Hi there,

I got the SD-1 last Saturday, after quietly abiding my time, and my first reaction was:
I'll send this beast back to where it came from !!!!! no points so far !
But those of you bearing in mind Roel's growing reports on his evaluation of the SD-1 as darkness set in won't be
surprised to learn that I have still got this "beasty" and I have a feeling I will eventually see eye to eye with Roel and all you lot that have purchased or are in the process of purchasing one.
I'll keep this review limited to some observations:
SOUNDS:
The internal sounds + the sounds included on the (6 GIGAbyte!!) harddisk, leave hardly anything to be desired for. Sure ,there are some that stand out form the crowd, no minor feat in itself, as the crowd in itself already stand out , if you get my grasp!!!!!
And what all of you seem to be forgetting in
evaluating the sonic capacities of an instrument like this is that YOU HAVE NOT YET SAMPLED ANYTHING YET OR LOADED AN EXTERIOR SAMPLE!!!! In short, I am not comparing the machine to other keyboards such
as the PRO9000 or the PA-80, cause there is simply NO NEED TO COMPARE, the sounds are brilliant and the only "weaker" spots, at least to my taste, would be the elec. piano's and accordeon/musettes. That said however there is already a great MUSETTE sound on the harddisk, actually very reminiscent of the outstanding musette from the MS series. (why they didn't include that in the basic set up is a complete mystery to me, probably one of the Italian idiosyncracies!!!!!!!!!) and , before I forget, so is the renowned BLOWSAX, also one of the outstanding sonic feats of the former MS series...........
Quite a few remarks have alreaydy been made on the DSP and I must admit that on first hearing it is not exactly in the Rolls Royce
league, but still quite versatile enough IMHO
to add substantially to the sound quality.
I'll get back to you on the STYLES later on ,
as I have not been able to form a good opinion yet.
The only serious drawback I have come across thus far is that it is not an easy instrument and with only the preliminary Manual of 20 pages it may well be defined a
bloody difficult instrument to navigate through. (mind you this is coming from someone who has played Solton for 8 years!!!!)
Still I am convinced that guys like Scott and Uncle Dave will join the club before too long, to UD it will be like just another egg in the basket, won't it Davey boy ? And of course I am still looking forward to winning my bet, so to speak.
(to be continued)

Good to see that you got an SD1 too.I will
read your reports but it is not easy to un-
derstand all your words when you are not en-
glish or american.Please keep it clear and
easy to read.

Hi Deb,

HA... John is an exellent writer in more than 2 foreign languages !
He used to be English teacher and I must admit he makes me look in a dictionary more than once.;-))

John : It's great you start loving the SD1.

Roel

Deb,

Old habits die hard, I apologize for my English and next time try and keep it simple....

john.

Roel,

Looks like we have not said the last on the subject of the SD-1. Hell, we haven't even started yet !!!!

tot horens !!

John,
I'm reeeeealy trying to change my wicked ways as far as making changes at whim. I really doubt that I will play another "naked" (speakerless) keyboard though. It's become such a part of my routine that I would miss too much. I wish you all the best with your new SD1's, but I have a problem buying a new model with an old Ensonig name anyway! I hated thje SD1!
Seriously - if I ever needed to take another route - the 9kpro has been my dream machine since I got it. The harmonizer issue is only important in terms of portability. As long as I have to compromise that issue - I will play smaller lighter models till someone gets it right. I have high hopes for the PSR2000. I will need to use my laptop also for midi files, but hey - at least it's light!