbolt 4 and USB4. They can now build an even better Neko.
@@EnochGitongaKimathi idk man. Ive got 32g of ballistics ram and 5TB total of samsung SSD with an intel i9 processor in the neko. Firewire to thunderbolt connectivity and HDMI connections for external screens. Granted..I upgraded lol. But from a hardware standpoint, the specs on the mpc key is only running with a kronos or a nautilus.
I will say this tho! I hope the mpc key is better than the mpc X. I wasnt to impressed with it. I like the 4k more than the X. If they would have put some serious effects in the X like a fab filter style EQ, that would have been big for me. As far as a stand alone unit, the X had a ton of sounds that didnt mix well in mix down. Kicks had that hollow 140hz-200hz area and snares had heavy rings in the 400 area. Being able to really EQ for a good mix would have roped me in and I would have kept the X
@@gullcreekstudio1391 imagine instead of an i9 which draws a lot of power and generates a lot of heat and noise from fans, the Neko had an Apple M1 chip 🤯. I know Intel are working had to improve on efficiency so maybe in another few years we will be able to have the power of an i9 in a fanless silent design. Check out Elk Audio I like what they are doing with their Real-Time Audio OS.
how does this differ than a laptop and a midi controller? i would like something like this if it was restricted only to 1 DAW and nothing else (no distractions is the biggest thing for wanting a standalone device for me)
Now adays there isn't much difference. In 2012 this was a massive difference! Their is a convient fact of having everything you need in one board. Often I take the board upstairs to work. I wouldnt have to transport a midi keyboard, mpc controller, laptop, interface..ect. plus the workflow on the Neko is faster than a laptop because you can set things up to hit certain buttons on the Neko to do certain macros. This keyboard can be restricted to whatever DAW you want to use. I grew up using hardware keyboards and with the neko...you can set it up so you don't have to use a mouse as much as a computer so you can start really creating fast
Great question! Any computer store can do it. Or...just open up the hood and install it. Go to your "about this computer" section in your OS. Copy the info down. Got to crucial and paste your info. It will give you availability for what ram works with your system
They did! I see the 37 key looks like the miko in a way. Unfortunately the mpc keys still doesn't have the processing power that neko and mikos had in 2013. Plus the MPC keys is still closed architecture. Plus the fact that you can't edit or mix down effectively or quickly woth the mpc products. If they can get a fabfilter type dynamic eq and fast editing..they will be good to go
@@gullcreekstudio1391 l would like to have a one or one conversation with you about the miko, l have two of them trying to get them back working again.
My hard drive clone could possibly bring your miko to life. Things that might not work would be your master control faders and the dj scratch pad. I have the drum module so that would probably link the drivers.
@@gullcreekstudio1391 Love your setup very clean and to the point! That's how I want my setup... By the way I love my KALI Audio LP-6`s it makes me think why did I buy the ADAM ATX`s...Lol
@@rhythmstruck1299 thanks! Between the production studio and the recording studio, I really had to downgrade some things. It got to a point where I had so much gear that I wasnt able to get any mixing or producing done. To busy twisting knobs and not working. The kali audios sounded better than my genelec 1032A monitors. Pairing the kali's with the Nueman kh120s has really been pretty solid for mixing all genres
@@gullcreekstudio1391 Yes... they are some great sounding monitors Big Bang for the bucks running neck to neck with my ADAM A7X...Dang! and I was going to get the Nueman Kh120 over the Adam A7... but I listen to the sale person in the store...Smh
windows 10 is fine for music production , i built computers since 1999 and never had any issues with my pc or with music production ...i started with windows 98 with fl studio never had a issue ...windows always been stable for me ijs
They went out of business in 2012-13. The only way you can get one is if you find one on the internet. They came at a time when people werent wanting to pay 5k to 6k for the board. Those whome have bought them amd maintained them still swear by them
@@frankr7239 They dont make these boards anymore. They stopped making them in 2013 when the company went out of business. Originally they cost about 6500. Throught the years I just keep updating the parts to keep it current with todays hardware. You can run any software or hardware. Its and actual computer
@@frankr7239 truth. Ive actually hooked up mics, compressors and preamps to the interface and recorded peoples vocals strait into the keyboard and mixed down full albums in it. It does it all
@@WyattLite-n-inn I personally wouldnt waste money of the mpc61. Ableton on a laptop and the fantom0 will blow the mpckeys out. Its 2022 so hardware keyboards that charge 2k dollars should have 16g ram at a minimum. Truth is..a latop and the mpc61 controller would smoke the mpc61 workstation. I grew up on hardware and I love the hands on approach but im also a mix engineer. Untill hardware can get some serious mixing tool like a fabfilter style eq and easy mouse editing...it wont stand a chance against computers
@@gullcreekstudio1391 I’m glad you said that, man.. I thought I was crazy for thinking that also but apparently I have company . I look at that Fantom 0 running a DAW through it as a two piece workstation.
The neko stock comes with 16g ram and i5 motherboard. Today that can still hold NI komplete, protools, serum, massive, omnisphere...and a list of other vst. Most importantly, it can do something that the keys could never do. You can record an entire record...vocals and all..and mix it completely in the board. The keys doesn't even have a dynamic graph eq. The neko is in another league when compared to the key...or even the Kronos
@@gullcreekstudio1391 I'd still argue the MPC is a better buy. I see your argument and i could agree with a lot of it, but in practice the MPC goes from being completely off to being ready to do work in under a minute. That may not be super important to other people, but to me, it makes all the difference.
@David Cache the neko boots up in roughly 15 seconds and takes about 25 seconds to load the project depending on vst. Ive had them all (mpc's) except the keys. Not to say they aren't good because they are. They just aren't in a competitive league with the Neko.
@David Cache no, it's a very slimmed down version created with Openlabs and Microsoft. It's along the same versions that Vision DAW also uses creating their music super computers
Seems like a money pit to me… if you had to replace nearly all the components it didn’t “stand the test of time” at all… these were cool at the time but designs like this scream “obsolete” before they even hit the shelves
Good comment! Actually I didn't need to do anything with it, it was a want for future expansion on the system. "Obselete" is a questionable argument considering it is now 11 years later and this keyboard/system will literally eat any production hardware (MPC, Roland, korg..ect) alive...easily without trying. So I would say in a relevant stand point it is holding up. I'm also YET...to this very day....to see any all in one systems that can record vocals and entire sessions to professionally mix them down using fab filter, waves, izotope, slate..or any other plugins. Pound for pound it still beats everything to death
