Hi,

Has anyone experience with the Wersi Abacus ? I've looked on the Wersi internet site, and I've downloaded some mp3 demo's. To me it sounds very, very good.
What are the main differences of this arranger keyboard with for example the KN6500 or the 9000PRO ?
And, last but not least...does anyone know how much the Abacus costs ?

Please your reaction...

regards, Bart

Here is an excerpt from a fellow who wrote me from overseas re: the Abacus - notice his preference.

Forget the Abacus, it's a load of rubbish (expensive rubbish at £4000+).
I heard it about 9 months ago at Brett Wales's house who is a Wersi demonstrator. His playing was terrible, the instrument was terrible and their video on the Abacus is also poor. It's a wonder how they actually sell any of these.
I have now sold the VA76 but still use my Roland G1000 and Ketron SD1. I was one of the first in the UK to own a SD1 and with the new version 2 software update it rocks! If you are serious about keyboards and would prefer a 76 note one, the SD1 is the best by far on the market. It's easy to use, has large sampled sounds (the saxophones, pianos, choirs, strings, organs and guitars are astonishing) and the styles, well, I can't find one that I don't like or isn't useable.
The hard drive is great, very quick. I've tried the vocal harmoniser that comes as standard and it works very well. I was quite surprised by this feature. It's far better than a Digitech vocalist.
I can honestly say the SD1 is the best arranger I've purchased and I've had quite a few over the years.

Bart...Regarding the Wersi Abacus, living in the UK I have attended a number of keyboard festivals where the Abacus has been demonstrated and also available to play. I think the sounds are very good and the live drums are excellent. It has had a CD Burner included if required which does bring the price upwards of £4000 UK pounds, which is expensive, but it has real draw bars and Brett Wales demonstrates it very well.
I think Brett Wales is becoming one of the worlds top performers within the Keyboard \ Organ scene.

Graham UK

I agree with everything Graham says. Brett
is a fantastic organist. I have seen him perform many times and he is,IMHO, a perfect replacement for Klaus Wunderlich. The Wersie organs/keyboards are expensive but the sounds, drums etc., are superb.

Take a look at Brett's web site "www.organfax.co.uk/players/brettwales.
html" You will see his extremely full
list of concert engagements for 2002 or take
a look at the Wersie uk site "www.wersie.uk.
com/abacus.htm" where you can download mp3's.

Incidentally, I am a committed Technics player but I can still appreciate other makes of fine instruments and talented players.

The Wersi Abacus, finally people have started to talk about a arranger that has been ahead of the game for some time now. The Abacus has an Intel CPU, Windows 98, CD burner etc., it's a computer actually. You can have a modem, video card, imagine having all your software in your board. It has a 61 key, and a add-on 76 key. It is a kb that you can upgrade for years and years. It is very expensive but expandability and upgrades keep you ahead of the new boards. The sounds are very life like and its' features are to many to list. The Genesis has been the new topic of conversation, but the Abacus has more and has been out for 2 years and like I said its a Windows based PC you can do what you want with it.

You can also get a cup of coffee during the many crashes that are SURE to happen during a performance that is too intense for the processor. Live performance and "total" reliance on a pc is not compatible yet - too scary. For every success story, I can give you three nightmares.

Now if you could upgrade it to WinXP, I would give it some respect for live performances. So far XP seems to be working absolutely crash free on my machines.
But with win98, I have to agree with Uncle Dave. Crashes are as common as snow flakes in a canadian winter. I can't imagine what Wersi must have done to win98 to make it stabler. If anything they probably made it worse.
BTW, can you upgrade the wersi to winxp?

Hi!
sorry to disappoint you but i play the Wersi Abacus fro three months now most nights a week and there were NO Crashes!
Please understand that the 'instability'o f Windows systems is mainly due to conflicts in the various software components installed.
if someone 'plays around'in a Windows PC by installing and unistalling software then problems will arise.My concern before byuing it was the possible Hard Disk problems but i have an exact copy on another Hard Disk 'just in case' .

What cosel says is completely true. In the case of a company like Wersi putting out a system like the Abacus they can fine tune drivers that will work rock solid. Unlike the rest of the PC world that has to supply hardware and software that has to work reasonably well with any combination of software and hardware, Wersi know exactly what hardware will be on the Abacus. Writing stable software for known hardware has always been possible, even under Windows. It is much of the reason that the Mac has traditionally been more stable than the PC due to the fact that there are much fewer 3rd party options for that platform so less potential problems to deal with.

Well, THAT makes perfect sense. Actually, when I think of it, the only time my pc crashes is AFTER I've added lots of stuff to the original configuration ( The way it is INTENDED to be used!)So, I guess, like anything else, a specialized system works better than a generalized one.

I agree totally with the posting below.
As a potential Wersi customer I went to Brett's house last year. His playing was terrible and all he could do was load a poor rendition of Chariots of Fire from his PC and then he tried to play over the top of the sequence. The video is also useless. The demonstrator shows no interest and puts no feeling into his performance at all. His playing is also poor. How do Wersi expect to sell these over priced instruments when their demonstrators lack technical ability.
I've also seen both people in question play at concerts. Just how much they play live is debatable. I wish people would stop using sequencers and start playing 100% live. Who are they kidding? If you pay good money for a concert you want to hear them play. You may as well hire the organ/keyboard out from a shop and load a disk into it for people to listen to.
I can understand them using sequencers when they make a CD, I'm all for using modern technology.
Anyway, any would be Wersi purchasers shop around before you part with your hard earned cash.

Hi Bart,
I have no idea what the Wersi machine costs.... but it sure is A LOT !!
As a former Wersi customer (I built the Alpha350DX long time ago) I would advise you not to purchase Wersi products.
They too will cost you a fortune because of hi-priced addons, very few friends to exchange styles, low trade-in prices, very few dealers with only limited technical expertise (at least in The Netherlands)

Now and then I meet Wersi-players and for some weird reason they have a 'Wersi is THE BEST ever and the rest is garbage'-attitude that I do not like

Wersi styles sound too 'German/Schlager' and 'Wunderlich' alike and sounds have an average quality. (My opinion)
As a proud owner of the Ketron SD1 my advice to you : Try to locate an SD1 dealer !
(Roland and Yamaha also make good procucts)

I live in Coevorden...... your name 'Bartje' sounds Dutch (Drents ?) and you are welcome.

Roel


[This message has been edited by Roel (edited 04-06-2002).]

Ik denk dat bart(je) in 1977 geboren is Roel dan ben ik toch echt een oude l..

oeps...

Hi to all of you,
if there should be a single comment is
'try before you decide'.
I have not seen or heard Brett Wales so I cannot commend on his perfomance.I have seen the Abacus Video that Wersi UK has produced and it is terrible.(!)
But I play the Abacus professionaly since 1.11.01 and I can tell you it is great because of :
1.High quality (24bit)sounds using three different on board generators.Currently AKAI sounds can be loaded and with new version OAS4 a Gigasampler can be used as a fourth sound genertator.Maximum polyphony is more than 128 notes.
2.Eas of use :A multitude of (progammable) buttons,Real time volume sliders and color touch screen,not to forget a high quality keyboard (IMHO).
3.Memory capacity:Number of sounds ,styles,sequences,waves,MP3s,etc lmited only by hard disk size
100x10 total presets where you can save at a touch of button all the settings including mixing,style etc.
4.with Style convert you can have ANY style available.
5.Versatile:its a keyboard with a digital mixer,vocalist, and a normal Windows PC (also using XP with OAS4)including CDBurner (optional) in one box.NO CRASHES!!!
6.Infinite updateability.Current version 4.0 .Updates are done in some minutes by loading the s/w from CD.No chips to change.
IMHO it is great!If you can put your hands and ears on it pls do it.If the price or the marketing is not 'right'that is another story.

Hi Mike,

I read your reply about the Wersi Abacus
(27-1-2002) and I think you're right. I owned an expensive Wersi keyboard (pegasus)
and had much problems.

Similar to you I owned about 30 different keyboards throughout the last 15 years (for example Solton MS 50, about 15 different Roland synths en keyboards and more). At this moment I'm playing a Roland G1000 and i intend buying a Ketron SD1, because I want to start a one man band (Now I play in a trio). I find it difficult to make a choice between the VA76 and Ketron SD1. I like the touch of the G1000 and I don't know how the Ketron plays.

Could you please mail the advantages of the Ketron in comparison to the VA76?

Thanks,

René Goossens, Holland

THe VA76 feels very much like the G1000. The biggest difference is:
VA - twice the polyphony
SD - mic input w/harmony
smaller difference:
VA - zip drive
SD - hard drive
The VA is much larger, but I don't remember the weight factor. Styles are great on both, sounds too. It's a tough choice - better go play alot !

To Gossens :

About the difference of VA and SD1: in the last 10 years i have used only Roland arranger (E70, G1000 and VA7) but after two problems with the Zip drive i am passed to Ketron.
In my opinion the very big difference from VA and SD1 is that Ketron product is more easier to use in live situation.
Moreover Ketron labs listen the feedback from costumer while in Roland is difficult to request enhancement.
Ketron is not GM2 compatible, and i hope that Ketron work at this lack.

Bye

reply to Roel,(4-6-2002)

Hoi Roel,

Ik heb destijds een Wersi Omega dx 10 gebouwd. Inderdaad, duur, redelijk onbetrouwbaar enz. Ik overweeg een Ketron Sd1 aan te schaffen. Tot nu toe weet ik slechts 1 dealer, nl Arnons in Heerlen. Dat is een eind rijden voor een demonstratie. Weet jij misschien een dealer in de buurt van Nijmegen, die er 1 heeft staan?

René

Rene,

I'm not suprised you had the same 'trouble' with the Wersi-stuff.
I live close to the Overijssel/Drente/Germany borders (Coevorden) and it would be great to meet you here...
Perhaps Germany is an option for you ? (Ibbenburen Musik-Produktiv)

Roel

Hi Roel,

At this moment i'm playing a Roland G1000. I'm very satisfied with it, but for some reasons i want to buy a new 76 keys keyboard. The Vocalist part for live performances, The drawbars section, live-sounding styles, sampling. At that part two keyboards fit: Solton SD1 and Yamaha psr9000pro. The only problem: i haven't got the sounds of the G1000 anymore, but the Roland VA76 has no vocalist and drawbar part.

Before i'm going to Germany (musik produktiv I want to know whether the Solton has 3 splits zones like the g1000 (split one= lower 1 and 2, split 2= upper 3, split 3= upper 1 and two with a swith button. This is really important for my playing. I downloaded the SD1 manual but i can't find for 100% sure that i can split the keys like above.
Do you know the answers?
René

Original:
I'm not suprised you had the same 'trouble' with the Wersi-stuff.
I live close to the Overijssel/Drente/Germany borders (Coevorden) and it would be great to meet you here...
Perhaps Germany is an option for you ? (Ibbenburen Musik-Produktiv)

Roel