Ok all, this may be a provocative question here and I may get various different opinions. It may really have been asked before but it's easiest to ask here and now.

As a stand point of all the most recent arranger boards (keep in mind the usability to someone playing the board without sight), which of them has been found to have the most realistic voicing and styles? Many of you have tried most on the market currently, but I'm asking for an objective opinion.

This opinions should be based on the reactions you have received from your audiences. Of the boards you have tried, which one gave you the feeling that your audience really felt there was a true to life sounding band and not just a bunch of instruments being played together at the same time? Which board gave the most realism in it's styles without going in and tweaking the hell out of each?

Yes Tyros 2 and 3 are very usable, but are the styles better and is it more realistic in a live situation?

G-70, E-60 - though the touch screen is a hinderance, my discussion with Fran back in December clued me to thinking it may be usable by someone without sight, but realism better than other options?

Korgs touch screens are way out of question here since no logical method but Realism?

And then there's the Ketron SD and the new board coming out. Yes, there is interest by AJ to make it accessible, but thoughts of its' realism against the others?

Then again, is there any board which has pc based acccessible editors which can be used to make those pesky tweeks to fine tune things to get that sound? Even though software is available from some of the manufactureres, it usually is not usable by assistive technology (screen readers). Any third party editors for any of these boards like there are for the Motif boards?

Yes, I could buy each board and try it out, but having capital to do so is a problem so need to really focus on one overall and work with it from that point. Most of these boards are not available locally in the South Florida area - well at least not in the West Palm area.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Vince

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Vince Mistretta

[This message has been edited by vin5451 (edited 01-31-2009).]

As far as realism and LIVE sound, my personal choices are, in order:
Ketron Audya
Ketron S Series
Roland G and E series
Yamaha Tyros 3

Individual sounds are very subjective. Yamaha has some great guitar and sax voices and the keyboard can add nuances for you.
Ketron excels at natural sounds, particularly drums and bass. Really strong in Country/Western and old-time Rock N Roll.
Roland has many great features and sounds.

I had a stinker of a Korg PA80, so I can't be objective about it. I hated it for lack of styles, hard to use interface, especially when loading styles, and dull sound. I'm sure it's better now with the Os upgrades.

I truly feel for a blind person that Ketron would be well suited, because they have so many dedicated buttons and sliders.

Hope this helps, it's only my opinion after playing these things since they were invented.
DonM www.donmasonmusic.com

I really can`t comment on anything other than Yamaha.

But I will say that if there is something about a sound or style you don`t like , with a Yamaha you can always rebuild the sound or style to suit your needs.

It is a very flexible OS , but not very Mac friendly !!   

Take care !!

Gary 

Don I think you meant PA800 correct?

Correct, the PA80 I had was very good actually.
The 800 must have been a lemon. It was the first one sold in the US, or so I was told.
Shoulda waited.
DonM

1.Tyros3
2. ??
3. ??
4. ??
5.Korg Pa2x
6.Audya
7.Roland E80/G79

;-) Impuls :-)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DonM:
[B]Correct, the PA80 I had was very good actually.

I do know of one blind musician using a PA80 and found the layout very close to the Tyros and Technics.

Right now I am considering the G-70 even though the touch screen issues, but still have my concerns about it's realism. This new Ketron board does seem interesting enough.

It would be so much easier if the boards were available locally to try out instead of buying, then returning and hopefully you don't have to pay a restock charge or if you find a board on here or EBay where you can purchase it on contingency to try it out.


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Vince Mistretta

In your particular situation...

I would just go get a T3,
I don't think you would be dissappointed (or a used T2 if cost is an issue for you)

IMHO,
Lee

Even blind people can listen to online demos and decide for themselves which sounds most real. I should know, I'm blind, in fact, I'm on the midimag list with you. But why ask people about real sounds? Ask about features, usability, anything but sound. If person 1 thinks Roland is most real, and person 2 thinks Yamaha is most real, and 3 thinks Ketron is most real, what have you learned? Besides that, nobody has the most real everything. So Roland has the most real piano sound, but Yamaha has more real guitars, and Ketron has more real drums. But other people will disagree with that assessment. Plus, I've had some first hand experience here with how well people can distinguish what is real and what isn't, so that's one area I know better than to get others' opinions. I just don't think you're gonna have much luck getting actual useful help.

Rory

[This message has been edited by FAEbGBD (edited 01-30-2009).]

one, two, Cha Cha Cha

dump out the urinals.....
theres a Pissin contest a brewin'

That word "BEST" does it every time!