Revisiting KETRON Midjay Pro SD40 SD90 for OMB

The reason i choose Genos above sd90...
Its a stupid one...

You can not edit the voices in styles on ketron..
Sadly this is an interface thing, as you can edit the voices in the right hand..


A logical mind would have choosen the sd90 to be used with mykronos (back then) and montage (now)

Still think the sd 90 has a lot to offer..
But i am happy where i am, and probably upgrading the modx to a montage 2 next Year..

Currently deeply buried in the fm-x synth..


For the future still have ketron modules under consideratiom

Hmm - Maybe I don't understand what you said, but I'm pretty sure that I can change the voices used in a Ketron style. Can you give an example of what you want to change and we will attempt to re-create here on our SD90. Matter of fact this would make an excellent topic for the "How-To" series we are working on.

Curt I was wondering about that myself...
bachus please explain further.

Try changing the envelope or the filter cutoff of the base sound in a style..
And then save it..

I had a long talk with Larry Read last week. Nice guy, great entertainer. He worked with some big names in the past.

Oddly enough, I HAVE an SD40 and Korg PA800 Pro.

I have an SD40, and the only reason I didn't buy the SD90 is because it was more than I needed. I take my SD40 to many engagements. including my Karaoke show and with my Hammond SK1. Also, as I get older, less weight is more of a factor.

As an aside, I am happy Curt is spending so much time and effort to teach us more about these amazing modules.

Ahh, "Change" as in edit a voice used in style. I read your comment as change from Acoustic Bass to Slap bass, etc. Gotta say I've never tried what you described but I will. I'll report back what I learn.

Don good luck with your new Ketron SD40/Controller setup
I know it's gonna sound terriffic!!

Don was so low key with this news it passed me by. Is this an EA7 replacement or a PA4X replacement?

We'll see. I love the Korg but my aging hands and fingers are demanding a lighter keyboard touch. The Roland EA7 has that, but is lacking in some operational features, such as text display and vocal harmony.
So far, so good with the Ketron. Curt and A.J. have helped immensely in the setup operation.
I haven't talked about it for the past couple of weeks because if I didn't like it much, I would just sell it and no use having to go through all the justification that would be necessary.

Mason needs NO justification!!!

The SD-40 looks COOL. If I didn't dislike the company and personnel so much, I'd be playing one now.

No need to...I've still got Don's old Midjay!!!!!!


R.

No one needs justification as far as I’m concerned. I live vicariously through all you guys. I wish I had deeper pockets so I could buy one of each. It’s like Christmas every week on this forum. Gotta love it🎅🏻

Don, how would you compare the vocal harmonizer on the sd40. As good as Korg? Similar to Yamaha?
Thanks in advance,
JM

Not as good as Korg, but better than Yamaha. I have adjusted effects and levels, other than that I just use one voice above mine.
Default had way too much reverb, but easily changed and saved.
I'm quite happy with the vocal sound and vocal harmony.

Being I have used all four....
I will list them this way
1- KORG Tc Helicon
2- Ketron
3- Roland G70
4- Yamaha VH2

I never met anyone that truly understood how to use the G70 harmonizer.

I think it is the easiest and sensible designed keyboard harmonizer to date..

I didn't care for the Ketron SD7 harmonizer. It was not easy to get good results.

Fran, don't those two statements contradict each other?

chas

Chas, it sounds like it could... but to further explain, it is easy to use, and the design makes a lot of sense, but the problem is, they don't know how to use it.. It automatically switches to the method you are using without having to select the procedure. But folks are use to doing it the Digitech way, or TC helicon way, or Korg , Yamaha, and Ketron way.. not realizing Roland had a better way.

I just seen on YouTube the Boss VE-8 was considered the best in it's class, followed by 3 TC models and at number 5 was the Boss ve-20.

I guess Roland knows it stuff.

Hi Don,
You changed your setup, gone back to Ketron?

We'll see. I'm working on it. I have Korg PA4X, Roland EA7 and Ketron SD40.
One will go eventually. Two will stay for awhile.
Great to hear from you Rikki!

One thought on your comparison of vocal harmonizers...
In the world of digital electronics, no two events happen at exactly the same time. Korg BATCHES their chord recognition. In other words, there's a slight delay until you get all of the notes down before it recognizes and sounds the chord.

Yamaha, and the MOTL Roland models I've tested all have a bit of a hair trigger. They acknowledge a chord and begin sounding notes as soon as the first key is pressed. Then they use portamento and other effects to bend the notes to the new chord if additional keys are pressed. IMO, Yamaha is the worst offender in this regard. If you aren't super-careful about getting the root down first, it sounds like the bass player swallowed a clam!

If the vocal harmony and/or pitch correction are supposed to be tracking based on the played chord, then Korg will have an inherent advantage, at the price of a very consistent, but slightly less responsive feel to the style player.

Of course I could be tilting at windmills- this may have nothing to do with the widely-held consensus ranking of VH. But personally, I would like to see this "batching" and the window of delay from the time the first key is pressed to the sounding of a chord, as user-adjustable features. I'm aware of the issues with the KN6000 years ago, and I'm not talking about whole beats here. Just something in the range of 25 to 60 milliseconds makes the difference between sounding "arrangerish" and sounding professional. My $.02.

Thanks Don
Good to be back. Got a lot of catching up to do.

Just spent a few minutes on this and I agree. It doesn't appear to be possible, and as you mentioned, it's pretty simple to edit a voice, save it, and assign to the right hand. What is missing is the ability to edit the style to use a "user" voice vs. the various factory sounds. Although I don't think I have a need (at least I don't think so), disappointed to see that the user banks are not available in this case.

For Yamaha use full fingered chords.. solves this problem... also allows you to play comtra melodies or small riffs with your left hand...

All arrangers have draw backs and none does it all. You have to weigh the pluses and minisus and determine what features are necessary for your needs as a player and how much you would use them.
On top of that there are always workarounds to get the desired result. Personally sound shaping isn't high on my needs list but it is hard to beat the LIVE sound of KETRON products.