K.N.A.T

Issue No. 39

Hello to all the wonderful Ketron users and welcome to issue number 39 of Ketron News and Tips (KNAT). This issue is targeted for April 1, 2004.
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
New Web Site: Try it. www.keyboardstyles.com
News: Are we nearing the end of the X series?
Tips: Do your homework
Quotes: Just for fun
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New Web Site Is Here
Now there is a new web site dedicated to keyboard styles. This site will carries products for most or all arranger keyboards. The Site currently is carrying Band-in-a-Box, PowerTracks Pro and Style Works for nearly all brands of arranger keyboards.
Also included will be style associated products for computer.
This is a very new site and improvements will be coming. Keep your eyes peeled.

BAND-IN-A-BOX
The new BIAB 2004 is in stock both in MegaPak and Pro versions. I have been experimenting with it and it is really improved over any previous version. Check for details at: http://www.ketronus.com/biab.html

News about the X series
There are vague rumblings that the X series may be nearing the end of its manufacturing life. I am sure we will know more after the Frankfort convention in Germany. This is the largest music convention of its kind in the world and many manufacturers point to this show for any breaking new. Already we are seeing new products from Ketron such as the little DJ unit that is coming out in Europe. Remember that products come out in Europe on the average of 6 months sooner than they do in the U.S.
I like to think that they are beta testing for us.

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TIP
Ok I have to admit that this is in the nature of a rant almost as much as it is a tip.

Here is the issue.

I am currently being innundated with emails and phone calls for help, which I freely give, but there are only so many hours in the day and I find I am having trouble getting to every request. This does not imply an unwillingness on my part so much as too many people needing help.
In order to help me and the others who try to help you, such as A.J, Johnny Deep and several really good members of the Solton Club run by Bob Hughes, I have a request for you. Do your homework first.
I know that the manuals are difficult to understand for a first time owner. That does not mean you don't have to study them. It means you need to study harder.
One of my pet peeves is that people ask for help and don't even know where the buttons on their unit are located. If you call me for help you had better know that much. So to that end, here is a short and very partial lesson on your buttons.

I am starting with the X1/4 first.

These are the buttons on the left side of the unit. Starting with the farthest left we have the Volume buttons. I know the lettering in the image is not clear so I will tell you what they are.
The buttons here are in pairs. The top pair is Drums. The button on the left lowers the drum volume and the one on the right raises the volume of the drums. This is only true for when you have styles or patterns playing. The top pair has a second function as well. If you are using the virtual drawbars for the Hammond Organ type settings this pair raises and lowers the lowest tone of that setting.

The second pair is for Bass. This pair is also active in the virtual drawbar function as well. as are most of the other pairs here.

The third pair is Chords which affects the Chord1, Chord2 and Chord3 sections of the styles.

The next pair is Orchestral which affects Chord4 and Chord5 of the styles.

The next pair is Lower 1 and the pair below that is Lower 2.
Lower are not really part of a style, but they sound as actual keyed notes when you trigger a chord with foot pedals, keys, or accordion chords.

The last pair is Right and this is the volume of the instruments being played in the right hand.

If you press the right button of each pair you get a volume increase of that part and the left button gives you a volume decrease. Pressing both buttons at the same time, lowers the volume to zero on that part.

The next two columns of buttons contain literally hundreds of possibilities and are very powerful.

The top two are Song Record and Song Play.

Song Record will record your performance to memory so you can save it to disk.
Song Play will play your Standard MIDI File from disk by loading it to memory and then starting when you hit the Start button. (The red one.)

Then you have Pattern Edit and Sequencer buttons.

These buttons are never used together, but each one will put you in a completely different section of the unit. Pattern Edit is where you build, copy, modify and save patterns. There is a lot to learn in this section. Sequencer is where you record, copy, modify and edit Standard MIDI Files. There is even more to learn here.

The next pair is for your Rotor effect. This only works on some sounds but for Organ emulation, it is hard to beat. The left Rotor button turns the Rotor effect off and on. The right one changes the speed from slow to fast. The left one must be on for the right one to make a difference. (Yes, that was one of the questions I have had to answer.)

The next pair down are Split and Disk.

Split determines where the keyboard splits for lead in the right hand and accompaniment in the left hand.

Press the Disk button to activate the files on the hard or floppy disk.

That is as far as we are going today. Now if you are using an XD9/3 or SD1 your button arrangement will not be identical. However, the arrangements are similar and you absolutely should know these location at least generally on your unit before you call for help. I have a friend named Mark Dew, a very bright and talented musician, who is blind and plays an SD1. He knows where every button on his keyboard is and if he can so can you.

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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.
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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)

" Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival." -- W. Edwards Deming

"Only the curious will learn and only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning. The quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient."
Eugene S. Wilson

"Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon." -- E. M. Forster

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." -- Confucius

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