the Audya doesn't need to be defended..it needs to be heard, and if we are going to make sweeping statements, it seems to me that we need to be able to do so with at least a modicum of authority. internet demos can't compare with a hands on approach through a good PA.

Question. If the Ketron Audya is so an fantastic keyboard then why oh why is the Yamaha Tyros 3 the bestseller at the moment.

probably because they are dumping them out cheap making way for tyros 4

only joking. The Tyros is a very nice keyboard. Here in the UK there are alot of ex-organists that don't play so great and need the assistance the Tyros gives in helping them to pick a registration by song name and then sounding great without having to do much.

Until the Audya I couldn't bring myself to play an arranger keyboard or organ after spending so long with live drummers, guitarists, bassists and Vintage keys but I fully appreciate Tyros has a very strong and loyal fanbase here in Britain.




[This message has been edited by Tonewheeldude (edited 04-06-2010).]

If you look on youtube you will see that a lot of young people play on a Tyros3, Korg PA500/800 and the Yamaha PSR series. Almost no video of people who play a Ketron.

I heard the Audya mixing midi guitar and audio guitar parts...not very convincing Don....definitely a reason to throw more than rocks at the Audya...it begins with "s" and ends with "t" and I'm not talking about soot.

It's like one guitar player uses a Tele to play the major and minor chords and may be a seventh, and then another player, with a different Tele playing the extra notes for the more complex chords.

Now, that's okay if your chording is limited to simple chords, but for those able to play the more complex types, it would be a let down.

This non-homogeneous sound might slip by if you turn the bass and drums up loud enough when playing live, but it sounds pitiful when the guitar parts are exposed.

The advantage of midi guitar parts, whether they be mega, DNC, or GM/GS/XG is that the guitar sounds like it was played by one player.

You can get away with the bass and drums being audio...the bass is only single notes...but, sadly, the guitar parts require more, and fail.

Perhaps, like me with my Yamaha, you get used to the sound after a while, but it sure stands out to someone not used to it, and like it or not, it is not realistic.

It's a half-baked workaround.

Ian

It doesn't matter to me who is best, I really could not care less. But if we are giving opinions...

The Audya is the best live band sounding keyboard I've ever heard. And if you are a one man band, what do you want to sound like? A LIVE BAND.

The drums are incredible. The bass is as incredible. I can't believe the lines this dude plays.

And as for guitars, there are styles that I simply scratch my head... is that not a live guitar playing? No, it's not, it's that keyboard! It's simply amazing.

I like my Yamaha s900, I really do, on certain styles, it really shines. But overall, it cannot hold a candle to the Audya. If Ketron would get their act together, they could double their sales. It is that good. It makes me relish what the future will bring, say, five years from now... it's exciting to hear such great sounds.

I bet this makes some people mad but I have to call it as I see it. Ketron... please get your act together.

And as for too much Audya stuff, that stems from a couple of people who have nothing better to do that start new threads. Really, it does get old.

EDIT: I thought I would add a gripe. I don't know if it is my limited knowledge or what, but the Audya, I hear odd chord voicings. I have tried to fix this, and maybe it's just me, but it keeps happening. I don't like that.

[This message has been edited by SemiLiveMusic (edited 04-06-2010).]

I don't think Ketron have a Future. Not with these prices. Look at the economy. Every brand brings out cheaper very good sounding keyboards. Ketron not. I think they will not survive.

Got to disagree at least PARTIALLY with you, Ian. Yes, I think that Yamaha and Korg's acoustic guitars in the style section come close to the Audya, have FAR better flexibility and editability, etc. (mind you, I think some of their electric rock and blues guitars have the edge with the Audya) but I'll still give the Audya the edge based on sound alone.

But in the drums and bass, as much as I like my G70, I'm afraid I have to give the nod to the SOUND of the Audya. Hi-hats are better (no more closed, half open, open fixed samples), snare has more variation in strike tone, toms are better, and the percussion... that is to die for compared to a G70..! Bass has a lot more nuance, great round sound (I never liked my G70's bass sound until I got the SRX-07 for it). I think as one of the MOST fervent G70 evangelists here, I can speak pretty much from experience...

BUT.... My reservations about being able to EDIT those styles, change a rock kit to a brush kit with one button, change a steel guitar to a nylon one still stand. I think that one of Ketron's strengths is not necessarily the machine itself, but a lot to do with the quality of their style programmers. Combine great audio drums, percussion, bass and guitar with well crafted and balanced styles, and you have a winner. IF... you are prepared to leave things where they are.

Me, I'm more of a 'tweaker'. Makeup/Cover Tools is the ONE feature feature anyone with ANYTHING other than a Roland (and even the GW8 crowd ought to want it, too) ought to be screaming for at the top of their lungs! Instant revoicing from any genre of instruments to any other, then stupid easy fine tuning from that point onwards. It TRIPLES your style selection, because any style can easily be made to sound completely different with the most minuscule of efforts.

Which is all most arranger users (me included!) generally have time or smarts for

But the SOUND of the Audya has amazing possibilities. We haven't yet got the promised user loop capabilities yet, which will open up a vast area of new sound (can't wait to hear some decent hiphop or techno using those), it has a REAL arpeggiator (something we've been screaming for for years, at least the younger players here ), key triggered loops, and many things no-one is excited about in the least... but are quite revolutionary by arranger standards. It's not as if Live drums and guitars are the ONLY thing the Audya got going for it.

I have to admit, Ian, if it weren't so stupidly bloody expensive, I'd go for one in a flash. Not sure if it could REPLACE my G70, as I tend to love that as much or more for its' live band flexibility rather than as an out and out arranger, but the Audya would possibly end up being my favorite arranger for the live drums... warts and all.

Perhaps through a PA it would sound louder, but the mis-matched guitars would also be louder as well.

Can't figure out why a company would do such a half hearted approach to the guitars; probably ran out of development money, a common thing with a small company, but still no excuse to let it reach production.

Most demos done on the Audya have the bass and drums boosted to cover the guitars, but there were a few (some that were put on this forum, in fact) that you could hear the audio and midi mismatches quite plainly.

It ain't going to sound any better through a PA or with me playing it live.

I doubt very much if it will be sold around my area, and, arrangers are very popular in this neck of the woods...it's just too much money for too little refinement.

Ian

That's okay buddy...I don't mind...we do disagree now and then.

Still, my opinion stands...I did think the G-70's bass and drums were the Audya's equal...they sounded just as "live" to me.

As far as buying an Audya...nope...and it wouldn't be the price...it would be the guitar mis-match that would do me in.

I'm not that dependant on having big/live sounding bass and drums...I like Yamaha's more refined and compressed quality, but I want the guitar parts in my styles to be sound natural, no matter what chords I threw at it.

It would be just as big a deterrent as having an arranger that couldn't play on bass chords.

Personally, I think you'd be very frustrated with the Audya after you had it for awhile, and wanted to customize it to your own liking, but I could be wrong.

It's too limited for my tastes anyway.

Ian