Korg Forums

quoricsant · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 13

Hello people

I've been planning on upgrading my Triton Classic Studio 76keys (for quite a while now), but I specifically want a keyboard that can emulate the multis (COMBIS) I have on my classic Triton (basically combinations of string, choir and great organ sounds, that I luv so much on my classic).

I have some VSTi Kontakt libraries for those instruments also, but.. there's something about the slowish, feeble attack on them.. that I really really dislike (as opposed to the in-your-face sounds of the Triton!)..

My main reason for wanting to upgrade though is that, since the classic model doesn't even have SPDIF or any digital out, I feel the quality of the sound gets lost A LOT when I record the sounds of the kb through the analog 1/4' cables.

So I'm down to two options I think: getting a used Triton Extreme on ebay ($1000 to $1400 from what I've seen)- or, most exciting I think, getting the Kronos.

My questions there: Does the Kronos have the same -or very similar/comparable- strings/choir/organs sounds to the Triton in it?

Will I be making a worthy upgrade in that sense?

Could you tell me any other significant improvements in between these two keyboards?

And finally, any other brands/models I shoud be looking for? (for the specific sounds I'm after)

Thanks a lot for your attention Very Happy

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What's with the pplz shaking the keys sideways? vibrato?

Mike Conway · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:16 am Post subject:

If you have the money and need better audio quality, go with the Kronos. It doesn't have all the Triton samples, but it has a lot.

The other option is get the Studio Essentials card, which has some of the best female choir sounds (and I really miss them). You could even get the Triton Extreme (which has a huge library!) and combine it with your Triton. I did this for a while and man did I have some great sounds between the two boards.

Of course, the Kronos makes handling samples easy. They load in seconds, which is great because I use extra samples on just about every project.

Little sidenote: I bought the Extreme because I didn't think I could afford the OASYS. A year later, I sold the Extreme, because I had the OASYS. G.A.S. got the better of me!

quoricsant · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 13

Thanks for that Mike!

Yeah I know what you mean with the choirs
If I understand correctly, you had a Classic and an Extreme at the same time? Wouldn't that be redundant?

Couple of years back I looked at the EXB-PCM02 option, as that card had brass/woodwind, strings, choirs (EXACTLY what I'm always looking for)
However it wasn't much of an option in the end, because (if memory serves me right) I couldn't use it anyways, as I have the 76keys model, instead of the 88 Triton. In any case, without a digital out an upgrade is pointlesss to me, and I think the Extreme does have all those extra libraries included, no?

I just got out of buying a lot of stuff for the studio but I want to set myself to a goal of getting a new kb - I need to figure out which first Wink

What scares me about getting a Kronos is not finding comparable or even better sounds, and instead a bunch of options I'm never gonna use (i.e. I don't care for the sequencer, or synth/analog stuff, etc). After all, it would be more than double the investment!
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What's with the pplz shaking the keys sideways? vibrato?

Subpar · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:42 am Post subject:

For Choirs, I always end up sampling my favorite VST anyway. I have lots of patches on my Triton Pro X and M3 (yes I still have both because I hate selling gear) that I intend to convert.

All in all, the Kronos should have no problem recreating them, close to if not better than the original. I am looking forward to the move to the Kronons. Now what to do with the M3 and Triton...LOL
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L8r

Dustin
Aka Subpar

quoricsant · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 13

Thank you Dustin

Yeah I wouldn't sell my Triton either -if even just to keep the parameters of sounds I've programmed-

I'm looking to hear from someone who has owned both keyboards (or at least tried the Kronos)
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What's with the pplz shaking the keys sideways? vibrato?

Mike Conway · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:08 am Post subject:

quoricsant · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 13

Hey Mike- thanks for taking the time!

Impressive orchestral pieces - those KARO ones (especially the first) sound like PLAY instruments! (not so much dinamics or detail obviously, but that's not what I want anyways.. I like layering those sounds on top of distorted guitars, so a single fff velocity is most times enough for me haha)

I know what you mean by layering strings. I've tried to do the same with VSTis, but.. dunno, it just isn't there as much.. maybe it's the attack being aligned/synced in the keyboard sounds, or something. Maybe even a latency thing that throws me off.

So, as I'll have to save up for some time, I guess I'll wait to read and hear more about how the Kronos does in the ROM area with the orchestral sounds.

The USB connection on the Kronos & vst app looks very nice, but since the Extreme has SPDIF out (right?) I think I would be getting the Triton sound without losses from it?

If I understand correctly, you're saying StudioEssentials+Extreme would cover all the Triton bases, orch-wise?

Thanks again
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What's with the pplz shaking the keys sideways? vibrato?

Mike Conway · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 6:42 am Post subject:

Rosen Sound · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 6:47 am Post subject:

I sold my extreme for the kronos. best decision i ever made.

pretty much all of the good ROM in the triton including EXB boards are in the kronos.
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Current gear: Korg Kronos 61, Oberheim OB-8, Alesis Vortex
Past Gear: Triton Extreme w/moss & ram, Korg Radias, Kurzweil Micropiano, Triton classic, & Karma
Come visit my Burbank California repair shop/recording studio! Rosensound.com
And my band: Sirion.us.com

shap · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:25 am Post subject:

You probably don't want to hear this, but you're really going to have to go listen. Some of your favorites on the Triton will be superseded by stuff on the KRONOS that you like better. Some won't. It will come down to a personal judgment call.

The one point in your post that I might re-think is the recording quality assumption. Audio over SPDIF is better than analog, but with good quality cables and proper [physical] separation of analog and power cables either one should be "good enough". Yes, you're losing something from analog, but it's probably insignificant relative to other things in your processing chain.

Personally, I prefer to to audio over digital whenever I can. I know that my major losses happen elsewhere, but every loss I eliminate is good, and digital has better immunity to power cross-talk. But at the end of the day this is mostly because I'm an engineer at heart, and the belts+suspenders approach gets in the blood. Objectively, I'd expect a larger net improvement for less money by buying better converters (MOTU or RME) or moving to more bits of precision in your DAW-side reverb and effects processing.

The KRONOS is really impressive. Digital is better than analog. That said, the digital/analog difference, taken alone, isn't the reason to upgrade.

Which is to say: we both know you're going to upgrade anyway, but you need a more convincing excuse. Wink

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quoricsant · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 13

Well, I have a FF800 and Monster (keyboard) cables. I've tried with other cables as well, and the RME certainly is not to blame. I use Sonar for a DAW, btw.

I also play guitar and I've had a Boss GT5 pedal for +10 years.
Some 2 years ago I upgraded to a GT10 with a digital out, and the recordings from it are CRYSTAL clear when I use the SPDIF output (yes, the difference with regular cables is not big at all on that one, but still). So in that sense, I'm just basing myself on personal experience..

On the other hand, whenever I would play in the Triton and use (closed back) headphones, the sound would be IMMENSE, to say the least. However, once I record the same sound through 1/4'' cables, it loses quite a noticeable amount of clarity (sounds exactly as if I was downsampling). So, getting a digital out is just another reason to upgrade! Wink

About trying the keyboard- well of course that's always the ideal solution, but there are no stores carrying Korg where I live (let alone a Kronos). So my best sources are YT and you people Very Happy

Hey Robbin, that's so great to hear!
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What's with the pplz shaking the keys sideways? vibrato?

operaman · Full Member Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 100

Yes, have some Smile

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