Korg Forums

pete.m · Senior Member Joined: 05 Apr 2013 Posts: 484

I'm trying to sample a number of short segments of audio from a hand-held recorder into the Kronos and, for once, I would like to try recording them in mono. For some reason, it's not happening and I can't figure out why.

I'm sure that the connections are fine. I can sample in stereo perfectly well, and the audio plays out in the normal way through the Kronos even before I press the 'Sampling REC' button. I can also switch the output of the audio to any of the individual Kronos outputs while it is playing, if I choose. It's all fine.

The problem I have is that, when I switch the mode from Stereo to either of the L-Mono or R-Mono options and press the Sampling REC button, nothing shows up on the recording levels and nothing gets recorded when I start to sample, even though the audio is still playing through the Kronos as before.

Am I doing something wrong, or is this a weird glitch? My Kronos has worked without problems since I bought it new about six years ago...except for a strange occurrence a couple of days ago. The screen blacked out about an hour into a session, with the message 'System start-up failed. Please disconnect any USB devices and restart'. I did that, and it's been fine since then. I'm using the 3.1.2 OS, by the way.

Falcon2e · Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 9:31 pm Post subject:

I’m not sure if I’m following all of this, but I have a couple of ideas. If you’re not having any problems sampling in stereo, do that and convert your sample to mono. Secondly, if you’re getting “system start up fail”, that problem may not be related to sampling. I saw that message a few years ago also. That issue was resolved after I updated my firmware to version 1.08. Have you checked to see if your firmware is up to date?
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Kronos2-61..(2) Triton Classic, Nord Stage 2, Previously owned lots of other gear dating back to the 70’s.

pete.m · Senior Member Joined: 05 Apr 2013 Posts: 484

Hi,

Thank you for those ideas. They aren't a solution to the problem as such, but they have very much helped me to find some workarounds.

I'll get the 'system start up fail' issue out of the way first. I have to confess that I have never knowingly updated my firmware, and I am going to look into that. But I read that I won't be able to update it to version 1.08 - apparently, that is only for the K2 rather than my Kronos X. Thank you for the prompt.

I don't think it is possible to directly convert a sample from stereo to mono in the Kronos, without first resampling it through a mono effect and then deleting the original.

You can convert a Multisample from stereo to mono, which may have the same effect, although the sample still appears as separate L and R samples - I need to try that with some obviously stereophonic samples to see if it makes them mono, but in this current instance, the source audio is mono anyway.

FWIW, you can convert a mono sample to stereo, which I guess is just the same as copying it. What I could do in my case, because the audio I am sampling is mono, is to record in stereo and then delete one of the L or R samples that are created.

RAM space isn't a pressing issue for me in this case, but it could become so when I do more pieces in which I sample mono audio (I'm using bits of speech). If I do start to run short on RAM, then - as well as deleting one of the L and R samples as above - I could also use the Rate Convert function to reduce the resolution of the original sample, and overwrite the original sample with my new, lower-res version. Generally, it's easy enough to reduce the res by 50% without having a noticeable impact, when it's all mixed in a song.

So, I still have the mystery of why I can't record in mono. But I'm grateful for your reply - it's certainly helped.

Falcon2e · Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 2:25 pm Post subject:

Yes, you are correct. Firmware 1.08 is not available for your model. I didn’t know you had an X. I’ll take a look at the sampling set up later and see if I can find a solution for you.
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Kronos2-61..(2) Triton Classic, Nord Stage 2, Previously owned lots of other gear dating back to the 70’s.

Falcon2e · Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:08 pm Post subject:

OK..here is my check list for Sample/Recording set up. I hope this helps you.

KRONOS SAMPLING Setup….

FIRST ! Make sure to tap GLOBAL and tap AUDIO TAB>Locate input 1 (top left) and Set to – L/R
SECOND Tap the SAMPLING button (above the 7 key), RECORDING tab>tap the drop down arrow and select “auto sample set up” Tap OK

Then..tap Audio Input Tab Then..Top left under “Input 1”
Select L/R…………..Then below > source bus >Tap Audio Input, select 1-2

Then..tap Sampling Recording button (far Rt on Korg) and adjust signal level.
When Ready.. tap START/STOP button
_________________
Kronos2-61..(2) Triton Classic, Nord Stage 2, Previously owned lots of other gear dating back to the 70’s.

pete.m · Senior Member Joined: 05 Apr 2013 Posts: 484

Hi Falcon2e,

Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate the trouble you've taken...

I followed your set up, and it is just the same as the steps I take, apart from the first bit in Global mode, which I don't think I've ever done before. I still got the same results, however - works perfectly well in stereo, but won't sample in mono.

I tried changing cables to see if that might have an effect for some weird reason. Before, I had been using a stereo mini-jack from the output of my recorder going through a splitter cable into the two audio inputs on the Kronos. Instead, I connected a mono jack lead from another synth. That didn't change anything, though.

It's all pretty strange. I'm wondering whether reloading the OS might work. It's a stupidly long shot, though...