Watch this video and eat your hearts out.
What a Keyboard and a real pro doing the demo.
http://media.eskildsen.dk/eskildsen/frankfurtketron-1.wmv
Bruce

Thanks, Bruce!

Wow! Sounds great. Too bad we can't see the keyboard. How much for that baby?

Taike

Man, that thing sounds freaking awesome! I love the real audio phrases. The guitars sounded great. I don't really want to know what the price for this puppy is going to be. Under $3500 (yeah in your dreams), well over $3500 sounds more like it to me... I'd be surprised if it sells anywhere close to the price of the current top arrangers.

Squeak

And Squeak...76 KEYS!!!

Holy Mother of God.....that sounds amazing!!

AWESOME!!!!

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 03-29-2007).]

Watching the video I was thinking they should call this thing the Ketron-DNJ. Donny has many times written about using a mix of media (arranger styles, SMF, audio) whatever it takes to please your audience. I have recently taken that advice to heart and have found it to be a very successful approach. I can do all of those things with my T2 but not at the level that this thing was doing it. A keyboard that can do realtime transposition and/or tempo shift. As the Dawg on AI would say. That's the bomb.

WTG Robert.....its all in the mix baby!

Some nice sounds and features on it, however I was not totally convinced by all of the sounds, but then as it was recorded through a camera mike I will wait until I hear it live before making a judgment.
Another thing I found was that it was difficult to see what was actually played and what was recorded, it�s a pity the camera operator didn�t move to the side like he did with the short Hammond demo at the end.
As I said in one of my previous posts, I cant wait to see what Peter Shaw does with it at one of the UK Keyboard Festivals, as I would say it will have Y, R, and K quaking in there boots.
Well done Ketron, you have certainly moved the Hardware Arranger well forward.
Look forward to more demos.

Bill

Bill, can we expect your unbiased review on the Ketron since you'll actually see and hear one in person at the Pakefield Festival? I know you'll do a great job just like you did last year.

I agree on the position of the camera. Not much happens from that angle.

Thank you in advance.

Taike

Thanks Bruce.

What a nice first impression of the new Ketron, and also a very entertaining and
good performer made it a fun and enjoyable moment.
Hopefully there soon will be more demos to show it more the way like an amateur
player like me usually use a arranger keyboard, more styles and sounds etc, not
mp3 karaoke playback.
The guitars, pianos, accordeon, harmonica etc. sounds great!
But, I really hope Ketron manage to keep things the "Ketron way", and don't fill
up the keyboard with styles who sounds like you're playing a CD like Yamaha and
others do!

Really looking forward to the future demos and to try out the real thing.

Happy playing.
GJ

Great demo, and I agree that this new arranger sounds more natural. The Harmonica sample was fantastic (if not the best I have ever heard), and I also liked the guitar sounds - very convincing.

I actually like the fact that some of the songs he played used sequenced parts. Most of the demos I watch these days are strictly 'live performance' only - and I can fully understand why (for the same reason Gunnar points out in his post) they would want to do this. For me a good demo is one that strikes a balance between completely live play and recorded performances (augmented with live play).

I used to attend the British Music Fair annually (back in the days when the public were allowed in) and remember a great demo by the (then) top Yamaha demonstrator, Max Takano. One of his performances was The Impiral March, from The Empire Strikes Back, on the HX1. While he played most of the performance live, he did utilise some sequenced parts. To say my jaw was firmly on the floor after this performace was an understatement. It was truly stunning and one that I can still clearly remember today.

Anyway back to the new Ketron. I must admit that this new arranger is making me quite excited. I've always been a loyal Yamaha guy, but this new model is ticking alot of boxes in what I want from an arranger keyboard. Looking forward to more demos and information.

DYNAMITE !! YEOW!!

I can see myself with Audya and the new Bose L1 "compact" version.
DonM

Danny Dayn is of course a great performer !
Nice demo,nice keyboard

Impuls

Don that would be a killer setup for sure that could possibly do it all & very portable too for the OMB power single act!!

hmmmmmmm. I like what i am hearing so far but i am not sure that the technological jump in using real audio is that much of a jump sonically compared to what we already have through the T2 or Pa1X. This is just a video recording so i wont judge in any definitive terms yet. I dont know if it was that great a demo either as there was quite heavy use of audio files as opposed to audio styles. There may come a time when i want to move into the DJ market but for now i actually want to play my instrument.The few style that were used sounded nice but i would have prefered if he had relied more heavily upon the styles throughout the presentation. The guitars were nice and the expression used in the horns during that louis armstrong number was excellent. I noticed that a lot of the features using audio files are what the MS had been some years ago but not actually using audio live recordings in a style. Its a very intersting concept and definately a technological leap but as i said before, from the video only, it does not seem that much of a sonic leap at all.Maybe we are reaching that point musically where our ears are really struggling to tell the difference between the synthesized voice and the real thing. ( ok ok ok my ears !!!!)

hmmmmmmm. I like what i am hearing so far but i am not sure that the technological jump in using real audio is that much of a jump sonically compared to what we already have through the T2 or Pa1X. This is just a video recording so i wont judge in any definitive terms yet. I dont know if it was that great a demo either as there was quite heavy use of audio files as opposed to audio styles. The demo was 25 minutes long but he actually demoed maybe 3 styles and maybe 5 voices ??? There may come a time when i want to move into the DJ market but for now i actually want to play my instrument.The few styles that were used sounded nice but i would have prefered if he had relied more heavily upon the styles throughout the presentation. The guitars were nice and the expression used in the horns during that louis armstrong number was excellent. I noticed that a lot of the features using audio files are what the Media station had been doing some years ago but not actually using audio live recordings in a style. Its a very intersting concept and definately a technological leap but as i said before, from the video only, it does not seem that much of a sonic leap at all.I am sure Ketron will sell bucket loads of these instruments (probably most purchased by don ! ( I am kidding with you my brother) If using live audio fles is not a gimmick (and i am sure it is not ) then please Ketron dont demo it like its a gimmick. Speeding up , slowing down and re-pitching audio files might be new to keyboards but the use of audio fles in this way is not new. Using them in styles is so please give us some more dmos actually featuring this more .

Maybe we are reaching that point musically where our ears are really struggling to tell the difference between the synthesized voice and the real thing. ( ok ok ok my ears !!!!) For me , what is going to sell the instrument to me is the programming of the styles and the realism of voices (plus a fully featured sequencer). Very little of that was demonstrated (i know about the absence of a sequencer which is a mistake in my view in any arranger /workstation).

but i genuinely love the fact that Ketron is challehging the other manufacturers with something truly different.

[This message has been edited by Spalding1 (edited 03-30-2007).]

I thought the Video demo was very interesting ....Ketron is going in the right directions...lets face it technology is jumping in so many directions by leaps and bounds...the AUDYA is just another example....you have to open your mind, absorb whats going on, make decisions on your purchases for your needs between so many offerings out there....they all do it different.....having all the tools on board for so many purposes could be great for some & not so good for others depending on their playing ability, needs, & willingness to learn besides financial restrictions on a purchase of this caliber...if some one just want to play an arranger in a basic way with styles that's fine but if you want to go nuts and MIX IT UP using all modes & features now available that's available also...this is nothing compared to whats coming out in the future....its exciting just wait and see!!

I think Ketron is doing great with new voices, use of audio ect, but who in the hell at Ketron decided that "sequencing" is no longer needed on an arranger? Wasn't a "true" sequencer also left off the SD-5? IMO the SD-5 is one expensive ass "sounds and styles" board.. Just my opinion on that though.

Squeak

Anyone think for one minute that this thing is going to clock in at less than 45lbs? I guess it's already outmoded, eh? There are going to be a lot of disappointed people if they never come out with a 25lb 61 note version (with speakers).
-------------------------------------------------
Common misconception...size and weight NEVER equal quality and performance. Guess I'm fooled. And in good company....

AUDYA Advanced Music Station
Specifications
Keyboard: 76 semi-weighted keys. 8 Velocity curves.
Pitch & Modulation Wheel. Aftertouch. Portamento.
17 Slider Volume controls ( 2 Assignable ),
Assignable tabs.
Display: 320 x 240 Colour Graphic Display TFT.
Hard Disk: 40G ATA IDE 2.5. (upgradeable to 80G).
USB: 2 USB Host + 1 USB device.
Mass storage
devices
supported: Floppy, Stick, Mp3 players, CD/DVD Rom, HD,
Computer keyboard.
Sound
Generation: 360 MB PCM Wavetable. 384 New Orchestral
Presets Sounds. Stereo & Multilayer Voices. 384 GM2
Sounds. 32 parts Multitimbral.
Total
Polyphony: 197 notes.
Voice List:
320 programmable 1 Touch - Favourite Sounds.
Drawbars: 9 Digital Drawbars slider controlled. New Rotor,
Percussion and Overdrive effect.
Programs: 320 Programs. 3 Voices, 3 splits. Sustain, Portamento,
Velocity switch, Duet, Trio, Morphing, Steel, Slide,
Harmony. Single & Global Program loading. Editing
capabilities: A,D,S,R, Cut Off, Resonance, Effects and
keyboard assignments.
2nd Voice: 384 Preset & programmable Second Voices.
2nd Voice 1 & 2.
Ram / Ins: 64 MB Ram Sound (expandable to 256 MB).
Up to 128 Voices control.
Sampler: New Sampling unit 64 MB. 44 KHz / 16 bit.
Professional
Multiplayer: 2 x Wav, 2 x Mp3, 2 x Midi fi le Player. Hi-quality real
time stretching and transposition. Play List, Autoplay.
2 tracks HD recording. MP3 Encoder (with editable
resolution). CD Audio tracks Ripped to int. or Wave.
Midifi le
Player: SMF Song playback with karaoke and Txt fi les.
Converts .kar & Midi type 0 fi les to 1. Juke box.
Intelligent Transposer. Song Chain. Drum & Bass.
Lead On/Off . Save Song setup.
Drum
Remix: Real time interactive Midifi le and Style playing.
Song and Style select.
Registrations: 320 global panel settings. Single & Block modes.
Drum 1: 32 New Drum sets . 24 User Drum Sets. 10 Drum
sections. Drum Mixer. Manual Drums.
Drum 2: 62 Live Drum Loops. Acoustic, Electro and
Latin Loops.
Real Audio
Arranger: Stereo Live Drums ( Wave) and Real Acoustic &
Electric Guitars plus Bass Accompaniments. Over 200
Internal Styles, featuring new Unplugged, Latin, Pop,
Ballad, Traditional, Swing and Ballroom Styles.
Arranger part Mute. After Fill.
4 Arrangers: A, B, C, D. 3 Intro/Endings, Fill In, Break . Interactive
Accompaniment. Manual Bass. Jump. Tap Tempo.
Accelerando-Ritardando. Tempo control. Pedalboard
functions. Rootless & Standard Chord recognition.
Pattern: New Pattern section with advanced Editing functions.
Song
Recording: Real time Song Recording to Disk (HD or FD).
Pianist: Standard & Auto Piano-style arranger playing modes.
Sustain On/Off.
Octave: 1 octave Up/Down.
Double: lower octave coupling.
Harmony: Full, Jazz, Double, Bluegrass, Trill, Repeat, Folk 1,
Folk 2.
Transposer: +/- 24 half tones.
Arabic Scale: 13 arabic setups (footswitch assignable).
Tune + / - 99 cents per note.
Accordion
Mode: International, Belgique. Velocity control to Left&Right.
Bass&Lower octave. Left Drum to Bass&Chord.
DSP: 3 new Multieffect DSP�s with Reverberation, Chorus,
Flanger, Delay, Tap Delay 4 / 8, Wha Wha, Distortion,
Overdrive, Rotor Slow/Fast , Bass Boost. Portamento,
Mono - Legato.
Micro 1 /
Micro 2: 2 Microphone Inputs with separate Gain control ,
10 bands Equalizer, Echo, Reverb, Pan/Pot,
Pitch Shift, Talk , Voice Transform.
Voicetron: new 5 Voice Harmonizer. Vocoder, Auto-Harmony,
Midi Vocalizer track, Advanced Voice editing,
Pitch to Midi.
Midi: In 1, In2 , Out, Thru. 32 Midi Channels. GM2 standard.
Outputs: Left/Mono, Right. 4 Separate assignable outputs 2
stereo or 4 Mono). Sustain and Volume Pedal.
Footswitch (6 or 13 switches). Digital SPdif In / Out.
Inputs: Stereo headphone. 2 x Microphone. 2 x Line in
Video
Interface: System: PAL, NTSC, Super VHS. Monitor, Mirror,
Zoom, Karaoke � page and full screen,
Mark, Underlined. Size and position controls.
Optionals: Hard Case, Pedal Sustain Piano type, Pedal Volume,
FS6 / FS 13 Footswitches.
Dimensions: L x W x H = ( 114 x 43 x 15 cms. ) ( 45 x 17 x 6 � ).
Weight: 18,5 Kg. ( 38 lbs )
Power: Automatic Voltage detection (110V/60Hz � 240V/50Hz)
- Plug and play.

Very nice demo...cool keyboard.

Ian

------------------
Common misconception...size and weight equal quality and performance. Don't be fooled.

Great Keyboard..!!

Thanks Bruce

George

38lbs..... pretty light for a 76-er. Not bad, Ketron. I don't see any speaker specs, so is it un-speakered?

If it's 76 keys Diki and only weighs 38lbs, I think it's safe to assume "no speakers" in this model.

Squeak

To be honest, squeak, a full featured sequencer on board seems kind of overkill nowadays. I wouldn't want to do anything serious on the arranger itself, MUCH preferring to work on the computer. No itsy bitsy little screen is as good as a nice sized monitor, and there is usually only a fraction of the power of editing with on-boards. I like to work in a full featured piano roll environment, and have yet to see a decent implementation (or at least anything that stacks up against Cubase) in a keyboard.

A simple 'record the arranger, store as an SMF' ought to be enough, and then transfer to the computer for detailed editing. I like the Makeup Tools kind of editor on board, but just for fine tuning or changing patches, drum sounds, velocity and volume etc., on a global scale, but editing MIDI on some display smaller than a Commodore 64 seems so retro..... and bad for your eyesight!

I still think an awful lot of people are gaga over 'features' in an arranger that are done FAR easier in a laptop or computer - sequencers, HD recording, sampling.... And all at the cost of purely ARRANGER features like more variations, fills, flexible hold features, sequencer/style play interaction, break/fill/mutes, chord sequencers (groan!), things that are actually about arrangers.

My worry is that, as more and more workstation 'features' get grafted on, the arranger itself becomes more of an afterthought. That will be a sad day....

I agree with Squeak. I prefer to sequence using the instrumemt itself and not a computer. Whichever way you prefer to sequence it cannot possibly add anything to the weight or the cost of the instrument and they already have the software developed in previous models so i dont understand the reasoning for not including it. All its ommission does is alienate parts of the market that need/want it. The specs overal of the Audya are very impressive and i am looking forward to more demos . AJ indicates that the patterns can be fuly edited which might be good workaround in terms of a sequencer if all you wanna do is loop or chain loops together but its no help for straight pure linear sequencing unfortunately.

The instrument is not due for release just yet, as it is more of a prototype to get feedback before the final specifications are sorted, therefore if there is demand for a full sequencer then I am sure it will be added.

Bill