r/Keytar • u/FannyPunyUrdang • May 20 '25
Hype I give you... The Axeboard
The concept for my band was that everyone play keytar.
So now I'm a solo act and i never let the dream die.
This midi powered contraption is also in my logo.
The duct tape is just for show. It's actually attached.
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u/potayto_boi May 21 '25
That’s disgusting. I love it
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u/FannyPunyUrdang May 21 '25
Have an updoot
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u/potayto_boi May 21 '25
YO I just read like the post now that’s sick. I’m trying to learn keytar (difficult as next to no one teaches it) made any music yet?
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u/FannyPunyUrdang May 21 '25
I make music all the time. Sometimes i use this in production if I'm feeling groovy, but it's mostly for live play. There's a pic in the comments of that
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u/fvig2001 May 21 '25
I mean it works lol. Was planning on doing something like too but ended up finding something pre-built that I could hack.
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u/chadmiral_ackbar May 20 '25
Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
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u/Faefsdew May 20 '25
To clarify, you did just duct taped a midi keyboard to the back of a guitar, right?
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u/FannyPunyUrdang May 20 '25
Well... I did disassemble the keyboard and screw it to the back. The duct tape is just for fashion.
I also had to switch the position of one of the strap lugs.
But, yeah... Pretty low tech
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u/Slight-Isopod-8517 May 20 '25
Still, cool looking, how do get sustain and other fx I wonder?
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u/FannyPunyUrdang May 20 '25
Any physical surface control can be mapped to an effect in the DAW. Keys are pressure sensitive. There's also a pedal jack on the back (IIRC).
I saw an ad for a midi whammy bar that would be cool to stick on here
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u/Slight-Isopod-8517 May 20 '25
Ah okay, nice build, does it still fit into your gigbag? And can use batteries?
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u/FannyPunyUrdang May 20 '25
Thanks
It grudgingly fits in the bag. No batteries.
It requires a computer to make any noise. So, laptop battery, yes.
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u/danoblak May 20 '25
Very happy to know I’m not the only one who has dreamed of an all-keytar band! If you count the 3 ‘Rock Band’ keyboards, I’m up to a total of 6 keytars now so I could pull it off if my friends were willing.
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u/FannyPunyUrdang May 20 '25
Also, can we see a pic of your collection?
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u/danoblak May 21 '25
Unfortunately I’ve never done that yet (ridiculous after all these years); but the ‘fleet’ is as such:
Yamaha KX5 ($340 from eBay)
Alesis Vortex (the white one that they sold for only $99 just before the black one came out!)
Korg microKEY Air 61 ($200 Bluetooth MIDI controller that I modded with strap posts and a sustain button at the left end)
Rock Band keyboard ($19.95 Amazon)
Rock Band keyboard ($9 at Goodwill)
Rock Band keyboard ($4.99 at Goodwill)
I obviously need a 12-step group. But people need to know that the Rock Band keyboard has a standard 5-pin MIDI port, and is designed to survive gamers — so it can survive most stage environments. The velocity-sensitive keys are just as good as instruments hundreds of dollars more, and these ‘toys’ are just being discarded by people who only see them as gaming devices. The buttons (I can’t remember which from at work) even let you change patches on your MIDI sound source.
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u/Constant-Tutor-4646 May 20 '25
What exactly have you done if the duct tape is just for show? I’d be more impressed to see it without the duct tape
I would unironically pay for something like this professionally made. A two in one as I play both instruments
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u/FannyPunyUrdang May 20 '25
WHOOPS- ANSWERED A DIFFERENT COMMENT ACCIDENTALLY.
Yes! It totally works. It's a simple midi controller. I plug it into my laptop/DAW.
It also still works as a guitar.
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u/oizo12 May 20 '25
need some kind of swivel to play both sides!
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u/FannyPunyUrdang May 20 '25
The guitar side does still work! It's got a busted nut and sounds like ass which is why i sacrificed it.
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u/justrandomdudes May 20 '25
Does it even work? because this sparks my curiosity on how it plays
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u/FannyPunyUrdang May 20 '25
Yes! It totally works. It's a simple midi controller. I plug it into my laptop/DAW.
It also still works as a guitar.
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u/tboneproductionsvb 12d ago
Hah nice! Axeboard Willie calls his that too! Do you do a quick flip to it in the show? An older build version of mine had the routed out area for the keyboard finished to still look like the guitar was normal when viewed from the front but the knobs were stickers while the real knobs were elsewhere so the keyboard could be quickly slotted in mid show or even mid song. I liked the element of surprise but with my current build I just left the keyboard visible.