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#276123 - 11/21/09 03:48 PM
Re: Where is OS4
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Member
Registered: 07/17/01
Posts: 870
Loc: New York
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Originally posted by ianmcnll: You're so right, mc...they have been the leader in several areas, including this audio/accompaniment stuff on arrangers.
Still, one must remember that Technics was once a leader in arrangers, and they went belly-up...I think a lot of people were shocked and/or disappointed.
Let's hope that the Audya's incredibly shaky introduction is not indicative of the direction of Ketron...it's a fairly small company compared to the Big Three, and it may not be able to survive if this product is not corrected in full in the near future.
Come to think of it, Technics was a division of the giant...make that really giant, Matsushita Electric, and it went under, so I guess no one is really immune from failure...but, a smaller company will have much less chance of bouncing back.
It would be horrible to see the present Ketron/Audya owner base stuck with instruments that no longer have factory support.
Ian I don't see Ketron going belly up any time soon. Their main focus is arrangers, which it has been for many years. Ketron is not just the Audya; they also have the SD5 as their mid-range keyboard that had fantastic sounds and styles. Their only arranger module company out there, for the guitar and accordion players. Ketron does very well in Europe, I'm sure the US sales are icing on the cake. It hard to compare Technics because it just wasn't the keyboard or pianos, it was the whole line, home electronics, musical instruments, etc. so there is more behind the scenes of Panasonic dropping the technics line than we know of. I have to say I see Roland dropping their arranger line more so than ketron going out of business. Roland’s best selling keyboard was the G series G800/G1000. The VA76 was a flop and the G70 didn't really take off also. Time will tell.
_________________________
Ketron X1 (Oldie but Goodie)
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#276124 - 11/21/09 04:02 PM
Re: Where is OS4
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Senior Member
Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
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Originally posted by mc: I don't see Ketron going belly up any time soon. Their main focus is arrangers, which it has been for many years. Ketron is not just the Audya; they also have the SD5 as their mid-range keyboard that had fantastic sounds and styles. Their only arranger module company out there, for the guitar and accordion players. Ketron does very well in Europe, I'm sure the US sales are icing on the cake.
I have to say I see Roland dropping their arranger line more so than ketron going out of business. Roland’s best selling keyboard was the G series G800/G1000. The VA76 was a flop and the G70 didn't really take off also. Time will tell. Perhaps you're right, mc...I'm not as familiar with the Ketron line as you are. I was very surprised at Roland's departure from MOTL and TOTL arrangers, as I thought the product was well designed and sounded very good. Perhaps they are working in a new direction as far as the home market is concerned? This VIMA stuff might be what will replace, or at least supplement the present arrangers; the GW-8/Prelude. I do know Roland's arranger sales were dismal in my territory, and we have a relatively healthy arranger market. Hopefully Ketron will turn things around...and judging by the unhappy owners, it needs to be soon. We don't hear of the Mediastation any more...wonder why? Ian [This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 11-21-2009).]
_________________________
Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.
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#276130 - 11/21/09 06:42 PM
Re: Where is OS4
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Senior Member
Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
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Originally posted by Ensnareyou: Yamaha! Remember the PSR9000 Pro? If you happened to be one of the owners of that baby that Yamaha gave birth to well before it was ready you'd know that Ketron isn't the only offender and a good balance sheet didn't seem to matter in that case.
Yes, my friend, but Yamaha obviously learned from the PSR-9000 Pro, as did Roland with the G-70, but the problem is, Ketron is not in the same league as these companies financially. Roland and Yamaha survived and thrived in spite of their blunders. Ketron, on the other hand, may be looking at a much more serious fate. They are making their mistakes at the absolute worst time they could make them...the poor economy is only one of the hurdles ahead of them. They are putting an awfully high retail price on an arranger that is not finished, and may not be for some time. Certainly we wish them all the best, and, very likely they're going to need it. Ian
_________________________
Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.
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#276132 - 11/21/09 07:38 PM
Re: Where is OS4
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Senior Member
Registered: 11/18/01
Posts: 1631
Loc: Ireland
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Regardless of some of the bugs, they are still selling and besides as I stated before the audya is not only keyboard or module thay make. Well to be fair it's not just some bugs. It's the history of an OS with large proportions of core systems missing, bugs and hardware faults . As for the keyboard selling, sure there will always be those who take the plunge but I know for a fact that in my area (120 mile radius of where I live) I could count the Audya owners one hand. Ask me to count owners of the older Ketron keyboards and there would be truck loads of people to count. Ketron's older keyboards are hugely popular here. Funny enough the problems with the Audya are not the main reason for them to not buy, it's the price. You can buy a KORG Pa2X or Tyros 3 for far less. I sure the recession is not helping, but not just for Ketron, I'm sure just as Korg, Yamaha and especially roland. Yes it's hitting everyone, but Ketron have their neck currently sticking out the furthest by a long way on price. I understand they can't turn around and start selling it under a new pricing structure and this would cause blue murder amongst those who have paid already for it. This is why I've been saying that as soon as they get the Audya finished, they will likely drop it and quickly release a new keyboard totally based on the work they did for the audya. It's only then can I see Ketron turning a profit here. I just hope they can hold out that long because it's taking for freaking ever to get the Audya working right. Regards James [This message has been edited by Irishacts (edited 11-21-2009).]
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