Never played the Keytron so I can't comment on it. But I can comment on the 9000Pro WITH the expansion boards - the added improved sounds and polyphony provided by the boards puts it over the top in many areas. Where Andrea placed the 9000Pro second in many of his comments, he might have put it in first place if he'd tried the expansions. To date, I haven't heard a better arranger than the 9000 Pro fully expanded. The acoustic piano exp. board is a must-have - it's richer and fuller than the stock 9000 Pro piano and it gives you another 64 notes of polyphony (using this layered with the stock Live! Strings is a joy). I also like the DX expansion board, which gives you real classic DX sounds like electric pianos and organs plus it adds another 16 notes of polyphony. The analog synth and virtual acoustic boards are my least favorite and they add five notes and one note respectively (you can install any two boards in the 9000 Pro). I would use the analog board if I did classic rock and the virtual acoustic board if I used a wind controller, but since they are easy to swap out they come in handy for studio work.

I also believe the 9000 Pro with the acoustic piano board can flat-out beat the acoustic piano of the Tyros in terms of fullness and total polyphony. With the acoustic piano and DX boards installed, the 9000 Pro has a total polyphony of 208 voices. That's hard to beat. Add the 9000 Pro's sampler and 76-note keyboard and you have a beast that remains one of the dominant arrangers in the world today.

I will also add that the Ketron PEDAL Control Utility has more options then any KB I have ever played, its amazing how many things 6 pedals can be assigned to control vs other units.

Sustain
Soft
Sostenuto
Arranger A
Arranger B
Arranger C
Arranger D
In./End. 1
In./End. 2
In./End. 3
Fill 1
Fill 2
Fill 3
Break
Start/Stop
XD9-XD3 74
Count In
Key Start
Key Stop
Tap Tempo
Registr. Up
Registr. Down
Tempo +
Tempo -
minor
7th
m7th
5+
dim
Glide
Kick Off
Snare Off
Hi-Hat Off
Cymbal Off
Tom/Fx Off
Rim Off
Latin1 Off
Latin2 Off
Latin3 Off
Drum Lock
Bass Lock
Chords Lock
Fall Off
Shake
Overdrive
Delay
Wha-Wha
Chorus
Reverb
Distorsor
Text Page-
Text Page+
Vocalizer
Jump Intro
Jump Fill
Dry on Stop
Arabic_1
Arabic_2
Arabic_3
Arabic_4
Arabic_5
Arabic_6
Arabic_7
Arabic_8
Arabic_9
Arabic_10
Arabic_11
Arabic_12
Arabic_13
Micro Dry
Fade Out
Crash
Voice Down
Voice Up
Harmony
Program
Swell
Transposer -
Transposer +
2nd Voice
Hold
Fisa Left Drum
Interact.Arr
Manual Bass
Rotor On/Off
Lead On/Off
Pianist
6th
7th+
Bassist

Another great feature is having TWO LEFT Voices letting you create complex left hand style voice assingments vs one on the 9K. The XD9 also READS TEXT Files created on your P/C while you play. All the editing capabilities and parameters on the XD9 are totaly awesome. More to follow.....



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-04-2002).]

Great insite Donny ,

Ketron is the only arranger (other than GEM ) that allows you to layer 4 sounds at a time and have 4 splits !


dano

Well, here we go again with the eternal debate over arranger sound preferences. Why don't we discuss something less subjective, such as favorite colors?

Donny,

Can you explain this feature a little better?
Thanks in advance.

-- José.

Jose,

On my Psr9k there is only ONE assignable Left voice.

On the XD9 there are TWO assignable Left Voices, soooo you can.. eg: make left-1 Strings, and Left-2 Choir to create a nice warm effect to your syles. The combinations are endless.

Hey Donny .....I know a great combination .............................................................................

Beer + Crabs . dano

Oh man!! STOP IT!!!!!!!!

Dan.... those were the best tasting and Biggest JUMBO CRABS I EVER HAD!! What a great day I had at your store.. Playing the XD9, SD-1, seeing You and AJ again, going out for a Super Dinner with Nick and You and eating CRABS, not to mention the fantastic Maryland Crab Chowder, Cream of Crab Soup, and mini Crab Balls appetizer with a Super Salad and Beer!!! A great memorable day that I won't forget!!

Life Is Good !!

Dnj



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-04-2002).]

Ok, I misunderstood your original sentence! In the X-series one can mix two sounds in the right part of the keyboard, I don't think one can do same thing with the left part...

Thanks,

-- José.

Accually with the PROGRAMS feature on Ketron products it would be possible to assign up to 4 sounds to the left voice .


I do believe the X1 did have 2 assignable sounds to the left voice .


dano