It's been about seven years since the release of the RK-100S keytar, but Korg recently announced its return in the form of the RK-100S 2. It features the same wooden body that is strongly influenced by guitars, but this time with a clear finish that lets the wood grain show.

Korg has also significantly expanded the built-in programs, and the RK-100S 2 features 200 stage-ready presets to cover all genres. These include many of the latest sounds frequently heard in today's music scene. Musicians can instantly use the "favorite" button on the top panel of the keytar to access these sounds during a live performance. At the same time, the included arpeggiator is capable of a diverse range of patterns.

The keytar uses a 37-note slim keyboard, which keeps its overall size compact and lightweight. However, Korg also stated that they focused on making the mini-keyboard uncompromisingly "playable." The keytar also has two ribbon controllers to help players dynamically modify the sound. A short ribbon on the neck area controls the pitch bend and modulation, while a long ribbon on the keyboard area controls the pitch or filter. Unlike standard keyboard playing, the RK-100S 2 supports scale performance in which notes can be sounded simply by touching the ribbon.

An AC adaptor for the RK-100S 2 is sold separately, but it promises up to eight hours of continuous operation using six AA batteries. Since it is equipped with a MIDI output connector and a USB port, the keytar can also be used to play a soft-synth or an external hardware sound module. In addition, connecting it to a PC offers access to the editor, which can be used to edit detailed MIDI settings and parameters of the internal sound engine. Finally, a free bundle of music software, which includes the likes of Ozone Elements, Skoove, and Reason Lite, helps new users get the most out of their keytar.

Check out the full specifications for the Korg RK-100S 2 Keytar on the official website and watch the video below to hear it in action.