Ketron Event Entertainer Keyboard

General

Starting business in the eighties with a line of organs, Ketron first made its stamp on the keyboard universe in the nineties when they first dropped the Solton Series - a range of models that sounded entirely different from the keyboards coming out of Japan at the time. During the years since, the brand has risen to a class of its own while still managing to duck just under the mainstream radar, and as such, the Ketron Event was essentially designed to make jaws hit the floor. And while it might demand a weighty investment, the sheer, staggering value of this instrument is more than worth it.

The Ketron Event: The Sound

The mouth-watering list of specifications firmly matches up with the price tag, so you're getting gigabyte's worth of sounds plus enough space to upload custom sounds to the flash memory. An SSD comes built in and has a 240 gigabyte capacity, 80 gig of which has been reserved, so with all that space, the sample sound of this sonic machine is astounding. Played phrases come included, so rather than the tinny and synthetic guitar licks you might get with more well-known off the shelf models, you get an actual recording of an actual guitar being played by an actual human. The same is true of the saxophone samples within the arrangements and so on, simply because: while sampling is only getting better and physical modelling is becoming a familiar feature, there's still nothing like the real thing. And with this keyboard, that's exactly what you're getting. Besides a bank of more bread-and-butter sounds, you're getting instruments for solo parts, including a violin and various brass and woodwind instruments, each with ample room for round-robins (multiple recordings of the same note), aftertouch and various articulations.

More Highlights

This is one hefty instrument, so it comes loaded with a set of 76 semi-weighted keys that provide a wide and roomy playing experience, while the large touchscreen display grants quick and intuitive menu access and a full army of buttons and faders populate the control panel. In that sense, this model is still a traditional keyboard, so you can plug in a microphone and take advantage of the set of integrated vocal effects. Basically, it's near-impossible to list the scope of this instrument in just a few paragraphs, but we'll do our best: wireless connection via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; a built-in media player; an HDMI port so lyrics can be displayed on an external screen; the ability to build your own custom styles; and, of course, plenty more. Basically, if you're a professional and uncompromising performer and need the tool that's going to match both your skills and ambitions, then the Event is most definitely it.