General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

MIDI Master Keyboard

Patents

N/A

General Description

metal casing with synthetic end pieces/ synthetic keys, controls, parts/ metal parts

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

N/A

Width

N/A

Height

N/A

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Communications

Category

Music

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Yamaha

Country

Japan

State/Province

Unknown

City

Hamamatsu

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

mid 1980s +

Canada

Part of a collection of electronic equipment for musical composition, performance and recording owned and used by Canadian Paul Hoffert, composer, musician, author, researcher, entrepreneur and arts administrator. American born, he came to Canada as a child and his career has encompassed many areas of the Canadian music business, including working as a jazz pianist, CBC music director and performer, educator, manufacturer of stereo equipment, music producer, and film composer. In the late 1960s he worked for a short time as a researcher in Hugh LeCaine's electronic music lab at NRC, where he wrote a computer program for music analysis and developed a solid-body electric violin. In 1968 Hoffert and rock drummer Skip Prokop, formed the very successful jazz-rock band Lighthouse (1969-1974, 1982, 1993-present), which earned one platinum record and four gold records and received three Juno awards between 1971 and 1973 In 1977 Hoffert received a Canadian Film Award (later known as a Genie) for best original musical score for the movie "Outrageous!". He also headed the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, the Guild of Canadian Film and Television Composers,and the Ontario Council for the Art. In 1995 he was inducted into the Canadian Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2009 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

Function

A device to control the operation of a digital music synthesizer using piano-type keys and other control

Technical

The Hoffert collection consists of approximately 25 pieces of electronic equipment for musical composition, performance and recording. These range from iconic keyboard instruments of the 1970s, to a variety of digital devices from the 1980s, to computer software from the early 1990s. These were used either for stage performances, especially during his years in the jazz rock band Lighthouse, or for work in his home studio. The Yamaha KX88 is a MIDI master keyboard controller that formed the core of Paul Hoffert=s home studio. It was used to control a variety of MIDI sound sources, most notably his Yamaha TX816 synthesizer. Introduced in the mid-1980s, the KX88 was one of the most popular keyboard controllers ever produced and remained in production for at least a decade. Its most popular feature was the piano-action: i.e. the 88 touch sensitive keys that allowed performers to achieve a greater degree of expression than was possible on simpler designs.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

lettering on black plate on back reads '[logo] YAMAHA/ MODEL KX88 SER. NO. 3667/ PATENTS PENDING/ 120 V 8 W 60 Hz/ NIPPON GAKKI CO. LTD./ MADE IN JAPAN'/ white lettering on back reads 'YAMAHA KX88'/ white lettering on front reads 'YAMAHA KX88/ MIDI MASTER KEYBOARD'/ white lettering for control functions

Missing

appears complete

Finish

textured black painted casing with textured black synthetic end pieces/ black and white keys/ black synthetic controls, parts/ multi-coloured indicator lights

Decoration

N/A