Roland Teams Up With Illumination for a 'Minions'-Themed GO:KEYS 3 Keyboard
The yellow and blue keyboard includes over 1,000 sounds and 32 dedicated Minions character voice variations.
Summary
Roland drops the GO:KEYS 3 Minion keyboard equipped with 32 character sound variations
The 61-key instrument features exclusive Illumination artwork and runs on the ZEN-Core sound engine
Pricing for the collaborative pop-culture edition is set at $450 USD
Pop-culture appeal enters the long-standing Roland product line with the official release of the GO:KEYS 3 Minion. Blending serious music creation technology with the ubiquitous Illumination animation franchise, the entry-level keyboard is designed specifically to encourage young and beginner musicians to start playing. This instrument arrives encased in a vibrant, bright yellow body contrasted by a blue trim that directly represents the signature overalls worn by the characters. Exclusive front and rear panel illustrations of the Minions, crafted by the animation studio itself, appear across the hardware.
Underneath the exterior of the GO:KEYS 3 Minion, the device features a 61-key keybed and the professional-grade Roland ZEN-Core sound engine. The system comes loaded straight out of the box with an expansive library of over 1,000 sounds curated from Roland’s deep archives. Users can select acoustic pianos, synthesizers, full orchestral instruments and heavy drum kits. Built for mobility, the instrument features built-in speakers and operates as a fully portable music station that can be powered simply by AA batteries. Musicians can also download completely new sounds directly to the hardware via Roland Cloud Connect.
The release provides franchise-specific audio capabilities via dedicated hardware buttons. These controls offer quick access to 32 different Minions-themed sound variations. Bypassing traditional synthesizers, the keyboard allows users to play the pitched voices of characters like Bob, Kevin and Stuart all the way up and down the keys. Integrating these voices into a professional hardware ecosystem links entertainment properties directly to creative production tools for budding creatives.
Securing this Illumination co-branding comes with a noticeable retail premium for consumers. The GO:KEYS 3 Minion is officially priced at $450 USD. This collaborative model costs approximately $65 USD more than the standard, non-branded GO:KEYS 3 keyboard which currently retails for around $385 USD.
