Post about "iCon"

Since I first blogged about these almost two years ago, they’ve been the #1 search term on the blog until the Casio XW-P1 was announced. Unfortunately though, they’ve passed every US release date promised.

But still, the iCon iStage controller has some neat features such as velocity sensitivity and their 4×12 grid make a helluva lot of sense for controlling Ableton Live. So it’s quite understandable for people to remain interested in these controllers. If you want one, I’m afraid the best thing to do at this point is to use Google and find a European or UK based retailer that will ship to the US.

Via Matrixsynth

There seems to be a lot of interest in the iCon products as they seem to be one of the more heavily searched terms on my site. News has been sparse since they were announced at the last NAMM and I just received an email from a reader named Tom wanting to know if there were any updates about the iCon products being distributed in the US.

After reading Tom’s email I suddenly realized that I neglected to put the contact page back up after the site rebuild (sorry about that!) and I gather he must have found his way to me through the forum or searched for me online. So in honor of Tom’s tenacious effort, two points to Gryffindor!

Here is my response:

“I have to say that unfortunately I have had to write off the iCon people. I really don’t hold out much hope of them being distributed here in the US any time soon. My requests to both their US and European offices for information went unanswered. They’re also already well past the release date that they announced at the last NAAM (I believe) and they were also previously announced in 2009, I’m pretty sure but don’t quote me :)

So at this point, all I can say is who knows. If it’s any consolation though, you can get several of the Icon products from European shops if they’re willing to ship internationally. I was almost going to go that route myself, but I just picked up the APC40 and I’ve been hearing dubious things about the build quality in my searches for more information.

Thanks for you email!”

I suppose an explanation is order.. The iCon iStage controller originally made it’s debut @ MuskiMesse 2010, as previously blogged here and apparently is already for sale in Europe.

Rumor abounds that it will be available in June along with the iCreative that also debuted at Messe, 2011, but the truth is, I don’t know if that’s been confirmed or even if that’s a US release date. I’ve written their US offices and will update if and when information becomes available.

iCon introduces an interesting take on Ableton Live controllers @ MusikMesse. At 4×12 scenes with a jog wheel and crossfader the iStage looks to be the ultimate DJ companion in a compact controller that would allow you to trigger clips and build up and break down songs easily without the space of the more traditional 8×8 controllers.

Check out iCon Global for other interesting space and cost saving innovations.

Via Matrixsynth