Dear Forum members and others,

It's been quit a while now that we've been anticipating the new revolutionary keyboard AUDYA from Ketron and for those interested in this product; we'd like to extend a special "Thank you" for your patience and endurance during this long research and development process.

A lot of design and development has been put into AUDYA to make it truly a one-of-it's-kind Arranger Keyboard for it's time and we believe we've been able to finally achieve this goal.

This product (full production model functioning at 100% of the current features) should officially be released in the United States around March 15th, 2009, where users will be able to get a up-close-and-personal view and experience of this great Arranger 'Work-horse'. Being built on an Open Architecture platform, of course we will add new functions and features as requested by our customers through OS updates.

What are some of the features we believe will put AUDYA in a 'class' of its own? What makes the KETRON AUDYA unique to existing Arrangers?

Just to list a few features (you should find out the rest in person once it's released ...)...

1. Best Natural Sounds:- Living up to its reputation, Ketron built the AUDYA around its best natural & original sounds. A lot of time and development was taken to create lengthy, accurate samples created from the 'ground up'. For most instruments, the 'character' of the instrument was also captured in real time giving the user the possibility to play the instrument the way the original instrument was meant to be played ...e.g. play the MUTED or SWING TRUMPET and listen to how the 'player' blows into the instrument ... and also hold the key down long enough and you hear the player 'run out of breath' while the sound 'decays' to an end... after all a trumpet player cannot hold his breath endlessly now, can they? Such a feature eliminates the use of 'loops' in many of our sounds so the 'artificial' effect of simply sampling is for the most part eliminated.
We at Ketron have always prided ourselves in creating the Best Natural sounds and as such we've never found the need to advertize a special category of Sounds - they should all sound good.
To add to the existing selection of ROM sounds in AUDYA's memory, we have included a bonus section in the Hard Drive in the folder called "SUPERSOLO". These are voices which (in many instances) work on both samples and modulation. Loading a 10,120 KB voice takes no more than 5 seconds with our new CPU (if no other action is being carried out). Loading can also be done while the keyboard is being played (multi-tasking), however loading times will increase. These voices bring out the best of AUDYA with rich characteristics and great authenticity ... you've not heard the best of AUDYA until you hear the SUPERSOLO voices.

2. 'LIVE' ARRANGER:- This is not the first time KETRON has incorporated AUDIO into their arrangers. In the mid 90's, Ketron used AUDIO grooves with their MS-series keyboards. This was then carried into the X, SD and XD series with better, longer audio grooves to really give that LIVE DRUM feel. We've decided to go up a level where no Arranger Workstation has gone by now, by incorporating Audio Drums, Audio Bass and an Audio chord part with the Arranger too. The capability to control such Audio (bass and chord parts) in real time has of course posed it's problems, but we believe we have found a compromise such that the AUDIO parts complement (and not replace) the midi Arranger parts. So, a style (depending on which style is selected) will have Audio drums (recorded by real, live, professional musicians), and/or Audio bass and/or one audio chord (chord 5 - which can be toggled between audio and midi). For the chords that are not recognized by the chord 5 track, complex algorithms either 'stretch' the chord or midi parts are played to 'represent' that chord - however, due to the rich nature of the new sound library, you will hardly notice the difference ... it's like driving a Toyota Prius Hybrid - hard to tell when the gas engine switches off and the electric engine switches on. This characteristic enables AUDYA to recognize and play ALL chord types when the Arranger is played in full. Of course if you 'solo' chord 5, there will be scenarios where this chord will not be heard ~ if you plan to play an entire performance with ONLY chord 5 active, we'd suggest you select another style that will have the midi equivalent to this one.

3. INTERACTIVE GUITAR:- This new feature from Ketron allows you to determine 'when' you want to hear live guitar strum/notes. Depending on the setting, you can play a chord and the Arranger will automatically insert a guitar strum/chord/part based on how hard you play. This allows one to 'interact' with the machine and again eliminate redundancy and boredom.

4. INTELLIGENT ARRANGER:- Now here is where things begin to 'pick up' even more. With the way Arrangers are 'programmed' one of the characteristics it's been hard to navigate away from has been ... REDUNDANCY. Regardless of the quality of styles and sounds, the Arranger (because it's playing a loop - 4, 8,16 or even 32 measures long in some cases) at some point becomes 'boring' as you already begin to 'know what is coming'. Using AI (Artificial Intelligence) in AUDYA, we've been able to practically eliminate this effect. When you play a style on AUDYA, for the first couple of measures, AUDYA 'learns' what you are playing. When redundant chord progressions are played, AUDUA will start playing random 'bass', 'drum' and in some cases 'chord' parts. These parts are 'thrown into your performance' to enhance what you are playing. In order not to 'compete' with what you are playing, AUDYA automatically 'mutes' these parts once you start to play (e.g. a solo part) so as to avoid 'noise' (which tends to occur when too many parts/tracks are playing at the same time). This feature alone is quite innovative in the fact that AUDYA tends to remain 'new' to you the end user, always inspiring you to play. The sad thing about this feature is it might (just might) eliminate the need for another keyboard after this!
AUDYA also responds to velocity, After-touch, run up/down scales ... etc to trigger different notes and parts when playing a style.

5. POWERFUL REMIX FEATURES:- With the integration of AUDIO into Styles and MIDIFILES, we decided to give you the end user the capability to create your own Enhanced Midi-audio, Wave or MP3 files instantly from your existing MIDI library. Simply by selecting a Midi file and playing, you can use the REMIX feature to remove the 'midi drums' of existing Midi files and replace them using the AUDIO drums from AUDYA. he midi files DRUM, BASS, ORCHESTRAL and LEAD parts can be individually controlled with the dedicated sliders. With this feature, you can use the Arranger and Fill ins to change the drum tracks live as you play and sing to your midi files. What's best? Simply press RECORD to record this entire performance as a WAVE file that will automatically be named after the Midi file (with a *.wav) extension(if you plugged in a microphone into AUDYA, your vocal tracks will also be recorded). To take this feature even further, you can also activate the AUDIO chord part (guitars) and while playing the midi file, play the chords on the left and the AUDIO guitars will follow you - and yes, you can once more record these at the same time - basically reading and writing to the built in Hard Drive at once!! With the capability to record your own Wave and MP3 files, AUDYAs' recording possibilities are open and flexible.

6. KEY TUNES:- Did we mention the fact that AUDYA also comes with a POWERFUL multi player? You can play (simultaneously) 2 wave, 2 mp3 or 2 midi files and the keyboard at the same time. Not that you'll be doing this very often, but you know the capability is there ... especially for those who depend on playing existing files with effects ...etc. Thanks to this new player, we've created KEYTUNES. This feature allows you to assign Wave, MP3 or midi files to keys on the keyboard. You may assign an audio/midi file either to a key or a range of keys. Once these keys are pressed, you have the option to play the loop only when the key is depressed (Hold=ON) or play and keep playing the file until the next key is pressed. With this function, the possibilities are endless for a gigging musician on stage having all their songs at their finger-tips ... literally!

7. POWERFUL MULTIPLAYER:- AUDYA can play (as mentioned above) multiple Wave, MP3 and Midi files at once. Each file can be controlled by dedicated independent sliders or automatically with the CROSSFADE feature, the user can fade out of one file into the next (with adjustable CROSSFADE curves). With over 200 EFFECTS on board, you can add and enhance your music or take a break and ... let AUDYA entertain with the PLAYLIST feature or ... endless possibilities.

8. VOICETRON - KETRON's Vocalizer:- We've decided to 'build our own' vocalizer and implore our notion of Best Natural Sounds to the vocaliser as well. So our harmonies stand out and sound ... 'REAL'. With harmony modes like AUTOTUNE, we've shaped up the human voice and why not enhance the world's best instrument - your voice? AUDYA offers 2 mic inputs with independent GAIN control. This allows 2 people to be able to sing into AUDYA at the same time and apply effects to both voices and ... yes record both voices as well as a Wave or Mp3 file. Harmonies can be created and controlled using your LEFT, RIGHT or both hands or via MIDI from an external source like a Sequencer for an example. You can even play 'single notes' and manually create your own harmonies too.

9. (6)INDEPENDENT OUTPUTS:- For the live musician who's sound man needs to have control of each instrument and sound coming out of the keyboard OR for the studio artist who wants to record 12 audio tracks at once (yes, 12 when panned) using software such as PROTOOLS, this is a must. The outputs allow the user to assign different instruments to different outputs and as such, one has individual control over all tracks/channel. For an example, you can assign the Kick drum out of OUT1(L) and high hat out of OUT1(R), then Congas out of OUT2(L) and Timbales out of OUT2(R) ...etc. Now you can (outside the keyboard) apply compression to the KICK DRUM alone, maybe add some other effects to the other tracks ... etc. You can also assign the MICS and audio (Wave and MP3) to different outputs. We've also incoorporated S/PDIF in and out and LINE IN for external sound sources.

10. VOICE LAYERING & CONTROL:- You can layer up to 3 voices on the right or entire keyboard and play them at once or play them across the keyboard with up to 3 different SPLIT points or using velocity control, program each voice to be heard only when the key(s) are played at a particular velocity range or both. Each of these voices can be assigned different EFFECTS, volumes, and pitch, sustain (y/n), expression ...etc.

11. CUSTOMIZATION:- You can pretty much customize AUDYA to your needs. You can customize start up features (what should be active or not when the unit is turned on), USER buttons 1-5 below the screen and one slider (PFL). We understand not everyone is the same and so we wanted to allow AUDYA meet your needs.

12. RIFF:- Play a couple of chords; now go into the RIFF (Arranger D where applicable). AUDYA takes over your Arrangement and plays chord progressions automatically based on the chord you played and style of music. This allows you to 'jam' on either the right or entire keyboard (Pianist mode). Again, because of your style of play, the RIFF differs.

13. AUDIO TEMPO & KEY CHANGE. Play a wave file, now hit the transpose button (up or down) to change it's key OR use the TEMPO button to change it's tempo/speed while maintaining the pitch. To add to this, you can also still use the VOICE MUTE feature and delete the lead voice. Now, you can sing to your favorite Audio tunes ... great for Karaoke Players. You can also synchronize this with Midi or styles and yes - re-record onto the Hard Drive as a new Audio file (with your flavor now).

14. TEXT ASSOCIATION:- Just as with our previos products, you can always associate a text file with either a Midi file, Wave or MP3. When you play the song the first time, you'll 'teach' AUDYA where and when to change the pages of the text in real-time. Once this task is accomplished, the next time you play that same song, AUDYA will automatically load it's corresponding text (if the text file has the same name as the audio or midi file) and scroll through automatically. This information (along with a mirror image of the screen too) can be displayed on an external monitor or TV screen using the built in RGB Video connection located on the back.

15. USB:- Two USB 1.1 jacks are comfortably located at the front. AUDYA can use sources like external Hard Drives, USB thumb sticks, USB FD ... etc to expand on data storage and communicate with the "outside world". With the compression rate used by AUDYA and the efficient design of it's new data bus, the actual data transfer speed is slightly over 15% faster than the standard USB 1.1 configuration. A USB Host jack comfortably located at the rear allows you to connect AUDYA to a PC/MAC for further direct access to it's internal Hard Drive or Midi applications, or for use with software soon to be provided for this instrument.

There are many other features not described above simply because words alone cannot tell the whole story. Even videos (in their own way) are limited. You'll have to try one and find out if it's for you FIRST as Different Arranger manufacturers hold and target different markets. No Arranger Workstation or keyboard has it all, but we believe with AUDYA, we have taken a great step forward.

Of course we will continue listening to our customers for future updates on our products. Again we like to thank you for your patience as we try to release a revolutionary product we believe those who purchase will like and enjoy for years to come.

The Ketron team.

[This message has been edited by Ketron_AJ (edited 02-10-2009).]

Aj you have Leezone foaming at the mouth!!!!

A few questions...

Individual outs on the drums... This is for the MIDI drums and not for the audio loops, isn't it? I can't see a way to route these separately when a hi-hat and kick occur simultaneously (as they do most of the time).

Is there any articulation control (SA type ability) on these 'Best Natural Sounds'? Are they sampled with a different sample for each note? If there are no loops, one wouldn't want them dropping out at different times due to a sped up or slowed down sample, would one?

Any chance of a Ketron demo that soloed the loop AND MIDI guitar parts at the same time? One audio track would defuse (maybe!) much of the speculation about this feature. Sure, bury this in a busy mix, you might not hear it. But many songs go great with JUST an acoustic guitar part, even if not for the entire song. How well this workaround works is of primary importance to me, and maybe many more. Let's just HEAR IT, please...

And sorry, but please... one final definitive statement about whether the guitar loops WILL have more than maj/min and the occasional 7th as basic chord types actually recorded (not added to, replaced or anything else) will help squash the speculation and rampant misinformation spread by many Ketron 'defenders' that have MUCH less knowledge than you...

The Intelligent Arranger feature... I'm still not quite sure I 'get' this. Do you REALLY mean the FIRST couple of measures it learns what you are doing? Because I fail to see how ANY redundancy occurs THAT early in a song... How big is this 'learn' window? It sounds a great feature, if extended beyond what you've said.

Key tunes... This sounds kind of like you can do an RPS type thing with loops. Do they stay in sync with each other? Can you cue one up so it starts at the end of the first? This sounds promising.

I'm sorry for all the questions, but you have to understand that a product with as little dealership in the US as Ketron has is unlikely to be seen or played by the majority of musicians here. If we HAVE to see it to believe it, sadly, few of us are going to be able to believe it You'd be amazed at how much we CAN tell from a decently produced video! Please, PLEASE don't try that Wersi 'You've GOT to sit at one before you can judge anything at all' nonsense on us. That dog, as they say over here, don't hunt

Your answers to our questions, and a LOT of video up at the site is going to make believers out of us, I hope. I haven't given up on this thing, and only ever wanted straightforward answers to straightforward questions. The hype and pre-release promo left a LOT of unanswered questions. If THIS post had come out six months ago, little of what has been said would have ever got posted, IMO.

I look forward to the answers... (really )

not quite....

not quite the news i was hoping to hear

i consider the lack of audio parts for MANY ESSENTIAL chords more of an "incompleteness" rather than what AJ/Ketron says: "AUDIO parts complement (and not replace) the midi Arranger parts".

what does this say?

this says that we are done with recording and developing this breakthrought Audio loop technology,
if it's not there, well you get the midi equivalent, big deal, it all sounds the same right? ;-)
midi guitar sounds exactly the same as the Audio, you can't tell the difference, can you?

and it seems (sadly) that Ketron will NEVER add ALL Audio guitar chords, and will never finish what they started... :-(

sorry, but those are my feelings and thoughts...

just wondering how the keyboard went from 50% as per Nedim, about a week or two ago, to now: "This product (full production model functioning at 100% of the current features)" to be released in a Month in the USA

what has changed from this demo-model within last weeks till now?

will we have full-functioning software to go with AUDYA since its Open Architecture?, full manual? if not it's not 100% as stated.

Sometimes we try to put a handle on an egg...
we dont have to stretch words that much...
If the one i played was 50% finished does that
mean that the ones in Italy are also 50% finished?
What if they were 97% finished at the time?
And what method and measure did i use to tell
exactly 50% finished? What if i was 30% off?

Nedim not ONLY do i wish you were 30% off

BUT, i also wish the AUDYA was 30% off ;-)

AJ, question...

since AUDYA is Open Arch,
will Ketron add to audio chords grooves at a later time? Perhaps i should have asked before assuming :-)

also can WE record/inport our own grooves, or can we say REPLACE all guitar audio loops in a particu;ar style with a TOTALLY different instrument?

say i wanna replace the audio guitar groove in the tango style to use an accordion audio groove instead?

lee, I would think that if Ketron can't get more than those chords to stream in realtime, a user won't be able to get MORE...

But yes, I would imagine that how easy it is for a user to import audio loops, if only for the drum section, will be of great interest. At least for those of us that can't afford to buy every new model that comes out (or just plain don't want to!), being able to easily import sampled loop grooves and fills will make a difference to how long this keeps us satisfied (I can only play the same style for so long ).

For something like an accordion loop, how do you get past the basic chord problem? That sound needs complex chords AT LEAST as much as a guitar does, and I can't imagine that making the MIDI workarounds that the guitar section has had put in is easy in the least...

Answers to some of the questions asked above.

Individual out on drums:- This is for midi and Groove drums. For styles that have Audio drums, the entire drum track can can be assigned to an output. Bass, Audio Guitar, Chord parts ... etc can also be individually assigned.

Articulation control:- Controlled by velocity, time to which the next note is hit after current note (initial or mute attack, e.g on sax) and aftertouch.

For just an accoustic guitar part (or equivalent) we have the UNPLUGGED styles which can be used.

Yes, the Audio Guitar, Bass (or other instruments) parts does/will respond to more than just Major, Minor and 7thh chords.

Intelligent Arranger:- The intelligent part picks up usually between 16-32 measures of play (depending on the style). For styles witin 'longer messures' the 'pick up' is longer i.e more measures have to be played before it kicks in. As an example, 'No Woman no Cry' - Reggae style. If you play the chorus back-to-back about twice (the same way), you'll hear the difference on the 3rd time around, however if you play and also increase your velocity of play (get excited) during the 2nd time, you'll hear subtle differences too. Hope this examples explains this feature better?

Keytunes:- You can synchronize the audio (before creating the keytune list) and yes you can cue to start one right after the other, however you will have to use an audio editor (e.g Recycle) to 'edit' the wave/mp3 files so that there is no 'space' at the begining or end of each file ... just a little homework for a better, smoother performance.

We are working on some demos that should be up and running soon.

Also, those who attend the forthcoming workshops should feel free to try out the keyboard. No one was turned down from trying the AUDYA at the Shrevport Jam ~ there was just too little time to show all it's features and remember ... many people there simply wanted to 'jam' after the demonstration, not play the AUDYA. There just wasn't enough time, but the forthcoming Ketron workshops are just that - workshops...

Lack of audio parts:- We never advertized or mentioned anything along the lines of "... and now, our styles will be replaced entirely with complete Audio". We hope there wasn't a mis-understanding about this and hopefully this clears it up. Styles are made up of about 8 elements (Drum 1, Drum 2, Bass, Chd1-5). For many styles, Drum 1, Bass and Chd5 are replaced with AUDIO equivalent parts while Drum 2 are grooves. The other parts (Chords 1-4)are still midi based. The AUDIO parts can also be turned 'off' and replaced with Midi.

We forgot to mention ... Arpeggios and Licks - can be substituted for Chord 4!! Arps have usually been associated only with Synth Workstations ~ but now, Arranger Workstations can use them too. You can change the voicing of the Arp. once the style is being played (say from Strings to Guitar or synth or ...). When the style is off, you can change/select a different Arp. that best suits you. When done, you can now save this style with your new setting (changes may be applied to individual Arranger parts or the entire style).

Full functioning software (for editing/creating DJ loops, styles, customization ...etc) will be made available and downloadable on our website at a later date. The complete manual is also being revised and will soon be up on our website for download.

Import/Recording Grooves:- Yes, you'll be able to use yours (Drums) with the assistance of software which we'll provide on our website. In STYLE VIEW, you can see the entire STYLE structure. By selecting CHORD-5 (F10), you can decide either to use AUDIO (and therefore select from a data base of guitar and other instrument parts that reside in AUDYA) or MIDI (select any instrument to assign to this track). As for the Audio Bass and Chords, Ketron will be enhancing this library as well with future updates.

Hope that better explains it.

Thanks,

AJ

[This message has been edited by Ketron_AJ (edited 02-09-2009).]