If you want to get better sounding pianos, strings, etc. for the playback of BAIB midi styles which will give better sound quality the Ketron SD2 or the Roland SD-50? Does anybody have both of these and what do you say about them? (A salesmen for the Roland SD-50 said that things are relative, he said the sounds on a Roland SD-50 are good but not comparable to those on a $4000 synth ) Are both of these (i.e. the Ketron SD2 and Roland SD-50) far better than the Native Instruments Bandstand in terms of midi playback sound quality?

The SD-50 is newer than the Roland Fantom and the Edirol SD-20, but the sounds are in the same family and are similar. Have you compared the Ketron with the SD-20 on the Dare to Compare page on this website? That's a good place to start to hear differences in hardware and soft synths. Yes, it needs to be updated because it doesn't have the latest sounds. Still, check it out by typing Dare to Compare in the Search Site box, upper right.

Thanks very much Matt. I will try the Dare to Compare section.

I hope someone does answer your question who actually does have both units you want to compare. It would be unusual to own both, I would think.

The sounds are virtually neck-and-neck, both are great sounding, each have their fortes on certain instrument patches IMO.

Does anybody have both of these and what do you say about them? (A salesmen for the Roland SD-50 said that things are relative, he said the sounds on a Roland SD-50 are good but not comparable to those on a $4000 synth ).[/quote]

I've USED both, but only own the Ketron. Have a buddy who owns the SD-50, have used it at his home studio for playing kehyboards thru so he can record them, also have hooked it up to BB, sounds darn good IMO.

And so does the Ketron, for that matter. I like the Ketron for its good full sounds, shirt-pocket size, ease of use with minimal controls (Resets each time its turned off and on again, no need for that extra button, only other control is the Volume slider and one multipurpose LED indicator) works as it is supposed to work, travels, takes up minimal space on the live gigs (I use stickon Velcro to keep it in place right on top of the Keyboard Controller) and has really great Upper Banks sounds.

IMO that salesman told ya right. But be advised from me that the Law of Diminishing Returns kicks in mighty hard when evaluating purchase of the "top shelf" vs the workingman's tool, and either of the two units you mention are robust workingman's tools that can indeed turn in fine performance.




IMO, Absolutely. Yes.

Another thing to consider besides just the sound quality, is that the Hardware MIDI solutions also automatically yield NEAR-ZERO LATENCY all the time, important for those who play a MIDI instrument in realtime with a Controller, whether live or recording. I found use of software solutions on live gigs and such could suddenly become very problematic for a whole host of reasons. Power kicks out and you are faced with rebooting a computer and setting everything back up when you're supposed to be onstage playing. Hardware synths will just come back up ready to go again in a couple seconds once you figure out who kicked out which AC plug.

Either unit is capable.

You should just spend some time auditioning both, that's easily done nowadays considering mfr's websie demos, youtube videos, etc. and then take your pick. I don't think you can go wrong with either of the two choices given.


--Mac

Thanks a lot Mac for your input and info!

Mac, you said that the 2 units have their strengths and weaknesses. The sounds that I am most interested in are piano and strings. Do you have any strong feelings about whether the Ketron SD2 or Roland SD-50 are better for these sounds?

Peter

I love the Roland grand pianos in the Fantom series and especially the pianos in their expansion cards, many of which were added to make up the sounds in the SD-50.

I'm trying to decide between these 2 modules too. I suppose you can't go wrong with either. It would be basically for jazz.

I prefer my Ketron sounds for straight up Modern Jazz, Bebop, etc. work.

The Roland sounds I think are a bit more apropos for CoolJazz, Modern Black Gospel, Electric Jazz and such.

Of course, these things concerning any MIDI solution are quite subjective and I do encourage you guys to do as much auditioning as you can.

Either of the two are excellent MIDI sound sources.


--Mac

PG music has a nice comparison of different synths;

http://www.pgmusic.com/dare-to-compare.htm

I have the Ketron SD 2 and it sound awesome. I use it mostly for Piano, and Sax (their sax sounds the best I have every heard), and orchestra instruments. Otherwise I use VST or Reason Refills for virtual instruments.