Korg Forums

[average_male]

Hello,

Was hoping to get a sense as to what is considered to be the top 3 piano expansion packs sold on Korg's website for the Kronos. I realize different people like different piano sounds but I was hoping to get a sense as to which patch mostly reflects the high-end grand concert pianos and not the honky-tonk or electric pianos,etc. I realize I can download and test them out, but with well over 50 to select from, was hoping to get a smaller sample space to start with.

To start the conversation, this is what ChatGPT noted as the top 3 when asked:

"Kronos Italian Grand" by K-Sounds
"Kronos German Grand" by K-Sounds
"KApro EXs220 - KApro's Private Collection V3" by KArp

Who amongst you are brave enough to refute or challenge this list?

Thanks.

[kronoSphere]

Hello,
Sorry: I wasn't even aware that ChatGPT only knew how to play the piano

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[BlackForest]

You will plenty of topics about this. My absolute favorite is the warm sounding Ital.Grand. Worth every penny to me, I hardly ever play any of the others, I even removed (incl. samples) the Japanese Grand.

Is there not a sales going on right now? So you might want to be quick in your decision making.
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Korg DS-8, Roland D-10, M1Rex, Wavestation, Korg SP-280, JV2080, Wavestate, Kronos LS - all RIP

[SeedyLee]

Good question! Are there any felt pianos that use the SDX2 engine?
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[average_male]

[BlackForest]

[KK]

To me, the three best are all from Korg, the Italian (Fazioli / EXs21), the Austrian (Bösendorfer / EXs12) and the Berlin (Bechstein / EXs17). The German (Steinway / EXs06) and Japanese (Yamaha / EXs07) are OK when you need more memory for other things but they don't sound as good.

[average_male]

[wocongming]

[rpowell01]

Be warned of CHATGPT. It is NOT true AI so I would be careful even using it. It has to be trained by HUMANS and it only searches the internet for answers. Its not a true AI system and is a scam.

[average_male]

[drvenom]

I'm still a complete neophyte when it comes to the Kronos. My main interest in the Kronos is acoustic pianos. I know the Kronos does a lot of cool stuff, but Pianos is my jam. Having said that, my Kronos 88 came with th e EXs12 Austrian Piano. I purchased the Korg Sound Pack 3.0 last black friday to get the Berlin.

Unfortunately, the Berlin has been quite a dissapointment. To me, the fundamental sound of the berlin is too mechanical. It almost sounds like the happer stricking is part of the fundamental sound. I tried changing some setting and nothing gets rid of that. I can expand on this if anyone wants me to. On the other hand, the Austrian Piano is phenomenal and a pleasure to play. This piano is so well suited for classical music. I can practice on the Austrian Grand the same day I practice on my Grand Piano and still feel really satisfied. It doesn't feel like a huge compromise.

From my recollection, the Japanese and German Pianos definitely sound better than the Berlin, but nowhere near the Austrian. But I need to spend more time with them. I'm not quite sure right now, but I think it was the Japanese piano that sounded quite thin, which might be nice for pop music. Like I said, I have to spend more time with them.

As black friday approaches, I've been debating purchasing the Italian Grand. However, I'm just not caught up enough on how to use the Kronos. I have to learn how to clear Ram so that I can have both the Austrian and Italian grands loaded at the same time. If it's too much of a pain in the butt, I might not bother getting the Italian grand. I also have a demo of vsl Fazioli right now, so I might use the funds for that instead. However, despite how nice piano libraries sound, I don't like using them. They take a lot, and I mean a lot, of tinkering to get the playability and dynamics that you get out of the box with the Kronos. Sure, I do have to adjust the Kronos a bit, but nowhere near all the hoop jumping one has to do with piano libraries. I have to think about what I'm going to do. I can't buy both of these products because I have to buy an Ooni pizza oven lol. Anyways, so far my favorite expansion iss the Austrian Piano.

[KK]

I think each Kronos piano library can have its uses. The Berlin/Bechstein has a darker and slightly ghostly side to it that cannot be obtained with the others (German/Steinway, Austrian/Bösendorfer, Italian/Fazioli). My favorite is now the Italian/Fazioli, but again they all have certain unique aspects that can be useful for particular purposes. The trick is to create your own custom programs of each of them that suits your playing and tastes.

The last recording I did of a classical piece with the Berlin/Bechstein sounds fine IMHO. I particularly like the sound I get from it with more pedal during the coda (last minute or so). You can check it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieRwcS_mlJI.

[Pedja]

@KK Fantastic playing and fantastic piano sound!!!
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[KK]