I am a newbie posting to this site. Glad I found it. I would appreciate any advice as I have only used a KORG Rhythm 55B and an RhythmAce in the past (70's). It appears the technology has significantly advanced. I would like to know the key difference between an Orla XM400 and a Ketron SD3. I have a Roland FR-7 accordion and would like to add accompaniment. I hear the Ketron is the best -- but is it "too good" if I only use it for accompaniment? Are there any other choices? Thanks for your advice.

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Well, I play an FR-7 that I picked up in February. I compared the Orla XM900 (their newest) with the Ketron XD3 and SD3 modules. I believe the Orla is simplier to use, but after listening to samples of both the Ketron and Orla, I decided that the Ketron voices and accompaniments were superior, more realistic. The Ketron has a lot of features you may or may not ever use. NOW, I pick up a MIDI cable tomorrow, and will try the SD3 I bought and hopefully, it will connect no problem. The XD3 and SD3 come up in "Accordion Mode" and the hookup should be fairly smooth... wish me luck!

Thanks for the response! I almost gave up on this BBS. I was inclined to the same conclusion as you after play and re-playing (many time over) the demos from Orla and Ketron. I hope it worked out for you. I would be very interested in your imporessions now that some time has passed since you started using your SD3. Has it lived up to your expectations? Have you run into any technical difficulties or nuiances? Thanks again for your response.

Hi,
I have had the SD3 now since May. In most ways it has surpassed my expectations. Its sounds are so much better than even the demos, as the demos can't do it justice. I have it with the vocalizer. It's a lot of fun to harmonize with yourself. I use it with a Roland SA-300 amplifier (2x75w treble and 1x200w subwoofer). Controls are laid out very well. It does have one drawback... it does not have a USB port, so if you want to transfer midi files from SD3 to your computer, you either need music software and a midi to USB connector, or if your computer has a serial port you can use Ketron's serial cable and Ketron's file transfer software available on the Ketron Italy site. Also, the FR-7 footswitches won't control the Ketron functions (not a big deal) but, of course, Ketrons footswitches work fine.

That's great news! Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I think I'll pick up one soon -- before the $ goes much lower and the prices automatically adjust upward because of the currency difference.

Oh, one thing to keep in mind. The SD3 midi receive channels (treble, chord, bass) are different from the FR-7 midi transmit channels, so make sure you either change the SD3 channels to match the FR-7 (recommended, which I did, no big deal, very easy on the midi menu) or change the FR-7 channels to match the SD3 channels (also no big deal)

Thanks for that information "tip". Do you know if you can you add some "special" beats /accompanyments like zydeco/ Louisiana rhythms to the SD3? Are such sounds downloadable from a Ketron support site or can you record it from software like Cakewalk Sonar or Cuebase into the SD3 using the serial port?

hi,
While I don't use programs like Cakewalk yet, I assume you can probably record directly into them if your computer has a midi interface, since both the SD3 and the FR-7 both have midi out ports.
As for additional styles (beats, drums, etc.), while I have not personally imported any, I believe there are additional styles available from Ketron dealers, such as Jay Salam, you can edit your own styles on the SD3 (I have not done this yet, but it is possible and explained in the SD3 manual) and there is actually style making software out there for creating styles, I have seen it but not used it yet. You might want to surf to Jay Salam's site, www.ketronus.com and look around. He has song and style disks and a lot of good information on the Ketron products. He is a great guy and will answer any questions you might have.

Thanks! I've been to Jay's site a few times & he does have a lot of information. Another palyer question... When you are playing the base/chords on your FR-7 do you have to press the bass and the chord at the same time so the SD knows what chord pattern to play (M/m/7/d)? That's my big fear about background accompaniment systems. I've never played that way and am concerned about having to use that technique because it's so foreign to me. I also play a lot of bass notes instead of just "bass-chord/bass-chord" if you know what I mean and am concerned that the system may change chords if I am playing a base progression. Thanks again for taking time to respond to my "endless" questions. I really appreciate it. -MM

Hi again,

It is not necessary to play both the bass and the chords at the same time. One only needs to play the desired chord, the arranger fills in a nice bass based on the current style selected. Having played an Iorio H with a Wilgamat rythem unit, I am very used to playing this way. While a chord is playing I can do a kind of bass run and the chord will not change unless I change the chord myself with a chord button. You can set the SD3 for manual bass, but I haven't quite figured out yet how to do that and keep the accompaniment right without hitting both the bass and chord initially at the same time. Probably haven't been too concerned since I like the bass lines provided by the arranger. Don't know if this message helped or hindered!