Quote:
Originally posted by rikkisbears:
Hi Richard,
just wondering if for someone who mainly uses a keyboard for it's realtime arranger functions , would this type of keyboard really be the best choice at this stage of it's development??

You mentioned something about 270 or so styles?? Have these been specifically written for the Mediastation and a specific soundsouce,
or would users face some of the same hurdles that OMB ( One Man Band ) software users face ie OMB can play psr .sty files but we're pretty much left with having to find our own soundsource be it soundfonts, softsynths etc and we have to basically edit/tweak most styles we use.

When you buy a T2 or even a cheapie like my current psr1500 you have 100's of onboard styles that have been designed for the keyboard ie we have the option of tweaking or not, as the styles have been written for that particular keyboard and they normally sound quite good.

OMB/PC/Softsynth setup suits a user who has the time to spend finetuning styles, soundsource etc etc,
wheras an arranger keyboard is basically ready to use,
just wondering where the mediastation fits in, ready to use off the shelf like an arranger??




Rikki,

Yes, I do think that the Mediastation would be a very good choice for someone who mainly uses their keyboard for it's realtime arranger functions. As I mentioned before its style library still has room for improvement, but the arranger engine itself has been developed quite well.

The Mediastation arranger has the ability to use up to 16 parts: 4 intros, 4 variations, 4 fills, and 4 endings. It also has a break function that causes a pause in the arranger as long as the break button is pressed.

Each part is made up of 16 tracks of accompaniment instruments plus an additional track for audio wave files.

You are correct about the number of styles. The last style library release had 270 styles. These do seem to have either been written or adapted and remapped specifically for the Mediastation's sound source. So my answer would be "no", users would not be faced with the OMB type hurdles of having to remap sounds when using the included style library.

However, the experienced arranger player will probably want to convert styles they are already familiar with or possibly create new ones to their tastes. These would have only to be saved as standard midi files and remapped to the Mediastation's internal sound engine.

New midi file parts can be created within the mediastation through a very advanced software sequencer named Rosegarden. This software is already included in every Mediastation.

Therefore my answer to your question of where does the Mediastation fit in? Is that it is suited equally well to both the novice or user who does not care to tweak or edit styles but is content with using the included style library; and also to the user who wants to take further advantage of the flexibilty of the Mediastation and convert or create their own styles.

And as the included style library continues to grow I think the Mediatation will prove irself as the perfect hybird system the best of both options, dedicated traditional arranger and software arranger combined.

Hope this gives more insight.

Richard