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Hello everyone and welcome to issue number 17 of Ketron News
and Tips (KNAT).
This issue is targeted for March 1, 2003.
This issue is devoted to only one thing. The new Operating
System for the SD1. I know that a lot of you have other keyboards
and modules, but I have very high hopes that the trickle-down
effect will have an impact on other current models. For you
MS users I doubt that it will affect you since the entire
architecture is different and not subject to revision by the
simple expedient of reloading from floppy.
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.
If you are on this mail list by mistake or wish to unsubscribe,
follow the removal directions at the bottom. Also if your
name or email address is weird and you would like to continue
to receive this newsletter, drop me a reply and let me know.
Customize you keyboard
You can get you keyboard buttons customized to the way you
like it. This is a color only modification. It will not change
the functions of the buttons, but should make the keyboards
much more user friendly. If you are interested contact me
Jay Salam. Imagine that your arranger buttons could be green,
your sound buttons blue, other functions other colors. This
is not inexpensive, but should make the keyboards much more
user friendly and especially for working performers where
frequently the lighting is questionable.
This is about the SD1 new 4.0 operating system. I had intended
to do more with styles this period, but time ran out largely
due to the fact that as soon as I installed my new 4.0 operating
system, I didn't do anything except play with it. Ketron's
description promised great things and I was very happy to
see that the product was even better than the promise.
A lot of people were very reluctant to change operating systems
because they have been using the SD1 for a year or more and
have it set the way they like. Let me say this. If you are
crazy about the SD1 the way you have it, by all means KEEP
IT THAT WAY. The SD1 would not have gotten so popular if it
wasn't a great sounding keyboard. For me, however, I am absolutely
thrilled with the changes that Ketron has made. The truth
is that I have liked almost every upgrade that Ketron has
made from the TS4 on. Have I learned all the new features?
Nope. I have been playing around with the sounds etc. One
thing I never really liked about the SD1 was the 198 basic
styles that had originally been created for the X1 and, in
my opinion, sounded better on the X series than on the SD1.
The other 109 styles on the SD1 were just great and I tended
to use them more than the older styles. I don't think I can
say that anymore. The new cleaner sounds and the rebalancing
of styles has really caused a huge improvement to my ear.
I have been led to believe that the same work will be done
on the XD series and possibly on the X series. I truly hope
so. There is still no better module in the world than the
X4 and I believe the same techniques would benefit it greatly.
I have always been the type of musician who is motivated by
sounds and my creativity, such as it is has been spurred by
great synth sounds. I have had trouble getting to bed the
past few nights because of some of the improved sounds are
good enough to make my mouth water. A lot of the sounds are
much more clearly in stereo than before. The regular Grand
Piano is as good as any I have ever heard by any company at
any price.
I played a bunch of just straight Standard Midi Files from
a commercial company and even without rebalancing and tweaking,
they sounded better than ever before.
One thing you should know--The closer you get to perfection,
the smaller the differences will be. The SD1 was getting close
already and this improvement will not jump out at you as though
you had gone from a cassette tape recorder to a CD. It is
much more subtle than that, but very real. Below I have included
the changes and additions to the tools that were added.
The following is the 4.0 set of notes regarding the changes
that have been made. Even if you don't have an SD1 you should
glance through them for the purpose of seeing just how progressive
the Ketron people are. It is impossible not to be impressed.
******************************
The New Renovated SD1 - UPDATE 4.0a
It's not just another update, but a total renovation of the
KETRON SD1 workstation. Thanks to FLASH technology, we have
been able to renovate the SD1 keyboard with new exiting features,
sounds and new optional styles which can be use to replace
existing FLASH styles. With this update, your SD1 will sound
and respond like a 'new' keyboard … that is because
it virtually is!
· NEW SOUNDS & DRUM SETS.
New orchestral voices are included for the Guitars (*), Bass,
E.Pianos (very clean and precise), Strings (full and spacey),
Pads, Brass (more authentic) & Organ groups, while some
ROM voices have been readjusted entirely to produce a cleaner
Hi Fi response. The Drum sets of Drum1 and Drum2 have aggressively
been restyled with new, natural Percussion sounds and more
Live Drum loops (especially for Dance and Hip Hop styles).
(*) Hawaiian and Pedal Steel guitars voices are set to play
3 notes max. with Steel Mode. (Assignment easily changeable
in new Preset Editing feature shown below).
· OPTIONAL NEW STYLES.
New Rhythms have been programmed and will be available on
our website. They can be used independently to replace any
of the 109 existing FLASH styles, rendering a personalized
SD1 keyboard. You will have to personally download just the
styles you are interested in, and replace the Flash styles
you intend to replace (see page 59 - replacing the Custom
Styles of the Owner's manual).
The XD Series Library's Styles can also be used for such replacement,
as they too can now be automatically converted within the
SD1's Master folder.
The internal Flash and Rom Styles have also been optimized,
taking the advantage of all the new Sounds, Drum Sets and
Loops.
· NEW FUNCTIONS:
· Drum Remix - To liven up or simply modify a song,
changing the rhythm structure of the drums or the percussion
instruments can make a huge difference, bringing more 'life'
to the song. The SD1 now enables the realization of similar
results, granting the capability of replacing the percussion
tracks of a Midi file/song with those from the onboard styles
(including the live drum loops), enabling the muting of single
percussion groups of the rhythm track. While the Midi file
is being played, it is also possible to switch between the
on board styles and the original drum tracks of the Midi file,
activate the Fill-ins and use the four Arrangers in real time!
This feature is activated and used while in 'Song Play' mode
with the following buttons:
Tap : Drum Remix On/Off - 'Drum Remix' displays on the Song
Play screen when turned on.
Lock : Style/Song selection - Determine if the numeric styles
buttons (0-9) should be used to select either a Style to be
associated with a song or a Song from the current disk folder.
The corresponding selection type will be displayed on the
screen under the bar counter.
Key Start : Turns on the drum tracks of the Midi file - Original
Drum tracks from the Midi file will be heard when the song
is playing.
Key Stop : Turns on the drum tracks of the selected SD1 style
- Styles from the SD1 will be heard when the song is playing).
You can now choose to maintain this setting permanently (i.e.
whenever you next call up this Midi file, it should utilize
the drum tracks of the Ketron SD1 rather than the original
drum tracks of the Midi files).
To memorize the new Song Set up with Remix:
1 ) Press the GM (F1) button while the Midi file is running.
2 ) Press the Start/Stop button to stop the Midi file.
3) While within a GM part, press SAVE/ENTER, then F 10 to
confirm the Saving operation.
You may choose to either overwrite the existing Midi file
or rename this new file.
For every Midi file it is possible also to choose the starting
and the ending Bar for the Remix function.
To select the initial Bar press F2 and search the number with
Value +/-.
To select the final Bar press again F2 and search the number
with Value+/-. The SD1 will start to play the Remix style
only within the initial and final bar as assigned above when
you press START. You can press 'Keystart' to go back to the
drum tracks of the Midi file.
Patterns on Disk can be also used with the Drum Remix feature
(and saved using the Save Song Set up) but ONLY if they have
been loaded into the Pattern location in RAM.
· Bassist - The Bassist function automatically allows
the Manual Bass to be played to the left of the Split point
of the keyboard section while the right side can be used to
play chords or solo parts. Every time you take off your hand
from the right keyboard section, the chord last played on
the right section remains in memory (if the Hold push button
is activated) whereas the Bass can be played freely without
affecting the chord. This is a cool feature used to reduce
the redundancy that can be associated with a style and allows
the musician to freely produce natural, human bass lines in
real life. This function is automatically set 'On' when Pianist
and Manual Bass are both activated.
· Increased Polyphony - The number of notes that can
be played at any given time has been increased. More notes
can now be played on the SD1 without experiencing note-drop
out.
· Pattern View: Visualization and access to Disk Patterns
now works similar to that of the Internal Styles. To access
disk styles, just press the Single Ram Styles button and select
the Style family/group; then proceed with the associated function
(F1- F10) button to select the style. A diamond shape after
the style denotes that this style has already been loaded.
The new GROUP function (accessed by pressing the Block List
button and pressing F8 repeatedly) can be used to select the
following Pattern view modes:
o Mode 1: Numeric 1; Styles are displayed numerically.
o Mode 2: Orderly; Styles are displayed in the order in which
they were loaded into HD.
o Mode 3: Alphabetic; Styles are displayed alphabetically.
o Off: Numeric 2; Styles are accessed numerically as was the
case with previous OS (see pg 56 & 57 of user manual).
§ NB: If there are no patterns within the current disk
folder, no Patterns will be displayed.
· ROM & FLASH styles - Internal ROM (denoted with
small letters) and FLASH (denoted with Capital letters), styles
are now easily distinguishable.
· Flash Styles Backup Folder - It is possible to save
onto Disk the current configuration for the Flash Styles.
Press Save/Enter, then Styles (F2) and Global Flash to Disk
(F7). The next screen will ask for a name to give to this
new Backup Folder. Press F10-Save to confirm once named.
This operation automatically creates a new folder containing
all the current Flash Styles.
This very useful feature allows you to save/load from Disk
a new, fully personalized Flash Style's block, thus rendering
you with various blocks of customized Flash styles
· Arranger On/Off - A new and dedicated Arranger On/Off
function has been added to the SD1. It is now possible to
have the current voice(s) played over the entire keyboard
(i.e. ignoring the SPLIT point) while playing Styles or Midifiles.
This is obtained by simply pressing the Sound Load button
while playing to turn the arranger OFF (a new split-point
value of 'C-2' will be displayed). Pressing this button once
more reinitiates the split point and turns the arranger ON.
· MIDI file Player:
o The reproduction of Midi files has been optimized. The Fast
Song access, the Next Song and the Juke Box functions have
been improved.
o XD Remap - This feature XD-Remap [F8] located under the
Transposer Menu, (while in Song Play mode) allows for complete
compatibility of Midifiles created for the XD-series when
played back on the SD1.
· Vocalizer:
o It is now possible to turn on/off the vocalizer with the
Demo&Hit buttons.
o The Global Transposer with Vocalizer track in the Midi file
has been optimized.
o The Hold function (in harmony mode) is now retained within
the vocal set after the settings have been saved.
· Footswitch - New functions have been added to the
footswitch table: Lead On/Off, Pianist, Bassist, Drum Off
All, Drum&Bass, Accordion On/Off.
· Power On set up - New functions have been added:
Autoclose (for Preset Voices), Intelligent Transposer, Text
Mode, Accordion Bass on Stop, Pattern Group, Transposer Delayed
mode.
· OutAssign - The Drum assignment for Drums to Separate
Outputs (after the keyboard is switched On) has been corrected.
· Accordion:
o The Midi Expression with bellows has been improved.
o The new function Bass Off Stop has been added. When the
Accordion Mode is activated the new feature, BS ACCORD [accessed
from Utility, Accordion (F6) and using F8 to toggle between
Off on Stop and Normal] is automatically set to 'Off on Stop'.
This ensures that the Bass and Chords do not sound after the
arranger has been stopped. Into Accordion Mode, on F6, Bass
Octave function is shared Sustain.
o The Pattern Recording from Midi Accordion with Global Right
has been fixed.
o New Dynamic User Curves have been added, Left Expression
controlled via Midi 2 (for Midi Accordion equipped with bellow's
Expression).
· Voice Selection - The selection between Presets,
Ram Voices, Users, 1 Touch etc. has been optimized. 1 Touch
can now be over-written if any of the other voice group-types
is selected.
· 1 Touch to Style - The possibility to assign the
1 Touch voice to a Style is now included. For each style therefore,
you can assign your best 10 voices that you believe best suit
the style in question for quicker operation. This function
is located within the Arranger Mode - Pg. 2 under the Retrigger&Mode
screen. Using the -Value + buttons, after the Style Setting
Etn/Orc4, it is possible to assign any of the 1- 8 One Touch
settings to the style in question. This way, whenever you
call up that style, the associated One Touch settings will
automatically be associated with the style when you press
the One Touch button. Your favorite voices for a particular
style will always be available - quicker access to voices
and less time searching for the right voice!
· Text Mode: When displaying text, 40 characters can
now be viewed within each line without re-formatting. Under
UTILITY, TEXT (F7), 2 modes can now be selected:
o Mode 1: Standard form centralized within screen - 27 characters
per line will be displayed.
o Mode 2: New, smaller font utilizing full screen - 40 characters
per line will be displayed.
· Fills + Jump - The delay experienced when playing
Styles while the Fill + Jump feature is activated has been
eliminated. This provides a smoother transition between fill-ins
and arranger parts.
· Dry on Stop - This feature has also been added under
OnLineEffect (Micro [F6]) for easier, quicker access and operation.
· RAM Full - For faster operation, (when the Ram Memory
gets full during sound loading), a new message 'Memory Full'
is displayed together with the new function Clear&Load
(F10) and Exit. Pressing (F10) allows the sounds that currently
reside in RAM to be cleared and the current selected sounds
automatically loaded, while Exit (F5) aborts the loading operation
and retains the current sounds in RAM.
· Preset Editing: A new Editing possibility for Preset
Voices has now been introduced. When a Preset voice is selected,
by pressing simultaneously the styles-numeric buttons * and
#, the Program window corresponding to the same Preset is
opened.
2 new functions have been provided for Saving the voice: To
Preset [F8] (overwrites the existing RAM Preset with the same
name and new edits), and To Disk [F7] (Saves all Presets to
Disk with an extension .pre).
· Style Convert - Under the Disk menu - Utility - Disk
Control, the Style Convert feature has now been added. This
allows the SD1 to automatically convert all the Styles from
the X and XD series that reside within HD into Master Styles
Folder to the SD1 format.
· Autocrash - This can now be heard automatically after
Count Off is completed.
· Unplugged/Chord Solo - The capability to instantly
mute all of the accompaniment chord tracks while a selected
one remains active is now available. Within the Arrange View
window, if one of the 5 automatic Chords (F6 - F10) is selected
and highlighted, it is possible to mute all the other unselected
chords, drum and bass leaving the highlighted chord active
by simultaneously pressing both master Chord Volume buttons.
To exit from the function and re-activate the other chords,
just press one of the 2 master Chord Volumes again or a Fill
In.
· 2nd Voice to Disk - It is possible now to save the
2nd Voices settings to Disk with the extension .2ND. After
pressing Save/Enter, press F6 - 2nd Voice, then F8 - Disk
Save and finally F10 - Save to confirm. Any new 2nd voice
setting overwrites the previous 2ndvoice file.
· Loading Disk Styles from Song Play - When in Song
Play mode, by simultaneously pressing the two buttons * and
#, it is possible to view and select a Style from the current
HD folder that will be used next. The Style selected will
automatically be loaded. This replaces the initial 'Jump to
Style' feature.
· New Dynamic Curves - New Dynamic curves have been
added to clearly distinguish the difference between Soft1,
Soft2, Normal, Hard1, Hard2 … etc. (UTILITY, Page1/3,
Vel. Curve [F10])
· Sound Load - The FLASH load feature has been eliminated
from the Sound Load screen to eliminate accidental erasure
of Flash sounds.
· Keyboard Harmony - The Harmony feature has been optimized
such that notes (especially on percussive instruments) are
no longer generated when keys played on the right hand side
within a chord are released.
Style Works 2000 is in stock and being shipped. There are
still both versions (Solton/Ketron and Universal) in stock.
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 sometime 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
The demo is not fully functioning but you can get a good idea
of how well it works.
HELP!! As you know, I put out this newsletter free of charge
and I hope to continue to do so. However I am not independently
wealthy and I am forced to derive an income from somewhere.
I am a Ketron dealer and I hope to be able to sell to you,
my Ketron friends, the products and accessories that you need.
To this end you will be my sponsors in what I hope will be
a informative and fruitful endeavor for many years to come.
By the way, thanks to the people who surprised me with a wonderful
offer to make a donation to the newsletter. I can not express
my surprise and gratitude for such wonderful people. And no
I am not accepting donations. I just wanted to say "THANKS"!!
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.
There now two choices, both of which will cost money. The
printed version of the factory manual is available. Cost is
about $32.00 including shipping and handling.
Also is the Manual by AJ the foremost authority on Ketron
products in the US. This manual is written in much simpler
language and is much better for beginners. It also works together
with the factory manual and AJ points out ways and places
to find answers in the factory manual. Cost of this manual
is $40.00 plus shipping and handling.