Ketron SD7 Arranger

Ketron SD7

The SD7 is a truly ground- breaking Musical Instrument designed for both professional and home use. The all-new sound engine, audio drums, full multimedia capability, hardware arranger controls/ level sliders, full colour professional touch screen and on board monitor speakers mean you are ready to enjoy making incredible music now! Ketron have always inspired great musicians with realistic, true to life “Best Natural Sounds” and the most authentic live sounding styles available. Whether you are a performer, entertainer, studio or home user, you are sure to find the new SD7 the most inspiring keyboard to date. As with all Ketron Instruments the emphasis is on sound quality, purity and authenticity. It is important that when instrument types are mixed they still maintain their identities and with over 540 orchestral voices, 368 genuine Ketron layered sound edits plus 46 high quality RAM sounds provides a comprehensive and true to life sound pallet for almost any musical eventuality. Ketron continue to develop Audio Styles and the SD7 ships with 260 full audio drum/groove styles, plus you can create your own styles using the style modelling section and import/ convert and edit legacy styles from many previous Ketron Instruments. This means you have almost limitless possibilities for style enhancement and addition. The full colour touch screen is a completely new feature for our keyboard range. This was developed with great care to ensure full compatibility with live performance use. The instrument retains the all important tactile arranger buttons (Start/Stop, Intros/Endings, Variations, Fills etc.) as well as real time hardware level controls for quick adjustment of various volumes. The 7” backlit screen handles important information, instruments, style and media selection plus many various options in a clear concise manner. Different modes of play are displayed in such a way that you have access to vital features. These are presented using large, clear, well spaced icons that are easy to see and access without the concern of accidentally selecting the option next to it. To make control of the keyboard even easier many quick access hardware buttons are on the instruments panel which when selected take you directly to the correct screen or feature. We believe the SD7 is the most intuitive and easy to operate Ketron keyboard so far. If you are serious and passionate about making music, the SD7 is for you.

Arranger&Player

The KETRON SD7 keyboard is the product of a long, passionate development process and in-depth musical research. Finally, both worlds of a professional class arranger and performance keyboard have been merged like never before into one incredible machine.
Whether you want to play music with friends as a DJ, do karaoke style, simply play something creative and inspiring or write your own music - the SD7 will assist you in all scenarios with its comprehensive, innovative features and professional sound.
These include new sound generation, a huge sound library, revolutionary Style Modeling system of Styles and beats, Multimedia capability achieved with up to date technology all of which make the SD7 a powerful and indispensable tool for contemporary and modern musical entertainment.

Styles

The SD7 has an innovative, intelligent and professional arranger section with 260 styles.
These cover musical genres and rhythms which are being requested in the modern live entertainment world.
These styles utilize an impressive library of more than 300 Latin Percussion Grooves and 200 Audio Drums. The Audio Drums are perfectly synchronized with the internal Midi clock, a wide tolerance range is possible even at high tempo changes (up to - / + 30% of the
original BPM). Each style has four variations A, B, C and D, plus 4 Fill Ins, 4 Breaks, 3 Intros, 3 Endings, 'To End' and other live control functions such as Re-intro, -Key Key Start Stop, Count In, Restart. In addition, 5 User buttons are provided which can be programmed for additional functions.
The accompaniment section is made up of an Audio Drum track, bass track, 5 tracks of chord sections which incorporate musical harmonies and can be varied, and 2 manual/Lower voices. 3 orchestral VARIATIONS are present which can easily be turned on or off to obtain either more simplified or complex arrangements, as well as variable guitar tones within guitar accompaniment tracks. 4 lead voices can automatically be assigned to the right (lead voice) and it is possible to match them to the four variations - ABCD of each style.
The operating system of this keyboard is very easy and intuitive, thanks to the new and large touch screen. It allows you, for an example, to quickly modify the voices, volumes and effects of each style & pattern within the Arranger section on the fly, and to then save the changes as a new USER STYLE. This helps create a custom style library which doesn’t affect the factory styles. With MY LIST, the user can further consolidate and store 64 favourite styles in one location - making it easy to instantly search for and use your best styles.
Much attention has been paid to orchestral harmonies especially wind instruments, which are now re-created with separate harmonic lines to obtain more realistic sounds within this section. The Unplugged group offers more styles with very basic arrangements which use just a Guitar or Piano voices with percussion, an ideal acoustic environment for improvisations or other musicians to play along with.

Style Modeling

The STYLE Modeling tool is a powerful and unique feature now available on the SD7 (the only Arranger Keyboard to offer such within this price point). This allows for the quick selection and usage of hundreds of Audio Drums, Grooves, Base lines, Piano, Guitar andOrchestral tracks for any style – accessed via the internal library of the keyboard. These tracks can be assigned to different sections of a Style, thus allowing you to build a completely new style with hardly any style programming background needed.
Creating a new custom arrangement simply by using Style Modeling is a really simple and stimulating experience. The selection of the arrangement parts can be performed while the keyboard is playing therefore Style Modeling can automatically be a studio engineer’s dream come true with the capability to quickly create or alter styles on the fly. You can find assortments and combinations of unimaginable sound, between different musical genres, or interchanging different sounds with perfect rhythmic synchronization all the time.
These include Latin Grooves, bass lines or any arrangements. Once the assignment of the new parts has been completed, the new style can now be saved as a User Style.

New Play Modes

The keyboard has been designed to be configured for use in different ways. If you are a pianist, you can use the PIANIST mode to play as though you were playing a real piano while still being able to control the arranger. If you prefer to play the bass manually (Manual Bass mode) while still using the Arranger, the BASSIST mode is available – a mode which utilizes sophisticated logic to control harmonies performed with both hands in real time.
Beyond the simple Midi set up, a new dedicated menu has been developed for the ACCORDION and ORGAN players.
CLASSIC mode: - Grants the accordionist total manual control over the SD7’s voice sections. The accordionist can program complete manual orchestrations with 2 voices allocated to the left/chord and 3 voices to the right and lead voice, and all these set ups can be stored in a Song setting/Registration for instant recall on stage.
STYLE mode: - On the contrary, this mode now utilizes the Arranger which is controlled by the Left Hand. With the Bass To Chord, the accordionist can also define the tones of the chords automatically, which are normally not available in the normal style technique.
The accordionist can then express themselves better with new forms of expression in the context of light music and jazz.
There is also a new ORGAN mode to control the bass either manually or automatically by using the optional Midi pedal board (Mod. KETRON PCM 8) which allows for performance the way Organists are accustomed to.

Sounds

The new Sound generation featured in the KETRON SD7 offers 543 orchestral sounds of GM structure divided into 4 banks of KETRON'S “Best Natural Sounds” including the new Stereo Grand Piano, Sax and Brass sections ... new guitar and bass all multi-layered, plus new and professional Pads, Strings, Synth, Electric Piano and Accordion sounds using stereo and MultiVoice technology.
368 VOICES in 12 voice groups all with sophisticated EDITS consisting of up to 3 layered sounds (plus the ability to add 2nd Voice to any lead voice), and functions of Velocity switch, Duet, Trio, Steel, Harmony, all which can be edited and saved into the USER VOICE section. Many controls are available in real time such as Double Down-Up, Harmony, EFX, after touch and Portamento and a VOICE LIST section is also provided where the user can store 32 favourite Voice for quick recall and use in live situations.
48 acoustic and electric DRUM KITS and a new special STEREO KIT are constantly monitored by a special tool called LIVE Modeling which randomly utilizes multiple samplesof instruments such as Snare, Rim Shot, Claps, Snap within loops to simulate the feel of the live performance of a real drummer ... as a drummer doesn’t hit his snare the same way twice! In other words it will feel like a live drummer is performing with you.
Searching for and identifying VOICES has been made much easier due to the new graphic images featured on the touch screen.
These images associate each instrument with its orchestral image.

Ram Sounds

In addition to the already rich selection of internal Voice used in the SD7, 46 additional superior quality RAM SOUNDS can be loaded instantly. Many 'electromagnetic' organ sounds are included in this group with authentic reproduction of the classic rotary speaker effect Slow-Fast; Set strings, brass, pianos, guitars, accordions and authentic voice soloists Sax, trumpet and flugelhorn.

Song Settings & Registrations

Registrations allows you to take a snap-shot and store the general panel settings and current conditions of the "SD7" including all parameters and functions. 4 storage Banks each capable of holding 1024 Registrations are available. These Registrations and Song settings are easily controlled on the touch screen and can be quickly recalled using the numeric keypad or externally via MIDI.
With the use of a dedicated App, it is also possible to manage the Song settings and Registrations from the keyboard based on external data library’s songs, texts, etc.

Multi Function Audio Player

The SD7 is equipped with a dual professional player capable of playing back MP3 type files, MIDI (different formats with lyrics), WAV, FLV, CDG, MP4, AVI, M4A, JPG, PDF, and TXT. The device provides automatic functions such as Cross Fade, (fading from one song to another), LEAD MUTE (excluding the lead voice from an audio track or lead track from a Midi file) and Alphabetical or Numerical SEARCHING of files within the disk.
Modern display of LYRICS, TEXT and KARAOKE with the ability to select colours and backgrounds for text and also send to an external display or monitor/screen. You can connect a video projector directly to the DVI connector on the unit. Navigation is achieved by using the Alpha dial and scrolling through files directly on the touch screen.
You can create custom PLAYLISTS and also have the ability to quickly access your favourite files, thanks to ... MY FOLDER.
The JUKE BOX page is also provided for quicker access to songs and a new DJ menu now gives you access to a dual virtual turn-table from which you can apply special effects to the music you’re playing such as Tap Tempo effects, Pitch, Cut Off, Resonance, Tempo, Brake and Back Spin.
SYNC mode / NEXT allows you to accurately synchronize the beginning of the song (Midi,MP3 or WAV), in perfect sync with the one currently being played in order to create well synchronized real-time medleys. Furthermore, the Player is capable of utilizing Midi files which have already been enhanced with WAV or MP3 tracks – all perfectly synchronized together.
The new function RESTYLE DRUM allows you to easily replace the monotonous drum track of a traditional MIDI file with any of the Audio Drums available for the styles.
The utilization of VIDEOS in today’s musical performances has become increasingly important, so the KETRON SD7 is also up to date in that regard, allowing you to view anddisplay on an external monitor (DVI) movies and musical videos of all kinds. While the video is playing, it is still possible to continue performing with MIDI files or MP3 or Styles simultaneously.
This keyboard also has other important innovations such as the utilization and control of PDF files with the ability to now display graphic files (e.g. musical scores) on the displayed or monitor with internal functions available such as scroll, zoom, etc.
An AUDIO MULTITRACK that allows the playback of multiple wave files within and audio project.
The multi track audio is presented as an excellent alternative to traditional MP3 and WAV files during professional PLAYBACK, offering the opportunity to work on each of the five tracks in a selective manner which leads to less volume sliders on the panel.
A track can also be assigned to the CLICK Metronomic (or to an individual output) that can be sent via external audio through the headphone output (Aux).

Recording

The keyboard has a new AUDIO and MIDI recording function and menu. It is possible to memorize brief patterns in PHRASE mode (also available while using the Arranger) then later, loop it during playback or record complete parts in SONG mode.
The audio track is recorded as a stereo WAV file which can further be modified by inserting start and end points, as well as the output level.

DSP

New DSP:- Chorus, Reverb, Phaser, Tremolo, Flanger, rotor, Echo Delay, Tap Delay, Overdrive, Distortion, Amp simulator, Compressor, parametric 4-band filter EQ.
Two EFX insert with 54 different types of effects and 10 programmable combination Inserts.
LIVE EFX for real-time control of EFX values, Q (resonance), Decay and Release on all sections of the instrument. By using sliders on the panel, one can quickly close the filter of the Rhythmic style track or the entire track of the Audio Player, or alter the sound of the bass, the Chords of the Arranger or the lead voice.

Micro / Vocalizer

The keyboard has a symmetrical microphone input (XLR) with adjustable gain, separate audio output and effects Reverb, Echo, Equalizer, Noise Gate, Compressor, Pitch Shift with 10 preset combinations and 10 user programmable.
The Vocalizer includes 3 harmonization Voices (VOICETRON) with Right and Left Harmony modes, Unison with the possibility of assigning its controls to the Arranger, Lead voice or Midi file.

Input / Guitar

The line In can be used for a secondary microphone or a guitar input. If using a Guitar, it will have instant access to all the internal DSP effects available with the ability to control via an optional Foot-switch (KETRON FS 13 or FS 6). A MIDI guitar can also easily control the Arranger directly by simply playing chords on the guitar.

Connections and Interfacing

Some of the SD7’s multimedia functionalities include 3 USB Host jacks for connecting USB flash drives, external hard drives, CD ROM or other digital devices such as tablets and smart phones. With the USB device connection at the back, it is possible to connect and manage the instrument directly from your computer.
An optional internal hard drive can be installed (Type 2/3 SATA 2.5) with new possibilitiesof storage, backup and file management.
The instrument's touch screen interface is very intuitive and navigating between different menus is easy even without the help of the operating manual (that resides inside the keyboard as an Html multilingual file) which can be accessed at any time for details on different operating menus.
Brightness control (conveniently placed in the back of the keyboard) allows you adjust the brightness of the colour display which is especially useful in dark or sunny conditions.

Amplification

The SD7 is equipped with a high quality, built in modern and light-weight sound system. 2x 20 Watts RMS of power give excellent Stereo response throughout the entire audio range with deep bass and crystal clear treble enhancements ideal for small venues or monitoring of sound. It is possible to also turn off the internal speakers if external amplification is preferred via a switch. Using the internal DSP Equalizer, one can work on eight different equalization curves to sonically change the instrument.

Hear, Try and Compare the Ketron SD7 Arranger in our showroom

Located in Leicester in the central Midlands and close to Coventry, Nottingham, Derby, Birmingham and Warwick we promise you that a visit to our specialist Digital Piano and Keyboard showroom will not disappoint. Try the full Ketron range including the SD7 Arranger and compare it with all under one roof. Whatever your playing standard our knowledgeable and friendly experts will help guide you through the Keyboard buying process and make sure that you are buying the right instrument for your needs. As ex teachers we are ideally placed to advise and answer any questions you may have. Lifetime support and product tuition with ALL digital pianos.

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