Since checking out the C-Thru Music AXiS-64 at Winter NAMM last year, this little guy has been popping up all over the internet, most notably in the hands of everyone's interval-wrangler Jordan Rudess. I personally may have had my doubts about whether this good idea would catch on or not, but it looks like C-Thru is doing alright, because they just announced a new 49-note version of the AXiS called - cleverly enough -- the AXiS-49.

Like its predecessor, the AXiS-49 actually has 98 keys, granting access to the 49-notes at different positions along the Harmonic Table format. The -49 does away with the pitch bed and mod wheels from the -64, as well as the LCD-screen and extraneous, non-note buttons -- in fact, the only buttons on this guy are the note buttons and an up- and down-octave transpose.

While the AXiS-49 is only in it's prototype stage right now -- availability is slated for the end of the year (aren't we there already?) or early 2009.

While we're waiting to join the AXiS-bunch, let us reminisce about those other lovers of hexagons, the Honeycomb Bunch: