I recently had the pleasure of joining up with AJ and some other nice folks at his Jacksonville Ketron workshop. On display was the Midjay, EXP SD1, and the new SD5. It was a very enjoyable, entertaining, and educational afternoon. I give my highest recommendation to attend one of AJ's workshops, should you have the opportunity... you will learn much and have a good time.
The SD5 keyboard is 61 keys, velocity sensitive with 6 vel curves and aftertouch. It utilizes a pitch and modulation joystick. The layout is similar to the SD1, with the most noticable difference being the inclusion of onboard speakers, which are very good sounding.
290 orchestral preset sounds, > 1000 percussive sounds, 32 part multitimbral, 110 user voices, 10 digital drawbar effects 120 programs, 4 voices, 4 splits, sustain, port, vel switch, several program modes, 292 second voices, 24 new drum sets, drum mixer, manual drums, 62 live drum sets. The arranger includes new Real Latin, Unplugged (emphasis on guitars and bass, no drums), and Ballroom.
New features include Riff, Arranger Mute, After Fill, Smart 7th, Alternative Bass, Swing Bass, and Professional Guitar templates.
The SD5 does not have a sequencer, but will record real time (one take) to disc (HD or FD) and will play SMFs with karaoke and Txt files, converts .kar & Midi type 0 files to 1. Jukebox, Intelligent transposer, song chain, drum & bass, lead on/off, and drum remix.
Options include video interface, vocalizer, hard disc, pattern expansion, and footswitch. Size and weight are ~ same as SD1, 46" long and 37 lbs.
Some of the features I was especially impressed with... velocity affects not only loudness, but also the timbre of many of the voices. This is due to not only sampling but also modulation in the creation of these voices. New sound card, 128 polyphony. Organs and guitars are totally new and more realistic, with the guitars now rivaling the best of Yammy, IMO... and the organs more B3ish. Bass voices all new.
Many buttons (> 100), which are now better organized and leaving nothing important buried in a submenu.
After Fill... a new feature that is easy to explain. With AF engaged, you can assign a fill (drum fill) to the keyboard aftertouch, therefore your hands not leaving the KB! Way cool!
Riff... a new feature, which is also very cool, but not so easy to explain. I'll give it my best shot.
Riff allows the KB to learn from you, from how you are playing (most importantly, your chord progressions) and the style you are playing. Then, when you stop playing, the KB will continue with that same progression. This allows you to use both hands to play lead (eg piano), or to do whatever you'd like with your left hand..... like keep it on the joystick if you are playing guitar or saxaphone (imo, how can you play a realistic sounding sax or blues guitar without keeping your left hand on the stick or wheels).
The most simple example I can think of... "Evil Ways". If you start with Gm7 and C7 and then kick in Riff, it'll keep those two chords going until the cows come home, or until you turn off Riff. However, Riff can learn a pattern/chord progression... and apply it... up to 32 measures! That can be whole song!
Got that so far? OK, now it gets more complicated. Riff is not simply a loop playing over and over. On the contrary, it makes the progression with little redundancy, therefore sounding more realistic, as would a real live band playing. Also, as you continue to play melody, Riff will become progressively more complex, adding more sounds or voices, with each repeated progression. However, it will also "get out of the way" (tone back a little) when you are playing, so as to not compete with your lead, or melody. Make sense? Hope so... the feature sounds really good.
The final production SD5 will have 2 Riff modes. One mode will lock in, therefore the same riff will sound, with predictability. The other will be the learning, or random mode (more unpredictable, like real guys in a real band).
AMSP? Nothing announced yet, but from inuendos I'm picking up, with vocalizer and HD probably close to 3K.
I really liked the SD5. The only 2 downers for me personally... no second mic input, but that's minor... and only 61 keys, not so minor. Some of the new features enable you to make more music with less button pushing, allowing you to better relate with and enjoy your audience. That's important to me. Combined with some really great sounds, the SD5 is a winner... and one I'd like to own.
Glenn
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