Compact, lightweight, and boldly colored, the G2 is ready to go. Clavia has designed the G2 for 1) the live keyboard player, 2) the electronic musician, 3) the DJ, 4) the synth Guru, 5) the film score producer, and 6) the sound designer. Endowed with performance features, it features an elegant user interface to a powerful and innovative synth engine. Play the presets or design new synth structures and sounds using your Windows PC to mix and match physical-modeling, analog-modeling, FM, subtractive and other synth and effect modules. There are many demos at the manufacturer's site, www.clavia.com, demonstrating plucked and bowed string models, exotic soundscapes, and complex rhythm patterns.

The G2 is an ideal controller for a mobile laptop studio. Eight fully assignable knobs use LED collars to show the current value of a user-namable parameter as shown in LCDs above the knobs. A very tactile pitch-bend stick, a stone modulation wheel, and smooth aftertouch complement the knobs. And if you don’t feel like waiting for the laptop to boot, let the G2, with its four inputs including a mic input, mixer, drum machine, and vocoder modules be your studio.

Join the group and let us know what about the G2 captured your interest. (Sorry, but to limit spam, memberships must be approved.) Also, be sure to check out the G2 forum at www.electro-music.com for patches and discussion.