K.N.A.T

Issue No. 45

Hello everyone and welcome to issue number 45 of Ketron News and Tips (KNAT).
This issue is targeted for January 1, 2005.
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 them.

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In this Issue:
News: NAMM
News: Midjay
Tips: Modify your sound in the Midjay
News: Upgrades for X and SD series
Quotes: Just for fun

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See me at the NAMM show!
I will be at NAMM in the Close Marketing booth and will be displaying the wonderful Style Works 2000 as well as the new Style Factory (beta version) which Klaus assures me will be ready for the show. Klaus will also be at the booth to answer any questions on any of his superb software including the new Style Factory. We will be in booth 6993 in Hall A.
Bell Ketron will be in the same hall in booth 6112. This is not nearby.
I expect to have an XD9 and Midjay to help show off the great potential of the Style Works programs.

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News about the Midjay
It is a players module for sure.

If 20 years ago someone would have asked me to define the perfect module, I would not have known enough to be able to describe the Midjay. To describe a box smaller than 13" in its largest dimension, that contains samples so realistic that you really believe them, effects, the ability to play Standard Midi Files (MIDI started about 1982), a box that plays CDs from its hard drive, has hundreds of sound effects, will record MIDI files as wave files with quality better than the best analog tape, would have been completely beyond my imagination.

This is one fantastic box, but there are several things it is not.
It is not a workstation.
It does not have an onboard sequencer. It does not have an onboard sampler in the traditional sense. It has limited functions in terms of tweaking the sounds that are already there. However, it is not inconceivable that these functions may be included in future editions since the OS is clearly designed for upgrades. I doubt that these functions will all be added to the current issue, but boy I'll bet the Midjay II or Midjay+ or whatever they decide to call it in the distant future, will be something else. Remember, this is the first module of its kind by anyone.

However, you can change the sounds.

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Changing the Sounds of the Midjay
Pick a voice, any voice.
Then Press Edit.
Here is a screen for editing the sounds. This screen corresponds in many ways to the "Program Edit" screen of earlier models.
On your left side going down, you have: Vox, Vol, Shift, Tune, Pan, Part, Rev, Amou, FX, Sust, Expr, V.SW, Trsh.
Across the top you have V1, V2, V3 and V4. These represent the number of voices you can have for each instrument.
Using the arrow keys around the Enter button move the cursor to V1/Vox.
In this location you can change the voice that is playing in V1 by using the Data/Value wheel at the top right.
Press the down arrow key.
This brings you to V1/Vol.
Using the Data/Value wheel you can raise or lower the volume of the first voice. You can go from 0 to 127. (note: if you press the left and right arrows at the same time the volume goes to 0.)
Use the down arrow key again to go to V1/Shift.
Here you can set the transpose of the voice in 1/2 step increments. If you go down -12 for example, you will be one octave below the normal setting for this instrument. Using the Data/Value wheel you can raise or lower each voice 2 full octaves.
Press the down arrow key again and come to V1/Tune.
Here you can raise or lower the tuning of a given instrument in small degrees, using the Data/Value wheel. This can be useful for creating certain types of sounds like 12 string guitar or Honky Tonk piano. There are other useful ways to use this setting to create a type of chorusing when other setting are correct.
Use the down arrow key again to go to V1/Pan.
This setting moves that voice toward the left or right output of the device.
Use the down arrow key again to go to V1/Part.
This is an advanced feature and since we are setting these for just the right hand of the keyboard, leave it on "Right" for now.
Use the down arrow key again to go to V1/Rev.
Here is where you set the amount of reverb for that voice.
Use the down arrow key again to go to V1/Amou.
Here is the setting for the amount of Effects on this voice.
Use the down arrow key again to go to V1/FX.
Here is where you choose the Effect that you set the amount on in the previous step. You have a number of choices. They are: No Effect, Dist(ortion), Chorus, Delay, Delay plus Chorus, Distortion plus Chorus, Distortion plus Delay, Full.

This pretty well finishes the normal setting for the edit page. The next four settings should normally be left as default and we will take those up later.

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:

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Here is a letter from Bob Hughes to the Solton club on Yahoo regarding his first gig with the Midjay.
Bob has also formed a Midjay club on Yahoo at the address below.

I played my first gig with the midjay, on N. Y.'s eve.
Since I wasn't totally ready to use the midjay, exclusively, I hooked up my laptop to the midjay, just to be able to use the great sounds of the midjay. I also hooked up my keyboard to be able to play the keyboard controller, instead of my midi guitar, which is not yet ready.
I had a good experience. No crashes, the sounds were great on most songs and since I developed a terrible head cold, I became very hoarse, early in the gig. Midjay to the rescue. I had 60 of my own mP3's recorded on the midjay. So I played them and lip synched. No one knew. They thought I was singing live, and these folks know me, as they come to see me often. I never thought I would ever do that but this was an emergency.
I also had a few line dance .wav files that I used to answer requests. I also played more instrumentals than I usually do. Thanks to the MJ I made it through the night. So I was part DJ and part musician this New Years eve. It certainly is not my preferred route but the MJ saved my butt when I couldn't sing, and the audience still heard me. I'm getting to like this thing more and more.
I also learned that it is going to be critical to have the files organized properly on the MJ. Quick access to files is a must. So Playlists work great to handle a specific type of gig (I.e. standards for seniors, country, oldies, latins, etc.) but I need to have my folders set up for easy response to requests. It's going to take more thought and experimentation until I can respond almost instantly. Did anyone else gig with their MJ yet?
BOB HUGHES
THE ONE MAN BAND
You can join the club at
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/ketronmidijay/

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Upgrades available: For all the whiners out there (not many) who have been so bitterly complaining that the X series has been made "obsolete", Ketron has just released a free upgrade for the operating system to 5.0 for the X series, including the X4, X1, X8 and X1 Oriental (arabic). I personally hope this reinforces the fact that discontinued does not mean obsolete. These downloads are available on this site on the "Manuals and Upgrades" page under the Downloads button (http://www.ketronus.com/downloads/) or at http://www.ketron.it which is the Home site for Ketron labs.
Also the 4.0c has been released for the SD1 and SD1+.

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

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Quotes: Just for fun

"......like all slaves to a fixed idea, it was a stupid beast."-- J. M. Barrie

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." -- Herm Albright

"A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug." -- Patricia Neal

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