Ketron SD5 Review

From time to time a new keyboard comes along and passes by without the attention it deserves. The Ketron SD5 is one of these.
Formerly Solton, the Ketron brand is not as well know as the likes of Yamaha etc, but the company produces fantastic instruments.
Here at Jazzhooves we have no sponsors or advertising deals so we can afford to be completely honest and give our critical view on every product that we come into contact with. We contacted BCK and asked if we could test drive their new keyboard and thanks to them we now have an instrument to test.

From the box
If you open the box you will get one keyboard, power cable, manual and music rest. Once the keyboard is powered up then it takes a few seconds for the keyboard to boot up. The screen lights up in a blue colour and in a few seconds you are ready to play.
The first thing that you will notice about this keyboard is the fact that everything makes sense. All of the controls that you need to access quickly are just above the keyboard and to the left is a row of control buttons which can act as a number of things. They can trigger special effects, store registrations or mute backing parts.
There are no flashing bright buttons, this keyboard looks like a pro instrument and not a my little keyboard with lots of flashing red and green lights. The whole appearence is clean and neat - a very nice looking instrument.

The keyboard arrived with us on Friday and we started to play this keyboard at 7pm. As such we immediately plugged in our headphones and digital studio and took a number of "on the fly" recordings which can be found on this page. We were using a pair of Bose Quietcomfort 3 headphones which work fantastically with any keyboard instrument. The sound quality of this keyboard is stunning. Voice balancing is perfect and we are impressed with the sonic quality of this keyboard.
Within 3 hours we were playing this keyboard and getting to grips with all of the controls quickly. This track called Movin was the first track we recorded - just 20 minutes after powering up this new keyboard - it is so simple to use!

Movin click to listen
Movin - written and performed by Leigh Wilbraham on Ketron SD5.
Recorded flat using Ketron on board effects run through Yamaha AW1600 digital studio.

Speakers
Upon unplugging our headphones we were amazed to hear the difference when playing the keyboard through its own speakers. They are flat and completely lacking tone compared to listening through the headphones. So, to get a good true measure of this keyboard we hooked it up to a pair of Yamaha MS60's and we were back up and running in seconds.
It is a shame that the on-board speakers are so flat sounding - they need more bass. If you buy one of these keyboards we would advise you to invest in a new set of speakers.

Sounds
Breath of fresh air is an understatement when I look and listen at the list of voices in this keyboard. The piano's are crisp and clear, guitars are realistic and the brass section is very good. This keyboard has fantastic saxaphone, organ, synth and pad sounds. The organs are bright and punchy and there is the added bonus of a drawbar section.
If you listen to the track called smithswing, this uses the fantastic voices combined with a Jimmy Smith style backing. The backing section is very clever and houses a feature unique to ketron. Most arranger keyboards have different variations (A. B. C. etc) well, if you click in variation D, and depending on which style you are using, the keboard will automatically begin to play its own style break, where you can play over the top. The backing system will play a standard chord sequence suited to the style that you have chosen. You will hear this in the Smith track.

Smithswingclick to listen
Smithswing track - recorded and performed by Leigh Wilbraham on Ketron SD5
Recorded flat using Ketron on board effects run through Yamaha AW1600 digital studio.

Backings
The backings are big and sonically perfect. No matter which genre you choose, the backing is well orchestrated and unlike some of the big arranger keyboards, there is room for your right hand performance to fit right in. I remember seeing a demonstration of the Tyros 2 which involved the demonstrator pressing intro start, listened to the keyboard for a few bars and then pressed ending.
Now, forgive me, but i thought a keyboard was for playing - not watching.
Anyway, the Ketron gives you exactly what you need - with a great sound. Swing, dance, latin - and the new unplugged styles are all well arranged. Whilst i think on, the unplugged styles are pleasant, but i really do not see why you want this sort of backing on a keyboard. Un-plugged backings are normally performed with a vocalist, and unless you are a good singer, they are a little bare sounding - but this is just my personal prefernce.
I have to say that i found a large number of backings that I love - so much so, I will really miss this keyboard then it is returned back to BCK.

Recording
Using the in-built sequencer is simple. Having been used to using Yamaha, Roland and Korg recording systems the Ketron is simple to use and gives great results. Our demonstration track Ghostriders uses just two additional parts which were recorded. The horn section and strings were multi-tracked to give the bigger sound. There is no point overdubbing loads of parts when you have such a fantastic backing system as the ketrons. Lesser keyboards would need more parts recording to give you that full orchestral sound - but this keyboard sounds so fantastic that you don't need to spend hours multi-tracking.
You can add the on board effects - as we have done with this track. We took a guitar sound, added chorus and delay and came up with a classic Ghostriders in the Sky sound - have a listen to the track.

Ghostriders in the sky click to listen
Ghostriders in the sky - performed by Leigh Wilbraham on Ketron SD5.
Recorded flat using Ketron on board effects run through Yamaha AW1600 digital studio.

Demonstration tracks recorded by Jazzhooves.com
We decided to have a play with the keyboards swing styles and see if we could come up with a smooth lounge style swing sound. After 2 minutes, we had it all set up. The keyboard is so simple to use and the sounds all work well together. From the haunting flutes to the smooth strings, the backing offers a real late night smooth jazz feel - perfect for Patsy Clines Crazy track. By simply pressing the button marked "Harmony" the sax turnes into a full sax orchestra - fantastic.

Slowswing click to listen
Smooth Swing - performed by Leigh Wilbraham on Ketron SD5
Recorded flat using Ketron on board effects run through Yamaha AW1600 digital studio.

One click of a button and you have a Perez Perado setting - the best I have heard on any keyboard instrument - even the "Who" vocal in the background is part of the fill in options giving that perado unique sound. We recorded the following track using this fantastic sound.

Prezdent click to listen
Prez'dent - written and performed by Leigh Wilbraham on Ketron SD5 keyboard
Recorded flat using Ketron on board effects run through Yamaha AW1600 digital studio.

Summer5 click to listen
Take 5 style - Take 5/ Summertime recorded live - performed by Leigh Wilbraham on Ketron SD5 keyboard
Recorded flat using Ketron on board effects run through Yamaha AW1600 digital studio.

Overall
We love this keyboard - a lot! The styles, voices and ease of use makes this keyboard become a joy to play. The keyboard feels responsive and comfortable to play. The organ voices are fantastic and the quality of the drums puts Ketron on our list of favourite instruments. A huge thank you to BCK for the use of the instrument - and if you have one that needs a good home make sure you let us know! If you are looking to change your keyboard and you are tired of the same brand and want something fresh and exciting then this keyboard is the one you want to take a look at!

Overall rating 9/10 - excellent
Price £1800
Contact BCK
Stationbrige House,
Blake Hall Road
Nr, Ongar,
Essex
CM5 9KW
Telephone 01992 524442
or email info@bck.co.uk