Korg Forums

[GPatrickBryant]

I am the keyboard half of a duo with a guitarist (we're both in our mid-60s) playing mainly cocktail / dinner-music / light pop tunes - pretty standard stuff. We've been looking for a bassist and drummer for some time now with no success. That being the case, I'd like to use the Kronos to construct and record bass and drum backing tracks that we could use as accompaniment when we start gigging.

There are two categories of tunes in play:
1. songs of definite length in which any solos are clearly defined and we know exactly when and how the song is going to end (e.g., Rikki Don't Lose That Number, and
2. songs of indefinite length in which Steve and/or I might like to jam without knowing exactly when we will end the tune.

Given these scenarios, which tool should I use - COMBI or SEQ? Or is one tool better for one category and the other tool more appropriate for the other?

Many thanks in advance for your input!

[Gunnar]

This isn't how I normally play the Kronos, so there might be other options, but right off, it sounds as if you'd want to aim for SEQ For category 1 and COMBI+KARMA for category 2.

The nice thing with SEQ is that you can prepare each bar of the song, with drum fills and transitions and added arrangements and all that, to fill out things. You could even record audio tracks of added guitars and backing vocals to go along with the songs, so with some preparation per song, this can sound great.

COMBI + KARMA gives you more flexibility as it allows you to switch chords and drive the flow as you see fit. And switching KARMA scenes between different parts of a song lets you control the flow of things, so this can fit better to free form playing.

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That being said, there are alternatives. You can use RPPR in SEQ mode to dynamically drive patterns and change between them on the fly. Say you set up patterns for verse, chorus, bridge and solo, and switch them at the right time, you can let the solo section loop for as long as you're happy. Then switch back to chorus when your guitar friend is done with his shredding

You could also use the SETLIST to your advantage. You could have the song split into three parts, a SEQ part, preprogrammed for the first few verses and choruses, then a COMBI part based on KARMA for the variable width solo section, then another preprogrammed SEQ part. A bit of clicking to go between them and get the transition right, but it might work.
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Gear: Korg Kronos 2 73, Arturia Microbrute & MiniBrute 2, Moog Mother-32, Ibanez RG320DXFM Guitar, ESP Viper 254FM Bass, Blackstar HT-1
Software: Reaper, EZ Drummer
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/gunnarsletta

[GPatrickBryant]

Thank you very much, Gunnar! I clearly have a ton to learn about the Kronos, and your reply has given me a lot to research. For example, I don't even know what RPPR is or what it does. I should have started learning this stuff when I was a teenager.
Anyway, thanks again for a great answer!

[GregC]

you might as well use SEQ for both song types.

Simply run the SEQ song for 12, 24 or whatever bars. Lets say Steve is soloing at the end for a minute or 2. When he gives you a stop signal , you can press stop or simply do a fade out.

Karma in Combi is not going give you the part automation you need to duplicate cover songs adequately. You will run out of hands/fingers once you get beyond the basic keys + bass + drums.

If you and Steve are doing your own version of covers , possibly Combi mode is a short cut is ok. But my experience with most covers is that the audience is that they are use to hearing it per the original band performance.

SEQ mode will give you good control for parts. Plus you can buy backup tracks.

If you commit to SEQ mode, you will need to develop the skill to record and manage your tracks. It will take some time. Depending what your goals are and how good your ear is at figuring out various instrument parts will determine your progress.

I have recorded 50 songs using SEQ so I think its a great mode to work in.
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[Sweat]

If I don't need to play recorded songs, patterns, or RPPR, I use COMBI mode simply because COMBIs are easiest to manage since you can have them Auto-Loaded when Kronos powers up.

Basically, SEQ mode is COMBI mode with a nice sequencer and RPPR added. However for SEQ, you must manually load/save these "Songs" from a .SNG file.

[psionic311]

The BeatBuddy is a drum machine pedal that many solo acts use. You can program song sections in it, and you step on it to dictate when you want to go to the next section. The patterns and fills are recorded by human drummers, so that it has more groove than typical drum machines.

There are even special drum kits which include a bass guitar. There are hundreds of already pre-made songs you can download from their forum, including with bass lines.

[psionic311]

If you want to stay within the Kronos, and are willing to put the time and energy needed to learn the sequencer mode, program all the drums and bass guitar parts for every song, and learn how to juggle sequence loading, then it offers you the most flexible and powerful way to get down to the nitty gritty detail.

But it's a lot of work and preparation. You'll have to ask other Kronos sequencer users how they manage prepping their songs into Set Lists for live use. The Kronos is not especially streamlined for this aspect unfortunately.

A hybrid approach would be to learn just the RRPR section of the sequencer. This lets you record your playing into phrases. You could play the bass line in real time and save it as a pattern. Repeat for the drum parts, or step record them, or import pre-made patterns either from the Kronos or MIDI files you find online.

Then you would merge these patterns into one pattern, and use the Kronos feature Convert to Drum Track Pattern. Save each pattern by its song name.

Then you could use the much more direct Combi mode, and import your song pattern into the Drum Track. Your drum and bass track will of course already have the song sections in a predetermined order, but you could at least loop the last part and extend the song as needed, and end it when you're ready... when the guitar solo is over, or the dance floor has cleared out.

Again, I'd recommend the Beat Buddy. It's designed for flexible live use, and much of the work creating songs is already done.

[GregC]

[psionic311]

I have more free time lately and have been getting to know my studio gear better, including the Kronos.

Last year I managed to use RRPR for some cover songs to trigger extra keyboard parts for cover songs (the string drop in Billie Jean, the repeating synth bass line in Hella Good).

But working with Sequencer mode is mostly still frustrating for me. It has the potential to open up the next level in keyboard performance, both with live covers and studio originals. I guess I should watch some of Qui's and Scoopicman's videos.

[psionic311]

A few other possible approaches are 1) using drum and bass backing tracks, 2) using a combination of the Kronos EXi step sequencer and imported MIDI drum tracks, 3) connecting an iPad sequencer app to your Kronos, or 4) importing complete MIDI files of covers into your Kronos.

Here's a video tutorial on using backing tracks in the Kronos.

In my second suggestion, you would import a full-blown MIDI song, but just the drum parts, and convert that into a Drum Track to use with your combi. Alternatively, if you're fine with just a basic beat for the entire song, you could use a Kronos Preset drum pattern or create your own User Pattern for the drums. For the bass part, any Kronos EXi instrument has 3 built-in step sequencers, and you can use these to program the bass line in, useable from Combi mode.

As for the iPad, there are several sequencing apps that are more intuitive than the Kronos sequencer. If you already have an iPad, then finding online or creating drum and bass parts while sitting on your couch is another "shortcut" rather than deep-diving into the Kronos SEQ mode.

And here's Option 4 if you want to use pre-made MIDI files of cover songs, and perhaps customize them on your Kronos.

[GPatrickBryant]

Many thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to respond to my COMBI / SEQ questions - I truly appreciate it! It's clear I have a LOT to learn about this piece of gear. I'm still uncertain about how to deal with this issue, but I'm taking all of the suggestions you folks posted into serious consideration. Again, thank you!