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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
Apprentice
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271 |
Greetings all...
A few years ago someone here (Mac) suggested I should pick up the Ketron SD2 sound module. I did get one and knew right away that it was one of the best investments I ever made. She sure is one powerful little puppy.'
I'm now looking to expand my sound banks and will without hesitation pick up another Ketron module. I'm just wondering if the Ketron SD 1000 the latest model out there or has Ketron put out something newer?
I was toying with the idea of getting something from Native Instruments but they are really expensive. And I just don't like working with vst. I'm old school and just want to use something that I've been comfortable with for a lot of years, that being sound modules. Would you believe that I still use my Roland JV-1010? And still loving it.
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Joined: Nov 2008
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PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,382 |
It looks like the SD1000 is the latest product that's just a simple sound module. There's also the Audya, but that gets you arranger features you may not need, and is very expensive.
Cheers
Kent
PG Music
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Joined: May 2003
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Expert
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Expert
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,323 |
There are very new excellent sound modules, according to the You Tube demos ; These are German products. See there V3 sounds
Reach for excellence
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Many thanks for the comebacks and suggestions, guys... all good advice and ideas indeed!!!
I find myself going back and forth daily on what I want to do. The real question is, do I really have to spend more money to expand on what I already have? Between the Roland and SD2 I have hundreds of sounds right now... a lot of which I have never used. My main genre is classic country and old rock and roll. Am I really going to need hundreds of symphonic sounds and effects in doing these styles of music?
No matter which way I decide to go, be it NI, Ketron or V3 sounds it would be very expensive. I think I have to change my way of thinking from "I really WANT it" mode to "I really don't NEED it" mode. As I look at the hit my bank account would take, I strongly believe that I'm going to go with the latter; I don't need it.
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Roland and SD2 I have hundreds of sounds right now You are correct, if you have these GM sound options you don't really need any more. But there is a world of sound beyound GM. Keep looking at the NI stuff. A lot of that is just too cool to not invest a bit of time and money to infuse into your sound making. Just my two cents.
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Bobby9999, get the free Kontakt player. There are a lot of great sounding free and inexpensive sounds that will work with it. When looking for sounds for it just be sure to carefully read the sites info as some only work with the full Kontakt.
Getting the free player will let you try out Kontakt's approach. The engine is the same in both Kontakt versions but with the player you will not be able to open the sounds to add or change effects and things. But that may not be a problem as I have had the full Kontakt for many years now and I have modified the sounds very seldom. Most all of the time I get into the inner workings just to change the volume control from a keyboard to a wind controller.
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Roland and SD2 I have hundreds of sounds right now You are correct, if you have these GM sound options you don't really need any more. But there is a world of sound beyond GM. Keep looking at the NI stuff. A lot of that is just too cool to not invest a bit of time and money to infuse into your sound making. Just my two cents. In addition to GM and GM2 Roland also has the GS midi patch standard. Also, don't forget about Yamaha and their XG midi patch standard. I like Ketron products and they appear to be as durable as any other product. My issue is their products are not well represented in the US. Neither of the online music stores I shop, Sweetwater and American Music Supply (AMS) sell Ketron products. PG Music use to but do not now. Amazon does sell the SD2 and Midijay. I've never heard of the US Distributor, +++ AJam +++ The website says the distributor has a website developer but the site itself is rarely updated.
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Thanks for this, Mario!!! While doing some of my research I seem to remember seeing something about the "Kontakt Player" but really didn't look in to it very deeply. For sure I'm going to have a look at that.
As for Kontakt... There was one thin that got me thinking about it, that being the "guitar strum" sounds. They sound amazing!
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Jim... now that you mention Ketron 2 and PG Music... I'm pretty sure that I bought mine from them. But that was quite a while ago so don't quote me on that.
It's true that the Ketron is hard to find. I deal with two different music stores here in Montreal and neither one carry it.
But there again; If I were to buy the SD 1000, would I be getting all the same sounds that I now have with my SD 2 and then a few more new ones that I don't have? Would those few new sounds be worth $500+ dollars?
In any event, I'm managing to stay away from impulse buying... for a change.
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Thanks so much for this! I'm going to have a very close look. I'm still looking at how to use it with Sonar Platinum. The "free Kontakt Player" needed to use it is confusing me. I'm going to do more research to make sure I understand it before buying. But a hundred bucks is a lot better than eight hundred bucks considering that Guitar Strummed is what I'm looking for more than anything else in Kontakt Komplete. I'll keep you posted.
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Thanks so much for this! I'm going to have a very close look. I'm still looking at how to use it with Sonar Platinum. The "free Kontakt Player" needed to use it is confusing me. I'm going to do more research to make sure I understand it before buying. But a hundred bucks is a lot better than eight hundred bucks considering that Guitar Strummed is what I'm looking for more than anything else in Kontakt Komplete. I'll keep you posted.
I hope this helps. Kontakt Player has the same engine as the full version of Kontakt. The difference is that the Player is for only playing the patches while the full version Kontakt allows you to get into the guts of the patches so you can change some of its parameters and effects. Guitar sessions 2 will run on the free Player. If you get Kontakt Player be sure to carefully read the read the system requirements of any patch that you are thinking about purchasing. Many patches will only run on the full Kontakt, but this will listed under those requirements. If you are thinking about Kontakt you can buy it separately. If you can wait then I would get the free Player then wait for a sale on Kontakt. Most of the time a sale will get you Kontakt for about half price. Both version of Kontakt will load as a VSTi in Sonar with no problems. If you know how to load VSTis into Sonar you are all set, if not other Sonar users here can help you. It has been quite awhile since I've used Sonar and I don't want to give you some faulty advice. I have CRS! If you are also looking for a finger picking program check this out: https://realitone.com/fingerpick/This also works on the free Player. Also you might want to Google/Bing guitar patches for Kontakt and/or free and shareware guitar patches for kontakt. There are a lot of third party patches out there for Kontakt. Good luck
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Thank you so much Mario!!! Sure is good advice for someone who has never really worked with vst before. I had some out of town visitors come in yesterday so I haven't had much chance to get set up yet. I'm sure that if I do run into problems I can get a lot of help here.
Much appreciated...
Bobby
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
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Video: Xtra Styles PAK 22 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 11 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1-22 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 22 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 22.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 22 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Peter Gannon Talks Band-in-a-Box with zplane
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
Check out the full interview here: https://products.zplane.de/blog/peter-gannon-interview-pg-music
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
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