New synth - Kurzweil Ensemble Expander

I've never owned any Kurzweil gear, so I was pleased to pick up an Ensemble Expander for just over £50. The sounds are top quality samples of bread-and-butter instruments - piano, strings, horn, choir, vibes etc - so they're not likely to get much use in my electronic compositions, but they're nice to have. Pity the unit is so massive. The Yamaha EMT-10 does pretty much the same job in a box 1/8th of the size.

New keyboard: Casio DM-100

My latest eBay acquisition is a Casio DM-100, a rare dual-manual instrument. It's not as collectable as some people like to think it is, but I was quite lucky to get it for £60. The gimmick is that the top keyboard is a sampler, so along with some unusually good string and chorus sounds and autoaccompaniment, it makes for in interesting combo. No MIDI, but fun.

Jean Michel Jarre at IFA, Berlin

Just got back from a few days in Berlin for the IFA consumer electronics show. Not much to see except yet more 3D and Smart TVs, but the highlight had to be the sight of Jean Michel Jarre having to climb up a ladder to put an iPad on top of his crazy 11-foot tall AeroDream One speaker system.
If I'd stayed longer I could have seen Orchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark playing in the park on Monday, but having heard the CD of their last Berlin concert, I don't think I've missed much...