Ketron are aware of how they are being percieved but they are in no position to respond apparently. It has taken them over 4 years to get the audya from a concept product to the "finished " article and it still remains an unfinished product. They know they have made promises that they simply could not keep and taken money from customers for an unfinished product and made even more promises to finish the product some time in the future.

I may be a bit thick but doesnt that sound like a company that may not have a long term future ???

I loved the concept of the Audya but the execution has been really poor and they did well to get people to part with so much cash for an unfinished product in the first place.

I wish all of you that own an audy good luck because if this is an example of their commitment to support the product and its future developement , you are in for a bumpy ride.

GEM = belly up. Technics = belly up. Is Ketron = next??

Let's face it boys and girls Italy is in dire economic straits just like Spain and Greece, etc. Ketron, in my opinion, has flubbed the ball big time and they may find it incredibly hard to recover financially from these recent and massive mistake(s). I hope they do survive because more competition means more consumer choice(s) and overall better competition means better prices in the end. But Ketron's gambling on a variable randomized audio style playing high-end arranger has nonetheless been a white elephant and one that's causing Ketron Italy major headaches because of the multiple problems they have encountered with it.

It was an unlucky draw in a highly calculated game of high stakes cutthroat poker with Ketron hoping to "win" massive support from the arranger community (and a financial windfall) with this highly anticipated beast called Audya, but unfortunately, Ketron lost their shirt (or are in the process of losing their shirt) because of it, in my opinion. Can they recoup their financial losses and restore and revitalize their corporate image in the public's eye? Only time will tell of course but the Audya may indeed end up being the "straw" that broke the camels back and Ketron may indeed soon go the way of = GEM, Technics, and God knows who else... to the graveyard of belly up economics.

Which would really be sad indeed like I said because more competition is better for everybody involved i.e. both for the consumer and the manufacturers alike. But you can NOT have a company, any company, be as lackadaisical and shifty as Ketron has been, according to some reports, and then expect the public you are wishing to sell your products to to suddenly and cheerfully jump on the bandwagon and buy those products from your shifty and lackadaisical company. In other words, you can lead a horse to poison water but you can't... well you know.

Would I personally consider buying a $5,000 plus dollar arranger from a company who can't supply parts in a timely fashion or whose own product(s) haven't stood up to the test of time like the Audya has shown time and again it hasn't been able to do according to eye witness accounts i.e. from the owners? Or would 99% of other keyboardists looking for a reliable, albeit costly, arranger buy it either?? I have a hard time believing they would but maybe it's just me.

PS: I think DonM has been rather fortunate as I think his has been basically trouble free for the most part which is good. At least, it was a few months ago when I heard him say his was working as it should be at the time. But these other accounts about the Audya are becoming increasingly scary if you ask me. Next may be a report of one catching on fire soon after it's turned on, or no sound coming from the sound engine or keys breaking off in mid performance or the flickering LCD screen anomaly suddenly turning into a laser light show. Although a laser light show might cause just enough diversion to exit the stage without the audience seeing your red-faced embarrassment as you leave - as the Audya turns into a massive ball of fire shortly thereafter.

All the best,
Mike

[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 06-26-2010).]

Dnj,

They just don't appear to be moved by it all, one way or the other, are they going down the tubes as someone has suggested, I don't know. I think their sales in Europe are their bread and butter, USA and UK is small bear.

never had a Ketron, and frankly, after hearing all this, I don't plan to buy one.
One spends a load of money on an instrument and then has to put up with poor customer support. You are right, it's unacceptable.