Hi,
just wanting to make sure that there is only 1 version of the Midijay module around ?? and that Midijay 3 is just an updated operating system??
Finally got to see a Ketron SD1 plus yesterday after a 3 hr drive to the city and only having a half hour to spend checking it out.. While I was there I also asked the salesman about a midijay. His comment was that it didn't play styles like an arranger, that it only played drum rhythms ( ie patterns like a drum machine).
I didn't have time to argue as we were running late and at that stage I hadn't downloaded a midijay manual ( which I now have thanks to Don).

I'm just trying to make sure that this guy didn't have a clue about what he was talking about ? and that if their Midijay stock is an older version, that I can easily update it to version 3??

In hindsight I'm more likely to go for a Midijay than for the SD1, mainly because I already have a digital piano as a controller,

Just can't work out if this guy is incompetant or if he just wanted to push the sd1 on me.

Fortunately we're going back down that way next week, so this time round I may be able to check the midijay out properly.

best wishes
Rikki

Rikki,
There is only one midjay model but you can have it equiped with different options. You can get it with or without a vocal harmonizer. When I received my last shipment about 3 weeks ago from New York, they all had version 2. Version 3 would be an update. I would also suggest that if you want a better style player to go along with your digital piano, I would suggest looking into the XD3 module. It is quite a bit larger and it doesn't play mp3 or wave files, but for style playback and quick minipulation, it tends to sell better than the midjay for mostly style use. It also is a bit less expensive by a few hundred dollars. It can also be bought with or without a hard drive (floppy only) and with or without a vocal harmonizer.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Hi George,
thank you for the info. I had originally considered an XD3, but the dealer didn't have any in stock. Ketrons are not widely available here in Australia and unfortunately buying from overseas isn't an option..
My choices at the moment are either the sd1 plus or midijay. Actually I may try & find out if they're expecting any xd3's to arrive. Going on my luck of late , probably not till next year either. haa haa
So far I'd considered getting a Tyros2 or a PSR3k and I can't get either of those till next year either. Makes one wonder what the manufacturers have got against us poor Aussies ( haa haa)

Thank you though, I hadn't realized there were that many options.
Your help is most apprecited

best wishes
Rikki

... and to add on to what George mentioned above, your dealer was WRONG about the MIDIJAY.

1. There is only ONE module with various OS (1, 2 and the latest is 3.0). If you get one with 2.0, you can download 3.0 from the web and install yourself (relatively easy).

2. The midijay has a Groove section which is just LIVE drum beats. Some of the grooves also have LIVE arrangements which you cannot change. However if you play the STYLES of the Midijay WITHOUT an external Controller (which is probably what your dealer did), then you will get only the drums of the style. The arranger will not play UNTIL you input a chord for it to play the arrangement off of. In terms of arranger playback, it's like the SD1 with a few missing arranger features e.g Pattern EDIT (to create your own patters) ...etc.

3. If you just want to be able to play great styles and have those great Ketron voices, the Midijay is just fine, however if you require a TRUE arranger with more ARRANGER FEATURES, then the XD3 is worth getting.

PS: George Kaye, welcome back!

Thanks

AJ

Thanks AJ,
I'm glad that at least the USA dealers know their products.
So main thing to check is that it's at least Version 2, I can update to version 3 online ( which is great )
As long as I can play intro's endings variations & fills , that's enough.

You mentioned that I can't create patterns (which is a function in the sd1 & also in the XD3???) .
Hopefully I haven't misread that the midijay can load SD1 Patterns/Styles
( in ketron products, is a style & a pattern the same thing??)
If that's the case , could you actually create styles for a Midijay using EMC's Styleworks 2000 for Solton's/Ketron.
From what I can gather the format for saving a created Ketron style/pattern is .PAT

If it worked, I suppose it would open up a few more possibilities for the midijay if you were able to create new styles for it and edit them.

Actually I've also read some conflicting data on the amount of styles a midijay has.

One brochure says it has 128, wheras somewhere else I read 104 internal & 136 ( I think) on disk. Can you please tell me which is correct ?

thanks for all your help.


best wishes
Rikki


Originally posted by Ketron_AJ:
In terms of arranger playback, it's like the SD1 with a few missing arranger features e.g Pattern EDIT (to create your own patters) ...etc.

3. If you just want to be able to play great styles and have those great Ketron voices, the Midijay is just fine, however if you require a TRUE arranger with more ARRANGER FEATURES, then the XD3 is worth getting.

Rikki, You can update the OS from ANY version, so it doesn't matter which version the one you buy has.
The MJ comes with limited styles, but thousands are readily available to install, including all the SD1 and SD1+ styles. Patterns and styles are the same thing in Ketron-speak.
Plug a USB cable from the PC to the MJ, and the MJ appears as another drive on your computer. You can transfer, audition, delete and arrange styles to your heart's content.
I found the MJ very easy to use in a live arranger setting, and the addition of the WAV, MP3 and Midi sliders is a great asset.
In this respect, the MJ offers real advantages over other modules for real-time arranger work.
Also, please remember that the MJ has a wonderfully-useful hard disk recorder that can record from all the modes at the same time if you want. You can even record external instruments via the line-ins.
DonM

Thanks Don,
it's sounding better by the minute.
We're going back down to Sydney this weekend,
this time round I'll take the manual with me so I can show the salesman that IT DOES PLAY STYLES, and it's not just a drum machine. I thought maybe I'd mixed styles & patterns up, and that they weren't the same thing.
Sounds like a pretty amazing little machine.
thank you once again
best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DonM:
[B]

Hey Rikki maybe you can use his ignorance of the product to get him to cut you a good deal. Gee it'd be like you'd be doing him a favor to take a glorified drum machine off his hands for a heavily discounted price lol. He's unlikely to get the full retail price when he tells his customers untrue information like that.

Hi Nigel,
Worth a try.
Actually they're already quite heavily discounted,( maybe because he thinks they are only a glorified drum machine (haahaa)
They're actually a piano dealership that sells a few keyboards, probably wouldn't have that much call for a "Glorified Drum Machine"
I was going to set him straight, but maybe I'll keep quiet till after I buy it .
Maybe I can get him to knock a few more dollars off.
Good one Nigel

best wishes
Rikki

Rikki,
Yes you can create patterns on the XD3 module. You can also record songs, but on the SD1 and song can be created track by track, up to 16 and on the XD3 anything you play can be recorded but no overdubbing capabilities. You get one crack at it! and it becomes a midifile on either a floppy disk or on an optional hard drive.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, Ca.

Hi George,
thank you.
For me it's either going to have to be a Midijay or an SD1 plus. Pretty much the only 3 items they stock ( including the Vega keyboard??)

As far as I can tell there's only the one actual dealership that imports Ketron here in Aust.They have a couple of stores & that's it. So you take what you can get. Maybe they'd be able to import one in, but I don't want to hang around for weeks waiting.
I think I'll just grab what I can get, either sounds quite good.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by George Kaye:
[B]Rikki,