I only do a handful of Latin songs, but I find myself playing more of them on the Audya because they are so good.
I usually just start a style and get inspired and make something up! These Texans and Cajuns don't know the difference anyway!

DonM

Thanks Gary for the syles- I can't wait to try them out!

Also if anybody has some good cumbias or other latin styles, I'd could really use them.

The Ketron Audya Latin styles I heard on line are amazing! Now if I could just convince my wife that I really need another keyboard... Thanks guys!

montunoman,

just sell all 5 or 6 of your best keyboards
and you'll have a down payment for the AUDYA

or just refinance your house...

Gentlemen, It's all about priorities. A new car can run 30,000 dollars, a good bass boat 20,000. Gary's sailboat, no telling.
I used to routinely pay 10,000 for an organ, each time thinking it was the last I'd ever need.
The Audya is something no one else much has. It is an arranger, a midi file player, an MP3 player, a WAV player, a recorder. It has everything needed to replace laptop, including music players and text display, great vocal processing and harmonizer. It has as many as eight individual outs for recording. It has various effects processors, compressors, and a sound that you will not hear in every beer joint on the street.
It has two mic inputs and e.q. for both, so you don't need a mixer for a solo or duo.
It has a really good new operating system, and it's built like a tank. I think it's a bargain when you consider all you get.
Of course similar points can be made for most of the arrangers on the market now.
They are all bargains when you compare the to what we used to have to use.
For goodness sake, I think I paid something like $1500. for a PSR 6100, that sounded like doo-doo and had virtually no storage other than strange sounds encoded on a cassette tape. And that was when a dollar was worth something.
If you have to mortgage your house to buy one, then sure, it's a no-brainer. But it's easy to see how many of us waste so much money on other things.
I know a guy who spends more on booze and cigarettes in six months than it would take to buy an Audya, all the time griping about being broke. It's a matter of priorities.
I'm sure there are better choices for many of us, but if price is the only consideration, I guess you just buy a PSR and sound like everybody else.
PLEASE, I've owned more PSRs than probably anybody here, so don't take it personally, but unless you make your own styles, or at least do a lot of editing, they all sound alike and have for the past 8-10 years.
You can walk in the door of a place and if there is someone playing one, you will not only recognize the sound, but more than likely the style. I suppose that's a price you pay for playing the most successful arranger of all time. They are very good, very reliable, very practical and easily attainable.
Rant over.
DonM

Back in the day, it wasn't uncommon to have $30-40,000 worth of keyboards, amps, mixers, stands, cables and pedals sitting on the stage.

Don is right about personalization...that's why I work so hard at editing styles and trying fresh arrangements of tunes...we all want to sound different than the next Joe using an arranger.

$5-6000 isn't a lot for a top end keyboard...try buying a new Hammond B-3, or a V-Piano...and that's only two sounds...organ and piano.

I hope they fix the bothersome bits with the Audya...be sure that Yamaha, Roland and Korg are watching how it's received, and how players are responding...imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but it is also the way business runs as well.

We'll all benefit eventually.

Yep, it's about priorities--that's for sure. And, that's why I'll be taking my time getting to the Shreveport Jam. On the way south I have about 8 sailboats to look at, which will likely drive my wife nuts. I've been searching for a Morgan 33 and 41 Out Island for two years. If you know of one for sale in your neighborhood, and it's somewhere between Baltimore and Key West, let me know.

As for keyboards, well, that's subjective.

Cheers,

Gary

Yes it all about priorites. Probably most men living in the US/Europe spend the at least the same amount as the cost the Audya on all sorts of crap. I never even heard of this keyboard until the other day and now I'm dreaming about one... However I feel like I don't gig enough to justify the cost. Now if music was just a hobby, and I had a high playing day job, or if I had several good paying gigs a week, I for sure would get the very best keyboards. Until then I'll keep dreaming.

Montunoman,
Be sure to set aside January 23, 24, 25 for the Arranger Jam in Shreveport. It's just a short hop from Dallas. You'll get to meet a lot of the guys, and gals, and hear and play a lot of keyboards.
DonM

Thanks Don- I was just talking to my wife and daughter about this. They are both excited- my wife would probably like to sit in on vocals. She sings lots of Latin standards. If you can throw down some cool latin stuff on your Ketron maybe I can convince her that we need one