New Audya Demo >> http://www.ketron.it/musikmesse2009/index.asp
Nice demo's

Impuls


[This message has been edited by Impuls (edited 04-03-2009).]

The Downloads are bringing up a message that they are invalid or corrupt.

Try "right click" the downloadlinks, then save as. Unzip and play.
Works fine here.
GJ

Works fine here also.....
Thank you for the heads up.

That's what I need! A roadie to play the Bass part!

An objective observation?? Well, for one thing they make a great Duo..

Okay, back to being serious . The Ac. Piano wasn't the best in my humble opinion. In fact, it sounded pretty similar to my former Tyros' "1" Live! Ac. Grand. The EP was okay but a little lackluster in my opinion. I'm sure they would both sound better in person since the video is compressed (along with the audio) and therefore can't give us a true or exact representation of the sound(s) true nature and quality. Don Mason says the Audya is the best arranger he's ever heard "bar none" so that says something to me. >> Either #1: that Don is "right" in his assessment of the Audya or #2: his hearing is going downhill faster than anyone realized, including himself. Just kidding Don!! I don't want you getting angry and busting your gut open on my account okay? One appendectomy suture job is enough for now, right?..

I'm joking around of course but that new Musikmesse Audya demo didn't make me go: "Wow!! What a fantastic sounding arranger keyboard!!!!" Unfortunately, it remined me of my former (and now seven years old technology) Yamaha Tyros with 15 extra keys. In other words, it didn't bowl me over or blow me away or anything close to it. BUT, I will reserve my final verdict until I can actually play one in person. Which may be a coons age unfortunately, seeing how they are more scarce than the fossilized bones of a Tyrannosaurus Rex right now.

All the best,
Mike

To follow up on my "Tyros" comment. The Tyros was a great arranger for its time. Even the best actually, at least for a brief period of time in my opinion. But that was seven years ago and this is today.

So Ketron can only match the sound of a former totl "seven year old" keyboard in today's world seven years hence?? Am I missing something here?? Of course the Drums are outstanding because they are audio based samples (as opposed to MIDI based). But you need more than Drums in your repertoire right? Maybe it's the way Ketron has been Mic'ing the demos perhaps? Maybe they need to fire their sound guy perhaps?? And get somebody who "can" produce some outstanding demos perhaps??

Things just aren't adding up if you ask me. On the one hand we have a well respected member like DonM saying the Audya is the best EVAH!! On the next hand, we hear these lackluster Audya demos that start to poke enormous holes in Don's well respected, from the heart, sincere statement(s) that he's given.

Maybe I'm just taking this all too seriously perhaps too, and should just accept the Audya for what it is = i.e. a five thousand plus + dollar, 76 key arranger 'experiment' from our friends in Ancona, Italy. And then wait for version 2 to come out.. oh, in about 12 years or so - if we're lucky. >> Maybe I should cut down on the caffeine in the morning as well too.

All the best,
Mike

dont know what your ears are tellin you but that bass sounded as live as i have heard any bass played live. The electric pianos sounded fine and had lots of expression from what could be deciphered with all the background noise. The same for the accoustic piano. I think we are giving the Audya far too rough a ride here. I am not saying its worth the cost when compared to other lower priced arrangers but i like what i am hearing. And i have to admit that that bass sounds better than the ones i have on my PA1X.

I'm with you, I realy enjoyed what I heard and those drums are out of this world.

Actually, I'm quite surprised...the Audya sounds pretty darn good...the drums are very "live" sounding.

Best demos so far, although I did find the accompaniment parts a little murky...except, of course, for the aforementioned drums.

Ian

Do we have any demos up (not camcorder abortions, but real recordings) of the difference between the Audya's 'Live Loop' drums and it's own internal drumkits?

I mean, of course one expects the loop drummers to sound 'live'... THEY ARE! But they suffer from a complete lack of editing ability. Want to change a kick pattern, or snare hit? Forget it...

What do the regular drum kits (that don't suffer this drawback) sound like?

Yeah, the Funk Slap Bass sounded pretty good I have to admit. Like I said, I'm sure the Audya will sound better in person too, but the sounds in the demo still could have been produced better i.e. mic'd, recorded, and/or mixed down and mastered better before releasing the video to the public in my opinion. Or perhaps that is as good as it gets?? In which case the Audya probably wouldn't sound a "whole lot" (or any??) better in person after all. It's amazing how much an audio or video demo can reveal about the true nature of the beast in question, even if the demo is compressed and not the best of quality. I knew right away, for instance, that after hearing the Tyros3 online demos that the Drums on the T3 were going to be "business as usual" from Yamaha regarding the Tyros series keyboard i.e. the Drums would again be lacking on the T3, just as they were on the T2 and T1. And my ears confirmed my suspicions by the negative reports coming back from T3 owners about the T3 drum kits being lackluster. Pity too, because the Motif ES/XS workstation(s) have superb drum kits. But I digress... sorry. Anyway, I probably still won't be able to get a chance to play an Audya unless some miracle happens, like somebody ordering one from a Guitar Center in my area and then he or she decides to return it after his or her suspicions have likewise been confirmed also. Hey! Now that's an idea for you. I'll keep my eyes peeled and on the lookout for any wayward Ketron Audya that might just happen to show up at my local GC. And hopefully the suspicions flying around the internet will all have been groundless, unfounded and ultimately untrue. Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants! The person who returned it probably just decided he couldn't afford to keep it.

All the best,
Mike

PS: I would still have to come up with the $5,500.00 or so if I actually decided to buy it. Rather, more like.. ..

it was a "live " demonstration recorded probably by a cam corder . I think it was just a very quick snapshot of what was happening at musikmesse and i have certainly seen demo's by other manufacturers from korg and roland that were recorded in much the same way. I dont think the recording was meant to faithfully reproduce the sonic qualities of the keyboard. It was just to Capture the flavour of what was happening at the event. I suspect from the cheers of the audience that what they heard sounded a whole lot better than what we heard !!!

I think some of the styles demonstrated were a little cheesy but that goes for all arrangers. What attracted me was the liveness of the sound. That was truly awesome. But for me the Audya still hasnt got enough of the features that i need and for such an expensive keyboard its quite discouraging that it doesnt have a fully fledged sequencer, fully editable sound creation, style creation or true sampler onboard the instrument. You seem to be required to pay a quite high premium for the new technology but some might be prepared to pay for that for the sound. Its a hrad one to balance because where as the Audya has kick ass live drums and bass its other sounds whilst very good dont quite match up. The sax in the demonstration would have sounded good 4 years ago but since superarticulation , they sounded just ok. I guess i want yamaha super art voices, audya's drums and bass and Korgs features and flexibility all in one keyboard ! Oh well i am satisfied with what i have at the moment and i know i have not pushed its sonic capabilities whatsoever so i will sit and watch how the market developes.

Your points are well taken Spalding. I reckon if the crowds like the sounds of the Audya then I suppose that's a really good indicator of the Audya's true sonic quality and worth. Although the audience may have just been clapping and cheering for the "unusual" Duo playing performance of the two gentlemen, which was unique in itself. I would like to think they were also cheering for the sounds emanating from the Audya too. But we'll never know, unless somebody who was actually there pipes up on the SynthZone and let's us know the real skinny eh?

I have heard that Ketron is suppose to provide an OS update for the Audya that will enable "micro" editing of the sounds along with enhancements for the Sequencer. That would be fantastic if it's really true. AJ??

All the best,
Mike

The BIG "thorn" in all of this is the astronomical price tag attached to the Audya. In my opinion, more people would be willing to shell out that kind of money if indeed they really thought the Audya was "that much better" than the rest of the pack currently on the market e.g Korg Pa2XPRO, etc. From some of the responses from people who went to the Audya Jam's it sounds to me like a lot of people don't really think so. Although, others like DonM thought it was the bees knees and worth every penny apparently - best he's ever heard in an arranger in fact. To each his own I reckon. I'd have to play it in person before I could somehow be convinced for myself though. Unfortunately, Ketron's marketing and distribution of the Audya has been abysmal at best in my opinion. It's a rarer bird to find then the now 'extinct' Dodo Bird. In other words, you can't find it anywhere that I'm aware of without having to first drive, fly, or sail at least half way around the world or across a Continent or some other major land mass to do so. And I don't think I'd chance the drive to L.A. because if the traffic doesn't get you the smog will. Just kidding.. If George happened to get one in stock and on the shelf for demoing purposes then - maybe. I'd have to try to find a day when the wind was blowing directly East at about 30 knots though.

>> Any chance the Audya will make it down to God's Country AJ?? Somewhere within driving distance and without the Smog perchance??

All the best,
Mike

[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 04-04-2009).]

I think that a lot of the problem with the Audya's price comes from, although it has got some groundbreaking new technology in it, and ought to deserve it's premium price, it isn't ADDED to an already complete arranger... In other words, if you had something like a PA2X or T3, and then added the live loop features and interactive arranger stuff (which seem to be the innovative things on the Audya) you would have an arranger WORTH maybe $5k.

But sadly, to get the innovative stuff, you have to give up the full featured sampler, the full featured voice editors and style creation and editing packages, SA or DNC voice triggering, Guitar modes (that you can edit or create), etc., etc.. Which simply begs the question... when the innovative stuff comes at the price of regular functionality, why is the price so high? If it did all a Korg or T3 can do, and THEN add it's own stuff, sure, it might be worth $5k or so.

But until it does, it strikes me as worth no more than other TOTL arrangers.

My neighbor bought a new Chrysler. I sat in it tonight and commented on how the dashboard had so many lights on it I thought I was sitting in the space shuttle. Then I asked her where the cigarette lighter was so I could plug in my GPS to show her. She didn't know! She had the car 5 months already and didn't know.

My point being that the more bells & whistles we have on an item, it seems the less we want to take the time to explore it...too overwhelming.

Apply that to a keyboard. I'm not sure I would want a keyboard that gives me everything but a tuna salad sandwich! All I really want is good sound quality and some versatility with the dance styles. A basic meat and potatoes keyboard!

I'm of the opinion that talent will make up for lack of features, but an abundance of features will NOT make up for lack of talent!
And it's cheaper that way!

Lucky

i accept what you are saying lucky to a degree. There are i would suppose many that buy an instrument just because its the latest keyboard without looking at what features it has that are actually any improvement over the last instrument they had. For me i know the Audya is a backward step. I firmly believe that talent ist the overarching principle as far as making an instrument sound great is concerned. But i am from the old school and dont want to have to b tied to a computer to do any deep editing,sequencing etc when i get inspired at church, or a frinds house when out jamming. By the time i get home and connect my keyboard to the computer , i have forgotten what it was that inspired me in tyhe first place !!! thats why for me the Audya as nice as it sounds is a no go for me.