Korg Forums

[VoyteckM]

Hi I'm still fairly new to the Kronos and trying to understand the polyphony in the combi mode. I tried to add the following: sgx2 piano, mod7 ep, hd1 strings and choir and an al1 pad. All the parts we're added with the ifx's that come with the program. Essentially I'm trying to have an multipurpose general patch I can use as a starting point with frequently used sounds and blend them in with the faders or mute buttons as needed. I noticed on the performance meter I encounter noticible voice stealing at around 40 voices. It seems to be because of the mod7 EP as I get better results without it. It almost seems like strings get dropped with 40 active voices even when I play simple chords with some added notes, maybe 8 keys sustained with a pedal. I should mention i use mute Mode live which I read somewhere saves polyphony. Am i overloading the Kronos combi with only 5 sounds.... ? How can I better plan this? I know of limiting the number of voices per track, single oscilators etc. Just trying to build a general purpose patch with the good quality sounds. Does anyone have any suggestion? Thanks in advance!
Voyteck

[GregC]

hah, lack of polyphony, my biggest kronos gripe.

few things

go to global and make sure you are not in studio mode.

a guy named narf did a stellar YT on managing polyphony.

dust off your google and you will find it.
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[tunaman]

Download the table stats on polyphony limits and stash them where you can get at them frequently, then search for posts related to voice stealing - there are several useful threads and tips out there.

I’ll post my crib notes when I get back, but we are currently enjoying some time away in Yosemite.

[Liviou2004]

I remember my old (very old) Korg T1 with its 16 voices polyphony ! And yet, we recorded songs inside its 8 tracks sequencer !!
We just used to manage this little stock of voices. Here is an example of the Korg T demo songs : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGPTl2OfKPI . 16 voices of pholyphony only !!

To be honnest, I've never met the least polyphony issue with my Kronos.

1°) Of course, if we use only one engine in all tracks, soon we'll reach a limit. Don't always use HD1. For example, instead of using a HD-1 Piano, rather use SGX1, etc...

2°) As GregC said, you'll find here very useful advices : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF21NV4i8fA

3°) Whether despite these advices you're still stuck with polyphony limits, use audio tracks.
For example you can mix and record your basic rythm tracks of your song in audio tracks, then release the midi tracks, and then midi record the other instruments. Finally, you mix the both Midi and Audio tracks.

[pete.m]

To be honest, I have never come anywhere near the polyphony limit. The chances are that, if you do, you need to sort the composition out. As Liviou2004 says, how did we ever manage to make music with 16 note polyphony and 8 sequencer tracks?

[Hector Space]

WRT combis I don’t know if you’re aware that the Kronos has two modes for treating muted timbres. In studio mode (selected from global menus) the voices are taken when they receive midi or a keyboard input even if the timbre is muted. The second mode which I think is called live mode, (or similar) muting timbres actually stops voice allocation regardless of midi or keyboard input.

I’ve found they only practical way to use the Kronos multitimbrely is to select live mode and mute the timbres dynamically. You also need to assign priority to percussive timbres such as piano and drums. Because even when it’s set to live mode the Kronos does run out of voices very easily and it’s voice stealing algorithms are not the best.

Finally I’d suggest looking closely at your timbres because quite often programs use extra voices in their design such as the SGX 2 pianos having sympathetic resonance and hammer noise or HD1 programmes having xfade between samples or a second layer for minor effects. All of which can be cut back when you’re in the context of a full mix. Because basically you won’t miss them but you’ll certainly miss drum beats or key parts that didn’t play.

Basically you have to put some work in to optimise the setup.

[GregC]

[Liviou2004]

[VoyteckM]

Thanks everyone for your input. I believe it has to do with the mod7 engine which is lower on polyphony. I created other combis with HD1, SGX, and EP1 and am not seeing drops. As said I just need to plan better