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Hello to all the wonderful Ketron users and welcome
to issue number 28 of Ketron News and Tips (KNAT).
This issue is targeted for August 15, 2003.
I also have some more things to put up on the Secret page, but
have not done so. This will be done soon.
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 Upgrade
For every one who has purchased the Style Works 2000, either
Universal or Solton/Ketron the upgrade to allow XD9/3 styles
is posted. This is soon to be followed by an upgrade that
allows import/export function. Here is a description from
the EMC web site.
In the new version (V 1.87, 30.06.03) the efficiency of the
Style Editor has once again been improved, part length changes
are now available. Further the formats of Ketron XD9 and Kawai
CP have been added, the delay occurring during playback start
with Windows XP has also been removed (resp. there is workaround
for this problem). We are currently working on the Tyros Update
and on the implementation of the automatic part recognition
in the Song To Style Converter. The next new module will be
the import/export function.
You can get to the downloads page of the web site at the following
address:
BAND-IN-A-BOX dealer
Ketron U.S. has been a dealer for a while now and the response
has been 100% positive. BIAB works so well with Ketron. My
web site is devoted to Ketron and all the highest quality
things I can find that work with Ketron products and this
is definitely one of those.
The other software that is also from PG Music (the BIAB people)
and works perfectly with Ketron products is Power Tracks Pro.
This is a sequencing program and as such is perfect for tweaking
your MIDI files. Even more BIAB is the perfect companion to
Style Works 2000.
So much so that I am offering a software special.
I have several older, yet brand new and fully functional,
BIAB versions that I will give FREE, while supplies last,
to anyone purchasing any version of Style Works. Once supplies
run out I will make a different offer. I do not believe that
one can have too many styles.
If you order Style Works Universal, you will receive your
choice of the latest BIAB or 50% off of the BIAB MegaPAK.
Within the next couple of days this will appear on my Accessories
page in my web site.
I will also be offering BIAB at a better discount on the "Secret"
page, described above.
All supplies are in stock at the moment.
For my loyal customers who have already purchased Style Works,
if you contact me by email regarding the offer I have a special
for you as well.
Hard Drive
The first time I got a hard drive in a keyboard (MS100) I
thought it was not too useful. My opinion was formed in haste
and as I learned the layout of the hard drive and how to use
it, my opinion underwent total change to the point that I
absolutely will not get a new keyboard or module without one.
The Hard Drives are similar in all the Ketron instruments.
There is one additional feature in the SD1 called Master Folder,
but essentially they all work about the same.
Press the "Disk" button on the unit and brings up
a screen that shows files in a folder. The Function buttons
are very useful. We will get to those shortly.
At the top of the screen you will see Hard [01 Folder_01].
If you press the Hard/Floppy buttons you will change to the
Floppy disk.
The layout of the Hard Disk is this.
You have space for 99 folders.
Each folder can hold up to 999 files.
This is a total of 98,901 files you can put on your hard drive.
The recent Ketron instruments have been shipping with a 6
Gigabyte Hard Drive or larger. That means that each file could
be as large as 60,000 bytes and most Standard MIDI Files are
smaller than that and patterns are much smaller you can see
that you have ample space for storage. The larger files such
as wave files and samples will take up more space.
How you choose to organize your hard drive is up to you, but
I suggest that you definitely get a plan and do it.
I recently cleaned the Hard Drive in my X1 and it now has
700 files back in it with 99% free. That includes several
banks of sound files that take up a lot of space.
You can name your folders for what they contain. I like to
have several song folders. One is for live performance. Another
is for recording tracks. It is amazing that the same song
in those two folders should be so different but it is so.
A good sound for recording will sound shallow when performed
live and a good live balance will be far too bass heavy for
recording. If you wanted to take it a step further, there
should be a difference between a live show and playing live
for dancing. Another folder for songs I am working on. I also
have different folders for styles. I tend to name the folders
for what I am working on in the folder. If I am converting
Roland styles to Ketron I may name a Folder Rol800 so I will
know the file source and get to it easily.
F1 "Dir" shows all the files in the folder. If
you happen to be looking at MIDI files and want to see patterns
stored in that folder press F1.
F2 "Load" is the button you use to load styles
or sound files in the appropriate memory of the Ketron. You
can also load saved User Drums, Programs, User Voices, Registrations
and other things you have saved.
F3 "Save" takes you to a completely different menu
where you choose the type of thing you are saving. This is
an extremely useful tool to use since you can save your custom
styles, your registrations, your programs, your patterns,
your MIDI files, your user voices and user drums. It would
be here that you can create files that you can use to restore
your settings or move the file to floppy to share with others.
In other words, I can create a set of user instruments on
my X1 and give you the file for your X1 and you can install
it and you could load it into your X1 to see what you liked.
F4 "Copy" is just what it says. It will copy files
from your hard drive to a floppy or from the floppy to the
hard drive. Be careful when copying and be sure you are in
the correct folder before you start. Otherwise you may load
patterns from a floppy to the wrong folder on your hard drive.
F5 "Files Choice" is a wonderful utility for people
who load a lot of different types of things into the same
folder. I know some people who just put everything into folder
1 until it is full and go to the next. If you press F5 you
will bring up another menu similar to the F3 menu, but instead
of saving you can press the type of file you are looking for.
That way if you are looking for a .mid file you will not need
to scan all the .pat and .snd files in that folder.
F6 "Delete" does just what it says. It deletes
whichever file is highlighted or all the ones that have been
selected.
F7 "Rename" will allow you to rename individual
files. This is a great feature since sometimes the names you
get by default are not what you would like.
F8 "Folder" will give you a list of all the folders
on the Hard Drive. This way when you have gotten too many
folders to keep track of without a list you have a quick way
to look them up.
F9 "Utility" is a great help and brings up another
menu. There are some real useful options here including "Info"
which tells you the size of you Hard Drive, the number of
files on it and the amount of free space left. It is from
here that you can also chain songs. One word of caution. It
is also here that you can reformat your hard drive and erase
ALL data. If you press F9 again "Disk Control" you
are taken to yet another menu that allows you to do some very
computer like things such as scan disk and the like including
some types of disk repair. Stay out of this area until you
have read and understood all the information on this in the
manual.
F10 "Select" allows you to select individual files
for copying, loading, deleting etc.
This is a surface look at what the Hard Drive does in a Ketron
instrument. Many pages of information would be needed to do
this in depth.
Hard Drives--nobody who knows what they can do would ever
turn down this option. One further word of caution. Get the
Hard Drive at the time of initial purchase. If it is added
later it will not only cost more, but if it is installed by
anyone other than an authorized Ketron technician or service
center you will lose your warranty on both the hard drive
and the unit.
As you may 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.
I can promise you that no one will beat my price and still
maintain the level of service and support that I try to give.
To this end you will be my sponsors in what I hope will be
a informative and fruitful endeavor for many years to come.
QUOTE SECTION
(Sometimes funny, sometimes thought provoking, but always
worth the time)
"A great thing about the new 'Reality TV' is that I
get a chance to use my TV's OFF button."--Clerd Farnsworth
"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person
refuses to quit." -Napoleon Hill
"Illegitimis non carborundum."
Latin for: "Don't let the bastards grind you down."
-Gen. Joseph Stilwell
"Most people give up just when they're about to achieve
success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the
last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown."
-H. Ross Perot