I'm thinking of buying a kn2600 to use for rehearsals with my choir (though probably need 6500 for performances ?). The lovely 6500 is just so heavy !! I already have a lot of floppies.

How easy is it to transfer sequences onto an SD card now that I've just bought a card-reader for my computer ? Do I need any special programmes that don't come with the original Technics CD ? Also, would the KN6500 sequences sound all wrong on the KN2600 ? How much tweaking would they need?

Some of the sequences use the onboard 6500 styles and others are bought (custom) which I've tweaked. (I presume the sequences which are just piano-playing would not be a problem).

Another "also", would there be a problem with sequencing on the 2600 and then transferring it back the other way to the old 6500 (via computer - SD to floppy)?

Any help on this would be gratefully received !

Hi Katrina
I expect you'll get a technically perfect answer shortly but in the meantime here's my tuppence halfpenny worth...
Whilst sequences will work from KN6500 to KN2600 they won't work the other way round.
Unless the KN2600 has the same sounds/rhythms as the KN6500 the newer machine tends to search for the nearest thing, in my experience which can be a problem sometimes.
Now transferring from floppy with KN6500 sequences on it to an SD Card I'll leave to others to comment on...
Rog

Hi Katrina,

If you can find one, I believe that a KN1600 has better compatibility with the KN6500. No doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I think files saved to floppy can be interchanged either way between both keyboards. I will endeavour to confirm this as one of our Technics Group members here in Melbourne, Australia has both the KN1600 and the KN6500 and prefers to use the lighter KN1600 when away from home. The KN2400 uses floppies rather than an SD card, but again they are only compatible one way. Files created on the KN6500 will load into the KN2400 but not the other way round.

Len

Hi Katrina,

I'm sure that you could transfer your KN6500 sequences to an SD Card, suitable for playing in a KN2600. You may have to carry out some minor voice tweaking.

To implement the transfer, you can use a program on your PC, called KN Explorer, which as far as I am aware, is still available here : http://vision-4-life.nl/SDExplorer.htm There is a Trial Version available for download on this website.

I used this program to try transferring some KN6000 files from Floppy Disk to an SD Card and then checking them on my KN7000 and they worked fine. So, I would expect that they will also work on your KN2600.

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Willum

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is Music.
Aldous Huxley

Actually the 2600 Song Manager program supplied with the machine could build an sd card from scratch (or add to any existing saved card) on the pc as long as you have an sd reader. Floppies, or any collection of files can be transferred to folders directly on the sd card without the 2600. So for the simple job of transferring floppies to sd there is no need to spend extra money.

Thanks for that Alec - I didn't realise that this facility had been added to the Version 2 of Song Manager since I don't use the upgrade.

it just lost the picture transfer function in the 7k Song Manager since the 2600 blue screen cannot play slideshows, but arguably adding to existing sd cards direct was a more useful function, and on the 7k pictures can be easily loaded direct from the sd card anyway rather than down the usb so not that much of a loss.
I supplied a kit with instructions to upgrade Song Manager to several people on the forums over the years in threads. I made it in such a way that you could go back to the 7k version if you wanted, or switch as many times as you like without affecting your original installation or start menu shortcuts which worked with either version.

Wow ! Thanks all of you. And I'm very honoured to find technicsplayer helping out.

I was in the last minute of bidding for a kn2600 on Ebay (and would have got it too) if at that VERY minute my Dial-up hadn't disconnected !! I obviously wasn't "meant" to have it !

So now, with no others 2600's in sight, I'm thinking of going to see a lady in a nearby town selling not a 2600 but a kn2400, since I desperately need something lighter just for rehearsals. She only wants £250 for the 2400, which seems very reasonable. I was thinking that if it sounded good enough for just rehearsals, maybe I could then later get what I really want if available later - a kn7000 and use that at home and for concerts. I haven't tried to get a 7000 so far because it's even heavier than the existing 6500. What do you think ?

Of course, when I go to see the 2400 I may decide to hold out for the 2600. For instance, it would be nice to have the SD (albeit at the moment only for rehearsals). The sound may not be loud enough or of good enough quality (though I suppose I could take extra speakers, which would perhaps still be preferable to the heaviness of the 6500). I do use the Soloist voices a lot on the 6500 and I'll be interested to hear what my files will sound like on the 2400 which doesn't have soloist voices. I'm wondering, if by some magic, the swelling and falling away effect of the soloist voices and aftertouch will somehow be saved as information when the sequences are played on the 2400 ordinary voices. Can't remember if the 2400s have aftertouch themselves.

I must admit I was for a while tinkering with the idea of a Tyros 1 since the actual keyboard is so much lighter - but I tend to agree with so many of you that the Technics is a more balanced, perhaps more classical sound with less heavy bass, and I am used to working with the Technics sequencer etc. Plus I really want to be able to use all those sequences I've already done with as little tinkering as possible.

The info on the transfer of files from floppy to SD will be so very helpful whether I give the 2400 a miss and hold out for a 2600, or whether I get the 2400 and then joy of joy a kn7000 for home and performances!

Incidentally, does anyone know how one can increase the overall VOLUME of a sequence which I had accidentally saved with the sequencer volume slider too low on one of the many saves I did when working on the file. Of course the finished file is set to full volume 127, but it is just too soft ! It is only using one or two tracks of classical piano accompaniment to an Elgar song (no APC on that sequence).

Your views on any of the above are most welcome.