The AX80 has the privilege of being the first pro-keyboard produced by Akai, released in 1984. It's an eight-voice programmable analog synthesizer with a full 61-note keyboard and a series of techno-looking LCD bar-graph displays running across the top of the keyboard. Two analog oscillators per voice plus a sub oscillator provide the basis of its punchy analog sounds that can be described as similar to a Chroma Polaris or Roland Juno 106. Very good bass, brass, synth sounds, and effects are possible. However its strings are average at best.

The blue and orange florescent LCD displays use a simple and intuitive bar-graph format to show all its parameters and values, making for one of the best on-board displays ever! You have to wonder, however, with such a cool display, why couldn't they have included dedicated sliders and knobs for each parameter (see the AX60). A decent amount of patch storage and nice enough sounds make the AX80 a useable synth to have around, but it probably won't replace your Roland Juno. Other notable features of the AX80 include an angled rear panel for easy cable connections, chord memory, MIDI control, and pitch/mod wheels. It's been used by Mark Bell (LFO) on Bjork's Homogenic.

Ruben Espinoza

September 18, 2012 @ 5:23 pm

MOBITH hey let me know through email man ax80 was one of my first synth and did I love tat thing but let me know price and well take it from there but this synth is really fat and would to use it in all of my projects thanx

mobith

September 16, 2012 @ 4:11 pm

I've got an ax80 for sale in excellent condition - uk only cos it's heavy! :)

fantastic sounding synth. i'm selling all my keyboards after years of never playing them

Ruben Espinoza

September 14, 2012 @ 9:35 pm

been looking for ax80 does anybody have one for sale

gerrit

July 29, 2012 @ 12:12 pm

@ bilal:
i think you might have suffered from the same brain problem as myself: if you activate the "m.wheel vcf" button, you obviously can modluate the cutoff in realtime. just make sure depth and speed of lfo 3 is 0, and speed comes to rest when the filter is open. best to set lfo wave to 1 as well.
anyway i had the thing for a year now and stupidly never realised this. now it's ten times the fun!!
if anyone has tried to solve the panel-knobs-not-working-issue by re-soldering the panels together and accidentaly fried the display, and if you managed to solve this, please write me somethin

skone

June 12, 2012 @ 10:06 am

ive been looking for an ax 80
what country are you in boris ?

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