In addition to the short demo that I posted a week ago some more short tunes highlighting some of the Registrations that I have made on the Ketron SD7 over the last two months...

regards
John

https://app.box.com/s/xbwna7zj5d3ecfot2hq5sbdhi80vu2xe

Bravo! John

I liked every one. The mix of tunes wa great,and,of coarse,the Ketron live sound was there in nice styles.

Thanks Bernie.

Over 100 views/listenings and just the one reply, looks like the days of Ketron are numbered......(??).Yes, slightly disappointed that no one bothered to comment on this effort but judging by this forum ( including the Ketron SZ forum) the amount of Ketron players in the USA is absolutely minimal. From the regulars only you Bernie and Deane spring to mind. Then there is Danny in the UK and that's about it I guess.
Oh well I cannot complain. I got the SD7 secondhand at less than half of the retail price and paired with the Korg PA50sd they make an excellent team. Besides I have the Yamaha P80 Piano plus VST pianos as well as my two acoustic guitars.
If I had enough room I would buy a secondhand Roland G70 and a secondhand Yamaha (Tyros2, PSR 950) or new SX-700 but I haven't ....
YOu know that my belief has always been that ( unless you are gigging a lot) two is better than one, and three is better than two. In my view the best arranger set up is to have one of each brand in your music room ( Korg, Yamaha, Ketron, possibly Roland). And it does not have to cost an arm really.
You can get a decent one of each for less money than the complete Genos. Of course if money is no issue you could follow Bernie's footsteps and have a PA4X, a Genos and the SD9, just saying.......( as Donny would say....).If I am not mistaken UK Danny has got a rather similar set up, great !!!

I still think that the realism, warmth and power of the Ketron SD7 is second to none but it surely does not fit the bill completely. That is why I think it is a worthwhile addition to any (home/studio) set up.

regards,
John

I just read your post. Listened to the demo. That was one fine demo. The Ketron SD7 sounds wonderful. As usual the drums are exquisite. I heard some incredible lifelike press rolls and snappy snares. Your playing was excellent.... I really enjoyed it. So "live" sounding. I just got back from a local Jam session and you would have really stolen the show. Sounds GREAT!

John, the battle of Ketron and other keyboards was going on during the Technics days; with the same type of comments. I had the opportunity to hear one at that time, it was good, real. I did not buy one because it did not come with a family of other users, like Korg, Yamaha and Technics.

I enjoyed your playing, as usual, a touch of class, John C.

The styles sound alive, like you're there in person listening to the band. Not like my Yamaha PSR S975 which sounds like a CD, adequate, but not realistic and very busy. I'm curious if you had to make any adjustment to the voices or styles, or are the sounds "right out of the box"? It's a shame that Ketron is not aggressively marketing their arrangers. They would do well. If I had the desire and the money I would choose the Ketron over the Genos any day.

My $0.02
Gerry

CD sound vs Live has always been the issue with many players....
an argument that will never be solved. It's personal preference to what sound your happy with and what you want as a musician are proud of hearing when you play for people or yourself.It's a never ending story.

If I did not own what I have (and Roland was not available anymore),
If I needed to buy a current arranger keyboard... it would be an easy choice..
Ketron (as long as my buddy AJ is here ). Nothing tops it in sound or quality.

Over the years I have done side by side comparisons, and have listened to
other youtube comparisons.

I have recorded some comparisons and folks (regular non bias folks),
have chose the Ketron sound over every other brand. (even Roland).

The only time I can recall a nod for Roland over the SD7, was when I used the
Roland Integra7 (Supernatural acoustic sounds and drums).

Personally there were a few features that I had with the keyboards
I own...that no other brand could do or match, so I would not change.

But like I said, If I could only own one and it had to be a new current
arranger keyboard.. Hands down.. it would be a Ketron.

Roland has always been the best innovator when it comes to keyboards..
Ketron has also been good at innovation.

Korg and Yamaha.. not so much, If they didn't have innovation from Roland
they would be way back. If you think I am wrong.. do some research.

First of all thanks for your replies and words of appreciation.
As Donny recalls, the Live versus CD issue has been discussed at great length here on several occasions. The comments by Fran are definitely worth noticing as I tend to concur with him on all that he says here.
Incidentally it was not my purpose with this demo to emphasize that my Ketron SD7 would be better than another brand, but mainly to illustrate how good and true to life ( that is a live band!) it can sound. And as to your question Gerry, a number of styles being used here had been tweaked by me, not all that many I think and the same goes for the righthand sounds.
As I have said on numerous occasions for a live entertainer this could be a serious contender ( let alone the SD9 which is even superior to this one). Service in the USA by way of AJ is known to be top notch so that is a bonus.
Incidentally these SD arrangers sport Microphone, Vocaliser, Guitar (+ effects), external screen connects etc.etc. you can even watch a movie on it (or screen attached) as they even read MP4 files !! You cannot fry an egg on it though.....

regards
John

Hi John, yet again another lovely sounding demo and showing off what the SD7 can do as well as your creativity, thank you for sharing it.

There are many comments here that are valued and make great points. I am really enjoying my SD7, I think it has become my favourite keyboard I've owned and I didn't think or expect it to become that!!! I initially got an SD7 to fill in the "gaps" the others didn't quite achieve, but I am finding it's superior in most areas.

I am experimenting with the style modelling feature and it's simply superb, the results can be stunning, how effortlessly you can transform a style to make it sound so different and so new whilst still retaining the high sounding quality you'd think it's just another factory default style.

As you quite rightly mentioned John I have that setup you mentioned of the Ketron Korg and Yamaha combo but now finding out how good the SD7 really is feels like having the three a little too overpowering, I think a combo of the two (SD7 + another) would be the perfect combo.

Nice mixture. The tune around minus 13:30 was funny and bizarre, sounds like from Francesco Bontempi or similar...
The drums sound very real and live, as others have pointed out. The brass ensemble not so much, sounds like arranger/synth. Clarinet was nice (just to be beaten by V3 Sounds).

Hi John,
Really very nice. I am working on my SD40 also to get things up to par for my gigs.
Keep them coming.

Deane

Yes the style modelling is quite an extensive and creative addition to this Ketron keyboard, be it time consuming as well!
And you are absolutely right, a combo of two arranger keyboards of a different make should suffice for most of us, but if you see the prices of secondhand lower models one might easily be tempted to add a third keyboard. The thing is that if you have too many you may start wondering which one to play next, or, as it happened when I had six guitars on the wall, it turned out that I basically played virtually all of my stuff with only two of them, evidently my favourites. Wonder how Bernie is coping with this "dilemma" .
Anyway arranger keyboard players these days cannot complain and are simply spoiled for choice, so just make the most of it !!!

regards,
John

The thing is that if you have too many you may start wondering which one to play next, or, as it happened when I had six guitars on the wall, it turned out that I basically played virtually all of my stuff with only two of them, evidently my favourites. Wonder how Bernie is coping with this "dilemma" .


Hi John,
What dilemma? It is not that I bought my gear willy nilly without careful consideration. My Audya eg, is 12 yrs old and has given me thousands of hours of enjoyment and a few bucks. After awhile,as new features come out,I get the itch. The Hammond and SD4 are specialized,and the SX900 replaces my S970,used on smaller gigs when speakers can suffice. The SX900 is becoming more of a main board,however. The Pa4X is my powerhouse and main board.

Would I have been better off sticking to one keyboard? Naw,I am too easily bored,and not inclined to dig deep into any one of them. I love setting them up and getting them gig ready. Now,I have several different rigs,all set up to sound a bit different,even with some of the same core songs.

I spend so much time on so many musical projects,I never get bored with my toys. Jack of all trades and master of none,but I get by fine.

Bernie

What Bernie just said is that there is more way to enjoy what we are doing with music and keyboards. AND – what is a dilemma to some, is enjoyment for him.

The man loves what he is doing. I have been to his home a few times, and left with one of his keyboards, or some new knowledge that helped. I am not sure if he knows this; – I learned to set aside money for buying my desires in music equipment in my latter years.

John C.

Hi Bernie,

It was not my intention to be in any way disrespectul to you as you must know for sure. I was merely referring to the fact that having many guitars, keyboards or whatever you have to make choices and, in my instance, I ended up with playing two out of six guitars. You seem to be using all of your keyboards to your heart's content, that much the better. As long as they give you joy and creativeness that is all that matters.
It is remarkable to notice that owning the boards that you do the SX900 is turning out to be your favourite for the moment.
But then again, it is all a matter of taste. As mentioned so often here there are no poor keyboards anymore. they all shine in their own ways and serve different ears and audiences.

regards
John

I don't think it matters how many instruments, keyboards or whatever you own and use (or even don't use). At whatever level, you can certainly find enjoyment and fulfill your desires in similar ways. But I also think that those here who are professional, that gig/perform / compose, write or make a living from using these instruments deserve the most credit and have the most reason to find the correct balance and combo because you are pleasing not just yourself but also the crowd, you want your performance to sound as perfect as possible.

Hi John,
Love you man. I didn't misunderstand you,but used a little tongue in cheek responxe.

Haven't checked in for days here. Always liked their sounds and rhythms. even with the earler sd series. Had an sd3 that I loved, may return to Ketron in module form someday.