Don I'm sure you know more about this stuff than me. But after looking at the manual, I think the chord mode you need is called Fingered 2. That, plus a Lower voice with lower hold turned off should allow you to play single notes in the split area without changing the chord. (I believe there's also a pedal function to lock in the chord, but you might want to use your foot switches for other purposes.)

Did you find that you have to change your learned fingering to avoid triggering a 6th when you wanted a minor 7th? I wonder if Ketron changed their algorithms to favor the Minor 7th (which seems to be much more common in the music I like to play.)

Bachus

That is a good observation, and it hits home at the present. I, very foolishly, forgot to backup my USB card on the Pa4X and lost my Songbook registrations which numbered several hundred. Luckily, I have the same amount and similar songs on my SD40 and S970. Now, as you say, it is decision time.


Decisions decisions

Inquiring minds want to know... so,
So far I am very pleased with the module. I have spent a week programming the Roland A800 Pro to control the module and it has been a learning, or relearning process, for certain.
AJ and Curt have been very helpful.
I must say that ALL the System Exclusive commands in the Ketron list are wrong. However, Curt has put together an Ebook that has most of them correct. There are some errors in the AJAM Sound bank that make the sounds off a step or two, but I have been able to figure those out by experimenting and changing the address by one or two numbers.
When I had the SD7, I was totally not impressed by any of the AJam user sounds and didn't use any of them without editing. This has changed immensely and nearly every one now is useful and I've found some in almost every category that I will use.
I find myself using only a few of the factory styles, but there is a plethora of user styles, many of which I recognize and like. Some need editing though.
I have been able to program 44 buttons, sliders and knobs to control the module. I could play all night and never touch it if needed.
I have set up pads for variations 1, 2, and 3, intro/endings 1,2,3 and To End.
I have set up Text Page Up and Down. I have one button dedicated to Exit, which is really more than an exit function. It returns things to the previous stage in many cases. If I have a text page displayed, Exit turns it off, and Exit turns it back on when I press it again.
I have programmed knobs, buttons, sliders and pads for about 30 or so of my favorite and most used lead sounds.
There are a host of other functions that one can assign, but these are the ones I need most.
I have assigned Vocal Harmony on/off, 2nd Sound, and Breaks to the Ketron foot controller. Break can be accessed via midi, but my controller isn't set up to send both the beginning and ending commands, so if I set it to Break, the Break loops repeatedly. I'd rather have it on the pedal anyway. I can't find a command for 2nd sound, but there probably is one.
Last weekend I used the module with an M-Audio controller that I had in the closet, because I had not yet received the Roland. As I had no idea how to program it and didn't want to waste the time anyway, all it did was trigger notes, joystick, start and stop. I had to control everything from the module, and got by, but it was difficult in low light and with failing eyesight. This controller will make it many times easier.
I was able to put the module in the rack that I set on the second tier of my kb stand. And, I raised the bottom tier some and lowered the top one to where the module is barely higher than the controller.
This also allows me to see and be seen much better, even if I have laptop open, which I seldom need to do now. I do need to put something under the back of the module to tilt it up so I can see it better. In other words a do it yourself tilt screen.
My fingers and wrists are enjoying the light touch of the controller, although it is very responsive and feels good.
I have all my text files loaded into the module, and it's pretty easy to find one and display it when needed. ONCE YOU KNOW the procedure.
My SD40 has the solid state drive from AJ, which contains many hundreds of MP3s, midi files, text plus MP3s, styles, sounds, etc.
I have moved the MP3s to a USB drive in order to free up memory on the internal drive. There were about nine gigs of them!
When you connect the module to a computer, using USB, it is easy to see and edit everything, much faster than from the module itself.
It is still a work in progress and after the weekend I'm sure I will have some changes to make.
The Registrations I had made last year on the SD7 worked fine, but some needed to have the levels balanced to the arranger and re-saved, takes about five seconds apiece.
A great thing about Ketron Registrations is that they do not just point to sounds, styles, etc. They actually store everything, so even if the current arranger doesn't contain the styles, sounds, text, Mp3, PDFs, etc., they are remembered anyway. The Registrations or Songbooks in all the other brands merely point to the ingredients, so can present problems when changing or upgrading models. I have redone the Korg Songbook four times because of this, because I had four different models which used it.
The module will read text, midis, etc. directly from USB. I assume it will with styles and sounds, but I haven't tried it.
That's about all I can think of right now. Gotta go to "work" soon. I can get some rest there.

Once you use a KETRON product, it's hard to look back. Welcome back Don :-)

Yes, the AjamSonic SD40 Module is proving to be the go-to tool for those looking to downsize weight and size, while upsize sound and over all performance - and maintaining live band sound(s).

Thanks,

AJ