Posted by: donpatt
AUDYA 4: My Take! - 09/27/10 09:15 AM
Well, here goes!
Size: I like the size, the Audya is well balanced, easy to carry and move. A carrying case would be nice. I have mine on a mixer stand that swivels and tilts and it works great.
L x W x H = 21” x 13” x 5” - (52 cm x 32 cm x 11 cm).
Weight: 15 lbs-(7 Kg.).
Accessories: This time Ketron put everything in the Audya. You need to buy extra. Hard drive, Voicetron, Video out, Pedal inputs (they’ve always had these), USB capable. (although you can’t do registrations from thumb drive).
Cosmetics: The display is fairly easy to read, even with my low vision. Why Ketron doesn’t have a display that tilts is beyond me. Also, don’t know how it would work outdoors?
Audya 4 is a nice looking piece of equipment, very professional. The color is nice, something darker would have been cool as well. The controls are easily accessible; I thought that having the voice bank on the left side would be confusing, however I don’t even think about that anymore. One major complaint, is there are no indicator lights on the Style section. So unless you read the screen, you may or may not know where you are. Obviously if you’re playing a Bossa, you would think you were in Latin, but it could be Unplugged. I miss the lights. They are great reference points.
Sounds: I have to agree with whoever said it; I think all the major manufacturers have descent sounds. Its just how much effects they choose to put in them, and how the customer likes what they did. And IMO, that’s what I like about Yamaha’s right hand voices. They do it for you. Also, as DomM says, I miss the OTS. This is not a lazy person’s arranger, if you want it done, you have to do it yourself.
For the most part, the horns, strings, pianos, and organs sound very good. I can’t find any lead guitar voices that satisfy me 100% but I haven’t looked much in the Program section. also, I don’t think much of the accordion voices.
Voicetron: I haven’t played with this feature a lot but, what I’ve heard is great. I had a PA2X that was good but Ketron is the BEST vocalizer I‘ve heard!
OS: I think the OS is fairly straight forward and not hard to navigate, The problem I’ve had is not knowing what to do once I’ve reached my target. I had some difficulty in hooking up my MIDI accordion and getting the Auto rhythms to work correctly. In fact I’m still not completely satisfied. I still have some chord recognition problems. Granted, this could be my Roland V accordion which I’m also not very familiar with.
Otherwise, selecting menu items is easy, especially using a footswitch, I have the six function version.
Registrations are beyond me at this point, especially the way Ketron does them. DonM has been trying to help me with this but I’m a slow learner. Only time will tell. I MISS YAMAHA MUSIC FINDER!
Also, as usual, the manual leaves a lot to be desired although it is better. Learning just what exactly a particular function is supposed to do when turned ON or OFF is somewhat of a mystery! For instance, the Bass Alternate switch. For my purposes this function needs to be OFF, however, sometimes it turns ON, even though I’ve saved it in the OFF position. When this happens, I don’t always get a bass note sounding when it should, especially when changing chords, say from GM to D7! There’s no BASS note!
Styles: For the most part, the styles are incredible. In some regards, they could use a little more orchestration, but they suit the style of music I play. I do not care for the Riff part in variation 4 on some of the styles. I guess more polished musicians could find a use for it, but for me its just a waste of a variation. Most of the time, the riff doesn’t fit the song I’m playing. Likewise, the Intros and Endings leave a lot to be desired. Most of them just don’t fit; maybe basic simplicity would have worked better.
The drums get a lot of discussion, I think they’re great, however I tend to turn them down some. Some times they’re just too much. IMO I never had a problem with Yamaha drums. But I do not dispute Ketron’s superiority in this regard!
There is a little irony here. This is my first experience with a Ketron arranger since my used XD-9 some time back. I did have the SD4 briefly but its not an arranger. With this in mind, I’m finding that a lot of the styles that I like are from the SD series. Probably should have bought an SD-3. Would of cost about one third of what this cost.
Connectivity: This part of Audya is great. Power cord and switch on left side,in a recssed area so wont get bumped. Line and MIDI connect in the rear, and both mics and headphones and 2 gain controls are recessed on the right. The USB ports likewise are in an area where they are not likely to be bumped or broken, and they are in front.
Overall: I think the Audya 4 is a winner. Haven’t used on a gig yet, but I think its very capable. I have some issues, like, I’ve asked on several forums where to get the software for the Audya 4 and have had no response. Also I’m still not sure how to RESTORE the Audya 4 to it “out of the box” condition. I don’t know why the software didn’t come with the unit, and why there are no precise instructions on Re-setting the module. Or at least no instructions that I can find.
Bottom line: I think so much of the Audya 4 that I ordered a Yamaha Tyros 4 from our good friend Frankieve. Actually the “WARDEN”, (my dear sweet and beautiful wife Emma Lee) allowed this. Although she assures me that I cannot keep them both.
In reality I figured it this way. Most likely this will be the last arranger I buy, don’t play as much, and I keep having these damned birthdays. And, I would really like to get some long term use out of which ever one I keep. Seems like for the past 3 or 4 years I’m constantly changing. Ketron XD9, PSR 3000, Gem Genesys XP, Tyros 2, Korg PA2X, Yammy S910, SD4, and one or two different accordions. The boy is never satisfied!
So, for the first time ever, I’ll have two of the “flagship” arrangers to compare, sitting side by side. The “WARDEN” treats me very well. It will be fun, and when the T4 arrives I’ll let you know.
DonM, we’ll talk soon, maybe you can plan your trip to Lufkin when the T4 arrives! I’m looking forward to the visit. Maybe we can write a joint review on both!
JUST MY OPINION!
Don P
PS: I did just receive a note from AJ concerning restoring the Audya 4, I posted the info in the Ketron forum of SZ.
[This message has been edited by donpatt (edited 09-27-2010).]
Size: I like the size, the Audya is well balanced, easy to carry and move. A carrying case would be nice. I have mine on a mixer stand that swivels and tilts and it works great.
L x W x H = 21” x 13” x 5” - (52 cm x 32 cm x 11 cm).
Weight: 15 lbs-(7 Kg.).
Accessories: This time Ketron put everything in the Audya. You need to buy extra. Hard drive, Voicetron, Video out, Pedal inputs (they’ve always had these), USB capable. (although you can’t do registrations from thumb drive).
Cosmetics: The display is fairly easy to read, even with my low vision. Why Ketron doesn’t have a display that tilts is beyond me. Also, don’t know how it would work outdoors?
Audya 4 is a nice looking piece of equipment, very professional. The color is nice, something darker would have been cool as well. The controls are easily accessible; I thought that having the voice bank on the left side would be confusing, however I don’t even think about that anymore. One major complaint, is there are no indicator lights on the Style section. So unless you read the screen, you may or may not know where you are. Obviously if you’re playing a Bossa, you would think you were in Latin, but it could be Unplugged. I miss the lights. They are great reference points.
Sounds: I have to agree with whoever said it; I think all the major manufacturers have descent sounds. Its just how much effects they choose to put in them, and how the customer likes what they did. And IMO, that’s what I like about Yamaha’s right hand voices. They do it for you. Also, as DomM says, I miss the OTS. This is not a lazy person’s arranger, if you want it done, you have to do it yourself.
For the most part, the horns, strings, pianos, and organs sound very good. I can’t find any lead guitar voices that satisfy me 100% but I haven’t looked much in the Program section. also, I don’t think much of the accordion voices.
Voicetron: I haven’t played with this feature a lot but, what I’ve heard is great. I had a PA2X that was good but Ketron is the BEST vocalizer I‘ve heard!
OS: I think the OS is fairly straight forward and not hard to navigate, The problem I’ve had is not knowing what to do once I’ve reached my target. I had some difficulty in hooking up my MIDI accordion and getting the Auto rhythms to work correctly. In fact I’m still not completely satisfied. I still have some chord recognition problems. Granted, this could be my Roland V accordion which I’m also not very familiar with.
Otherwise, selecting menu items is easy, especially using a footswitch, I have the six function version.
Registrations are beyond me at this point, especially the way Ketron does them. DonM has been trying to help me with this but I’m a slow learner. Only time will tell. I MISS YAMAHA MUSIC FINDER!
Also, as usual, the manual leaves a lot to be desired although it is better. Learning just what exactly a particular function is supposed to do when turned ON or OFF is somewhat of a mystery! For instance, the Bass Alternate switch. For my purposes this function needs to be OFF, however, sometimes it turns ON, even though I’ve saved it in the OFF position. When this happens, I don’t always get a bass note sounding when it should, especially when changing chords, say from GM to D7! There’s no BASS note!
Styles: For the most part, the styles are incredible. In some regards, they could use a little more orchestration, but they suit the style of music I play. I do not care for the Riff part in variation 4 on some of the styles. I guess more polished musicians could find a use for it, but for me its just a waste of a variation. Most of the time, the riff doesn’t fit the song I’m playing. Likewise, the Intros and Endings leave a lot to be desired. Most of them just don’t fit; maybe basic simplicity would have worked better.
The drums get a lot of discussion, I think they’re great, however I tend to turn them down some. Some times they’re just too much. IMO I never had a problem with Yamaha drums. But I do not dispute Ketron’s superiority in this regard!
There is a little irony here. This is my first experience with a Ketron arranger since my used XD-9 some time back. I did have the SD4 briefly but its not an arranger. With this in mind, I’m finding that a lot of the styles that I like are from the SD series. Probably should have bought an SD-3. Would of cost about one third of what this cost.
Connectivity: This part of Audya is great. Power cord and switch on left side,in a recssed area so wont get bumped. Line and MIDI connect in the rear, and both mics and headphones and 2 gain controls are recessed on the right. The USB ports likewise are in an area where they are not likely to be bumped or broken, and they are in front.
Overall: I think the Audya 4 is a winner. Haven’t used on a gig yet, but I think its very capable. I have some issues, like, I’ve asked on several forums where to get the software for the Audya 4 and have had no response. Also I’m still not sure how to RESTORE the Audya 4 to it “out of the box” condition. I don’t know why the software didn’t come with the unit, and why there are no precise instructions on Re-setting the module. Or at least no instructions that I can find.
Bottom line: I think so much of the Audya 4 that I ordered a Yamaha Tyros 4 from our good friend Frankieve. Actually the “WARDEN”, (my dear sweet and beautiful wife Emma Lee) allowed this. Although she assures me that I cannot keep them both.
In reality I figured it this way. Most likely this will be the last arranger I buy, don’t play as much, and I keep having these damned birthdays. And, I would really like to get some long term use out of which ever one I keep. Seems like for the past 3 or 4 years I’m constantly changing. Ketron XD9, PSR 3000, Gem Genesys XP, Tyros 2, Korg PA2X, Yammy S910, SD4, and one or two different accordions. The boy is never satisfied!
So, for the first time ever, I’ll have two of the “flagship” arrangers to compare, sitting side by side. The “WARDEN” treats me very well. It will be fun, and when the T4 arrives I’ll let you know.
DonM, we’ll talk soon, maybe you can plan your trip to Lufkin when the T4 arrives! I’m looking forward to the visit. Maybe we can write a joint review on both!
JUST MY OPINION!
Don P
PS: I did just receive a note from AJ concerning restoring the Audya 4, I posted the info in the Ketron forum of SZ.
[This message has been edited by donpatt (edited 09-27-2010).]
