Well, here goes!

Size: I like the size, the Audya is well balanced, easy to carry and move. A carrying case would be nice. I have mine on a mixer stand that swivels and tilts and it works great.
L x W x H = 21” x 13” x 5” - (52 cm x 32 cm x 11 cm).
Weight: 15 lbs-(7 Kg.).

Accessories: This time Ketron put everything in the Audya. You need to buy extra. Hard drive, Voicetron, Video out, Pedal inputs (they’ve always had these), USB capable. (although you can’t do registrations from thumb drive).

Cosmetics: The display is fairly easy to read, even with my low vision. Why Ketron doesn’t have a display that tilts is beyond me. Also, don’t know how it would work outdoors?

Audya 4 is a nice looking piece of equipment, very professional. The color is nice, something darker would have been cool as well. The controls are easily accessible; I thought that having the voice bank on the left side would be confusing, however I don’t even think about that anymore. One major complaint, is there are no indicator lights on the Style section. So unless you read the screen, you may or may not know where you are. Obviously if you’re playing a Bossa, you would think you were in Latin, but it could be Unplugged. I miss the lights. They are great reference points.

Sounds: I have to agree with whoever said it; I think all the major manufacturers have descent sounds. Its just how much effects they choose to put in them, and how the customer likes what they did. And IMO, that’s what I like about Yamaha’s right hand voices. They do it for you. Also, as DomM says, I miss the OTS. This is not a lazy person’s arranger, if you want it done, you have to do it yourself.

For the most part, the horns, strings, pianos, and organs sound very good. I can’t find any lead guitar voices that satisfy me 100% but I haven’t looked much in the Program section. also, I don’t think much of the accordion voices.

Voicetron: I haven’t played with this feature a lot but, what I’ve heard is great. I had a PA2X that was good but Ketron is the BEST vocalizer I‘ve heard!

OS: I think the OS is fairly straight forward and not hard to navigate, The problem I’ve had is not knowing what to do once I’ve reached my target. I had some difficulty in hooking up my MIDI accordion and getting the Auto rhythms to work correctly. In fact I’m still not completely satisfied. I still have some chord recognition problems. Granted, this could be my Roland V accordion which I’m also not very familiar with.

Otherwise, selecting menu items is easy, especially using a footswitch, I have the six function version.

Registrations are beyond me at this point, especially the way Ketron does them. DonM has been trying to help me with this but I’m a slow learner. Only time will tell. I MISS YAMAHA MUSIC FINDER!

Also, as usual, the manual leaves a lot to be desired although it is better. Learning just what exactly a particular function is supposed to do when turned ON or OFF is somewhat of a mystery! For instance, the Bass Alternate switch. For my purposes this function needs to be OFF, however, sometimes it turns ON, even though I’ve saved it in the OFF position. When this happens, I don’t always get a bass note sounding when it should, especially when changing chords, say from GM to D7! There’s no BASS note!

Styles: For the most part, the styles are incredible. In some regards, they could use a little more orchestration, but they suit the style of music I play. I do not care for the Riff part in variation 4 on some of the styles. I guess more polished musicians could find a use for it, but for me its just a waste of a variation. Most of the time, the riff doesn’t fit the song I’m playing. Likewise, the Intros and Endings leave a lot to be desired. Most of them just don’t fit; maybe basic simplicity would have worked better.

The drums get a lot of discussion, I think they’re great, however I tend to turn them down some. Some times they’re just too much. IMO I never had a problem with Yamaha drums. But I do not dispute Ketron’s superiority in this regard!

There is a little irony here. This is my first experience with a Ketron arranger since my used XD-9 some time back. I did have the SD4 briefly but its not an arranger. With this in mind, I’m finding that a lot of the styles that I like are from the SD series. Probably should have bought an SD-3. Would of cost about one third of what this cost.

Connectivity: This part of Audya is great. Power cord and switch on left side,in a recssed area so wont get bumped. Line and MIDI connect in the rear, and both mics and headphones and 2 gain controls are recessed on the right. The USB ports likewise are in an area where they are not likely to be bumped or broken, and they are in front.

Overall: I think the Audya 4 is a winner. Haven’t used on a gig yet, but I think its very capable. I have some issues, like, I’ve asked on several forums where to get the software for the Audya 4 and have had no response. Also I’m still not sure how to RESTORE the Audya 4 to it “out of the box” condition. I don’t know why the software didn’t come with the unit, and why there are no precise instructions on Re-setting the module. Or at least no instructions that I can find.

Bottom line: I think so much of the Audya 4 that I ordered a Yamaha Tyros 4 from our good friend Frankieve. Actually the “WARDEN”, (my dear sweet and beautiful wife Emma Lee) allowed this. Although she assures me that I cannot keep them both.

In reality I figured it this way. Most likely this will be the last arranger I buy, don’t play as much, and I keep having these damned birthdays. And, I would really like to get some long term use out of which ever one I keep. Seems like for the past 3 or 4 years I’m constantly changing. Ketron XD9, PSR 3000, Gem Genesys XP, Tyros 2, Korg PA2X, Yammy S910, SD4, and one or two different accordions. The boy is never satisfied!

So, for the first time ever, I’ll have two of the “flagship” arrangers to compare, sitting side by side. The “WARDEN” treats me very well. It will be fun, and when the T4 arrives I’ll let you know.

DonM, we’ll talk soon, maybe you can plan your trip to Lufkin when the T4 arrives! I’m looking forward to the visit. Maybe we can write a joint review on both!

JUST MY OPINION!
Don P

PS: I did just receive a note from AJ concerning restoring the Audya 4, I posted the info in the Ketron forum of SZ.

[This message has been edited by donpatt (edited 09-27-2010).]

Nice review Don,

A wellknown dealer overhere in Holland is promoting both Tyros and Audya. Both of them add to one another...

Yamaha's supreme playable real life SA sounds combined with Audya's rocking styles might be the way to go, espescially with an Audya 4 combined with a Tyros 4... you buy 2 and you get the power of 4. CAn't go wrong there..

This must even convince your warden.

[This message has been edited by Bachus (edited 09-27-2010).]

Don, sounds great. Lufkin isn't that far, but I'll wait until you get the T4 alongside.
I'll bet Wild Bill will want to come too.
DonM

Hey DonM,

Just bring wild Bill and come on down!
Don P

Nice report. Just curious - why do you have it on a mixer stand that tilts and rotates? What specific stand do you use? Interesting idea...

Hi Jim,

My mistake; the stand does not rotate! It is an APEX, don't see a model number. Cost abt $69.00 from Jay Fox Band Co. It was his idea, as far as I know, He has been playing MIDI accordions for years and has used Ketron products almost exclusively.

The stand is very sturdy, has three tilt positions, and several height adjustments. When I'm sitting in a chair mine is about lower chest high, tilted at maybe 30dgs, sitting off to my right front facing me at abt 45dgs. When playing the accordion I complete control and freedom of movement.

It really looks like the stand was made for the Audya cause the rubber feet on the Auudya sit just outside the supports of the stand and there are two bumbers at the front of the stand to hold the Audya when the stand is tilted. VERY NICE!
Don P

[This message has been edited by donpatt (edited 09-27-2010).]

The only comment I'll make, donpatt, is...

Have you taped yourself yet? Have you had a listen AFTER the fact to a full performance (voice and everything)? You might find, after a listen after the fact, that that drum level is closer to a real mix than perhaps the muted way you have had them before. A lot of the time, we want to hear what WE are doing, front and center, but listening later, we sometimes find that whet WE are playing isn't NEARLY so important as we thought!

It's hallmark of user demos that the RH sounds are usually WAY too upfront in the mix. But the inverse of that also says that things we WANT to hear less of are actually more important that we like to admit. And the first of these is the drums, IMO.

Unless you are doing VERY muted cocktail styles, the drums are always front and center in ANY mix. Seldom is any mix allowed to escape a studio where, at ANY point in the song, you could go 'Wow! The guitarist (or the keyboard player) is drowning out the drums!'. But you'll many, if not most user arranger demos where that could be said...

At least record yourself before you make those mixing decisions, and compare to pro recorded music. Never let your drums get UNDER that level, and you'll always sound full and punchy.

Hi Don,

Thanks so much for the review. It's very helpful to those who are considering this hardware.

One question I have is, if you use another keyboard let's say a Yamaha Motif XS, can you route the Motif sounds and the Ketron sounds so that you can cancel the right hand on either one if you so choose? Meaning, I want to use the Ketron Styles but the Motif as the right hand sounds.

Can this be done with the Audya?

Hi Al,

Yes you can.
I'm using a Roland V accofdion FR-7X. This is an all electric instrument, no acoustic reeds. So it would be taking the place of your motif. I can play right hand solo voices from the 7X while using Audya styles. with the push of the shift bar on the accordion I can switch to an Auyda solo voice. I can also use a voice from the 7X and a voice from the Audya; say accordion from the 7X and strings and mandolin from Audya.

The Roland 7X is a sophisticated midi controler. so I have lots of options. It transmitts and receives on 16 midi channels, it transmits octive, transpose, note on, panpot, velocity, volume, expression, chorus, reverb, plus bellows dynamics.

Don P

That's great news Don!

I also applaud you for keeping the Accordion legacy alive and well. It is a lost art and needs to be passed down to the next generation. I always admired Acc players because they play vertically rather than horizontally, LOL. I can't even play horizontally sometimes!!!

Keep up the great work!!!