Korg Forums

DadaMC · Joined: 30 May 2017 Posts: 5

Iv've been playing around with recording music as a hobby for the past year, using Ableton and Logic. I have very little background in playing music, but I have been teaching myself piano and studying as much as I can about synthesizer operations. My question is this- I have enough to get a Kronos, and it appears that it is something that I can definitely grow into over the years, but is it too much for a relative beginner? I dont want to buy something less and then have to lose money selling it when Im ready to upgrade.

Any advice would be great.

Bertotti · Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 12:26 am Post subject:

HAHAHAHA deja vu, I asked the same question several years or so ago. The consensus was it is a lot to learn for a beginner. I did it anyway, and I do not regret it. I will say it is a lot to learn and I still haven't learned it all hell I've learned maybe 20% BUT I would not change a thing!

enigmahack · Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 12:35 am Post subject:

The other thing too is that.there are people out there such as myself that put videos on YouTube and give private lessons for these synth a because they are so... Massive to learn. Getting up and running just reading this forum alone is an excellent resource since there are actual Kronos developers here as well as users to answer questions. I'm willing to bet that this is one of the more supported synth a out there.

Lots of room to grow, definitely.
_________________
Korg Kronos 88 2, Korg Kronos 73, Kurzweil K2600S
Sound developer, custom sound designer and trainer/Kronos support - www.audora.ca for details!

GregC

DadaMC · Joined: 30 May 2017 Posts: 5

Thanks for all who have replied. Its cool to see such an active forum. Im looking forward to being the guy down the road who has the answers!

SanderXpander · Platinum Member Joined: 29 Jul 2011 Posts: 7860

Can you elaborate a little on what role you're expecting the Kronos to fill? Are you mainly wanting to develop skills as a pianist? Is it your ambition to play live in a band? Do you want to use it to record and produce music on? All those things are possible with the Kronos but it isn't necessarily the best tool for each of them.

You've been playing with Logic and Ableton - both of those are far more advanced recording tools. While the Kronos is a nice "quick-start" system with thousands of sounds ready to go, once you get to things like multiple takes, chopping up/editing audio, layering fx etc. it's not nearly as powerful (or easy to use) as a computer based solution.

I'm just asking you to consider this well, because it's a lot of money. 3k also gets you a decent audio interface (300), a good master keyboard (1000), Ableton Push 2 (700) and a whole bunch of softsynths (e.g. Native Instruments Komplete Ultimate 10 for 1000). If you go for a NI Komplete Kontrol keyboard deal you save on the software and can add even more.

I love my Kronos by the way. I don't really use it in the studio though.

Liviou2004

kbrkr · Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 12:13 pm Post subject:

I'm going to rain on your parade.

The Kronos is probably one of the WORST keyboards to learn synthesizers on. Most parameters like VCO, LFO, ADSR, VCA, etc. are buried in menus and are counter intuitive. If you want to learn synth basics, start out with an Analog Synth like a Korg Monologue, Arturia MiniBrute, Roland Gaia SH-01, etc. Not as deep as the Kronos, but you will learn much easier.

As for learning to play piano, unless you are really disciplined, for me it's psychological. Learning Piano is all about lessons, concentration, finger exercises, and being productive with limited time for practicing. The reason I say it's psychological is because, you are going to want to play with all the other cool stuff and sounds and NOT concentrate on your lessons. You are going to stray and ultimately retard your progress.

Finally, for recording. you should probably use a dedicated software system for that.

The Kronos is really a performance keyboard. It's also expensive, and it is something to grow into. I'm afraid if you get it, you will be intimidated by it, not use its full potential, and then give up! Wink

_________________
Pa5x, Yamaha Genos, ForeScore

GregC · Posted: Wed May 31, 2017 12:30 pm Post subject:

SanderXpander · Platinum Member Joined: 29 Jul 2011 Posts: 7860

The Kronos does many things well, but very few things "best". The beauty is in it combining so many facets - live playing, song production, many kinds of synthesis in a portable self contained system.

But if your needs are a subset of those, there are definitely better tools available, as I pointed out about the recording and kbkr pointed out about learning synthesis or piano. Sure you can do all of those on a Kronos. But it is generally agreed upon that it's easier to learn synthesis on a 'one knob per function' interface, better to learn piano on an acoustic, and easier to perform audio editing and advanced recording on a computer based system.

jones · Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 5:19 am Post subject:

Self taught here too.
I ordered my kronos and bought Omnisphere at the same time, whilst waiting for the kronos I played around with omnisphere using an old Korg keyboard, it has some broken keys but was ok...ish..

When the kronos arrived I was already well into omnisphere and found the kronos interface to be as user friendly as a brick wall.

SO, taking the path of least resistance, I stayed with Om for 2 yrs before getting more curious about the capability of the Kronos.

Kronos is deep and powerful, well worth the time and effort required.
I use Reaper DAW on the computer , I'm not interested in the Korg SEQ.

Its a bit paradoxical, if I didn't have the kronos I wouldn't get one, I'd buy a high quality controller keyboard, VSTi are superb nowadays.
Native instrument Complete is also a great VST package.

If I were a gig musician I'd get the kronos.
But I don't regret buying the kronos, its a superb instrument.
Can't see myself ever selling it or getting the next new thing.
I've never seen anyone say Kronos is junk, I'm getting rid of it.

DadaMC · Joined: 30 May 2017 Posts: 5

thanks for all the advice. I guess the appeal for me in getting a workstation as opposed to using Ableton or Logic is that I like having that physical device to work with. I have a Novation Launchkey and a Push2(the latter of which I really like using, but no matter how much I mess around with them (especially the Launchkey) I don't feel like I'm getting the realistic sound that I'm looking for. Maybe that's because of lack of experience. I am teaching myself piano. And none of the other keyboards Ive messed around with have the real key feeling like the Kronos. I'm already set now on getting one, and I'm glad these forums are here on this journey.

Liviou2004 · Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 6:48 am Post subject:

enigmahack · Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 8:02 pm Post subject:

Bertotti · Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:00 am Post subject:

I will add something, before I said do not regret buying the Kronos as my first synth butter over the last couple year I have picked up a Moog Minitaur, Arp, and Minilogue and these three synths get far more play time then the Kronos. I equate it to the immediacy of the controls and not digging around different pages to get what I am after. Now as I get some space back it will all be incorporated in a better working environment but and the Kronos will once again get more time but as I reflect and had the Arp and Minilogue been out when I bought the Kornos they would have been my first choices keeping in mind I already had Logic and Maschine. Kronos was so tempting for me because it had so much value built in. So many synths built into one unit for a reasonable price compared to buying all them separate, but at the cost of a very steep learning curve and menu diving. And had this new Waldorf been a contender I could have seen myself going for it instead.