K.N.A.T

Issue No. 33

Hello to all the wonderful Ketron users and welcome to issue number 33 of Ketron News and Tips (KNAT). This issue is targeted for December 1, 2003.
I want to do is thank all you lovely people who took the time from your busy day to re-sign up for this newsletter. Due to a serious computer worm I lost many data files and tons of email addresses. There will be many changes in the ensuing months to try to avoid these problems as much as possible. If you get this email in error please let me know and I will remove you from the list immediately.
The second thing to notice is the change of format. This has been prompted by all the spam filtering out there. Spam is crippling our industry and it will not be stopped until the penalties are severe enough that it won't be profitable to do it anymore. So to get past a few more spam filters (which I do believe in) I will be putting the out in rich text format, but without images for the foreseeable future. Additionally, if you use a spam filter. please add my addresses as a friend.
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.

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In this Issue:
Band-In-A-Box New Version Released
Style Works 2000 in stock
Tips: Add depth with effects and drum mixer
Quotes: Just for fun
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Style Works Upgrade
First an apology: Style Works 2000 has been on back order again. All orders have been filled, but this software is getting much harder to keep in stock. I can't believe how well it is received.
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 (Tyros is now installed) 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.
For Universal version users the Tyros mapping is included.
And here is an upgrade I a very enthused about. Directly from Klaus:
You can create a reference map for volumes, velocity etc. for a certain style or a general one. This map should be created from internal styles (save to disk and then load into the new Reference Map Editor). Style Works then creates a min/max/avg value for velocity, volume, expression, reverb and chorus for each sound and min/max/avg for each drum note.
Now when converting styles the new data will be corrected in such a way that
it matches the values in the reference map. Doing so the overall mix should go
well together with the internal styles and also the mix within a style should
give very reasonable results without a manual correction. I am not yet sure
how much improvement this will be, but I am very optimistic.

If this does what I envision you should be able to convert from one machine type to another and do the rebalancing on the fly. One of the biggest time consumers is that the various brands and models of instruments do not have the same volume on certain instruments. This is very noticeable between bass and drums. I am really anxious to try this out.
You can get to the downloads page of the web site at the following address:
http://www.emc-musicsoftware.de/updates/updates.html

BAND-IN-A-BOX
We are announcing that the new BIAB which is called Band-in-a-Box 2004 has been released. I have ordered many copies of this version and it will be shipped some time this week. It is not quite ready for shipment regardless of the fact that it has been released. There are many new features and this is a wonderful software. Stay tuned.
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TIPS
Drum mixer and effects for depth
=> As I have stated many times in the past, I don't believe you can have too many styles.

However, you certainly can have too many crappy styles. Now think for a second. What makes a style crappy? Often it is just that it has been translated from one machine to another without having been tweaked.

On the secret page you can find two styles. One is tweaked.
8_BEAT_5
J8BEAT_5 (tweaked)

=> Read KNAT 32 for rebalancing tips. This week I'll be discussing what you can do with a little reverb in the effects and Drum Mixer sections on the X series.

=> Load the Pattern that you wish to change.
Press F2 Effects and look at the Rev. Type. (Also F2) Press F2 and use the Value -/+ keys to change the Reverb Type. On my X1 the Types are, in order:
OFF
BOX_1
BOX_2
ROOM_1
ROOM_2
STUDIO_1
STUDIO_2
HALL_1
HALL_2
STAGE_1
STAGE_2
THEATRE
CATHEDRAL
ARENA
VALLEY
PLANET
GALAXY
USER_REV1
USER_REV2
USER_REV3
USER_REV4
You should take the time to learn the difference in these reverb settings. One tip is that the ones at the beginning are very short reverb time and the reverb decay times get progressively longer as you move to the end.
Generally speaking, slow tempos can use a longer reverb decay while up-tempo, busy drums, or Latin rhythms will usually sound better with a shorter reverb.
THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU CAN SAVE THE REVERB SETTINGS AS PART OF THE STYLE! I repeat, you can save the reverb settings as part of the style. You don't need to do anything else. This is a huge advantage.
Ok now that you have picked your reverb type exit the effects and press F10 Drum Mixer. The first page allows you to turn certain drums on and off. This page is universal and any drum you turn off will stay off on all your styles until you turn it back on.
Press the Page-/+ buttons to get from one page to the other. There are four pages. The second page is for drum part volume and the third page is for drum part reverb. Notice that you have 10 different parts that you can treat individually. The fourth page is drum part panning and is cool for stereo recording, but as a general thing you should probably leave it alone.
If the style you picked has Claves or some clicky type of percussion in it, find which drum section it is in by going to page one and turning the parts off one at a time until you find the right one. Then go to the reverb page and turn up the reverb for that section. You will hear the depth being added right away. You can and should do this while the pattern is playing.
If the style you picked does not have any percussion you can try the same thing with just the snare drum.
If you have doubts about what might sound good go to the factory patterns and look at what the fine Ketron programmers have done on the Factory styles. It is interesting to see what they have done.
Be sure to save the changes by pressing Save/Enter and then Styles and if you wish, rename the style at this point.
Be sure then to save it from your pattern memory to your hard disk or floppy if you don't have a hard disk.

=> "Style On!!!"

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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. =====================================================

Visit me at www.ketronus.com. Or email me at jay@ketronus.com

QUOTE SECTION
(Sometimes funny, sometimes thought provoking, but always worth the time)

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

"We always admire the other fellow more after we have tried to do his job." -- William Feather

"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Voltaire, asked on his deathbed to renounce Satan: “This is no time to make new enemies.”

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