Ketron SD40

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.

Thanks Don,
You have given me great ideas for using my SD40 with a controller. I have just been using mine with my SK1 and many ways alone, but not with a controller. I have an M-audio, but just got an Akai Pro that I haven't programmed yet.

Between you and Curt, I am sure I can eventually get there.

Both the Roland and the M-Audio has free app with it to send programs.

Wow! Not only is the research and programming mind-blowing, but remembering how to control this beast in the heat of a gig is something I would have thought possible only by a 18-25 yr-old. I have to admit, at my age if I don't use a piece of complex equipment for a couple of months, I have to re-learn it. Sometimes I never go back to a piece of gear simply because I can't summon the energy to re-learn it.

I say all this as a tribute to Don Mason and Gary Diamond, and other 'golden-agers' who are able to keep pace with the technological advances while continuing to perform at a high level. Me, I'm still learning all the subtleties of my Galaxy Note9 . I did manage to learn my VX49/VIP config to a usable degree but mostly I just stick with the 'easy-play' stuff like my organ and Rhodes (clone).

Anyhoo, good luck with the new rig, although I can't imagine going from something like a PA4X to a controller/module system. However, if the past is any indication, I'm sure you'll sound great with this rig too.

chas

Thank you Chas.
It's not my first controller/module. I previously had a Ketron MidJay and a Roland BK7, both of which I controlled with a similar controller, Edirol 800, the predecessor to the one I have now.
I think things like this keep me interested and involved. Playing in the same place, to a lot of the same customers, makes me want to change things up now and then. Of course they seldom notice any difference consciously, but it does keep it fresher to an extent.

Don...I personally know your gonna tame that beast in a very short time once your under pressure on stage. I hope it all works out for you this time around for sure. Those CC commands will test you every time.
keep us posted on your experiences using this new rig and when you get time record a few songs too for us. Give em hell buddy!

Don it looks like you visited Deane recently

No, Deane is very happy with his SD40. I got this one from Curt, a demo model, good deal!

Sounds to me like you have been having a ton of fun!

I don’t know how you do it Don. You have definitely earned your PHD in Arranger Keyboards.
Good luck with the sd40 and keep us posted. Love your reviews.

JM

Hi Don,
Great write up. Noticed you mentioned you only use a few of the onboard styles, is that because they don’t really suit the type of music you play?

Ie too modern or more the older style of music like the Latin , ballroom type stuff.

There are some really good factory styles onboard, but there isn't a large number, compared to other brands. I will probably use a few more as I get more familiar with it, but now I'm mostly using styles I already had saved with Registrations.
I'm thinking I use one Big Band, two Latin and several Rock, along with some Ballads and a couple of Country styles. Still a work in progress.

For some of us the feeling Dom describes im dicovering a new instruments is what keeps them changing gear...

- the discovery phase is so much fun.

- however after that there is the decision phase, where people are going to decide if this is where they want to be... or that their old are anoter solution seems more valid for them..

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.

SD40
Light, great sounding, and very versatile and could expand it's navigation a la Mason.
PA4X
My favorite for live play, plays CDG files, great editing, etc, etc. Maybe I could get someone to send me one of their keyboard sets and I could use it direct. Other than that, I am pretty much back to square one.
Yamaha S970
Like the SD40, it is loaded and ready to go. It is a great keyboard in the Yamaha tradition, and is used occasionally for more intimate gigs,

It was a bitter lesson learned when the USB stick died and retrieval doesn't look promising. I suspect I was hot swapping it, corrupting something.

Decisions decisions

Intriguing...I imagine chord recognition is all determined by those modes available in sd40?

Everyone has their own preferences; If you're skilled enough to play every note in the chord (no shortcuts) you've got nothing to worry about. The last time I tested a Ketron I was frustrated because instead of recognizing Minor 7ths in all inversions, The SD3 more often interpreted it as a sixth chord.

I've tried just about all of the brands and I find Roland allows a wide variety of common chords with the fewest notes pressed, and the least amount of hand movement. With Bass Inversion activated, Rolands will also recognize many slash chords with only two keys pressed. For chords like C/G, Korg requires you to also play the third above.

Amazingly, recent Casio models (those introduced in the last few years) seem to have an IMPROVED version of Roland's Chord Intelligence. Unlike Roland, they recognize "power chords" when you play 1+5 (i.e., they drop the third from the accompaniment pattern.) There is also a user setting to suppress recognition of the 6th chord, to avoid the tie-up i mentioned with Minor 7th. Very thoughtful and logical, it's a shame that the keybed itself is so flimsy!

I find the Ketron fingering modes adequate for my playing, except I can't find a split mode that allows left hand playing without changing the chord. It could be some settings...
I like Korg's approach better I think.

have you gigged it at Ernests yet....what is actually happening with the chord recognition your talking about left handed split?

I've used it on the job for six days now. You just have to be careful when releasing the left hand keys making the chord, if using fingered mode. No big deal.
None of my arrangers is without some sort of compromise, but all three have many great features.
Not sure which will be my primary arranger yet.

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.)

I know Fingered 2 should do that, but it doesn't seem to work properly.
I will check on the recognition of m7.

Mr. Mason, when can we look for a new upload from you on the SD40?
I know it’ll be awesome and look forward to it.
Jim

Ted the only way all manufacturers can be 100 percent accurate, what chord you intended... Is to use root position (full chord) with bass inversion off. There will be no mistakes as the C6th and Am7th.

Fran, I did not read your post before writing the same thing.
I thought for a minute and came up with: This guy is smart to. (smile)

John C.

Fran I just don't have the skill for that... too old to unlearn bad habits! Roland, and surprisingly Casio(!) do exactly what I want, that's why I tend to favor those brands. Being able to play one-finger majors and two-note minors, 7ths, M7 in any inversion facilitates a lot of fast chord changes. Slash chord recognition is simple and logical too. For me, more keys and more hand movement just create more opportunities to make mistakes.

Chord fingering is one thing about an arranger that you just can't change. None of the manufacturers has programmed a lot of customizability into this all-important feature. I like a lot of the Yamaha styles and features, but their "pro" AI Fingered mode is useless to me. So here in my living room, I'm using the Roland Chord Intelligence built into my BK-7m to drive the style engine of my Tyros 5. I often wonder if I would be happier with a BK-9. Too bad they're so rare!

Hi Bernie,
That’s sad news, you’ve never backed it up to anything else like your pc. I always copy my USB sticks to my laptop as a backup and also to external hard drives. Have you tried plugging your USB stick into your laptop to see if it is totally dead?

One of my USB sticks that has my v arranger, sometimes plays up, ie it tells me it needs to be formatted, but I unplug and a few seconds later, it’s functioning again.

I have the style library but songbook I’ve never bothered with.

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

+1 Prince AJ... If you need "Live" sound Ketron leads the way...
The module gives a player so much flexabily and controller kb choices too...
Good move Don enjoy.

After another few nights using the SD40, I have it just about completely under control. It does everything I ask it to do. It sounds great and the audience didn't notice the change at all, but they responded very well to the live sound, even if they didn't know why.
Still not certain if I can give up the beloved Korg PA4x, even if it does hurt my fingers after four hours.

I'm sorry to say that I am not going to stay with the SD40.
There are no problems with it and it sounds fantastic; I'm just so comfortable using what I already had...
I expect Jingleman to enjoy it immensely.

Don, You are a true gentleman. I can’t wait to dig in. Those live drums...awesome! Should be a great module with my guitar and midi keyboard.

I know Jill is diggin’ the 970. Her initial report stated that she is blown away!

Thanks again Don,
JM

Thanks for sharing your experience Don! You're a great performer no matter what rig you use. And it's heartening to see the equipment stay here in the SynthZone community!

Thanks, it was a tough decision, and AJ and Curt were both very helpful during my setup process.

Very interesting thread Don. The depth of knowledge you have to be able to use any of the top brands in your performances is very impressive indeed.

Don at least you gave it a shot......
KORG Pa4x & YOU perfect together "for now"...

I'm glad that you gave Ketron another try. They really are a wonderful brand of auto arrangers. There just are so many good choices out there these days. I have bruises on my hips from pinching myself because of all the amazing choices I have with regards to quality musical instruments. No real bad choices. What wonderful times we live in.

I used the Roland EA7 Saturday. It sounds great too.
They all have their own "personalities".
Just got back from cataract surgery on my second eye. Everything went well except while waiting to go to o.r. my blood pressure dropped to 56 over 38 and I nearly passed out. After a couple of minutes it returned to normal, but it delayed me by a half hour or so because they wanted to be sure everything was stable before starting the procedure.
Nap time now, until the sedation meds wear off.

Get well buddy