GIVEN that they are are plenty of buttons surrounding are what I consider to be the 'native'generally accepted as the display and a quick scan through voices of the instrument. I still thinkbeing the 'big three' in shows that many items that are Orla should have followed the pack the business, i t 's usually tucked away in menu in offering these voices first, with theinevitable that I get to systems are right there, ready for GM set as a second rank.

review more keyboards from use. This includes all the important Anyway, that's just how it is andYamaha, Korg and Roland than any things like volume controls, part I'm very happy to say that the GMother makes.At the top end, though, on/off, transpose, tempo etc. I like sounds are several cuts above whatthere have always been the Ketron this, as it means less button- you'd expect from the often lowlymodels and, at the budget end, pushing and an easier-to-drive GM set. These are all very useable,plenty from Casio. So it makes a instrument. There's a keypad and a starting with a piano that's a verychange to cover a keyboard that's data wheel for easy entry and the strong voice. All the usual GMfrom another manufacturer entirely whole thing is laid out well. stalwarts are there but they are alland in this case it's Orla. I associate The keyboard is just a touch good sounds, voiced by Orla, fromthat name with some pretty fine unusual in that it feels like the black trumpets and brass, through somehome organs and digital pianos but keys are slightly higher than normal lush strings to percussion, synthnot really with budget keyboards so and that there's therefore a bit more and sound effects. As I said in theit was a slight surprise to hear that travel than usual in them, at least review of the Stage Ensemble, it'sone was on its way down to me. when you compare them with other refreshing to find a GM set without

When I unpacked the Orla makes. It doesn't take long to get any duff sounds. GM sets areKX10 it was a definite case of déjà- used to, however, and the touch available 'off the peg' so it's to Orla'svu, however, as the actual case is a response curve can be adjusted to credit that the Italian company hasvery close clone of that used by the suit the player or even turned off. come up with something of its own.old Yamaha PSR2000. I should I'll start with a run through the There are lots and lots of evenknow, I used to have one! Even the sounds, and it's déjà-vu again as the better sounds when you go upmusic rest (a pretty decent affair for soundset here is the same as is above sound 129. Too many to list,a nice change) is the same. What is used on the rather more expensive as always, but I'll pick out a few for avery different, though, is the colour. Stage Ensemble piano that I special mention. Soft Electric piano,It's a bright metallic blue and very reviewed in issue 340, in September Cool Organ (I thought that was aeye-catching. I rather like the colour, 2009. That's mightily impressive at Yamaha trademark), Rotor Organit matches my car perfectly! this price! Although the sound (with built in Leslie effect), Jazz

The display is very big for a low- 'count' goes up to 485, the keyboard Guitar, Trombone 2 (this growls verycost keyboard, as it's the same size starts with the 128-voice GM nicely), Circus Sax and Circusas the one used by the 320x240 soundset, but uses those voices Clarinet (both have OTT vibrato butpixel unit used in the PSR2000. This again from 129 upwards, with all the this particular 'liquorice stick'means that it's exceptionally easy to sounds being located in their actually does quite well for Ackerread, with the main data line at the appropriate groups. I make it a total Bilk solos), and Country Guitar.top in super large characters. There of 384 sounds and amongst this lot Then there are shed loads of pre-

30 KEYBOARD PLAYER ISSUE 346

OR L A K X10IN-DE P T HR E V IE W

A ndrew G ilbert is s erious ly impres s ed with the wide range of s oundsand s tyles that Orla has pac ked into its new Orla KX10 Portable Keyboard

layered sounds, from Grand Piano Yamaha and Ketron voicings, often is identical in every respect), Orla plus Strings, through Jazz Guitar from much more expensive has concentrated on the styles plus Vibes, Orchestra plus Flute instruments. regarded as mainstream, rather (with the orchestra coming in on Layering sounds is simple, as than going for the diversity of high velocity notes) to Vocal plus pressing both volume buttons r e g i o n a l o r ' w o r l d ' s t y l e s Organ. All very useful combinations together will toggle a section on or increasingly found on rivals' and you still have the ability to layer off. Balance? Er, I just mentioned products these days. Yes, there are yet another sound on top for some the volume buttons. As well as some 'world' styles, but not that very big ensembles. I could go on, having Right 1 and Right 2 sections, many so instead you get multiples of but don't have the space! there's also a Left voice and this the styles that Orla thinks you'll use

There are very few sounds that works when the styles are running. I over and over again. For example, don't cut the mustard, with Cello wasn't expecting that at this price there are no less than five very being the main offender for me. point. Any downsides? None on the useable 6/8 styles, six foxtrots, five That's way outweighed by all the voicing really, but there are only two quicksteps, five tangos and five great sounds and there are some DSP units on board, for the rhumbas! Add on 19 Country and unusual inclusions too. Woodblock mandatory chorus and reverb. A Western styles of all types from and Castanets are normal fare for third DSP unit would have added to traditional swings and shuffles, to the percussion section, but here the the guitars, for example, making bluegrass and lots of line dancing voices are semi-tuned. Not tuned to them even better than they already patterns. Then come all manner of a standard scale but with pitches are. disco styles that from YMCA (I still that go higher or lower as you run up In the Stage Ensemble's wonder how they get away with the and down the keyboard. review, I heaped a lot of praise on intro for this on as it is so like the

Regular readers will know that I the styles. As with the voices, Orla original) to Dancing Queen often like to play around with sounds hasn't just gone for a pale copy of (complete with the famous opening and styles, putting them into places what others may offer, or 'standard' piano glissando), The Love Boat they weren't expected to go. Those styles. No, every single one is and Dallas, not to mention the wood blocks can be used as unique to Orla and the company has Saturday Night Fever variants.hooves, so the Donkey Serenade done a great job with them, given For the 'MOR' player (and that's was trotted out (literally!) and the the limitations of a small instrument. where this product is perhaps castanets, when played lower than It has a total of 260, which is a very largely aimed) there are lots of good usual on the keyboard, gives a great good number of styles for a mid- swing and big band stylings from tap dancing sound that matches up range instrument, and you will be Basie and Miller to Nelson Riddle. nicely with the Soft Shoe style. Orla able to download extra styles from The easy listening Jazz styles are has been very clever and there are Orla in the near future. great and there are some very laid-sounds on here that I instantly If I may recap from my review of back bossa nova and other Latin recognise as being dead ringers for the Stage Ensemble (as this section stylings. I said last time that the first

32 KEYBOARD PLAYER ISSUE 346

KEYBOARD PLAYER ISSUE 346 33

All in all, this keyboard packs a heck of a lot in for its price

three tangos are for (as good examples) Blue Tango , La Cumparsita and Jealousy, and then there's a cracking Habanera and an Argentine Tango as well! If you try out the several country waltzes, you'll hear styles that are perfect for country classics like Old Shep, Four in the Morning and Tennessee Waltz. The fast C&W waltz for Lucille seems to have been left out, though!

I headed straight for one of the more unusual styles right away to make sure that they hadn't changed it! It's called Talisman, and is a gently swaying guitar-based Latin combo. It just happens to fit an old favourite tune of mine called Corazon, from Cliff Michelmore's Personal Cinema, and I've never come across any other style that worked right for it. There aren't many classical or pseudo-classical styles here, but you do get a couple of baroque patterns. One is very much in the style of Handel and the second is a little more modern, just right for the theme from Brideshead Revisited.

I'll quote myself from the Stage Ensemble review here, as I think I summed it up then. “All in all, these styles are a breath of fresh air. It's inevitable that I get to review the products from the bigger brands an awful lot of the time, so I come across the same Yamaha styles in several Yamaha products, with the same thing applying to Roland, Korg etc. These are totally different, and I don't think there's a single style in here that's a clone from any other brands. Ten out of ten for this!” The same goes for the KX10, but perhaps even more so, given that the price is rather lower.

The only problem I could find in the accompaniment section is that if a style is stopped but the accompaniment is turned on, playing a chord produces no sound at all. Most keyboards will produce a bass note (that will fade, of course) plus the 'pad' voice from the style, whatever that may be (usually strings or synth). I use this a lot when teaching as it lets students work through a tricky chord change or section without having to keep up. Okay, you can just switch a left voice on but it's not quite the same without the bass note too.

You can, of course, store your settings in Registration Memories, and you have five banks of four memories for instant recall of sounds. And you can then transfer

multiple groups of all 20 settings to a accessory. The function of each heck of a lot in for its price. You get USB stick that plugs neatly into the pedal can be assigned, and typically sounds and styles that are simplyfront of the keyboard, so storage is you might have sustain on one and different to the opposition and youlimited only by the size of the USB Fill-Ins on the other. get plenty of both. It's a frill-freestick. Registration files are tiny, so Something else I definitely instrument and by that I simply'almost limitless' would be a good wasn't expecting was the option to mean that it does what it needs to dodescription. plug in a MIDI pedalboard. It goes (very well) and doesn't have lots of

The MIDI recorder is a breeze to straight into the MIDI In port and with features that would be rarely, if ever,use and offers a Quick Record a few button pushes it will used by most of its target market.mode that just captures what you automatically access a preset This also makes it very simple to useplay with the style and right hand. organ/bass guitar sound, complete and that means an owner's manualYou then have the option to overdub with built-in pedal sustain. with just 49 pages, 13 of which areextra tracks if you wish. There is no The audio system on the KX10 lists of sounds, styles and drumkits!internal RAM for this, and songs are is loud for an instrument of this price, Deciding on that secondautomatically stored to the USB though there's nothing in the book to keyboard is often an important step.stick. say how many watts are being When you (or the children) want to

At this price point, there's one delivered. It's also very clean and move on from that entry-levelfeature that I didn't expect to see clear, and Orla has used the 'soft i n s t r u m e n t , t h e m i d - r a n g eand that's a volume pedal socket. cone' speaker technology from its keyboards come into their own, asFrom Grade 4 to 5 keyboard exams range of home organs. not everyone will want to shift up to onwards, a volume pedal is really I 've mentioned the front the high-end models. This Orlaessential if you're going to do what mounted USB 'A' socket for the offer ing may not have thethe music says, and that usually memory stick, and around at the 'household name' of its rivals but it isentails a switch up to a fairly high back there are the sockets for the most definitely worth your firmlevel instrument. To find it here is pedals, a stereo line output pair and consideration.impressive and the keyboard will the MIDI ports. I'd have ideally likedwork with most volume pedals on a USB 'B' socket for connection to athe market as it lets you set the PC, but a USB-MIDI adaptor will letmaximum and minimum points you connect the KX10 up as aindividually, once you've plugged in controller keyboard and soundyour own pedal. source for a DAW or notation

There is also a socket for a package, and data transfer betweensustain pedal, but Orla makes a PC and keyboard can be done withspecial double pedal unit and I'd the USB stick.budget for this as it's a great All in all, this keyboard packs a

CONT

34 KEYBOARD PLAYER ISSUE 346

Keyboard: 61 Standard Keys with Touch Sensitivity On/Off, Transpose Pitch, Pitch Bend, Modulation, Voices: 485 Sounds Touch Sens. On/OffPolyphony: (Max.) 64 notes USB Disk Recording: Multi Track Recording, Sound Sections: Right 1, Right 2, Left, Bass Standard Midi File Compatible, USB Disk FeaturesStyles: 260 Styles, Start/Stop, Fill In 1, Fill In 2, Auto Ampli�cation: 2x15 watts, Bass Reflex Start, Key Start, Intro Ending, Tempo, Tap Tempo Connections: USB Flash Disk, Headphone, Midi Overall Presets: 260 Auto Set Up, 20 Panel In/Out, Double Pedal, Volume Pedal, Stereo Line Memories Out, 12V AdapterStyle Features: Fingered, Single Finger, Pianist, Optional Accessories: Volume Pedal, Double Acc. Volume Pedal, Midi Bass PedalboardE�ects: Reverb, Chorus Dimensions: (W x D x H) 99 x 39 x 15 cmDemo Songs: 26 Demos (approx.)Controls: Numeric Keypads, Master Volume, Weight: 13 kg

OR L A K X10

S P E C C HE C K