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Hello everyone and welcome to issue number 13 of Ketron News
and Tips (KNAT).
This issue is targeted for January 1, 2003 and will be the
first one for 2003. If you have a question to ask or a tip
to submit, please let me know at jay@ketronus.com. Also I
love your comments so don't hesitate to let me have a response.
Style Works 2000 is in stock and being shipped.
There are still both versions (Solton/Ketron and Universal)
in stock although the stock is getting smaller. I have been
playing with my own version and think that it is great. Yes
it will take some study just like any good software, but the
results are excellent. I hope to be able to include a couple
of styles that I am building in the next few issues.
You can download a demo version of Style Works from the German
web site. The address is
http://www.emc-musicsoftware.de
or you can go to the new www.keyboardstyles.com
The demo is not fully functioning but you can get a good idea
of how well it works.
On the Ketron U.S. web site you can download the manuals
for the SD1 and the XD9/3 for free. A lot of people are asking
for the download for the X1. I am sorry people, but Ketron
has not fashioned an electronic version of manuals for the
X1/4. The only choice at this point is to buy the printed
version. Cost about $32.00 including shipping and handling.
Since I have gotten Style Works 2000 I have become rather
infatuated with styles and in truth the wonderful Ketron styles
are one of the things that make Ketron such a stand-out line
of instruments.
Each Ketron Style is composed of certain parts.
On the older MS series the styles had the following parts:
4 arrangements (variations of the basic style)
3 fills
2 intros
2 endings
The X series has more:
4 arrangements (variations of the basic style)
4 fills
3 intros
3 endings
These are the parts for the XD3, XD9 and Vega also
The SD1 has all the above plus a combo fill/ending called
"To End".
Now each part has parts or instruments or "traces".
For instance in the MS series you had the following traces:
Bass, Drums, Chord1, Chord2, Chord3
Starting with the X series and including the XD3, XD9, Vega,
and SD1 you have the following traces:
Drum1, Drum2, Bass, Lower1, Lower2, Chord1, Chord2, Chord3,
Chord4, Chord5
If you observe that the later models have twice as many traces
then you can easily understand why the later styles are not
fully backwards compatible.
The part that is not compatible at all is the Drum2 part or
as described in the manual, "live drums". These
parts are the Live Drums that makes Ketron styles so unique.
They are not only not playable on older Ketron instruments
like the MS series, these parts are not playable on other
brands like Roland, Yamaha, and Korg. However, because of
the huge space available in each style, the Ketron keyboards
can very well play the styles of other companies.
You can customize your on-board (factory) styles easily on
the Ketron instruments.
Call up the style you want to affect.
In everything except the X series you will need to hit the
exit button to get to the split screen. On the X series the
split screen is normal.
Once you are in the split screen, press F5 "Arrange View"
You will see the names of the traces and the instruments and
the volume on this screen and each trace corresponds to one
of the 10 Function keys. If you press the adjacent function
key you can change the instrument or the volume of the instrument
while that section is highlighted.
If you press a page +/- key you will find the pages to set
the reverb, effects and panning for each of these parts. This
allows you to get very detailed on exactly the sound you want
to hear.
Be sure you hit Save/Enter when you are finished and select
Style. You will be given the chance to change the name of
the Style and Save (F10).
Sometimes it is best to make you changes using registrations,
but if it is a style you use for a single song or if the exact
same rebalance works for all the songs that you use that style
for, you may as well change the style.
Much more usefully, if you change the style enough, you may
want to rename it and save it to your hard drive and you have
given yourself a different style. It is amazing what changing
a few instruments and volumes and effects can do to a style.
You can also change the tempo. All these changes can create
a very different sound.
I will try to get into some in-depth in the next issues, but
here are some general guidelines for changing in the manner
above.
1) You can often get a pretty different sound by changing
the type of bass. For instance, a Polka type rhythm using
a Tuba bass suddenly sounds a lot different if you use a finger
or acoustic bass.
2) Keep chromatic instruments chromatic. If you are changing
an instrument like piano, keep it within the keys family or
instruments like vibes, harp etc. Mostly think of avoiding
the type of articulation for a saxophone and using a piano
in that place. Pianos don't pitch bend, but saxes do.
3) Be careful in setting the effects. You have a wonderful
set of effects to work with, but remember that some effects
like distortion and chorus can also increase the volume of
an instrument. Don't be afraid to go back and forth between
effects and volume to get the balance right.
4) It is a good practice to start by making a save with a
different name and changing that instead of the original.
That way if you get too far afield you can always get back
to the original and start over.
5) It is most important to remember that the changes you make
in "Arrange View" are global. That is to say that
If you bring up the Bass volume for example, it will be up
on all the arrangements, the intros, endings and fills. Still,
this ability to customize your styles is one reason that Ketron
is ahead of the field and why all the performers using Ketron
instruments don't sound alike.
Have fun and let me know some of the ideas you come up with
on your own. If they are good I'll just put them in the newsletter
and give you credit. See Below: