I heard demo's of the Ketron arrangers and was very impressed. I know nothing about these keyboards (and the Midjay). A store about 2 hours away has an SD5 prototype and the complete line of Ketrons. I'm going to view them before Friday because the SD5 is going back to the factory. Can any of you give me a quick course on Ketron for Dummies i.e. what shall I focus on, features to look for, etc. I do stage performing with an arranger and do everything spontaneously so I don't want to fumble with changing settings. Also would like to have some unique "gimmicks" like the G-70 has.I really like what I've heard so far with these demo's so I'm looking forward to playing (which one?).

Where are you located or at least where is that SD5?

This unit is in the New York tri-state area. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to even have mentioned this as they said it's not due here officially for 30-60 days. Anyway, it will be gone back to Italy in days.

I'm surprised at the lack of response to my request for info as there are quite a few Ketron members on this site!

This is my quick take on Ketron stuff,

They are made by a small company in Italy ( compared to Yam, Korg and the others)

There sounds are great, they have seem to have sampled their sounds for the live performance in mind, they have great features, great styles.

Their operating systems are the most difficult, easy, feature pack, confusing, delightful operating systems,

I know the current flagship the SD1+ is pretty long in the tooth, but still holds it own against the new guys. The SD5 is supposed to be a updated, but also scaled down version of the SD1+. You'll get some newer sounds and styles and some new features,

I'm looking at the SD5 but I would really want the replacemnt of the SD1+.

I have owned just about every arranger out there, and I always seem to go back to Ketron.

I had the G-70 and it was a beatuful baord, I think the soundset and styles were old and dated. the op system was great, and the vocalizer very good, weighed a ton, drums and bass, no where near the KEtron stuff.

Tyros 2 has some incredible sounds, great for recording, but the drums seem to be not as much of an impact like the Ketron, but the styles are good to very good and allot of nice moders sounding current stuff. Great op system, loads of possiblities, weird type of size, seems to not fit anywhere, with another keyboard, takes up too much space/

Basically, any Ketron you get, you will be very happy.

You can get the Tyros to sound very good too, but I would say the Ketron would be first

just my opinion

There are a few Ketron players here. I was out of town Monday and Tuesday playing other towns, then had to work last night here as well.
I am very pleased with Ketron, having owned X1, SD1 and now Midjay.
They have their drawbacks, just as every kb does, but so far the strengths have kept me from changing again. I haven't seen anything I like better, but then there isn't much for me to see in this area. I haven't seen a Tyros 2, although I did own a Tyros, Roland G70 or GEM. I owned a Korg PA80 and the sounds on it rivaled the Ketron but the intros, ending and fills were terrible. I understand most, if not all, that has been corrected on the new korgs.
The operating system on the SD1 is unlike anything else and has a big learning curve. Still, once you learn it, it is very good.
Computer interface with the SD1 is behind the times, using a proprietary connection or floppy disk.
Strong points on the SD1 are of course the great live drums and bass and extremely versatile editing. It has a great vocal harmonizer and you can edit, replace and add styles to your heart's content.
The Midjay hooks up via a USB cable and appears as a drive on your PC. It has a totally new OS, similar to PC. Of course it is necessary to use a controller keyboard with the Midjay. Strong points are light weight, good sounds, wonderful drums and bass, MP3, WAV, DJ, Midi and Styles and lyrics all available at your fingertips.
Drawbacks are small screen, limited style editing and limited (optional) vocal harmonizer. Also certain playing styles, particularly if you use a lot of sustain, may reveal polyphony problems. It hasn't been a problem for me, but I seldom use big layers with sustain.
You can download owners manuals for Ketrons at www.ketron.it
DonM

frankieve and DonM...thank you for your contributions to my post. Would you believe that I checked my email just before going out the door to drive up to see the SD5 and the other products and caught your postings. I knew nothing about Ketron and your comments helped me to understand the product and the company. I had an awesome experience playing the SD1...didn't get to touch the SD5. That's an incredible sound and I've been playing many, many years. I'm going to post a new topic requesting more info on Ketron as I'm going to buy one but need as much feedback as I can get because this is a whole new animal for me. Please contribute to the new topic if you have more to add.

I've had some great advice given here already, but I'm wondering why out of all of you Ketron owners no one else has taken the time to help me with info on their experiences with Ketron products. After all, this is not like buying a Big Mac...it's a $3500 machine.

I used Casio, Roland, Yamaha and Kord Arrangers for the last many years and came to know about Ketron (previously known as Solton) in 2001. Based on the recommendations from this forum I have purchased my SD1 in 2002. No regrets since then. Great Board, operating system is a bit confusing, but once you are used to it, is very flexible. Its really a great sounding board.

Hi,
I've been a ketron SD1+ owner since xmas. First Ketron I've owned.
I normally TRY & keep quiet when a performer asks about keyboards as I'm only a hobbyist.
I've been very happy with mine.
Bit of a learning curve & the manual is less than ideal, (definately must have been translated to English).

The drums are great. Actually being able to use an audio drum loop in drum track 2, opens up all sorts of possibilities.
It lacks an event list editor for editing styles ( patterns in Ketron speak).
Styles ( patterns) can be recorded via midi from an external sequencer.
Styles can also be recorded in realtime on the keyboard itself.
Styles can also be created using a copy function ie by copying individual tracks from one style to another or copying a complete style part like an intro, ending variation etc from one style to another.
Don't know if you're into style editing etc, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

best wishes
Rikki
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