Originally posted by spalding:
...Just makes no business sense to omit it. It having one would enable just 2 additional purchases of the isntrument , wouldnt that justify having one ? Would the inclusion of a sequencer have turned people off the SD5 or increased the sales of the SD1 ? I mean how hard could it have been to implement the existing SD1 sequencer into the SD5 ?
Spalding,
You are preaching to the converted (in a manner of speaking). I too would like a full-featured instrument (with vocal harmony, 16 track sequencer, a 100 GB hard disk, MP3 record/playback capability, etc), with 128 note polyphony, built in speakers, and light weight (30 lbs) sold for cheap ($1000). Only I also want 76 keys on it. We are both out of luck - this is not likely to happen. Even if manufacturers could build a keyboard like that for $1000, they are not going to sell it for that if they can charge more. Hence, we either have to get a top-of-the line keyboard (and pay accordingly), or compromise.
Finding it cumbersome to carry my 40 lb G1000, I don't want to get a 50 lb monstrosity, be it a Korg or a Roland. If someone wants to combine their gig with weight-training, the heavy weight will not be a deterrent to them. My problem is that there is no keyboard for any money that combines the requirements I listed as important to me, but that is a different story.
Getting back to your "makes no business sense" phrase - it may not make sense, but it is being done all the time. Remember Intel 486SX chip? - it was manufactured exactly the same as the regular 486 (DX), but then Intel would actually expend some effort to DISABLE the floating point processor already on the chip, so that they could have a lower-price, lower functionality offering which would not directly compete with their high-end product. I guess, Ketron decided to force you to choose between the sD5 and SD1, which, in addition to a full sequencer, also gives you a longer keyboard, sampling, built-in vocalizer, and hard disk.
Regards,
Alex