The problem with DJX was you couldn't add new styles.

Other "consumer" synths with speakers...Yamaha's DX27S, B200, and Roland's HS-80/60/10.

These instruments are rare because they just didn't sell well.

Yeah I did miss the whole Akai thing. I remember them being the creme of samples though in many peoples minds. I never messed with samplers, instead buying sample players like the Proteus,U220, etc. Plug and play.

Today the samples are so good its hard to believe (other then major multi layered stuff)Akai's floppy library is still relevant. But I will believe you and a pox on Yamaha for not allowing me to check it out on the XS...

Floppy library? You really DON'T know about this (yet had no problem with an opinion ), do you?

Akai stuff came on CDROM's. Hundreds of MB's of samples on one disk. Akai used SCSI for rapid loading (even by today's arranger standards).

I may have confused him Diki. I just realized I typed DISK instead of DISC in my reply. Sorry if I confused you KingFrog.

Those samples weren't on floppy.., WAY too large for floppy. These samples were on DISC. I often screw up and write DISK when I should be writing it DISC. My bad

Squeak

Of course, that modern style selection would actually have to exist before you could know this at all, Ian.
It's another chicken and egg thing. UNTIL the styles DO become 'cool', it doesn't SOUND cool. If it don't sound cool, no-one looking for a cool keyboard is
going to look twice at it, speakers or not.

I don't believe that speakers make the slightest bit of difference. But what the unit sounds like DOES. It's
all very well saying that IF it had cool styles, it still wouldn't sell, but with all due respect, until it does,
you are guessing, and IMO, incorrectly...

The DJX sold well because it SOUNDED cool, and for no other reason.

One of these days, someone in the arranger industry is going to try this again. And make a FORTUNE

Or not... and eventually go broke (none of us getting any younger )

That's right Diki! It sold well because it SOUNDED COOL! Plus add all the other little goodies it had (THAT NO OTHER ARRANGER KEYBOARD OFFERED IN THAT PRICE RANGE) and there's several other reasons it sold well.

Hopefully someone picks up where the original left off. HUGE market for that type of arranger. The success of the original is proof enough of that too.

Here's the thing though. These modern arrangers CAN sound pretty good in terms of more modern styles. However.., the company MUST employ style writers who TRUELY know the music. It's obvious that modern styles on arrangers today are just an afterthought and more of a space filler.

Remember what Yamaha did with some of those older PSR's with hip hop styles? Remember how the kits used in those styles WERE NOT available from the preset kits.., but to access those you had to go into the editing of that particular style to get that kit. They had made a few changes on individual kit instruments. Hi Hats, and Snares were "tweeked a bit".

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 05-18-2009).]

Well have to agree to disagree, Diki...I really believe it would...I worked in the business for quite some time.

Ian

Diki those speakers on the original DJX made a HUGE difference. TONS of bottom end.., and if my memory is correct there was even a dedicated knob on the panel of the DJX that was a LOW END BOOST. The quality of those speakers def added to the sound.

No doubt it did...but it stopped selling because people got tired of the styles...you could not load in new ones.

That was the biggest complaint I got about it.

A nice instrument in it's day, and perhaps a re-make with the ability to load new styles would do well.

Still better, some enterprising person could do up a batch of contemporary styles for the present PSR, but they would have to devise a protection system.

Ian

Worked in MI retail myself, Ian.... never had a problem selling ugly sh*t that sounded great (was the first dealer for Ensoniq
Mirage in the South). Couldn't sell bad sounding gear no matter WHAT bells and whistles were on it.

Seems like squeak (who had one ) thinks the speakers were a PLUS, not a minus. I think you miss
what younger players want. FIRST, it has to sound cool. After that, well, who the heck knows? Because
NOTHING in the arranger pantheon sounds cool

Until someone makes one, you can't even speculate whether speakers make any difference or not...

(And damnit! Why did I bother TinyURL-ing my first post just to end up with the page too wide anyway?
Got a URL too wide for the page, mc? Use TinyURL, and keep things readable... )

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 05-18-2009).]