The AX-Synth extends the keyboard to 49 keys (from the AX-7's 45) and also adds dedicated V-Link functionality to control audio and video onstage. It runs on eight
AA batteries or an external power source. It has 264 built in tones, 128-voice polyphony, and a 3-character
LED display. The AX-Synth has all of the AX-7's stage performance functions including the
touchpad-like
pitch bend ribbon, expression bar,
sustain switch, and volume control knob, all on the upper neck of the instrument. As with the AX-7, there is a proprietary "D-Beam" interface, made up of
infrared sensors which detect nearby motion. The AX-Synth also has a wide variety of sounds. Many are synthesized, however, there are many samples of real sounds, from brass to a 'Jazz Scat' sound. This varies depending on the velocity with which the note is played, as seen in "Funky Keytar Duo". The AX-Synth has been often criticized for the large size of the keytar (as seen here dwarfing a large framed Roland rep "Roland AX-SYNTH keytar DEMO") which was necessary to contain all of the sound generating hardware versus the sleek stylings of previous Roland Keytars like the Roland AX-1 and Roland AX-7.
MIDI functionality The AX-Synth has full
MIDI functionality like the AX-7, but adds an internal synthesizer with 128 voice polyphony and stereo output. It has both MIDI in and out ports and as is common with more recent synthesizers, it also has a
USB port which can also be used to communicate MIDI messages, and edit the sounds via Roland's free patch editor/librarian software for
PC and
Mac. ==Notable users==