Korg Forums

xilli · Joined: 19 Apr 2014 Posts: 5

Hello Friends!

I'm glad that this forum exists and i'm a happy Korg Kronos user. I'm using my Kronos for 1 year now and I can't imagine a more powerful keyboard than this.
I love the feeling of this keyboard, I love the design, I love everyhing at it....tough I'm having trouble with the sounds what I will describe to you after this short
introduction and I will ask for your detailed help. Thank you in advance for reading this and to help me.

So, as I mentioned I have some issues figuring out the following things:

1. Firstly I will have some questions about program mode and program sounds.
a. Do you guys use the stock program sounds and then combine them in combi mode or first u edit the program and after that use the edited sound in the combination you wanna create?
b. Are the Kronos stock sounds good or you recommend to buy and expand the sound library for better quality?
c. When you edit a program stock sound, do you guys use effects or you turn on the effects only after you copy thhe sound to combi mode?
2. Combi mode:
a. After u figure out how to layer the sounds and split them, what technique do you use? You user karma switches to swich between sounds in the same combi for 1 specific song, or do you create 1 combination for each part of that particular song?
b. When do you use IFX (there are specific situations when u don’t use them), what effect type do you use for MFX and what kind for TFX?
i. **hopefully you understand my request.
c. For instance, if you play a song that has a keyboard solo, do you use an expression/volume pedal to bring up the volume for a specific zone on the keyboard or do you have another method, like knobs, faders, vector…?
3. Mixing and mastering the sounds: My biggest issue is mixing and mastering the sounds on my keyboard.
a. One day, working on my sounds, I had a curiosity to hear how my keyboard sounds when I plug my earphones in the L/R output instead of my headphone output. To actually hear the real sound what the crowd hears when I play live. I’ve chosed a stock combination on the keyboard (didn’t modified it at all), plugged my earphones in the L/R output from the backpannel of the keyboard and….surprise:
i. The sound had an awful quality, not clear at all, I couldn’t believe that it was a sound from a Korg Kronos. Then switched back to the headphone output from the front panel and the sound was clear as possible,High quality sound. Why is this happening? This means that every time I play live my sounds have this awfull quality?
b. How do you mix the sounds inside a combination to have a good mix for the song and also to have an even volume level between the sounds? This is the most important from all the above!
c. Do you create and edit the combination in headphones, studio monitors or live PA? Which one is the best solution?
d. Does somebody use a combination template that maybe can share and share some information about it?

This are some situations that I have and I would really apreciate your answers. Every answer is usefull for me. If somebody has a step by step guide, or video for advanced users maybe you can share it.

Best regards,
Szili

Question

GregC

dfahrner · Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 5:33 pm Post subject:

I'm sure lots of people here will give you more specific answers to each of your questions, but:

1: Program mode / sounds: I've used all of those techniques, with the caveat that almost all preset/stock sounds (and library sounds, too) have too much reverb for my taste...I generally start with program mode, with reverb and other effects turned way down or off, unless the effects are a critical part of the sound...

2. Combi mode: for live playing, I don't use splits (I can never remember where the split point is), and I use an external controller (Roland A-300PRO) for right-hand/solo parts...then use the Kronos expression/volume pedal to bring in layers; the A-300 has its own exp/vol pedal...

3. Mixing and mastering: I'm not surprised that the L/R outputs don't sound very good with earphones - that's not what they're designed to drive, that's what the headphone output is for...and most headphones are not very accurate anyway (too bright and/or too bassy), generally you want to use speakers for the final mix...after a lot of experimentation, I now use neutral-sounding headphones (Yamaha RH-5Ma, through a mixer with slight EQ adjustments for flat response) and then make final adjustments using studio monitors (Behringer Truth)...the result sounds good through most any PA or keyboard amp setup...

df

ronnfigg · Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 5:41 pm Post subject:

The left and right outputs are not designed to drive a set of headphones. I imagine you were trying to turn up the levels too much and were distorting the output. The headphone output is basically the same balance that you will be sending to the front of house.
_________________
"To me the synthesizer was always a source of new sounds that musicians could use to expand the range of possibilities for making music."
Bob Moog

ronnfigg · Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 5:48 pm Post subject:

As far as balancing timbres in a combi goes, you should get a rough idea of what you want it to sound like when you are designing your patches at home. The Kronos volume level meters will give you a good idea of where you stand. Or if you have a mixer with a level meters on it you can use that also. Then when you get to a rehearsal situation you can dial in the levels a little bit better. It's never going to be the same as when you are sitting at home practicing with a recording of a song. Just let the guys in the band know that you are going to be adjusting levels so they don't stare at you or keep stopping the song. Balancing levels is an art in itself.
_________________
"To me the synthesizer was always a source of new sounds that musicians could use to expand the range of possibilities for making music."
Bob Moog

ronnfigg · Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 5:53 pm Post subject:

I wish I had the time to answer some of your other questions, but I am too busy programming my K and learning new songs for the upcoming performing season. Suffice to say that the beauty of the Kronos is you can save everything. So go ahead and try something and if you like the results "write" the changes. You can always create new sets of PCGs and load them after boot up. Always keep the original factory sounds intact. Then go ahead and play. You can't break anything. And this is probably the best way to learn things and learn what works best for you. Make sure you always back your files up especially if you are doing sampling. And don't be afraid to reference the manuals. The operations guide is especially useful since more often than not they have procedures that you can do that help familiarize you with the capabilities of this powerful workstation.
_________________
"To me the synthesizer was always a source of new sounds that musicians could use to expand the range of possibilities for making music."
Bob Moog

KK · Platinum Member Joined: 13 Oct 2016 Posts: 1422

xilli · Joined: 19 Apr 2014 Posts: 5

Thank you guys for the answers, it really helps me to have a clearer view about my issues. ' Very Happy

Gunnar

I think you'll find that with such a versatile beast, you'll get plenty of different use cases. Here's my take:

ronnfigg · Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 5:58 pm Post subject:

I have a couple of different combi templates that I use on a regular basis. But they are very specific to what I do. They probably wouldn't do you any good at all. But then again, here's the thing, you can make up your own templates also and find out which one you seem to be using the most. But here's a couple of ideas to get you started. First of all turn off all the timbres except the 1st one. And set the faders to zero. Write this to a location that you won't accidentally overwrite. And of course give it a unique name.
_________________
"To me the synthesizer was always a source of new sounds that musicians could use to expand the range of possibilities for making music."
Bob Moog