I haven't had an external arranger module in years.
How would this work with a keyboard such as Tyros for real-time performance? Would you use just the keys on the Tyros and push buttons on the module in real time, or would the module respond to similar buttons from the Tyros used as a Master?
Just mildly curious...
DonM

Don,
In my store I am using a Yamaha DGX300 to control the MidJay. I'm only using Midi Channel 1 which is the default on both products and the DGX is just being used as a controller keyboard. I push all the buttons on the MidJay which is right above the keyboard. I haven't even tried to use the DGX for style and voice changes but I'm sure I could if I want. I'll try it tomorrow at the store.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene

Thanks George, this thing is making me THINK.
DonM

Im thinking so much that todayI'm taking one home for trial.Thanks George for the info, as usual you're right on top of things!

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Roy-Andrè

Makes sense.....buy a Good Controller KB [only 12Lbs or so] Fatar/Roland etc..


http://www.roland.com/products/en/A-37/index.html


http://www.studiologic.net/




with the "KEYFEEL" YOU LIKE.....

hook it up to the Midjay and your off.....
I'm trying to get a Store Demo at Dan O's store after the holidays with AJ, Dave, Fran, Gary to see this bad boy in action with this kind of setup.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-23-2004).]

Me too! Roy, DNJ, and others... looking forward to your impressions.

A thought... how 'bout using one of the B3 clone keyboards as a controller!?! I'm thinking Nord Electro for lightweight.

Hey Don, how would you use the Midjay? What would it do for you that your Tyros wouldn't? I know it would but WHAT, just to hear it in your words? If you'd spend $1600, obviously, it would do something fairly significant.

Brought the midjay home. I will test it extensively this upcoming weekend. As it plays mp3 and wave files plus midifiles, means I can use many many backingtracks available for guitarist, not worrying about PC trouble. Plus I can synch .TXT files with any file type, which means I can finally throw away my text book.......maybe not quite.
The SFX are wave files are of course very real. The only gripe I have is being used to the Yamaha OS, the Ketron way of thinking is something I again must relearn. I owned an MS100, so it shouldn't be too hard....
The 10 playlists with up to 10 .mid or mp3 or .wav are a great feature that I can see being used right away.
I'll let you know more later.

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Roy-Andrè

Don,
I tried using the program change buttons from the DGX300 this morning and it works fine. Because I'm only using the one channel, that's the only function currently being used. If, however, I also had the clock on the MidJay set to clock= on, now I'm able to start the style on the Midjay by pressing accomp. on on the DGX300 and I can stop the style from playing by pressing the stop button on the DGX. Also, if I turn off the accomp. button on the DGX, only the drums play on the Midjay. I'm sure more possibilities are there but this is what I've played with today.

By the way, two of my customers living in the LA area that read the forum came to my store last night and both have ordered MidJays. I think we have a winner here! One of these customers has a PSR3000 but needs faster ways of playing Midifiles with cleaner crossfades from one to another and the Midjay delilvers for him.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene

George,
If I understood you correctly, you're able to copy the styles from the SD-1, SD-1+, the XD and the X series Ketron units onto the HD of the MidJay and play them as you would the onboard styles? If so, how do they sound compared to playing the keyboards themselves. Is there some tweaking required as there is when styles are converted between keyboard brands?

Also, on the MidJay, how do you select a particular style? And how do you select a particular voice or program? Many of the buttons on the unit appear to be dedicated to DJ type functions for playback of the various format music files.

Is one able to use a multifunction foot controller for various functions, such as fills, etc. as you can on the Ketron keyboards?

Thanks,
Paul C.

George,
Thanks for the research! Another question:
I have around a thousand lyric files, in MS Word format, on my laptop. Could these be transferred and used on the Midjay? They could easily be converted to .txt.
Thanks,
Don

First,
I am playing all my styles from the XD3 and SD1 and although some of the parts might play a different sound then the original, AJ has told me that there is something inside the Midjay which finds a similar and appropriate sound. If, however, you would like to choose a different sound, you can edit all the sounds, volumes, pan, effects of each of the style parts just like in the XD or SD keyboards.
Next, what I've done in my store is to pick the style I want, the sounds I want to play and save it as a registration. Then when I want to recall this registration, just hit the registration button and a list appears. I've called all my custom registrations "GK-latin", etc. and now I can hit the button called "ALBHA" type in the letter GK and all my GK styles come up in order. I select the one I want to play and hit enter.

Don, I am going to quote the manual here:
"Text files (.TXT extension) can be associated together with WAVE and MP3 songs and scrolled through in real time together with music.
The user can type out (using a PC) the text of the Song (or copy it from a website and paste into a Word or Note pad document). When naming the file, it should be the same as the name of the song you want to associate the text with (e.g. if the name of the song file is Hello.wav or Hello.mp3, the name of the text file should be 'Hello.txt' -remember to change the "Save as type" (during the save operation) to "Text only" so that the file is saved with a "txt. Extension". Next, copying the text connection, you can actually select "SAVE AS" and while saving, point the save location to the corresponding WAVE or MP3 folder (where the song resides). The Lyrics will be displayed as soon as you start the song. You can either use the cursor buttons to change the pages as you perform or use the optional footswitch peda to do this as you perform.

AUTOMATICALLY SCROLLING THROUGH TEXT FILES
The automatic syncronization of the text with the song is achieved as follows:
Start the song and press the lyrics text button associated with the text.
Press the record button (this will enable recording of the time the pages should be changed as the song plays). You will only have to do this once.
Advance the text pages with cursor at the right moment while the song plays
When the song is over press stop and then press enter(if you made a mistake and would like to do this all over, press exit and start all over)
THE NEXT TIME YOU PLAY THE SONG, MIDIJAY WILL AUTOMATICALLY DISPLAY THE SONG'S LYRICS AND CHANGE THE PAGES FOR YOU AUTOMATICALLY AT THE RIGHT TIME"
Don, I hope you understand all this!
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Thanks George! That would be a neat feature, but I'm more interested in something like the X1 had, associating the text files with a Style. If I remember correctly you could manually scroll the lyrics on the X1 with an arrow or footswitch.
It's not a huge thing, but it would be neat to have EVERYTHING in that module and eliminate the need for a laptop completetly.
Don

DonM,

You can associate the Text file with a style as well and manually use the ">" and "<" buttons OR assignable FS6'FS13 to change the pages as you play forwards or backwards in real time...

OR

Just load the text from the HD/FD, select a style and start playing ...

OR

Save both under a Registration so when you call that Registration up (preferably name as a song), both the STYLE and TEXT associated with it are called up ...

OR ...

The automatic scrolling is only associated with a SONG (Midi, Wave or MP3).

Thanks,

AJ

SBPC,

Selecting Voices or Styles are relatively easy and YES you are right ... Midijay was designed with the PLAYER in mind first.

To select a VOICE:
Simply press the VOICE button (top left of screen). This will display the 64 Preset voices. Use the Data wheel to highlight each one (as they are highlighted, they are activated at that time).
OR
Press EXIT and you will now be at the PRESET GROUP page (with Piano, Chrom, Guitars ...). Select the GROUP where you belive the voice you want to use resides in and press ENTER. All the voices within that group will now be displayed. Scroll to the voice you want (as they are highlighted, they are activated at that time).

To select a STYLE.
Press the STYLE Master Folder button (found at the bottom). The display will initially show you the ROM styles. Hight light the style you want and press ENTER to select and load it in. If you want to access all the other RAM/DISK styles, press the EXIT button to go to the styles on disk, select the one you want to use and press ENTER. It is immediately ready for use.

Hope this helps.

Thanks.

AJ

Thanks Prince A.J.!
It sounds as if the Midjay is indeed an innovative instrument which merits a trial at least.
DonM

Thanks for the reply A.J.,
While the selection of a style in a live play situation sounds like it can be done quickly enough, sounds like changing voices on the fly may be a bit of a challenge. I understand that the MidJay was designed with the music file player in mind, but was wondering how difficult it would be for the live musician to use. Also I believe I saw in the specs that there is provision for a foot controller. What function(s) can be controlled by a foot pedal? Could you comment a bit more on the optional vocal harmonizer. I gather it can handle up to three part harmony, but I was wondering about how many different voice combinations can be selected? I would assume duo would be one of them? And finally, in your opinion, how close does the MidJay come to sounding like the SD, XD and X series product when playing styles from these machines? How about the drums and bass, for example?
Thanks,
Paul C.

Can't you get all the features of the MidJay on a laptop?

Paul,
Hi there in Santa Barbara. The new Midijay has sounds similar to those in the SD1.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

http://www.ketronus.com/midjay.htm

You can find some demo mp3's lower on this web page.
Personally, I don't think much of them, but different strokes for different folks as they say.

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The old Newb

George,

To my aging ears, it sounded identical to the SD1. Are there any provisions for loading 3rd party styles, and if so, how would the midijay handle things such as mega-voices?

Gary

Sorry boyze ..... Separate modules have no interest to me, and as much as I'd love to take a road trip for some Crabs .... I just can't get excited about something I KNOW I don't want. I've made a commitment to get close to what this 3k can do, and I'm stickin' to my guns till something really new and exciting ( with 61 keys and speakers ) comes along.
Hey ... is that TURKEY I smell?.?? ..... gotta run. Mmmmmmmmmm

Crabs can be tough to find in January, but I imagine I can round up a couple dozen. D

Gary

Dave ...I'm always an optimist....I always like to see new gear demonstrated weather its for my application or not...plus our famous 3 Amigo Road trips which I always love & seeing old friends like DanO & Prince AJ, Gary D is worth the gas & tolls for sure. I also love performing with my 3k for now....but IMO never dispose of the idea to keep an open mind to what is being developed in the future......just the curiosity alone keeps me excited!

PS... BTW...did someody say CRABS?