Midjay, Midjay Plus vs. BK7m

Has anyone A/B-ed the Midjay/Midjay Plus and the BK7m?
Ciao,
Jerry

I owned and used both MJ and BK7M. Both are excellent. Midjay has that live Ketron sound. Operating system is really good. Vocal harmonizer was primitive. Vocoder only. Not sure if the plus had the same one.
BK7m has more styles, better lead voices in most cases, lighter weight, smaller. It has far better editing capabilities.
It has no vocal processing, no mic input. Must use external screen for lyrics. No true break/fill (like all Rolands).
Both need external pedals for a lot of operations. Bk needs it more.
I enjoyed both and could easily still be working with either.
BK7 is sure a bargain financially, except you will need vocal processor, harmonizer, external screen, etc to cover all bases.

Thanks Don. I really like the Midjay Plus and I was looking forward to the Midjay Pro. I was told that the Pro has a new/different engine that will require re-doing and re-editing hundreds of registrations and files. In addition, the cost of the Pro is not just a drop in the bucket. So, for a change and back-up piece, I was just considering the BK. It will also require re-editing, but for less than half the price of the Pro. OR, when the Pro is released, maybe there will be used Plus' available...
I have a Harmony M under a pile stuff, and I currently use a monitor with the plus.
Thanks again.
Ciao,
Jerry

You will love the Bk7m then. You will probably want the EC 7 foot controller.

Hi

I just bought the Roland BK-7m. I play it with a compact master keyboard. Excellent voices and styles. You can have a lot of compatible styles from earlier models (Roland).
All the old G800 styles (and others) on a compact tiny unit
I am very pleased.

Jerry,
go for the BK7-m; I have one and am very pleased with it.
According to the first italian users, the Midjay Pro is bug-ridden (after two years since the first announcement!)

Jerry

You have a message. I have a BK7M package you may be interested in.

What I loved about my Midjay was that unlike any other module you can SIMULTANEOUSLY play all MODES at once....and control each with sliders plus have vocal harmony and great Ketron styles all in a small package. hers a Midjay pic from years ago on stage..

Thanks Donny,
you are getting my spirits up again, as I have a used Midjay Plus on order....coming all the way from EE-TA-LEEEE......
Yes, on second thoughts I decided not to purchase the Audya which I had on trial. Obviously the Midjay is not in that category but nor is its price tag.
Andrea is right about the clamours in Italy about the recently released PRO version. Lots of bugs and a hefty price-tag.
Oh well, I still have got my trusted PA800. Oh and recently I got a Roland PCR-500 midi keyboard. ( I know Don used tho have the PCR-800). I wonder if there are any geniuses out here who could actually tell me how to programme many functions of the Midjay Plus into the 50 sliders, etc. of the Roland board.
( I do have the Midi specs of the Midjay, but must admit I am totally out of my depth here, so any help would be appreciated)


regards,.
John

John good luck with your MJ+...hope to hear some tunes like the Searchers "Needles & Pins"
when you get it all setup also.

You are comparing two things at very different prices, though. BK-7m can be got for under $1000 new, as far as I can tell, Midjay Plus is about $1700, right (new)?

I like my BK-7m, but think there's a few things the OS needs (that have been added to the BK-9 OS). First is the Mark/Jump for SMF's (if you aren't using this, you aren't getting the most out of your SMF's), second is the Dynamic Arranger (backing gets louder or quieter depending on your playing dynamics), and lastly, it needs the BK Performance editor iPad app to work with it.

Hopefully, Roland can update the OS for these things rather than a new model...

For more forward looking arranger players, a decent WS (Motif, Krone, etc.) married to a BK-7m is quite a potent combination.

Regarding the sounds of the Midjay Plus, do you know these demos?
http://www.ketron.com/sounds.asp?mod=MIDJAY Plus
http://www.ketron.com/sounds.asp?mod=SD2

The second link is for the SD2, but the sounds of SD 2 and Midjay Plus are absolutely identical (statement from Ketron).

I own a BK-7m, all in all its sounds are really good, some are great. Strings and acoustic guitars are rather average. IMO, from what I hear in the demos,in some cases Ketron has an (slight) edge over the BK-7m (maybe some trumpets, saxophones, large strings, acoustic guitar, maybe also drums), but for other instruments it might be vice versa, and the BK-7m has a wider choice of sounds. Given the price difference, the BK-7m seems to have a much better value for money.

I absolutely agree.

As to the price difference, that does not have me worried as I picked up this Midjay Plus for 700 euros
On top of that it is a bit like comparing apples with pears.
I had the BK7m and did not like it. (that is not to say I will like the Midjay, mind you). As far as the arranger section goes, styles, sounds etc. I generally prefer ketron styles to Roland styles and soundwise it is a mixed bag. The Ketron drums were superior to all others imho as far back as 1994 with the Soltom MS50. If indeed the Midjay sounds are fully identical to the SD2 and SD4 I will have no worries really.
Added to that of course the Midjay holds so many more functions than just an arranger. It is a full-fledged midi and audio player, with crossfade functions, supposedly you can ( partly) remove the leading voice in a record for karaoke purposes and it is also a multitrack digital recorder.....or so they say
Anyway I will keep you posted in the future about my findings.

regards,
John

P.S. no one as regards matching it with the Roland PCR-500 and allocating midi functions ?

The new MidjPRO is on stock now, and there already seems to be a first return and B-stock item at www.thomann.de:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/ketron_midjpro_b_stock.htm

No surprises there. Ketron has had a flawless reputation for marketing things with substantial delays, massive bugs and poor servicing. I do not doubt that in the long run this unit will have its merits, but having a touchscreen etc. etc. I would not touch it for the next twelve months or so. That having been said I am well pleased with the purchase of my Ketron Midjay Plus, I guess the fact that I only paid half or less of the original streetprice adds to the satisfaction but still.......it is a very versatile module with a very good soundsource. Playing midifiles on it is really impressive, and I do not even bother because I am using it as a complete arranger keyboard in addition to my KOrg PA800..

regards,
John