K.N.A.T

Issue No. 50

Hello everyone and welcome to issue number 50 of Ketron News and Tips (KNAT).
This issue is targeted for the first quarter of 2006.
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: SD5 has been released
News: SD2 has been released
News: Style Factory is here and hot!
News: Ketron U.S. has moved
News: Ketron US now selling M-Audio products as accessories.
Quotes: Just for fun

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The long awaited new keyboard is out. SD5

The newest keyboard is on its way soon. It is the SD5 and in reading the specs I am beginning to be excited. There seem to be many unexplained features. I love when that happens because the adventure of discovery is always exciting. However, it will be a little like wondering in a forest with no map or compass. These is no manual available for download at the moment and I expect it will be a full year before a proper manual is out if Ketron keeps to their normal release pattern. I love the shape which is like the old MS60. My best guess right now is that the styles are customizable based on your playing style. I hope that is correct since it would give each individual performer an opportunity to sound different than other performers. This has long been one of the strongest points of Ketron instruments and in this regard, they seem to lead the industry.

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A New module is available -- the SD2!

For many years I have answered in the negative to those people who did not want a full module, but rather a module with those Great Ketron Sounds. Now the SD2 comes along to answer those prayers. A pocket-sized module that you can drive with a MIDI keyboard, a sequencer, or a computer. It looks to have the same specs as the SD5 keyboard as to sounds, drums, etc.
It will not play styles in itself. It will not play MIDI files without something driving it. I don't know yet what the price is, but I have one on order. This little guy looks like the answer to some prayers.

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Ketron U.S. has moved!!

I would like to thank everyone who has helped force me to a larger facility. It is only success that could have caused this! THANK YOU!!
It will likely be months before things fully settle down, but once settled, my office will feature some very cool things including variable flush mounting for testing various speakers. The showroom feature will have a lot more space for instant A/B comparisons.

The address is:
Ketron U.S.
9709 Westbury Cir.
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129

The phone number 303-347-1495 has remained the same.

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Ketron US is now sell M-Audio products!

We have taken on an exciting line of products that will complement the Ketron products just like peanuts compliment a Snickers bar. You can see some of the products at the Accessories Page.
You can also read the reviews that I have had time to do. The speakers are frankly a class above most other products. I am blown away by some of these offerings. I am listening to the BX5a set as I write this and during this writing session I have heard Andres Segovia, Chet Atkins, Ray Price, Frank Sinatra, The Lovin' Spoonful, "Gatemouth" Brown, UB40 and Basia. A pretty wide range of styles and genres and every one sounds accurate. These speakers are frankly good enough to mix on. I was trying out the StudioPro 3 and sold my first set within 30 minutes of hooking them up. These are not PA speakers, but designed for use with your computer studio or as near field monitors. I have heard a lot of "computer speakers" and most strive for anything but accuracy
I am also taking on the line of Keyboard Controllers including the Axiom and Oxygen models. These should be the ideal keyboard for using with any Ketron module as well as your computer sequencer. The prices are very reasonable and it is surprising to know that M-Audio has about 80% of that market. There is surely a reason!
In addition to that, I am ordering in the "Black Box" effects box for guitar players. I will surely let you guitar folks know what I think.

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Style Factory is here and it is HOT!!

Style Factory, the new fantastic software from EMC, the makers of Style Works 2000, has arrived.
I had the opportunity to play with a beta version at the NAMM show in January and was very excited at the possibilities. Now that I have it installed on my machine, I realize that it is far more powerful than I had first imagined.
It will allow you to assemble musical phrases by a simple drag and drop method to create styles that are completely your own. You will also be able to import phrases from other styles and thus build your own phrase library that will be unlike anyone else's. Also under development is a module that will allow importing from software such as Band-In-A-Box.
The price is quite reasonable, much less than Style Works.
You can make styles for Ketron keyboards and modules from the SD1+ and Midjay all the way back to the MS40/50. Very cool!
I expect to have a ball making new styles.

You can now get the Ketron and Universal version on this web site at: Style Factory

Or you can go to my other web site to order:
You can also check out the great prices on Band-In-A-Box and Power Tracks Pro Audio.
Other versions of Style Factory and Style Works 2000 are available here

http://www.keyboardstyles.com

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COMPARISON SHOPPING

Here is the thing that MANY customers have asked for before buying

For years I have struggled to describe the differences between different Ketron products. It is never enough to say, "Well the bass seems a little fuller than on the previous model." And I am constantly asked by prospective buyers, "How does the Midjay sound compared to the XD3?" Or a similar question like, "Which one sounds better?"
The only sure way to find out is to line up all the instruments and put them into one sound system with identical settings and hear them side by side. Since there is not always a dealer near you and the internet has changed the way business is done, that solution is not usually practical anymore.

Well I have tried to answer the question by demonstration and do it honestly. I found 9 very high quality MIDI files, the source of which was the XD3 and Midjay and some from the original Blue Fish Music programmed by Doru Caplescu, a brilliant MIDI sequencer.
Then I took all 9 full files and recorded them into 4 different Ketron products. The products were the Midjay, SD1, XD3 and X4.
Those recordings are now to be found on my site at: http://www.ketronus.com/downloads.html
I placed these on the page above the Midjay Demo and below the SD1 Demo.
These are large downloads because they are full length good quality MP3 files.
Now you can listen for yourself to see which instrument sounds the best to you.

A word about how it was done:
I created these files by playing the MIDI songs from the same floppy disk in each instrument. In other words, no tweaking for a particular instrument was done.
All instruments were set to 0 for internal eq purposes.
All reverb settings were at Global 8.
The instruments were all recorded into a Layla 3G and on to my computer in Adobe Audition. (Adobe Audition is the upgrade to Cool Edit Pro which was sold to Adobe.)
There was absolutely no tweaking of sound on any instrument.
All volume levels were "normalized" at 98% to give the listener the most totally accurate representation possible. It is possible to make any instrument to sound a little better by making it a little louder than the others. This was not done.

With all this care and effort you would imagine that you will now be able to hear the exact differences between instruments. Not so!
First it is not possible to have included all the instruments and variations on the units.
Second there is no individual instrument comparison as single voices.
This is just the best I could do at this time with the limitations of the internet.
I hope you enjoy the downloads and I hope you have broadband internet cause otherwise it may take a while. I do have high speed and it takes me about 24 seconds to download "Feelings" which is the largest file.
A tip for people with slower internet is to save the file to a folder on your desktop and open it from there. That will make it much easier to listen to. I use Windows Media Player as a playing source on my computer.

I hope you will all enjoy and find useful this latest effort!
Check it out here!

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Stands for the Modules
I have found a source of heavy duty stands that are perfect for the MS40, X4 and XD3 modules. The stands have a very heavy 4 leg base with a center pole. The rack tilts into 3 different positions. The top has rubber to keep from scratching the instruments. The stand is too large for the Midjay, but is perfect for all others. I will be retailing it for $69.95 plus shipping. The shipping weight will be approximately 18 LBS. The stand weighs 13 and folds into a fairly compact unit. This stand is identical to the ones that used to be available at over $100.00 retail. You can see and buy it on the accessories page: http://www.ketronus.com/accessories.html

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Upgrades available:
There are upgrades available for most Ketron products at:
http://www.ketron.it/software/index.asp

Some upgrades are available at:
http://www.ketronus.com/downloads.html
Here you can find the Win98 USB driver, the DJ loop compiler, the XPC drivers for Win98 and both versions of the Ketron FT utility. You can also find the upgrades for the currently supported instruments.

Most of these are also available at Ketron U.S.

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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

"Pay no attention to what the critics say... Remember, a statue has never been set up in honor of a critic!"  - Jean Sibelius

"He who rejects change is the architect of decay." -- Harold Wilson

"I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confine themselves to facts."  - Mark Twain

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