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Jugo · Full Member Joined: 14 Sep 2008 Posts: 112

I wonder how is the FM synth in Kronos compared with Native Instruments' FM8 ?

allanjhall · Joined: 28 Feb 2004 Posts: 1

Probably not as versatile as FM8 which much more than 6 op fm and is nearer to FS1r than DX7, however I'm sure Kronos will do a very passable imitation of a DX7 (including loading patches) which is probably all most users will need.

But please look at everything else you are getting - a mk2 Oasys at a third of the price! As a former owner of an Oasys 76 this has to be the synth bargain of the decade.

If you really need FM8 then buy NI FM8, a PC and controller keyboard, if you want the best workstation keyboard ever then wait and buy a Kronos......

tritonlover2000 · Junior Member Joined: 30 Dec 2007 Posts: 82

All the Native Instrument stuff sounds like digital crap: clear and digital with no soul whatsoever. Just like Cakewalk stuff (Dimension, Rapture). This may sound like an oxymoron since FM is digital synthesis, but remember FM on DX is more than just 0s and 1s there are active and passive circuit components inside.
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McHale · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 12:25 am Post subject:

now now. I like Pro-53 quite a bit...
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Mike Conway · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 12:58 am Post subject:

tritonlover2000 · Junior Member Joined: 30 Dec 2007 Posts: 82

pro-53 is ok mate, i just don't like most of their plugins. Even the Kontakt vienna orchestra that is way hyped since it sounds 1 dimensional even with all the realistic samples. i am glad native instruments is offering them for 499 because inspite of all the programming power of reaktor, absynth, i don't think it should cost more than 499. the only collection is somewhat like is the 'arturia collection'.

i can't blame NI either. even the korg's legacy collection sounds real crappy inside the computer, but when its played from oasys, it has some 'warmth' added due to hardware circuitry.

this is why i still invest in hardware when so many cheapy softsynths are available. You gotta have that WARMTH! Smile

And thats why hardware synths/workstations will never die.

my dimensional ranking is like this:
softsynths sound 1 dimensional
hardware digital sounds 2 dimensional
analog synths and real acoustic instruments sound 3 dimensional

i am sure many will agree with me.
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"Korg simply makes the best sounding synths. Thank you Katoh and the rest!"

Kevin Nolan · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 1:34 am Post subject:

Teh Mick · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 3:26 am Post subject:

I'm quoting a post from another thread here. realkukl is a sound designer working with Korg for a long time and knowns a lot about FM.

peter_schwartz · Full Member Joined: 14 Jan 2011 Posts: 206

MOD-7 has the equivalent of 6-op architecture (a la DX7) but with the ability to custom-configure algorithms that didn't exist for the DX7, and with a wider choice of waveforms for each oscillator. You have the additional resources of a noise generator as well as PCM as modulators, so it would be fair to say that it's 8-op, and modular as well.

When doing MOD-7 programming for Korg I found that PCM, used as a modulator, is best for creating "industrial" or "ambient noise" type sounds. Noise, on the other hand, is a very useful modulator. And unlike the DX7 architecture, where if you wanted to use noise as a modulator you had to raise its feedback up to 7, which kind of wasted an op. Here you have a dedicated noise gen, so that spares you an op in those circumstances.

In terms of the sound, it can produce everything you'd expect from FM and then some, including some very WARM sounding patches. I think it's a great model, and IMO anyone who's into FM sounds will probably find the model to be endlessly versatile, even surprising in terms of the sounds that can be created.

In terms of comparing it to FM-8, there are sonic differences. Whether you like one over the other is purely a matter of taste. I find FM-8 sounds to cut a little too much in a track, whereas MOD-7 sounds a bit more "natural". These are, of course, subjective terms. But all subjectivity aside, you can't get MOD-7 as a plugin for your computer-based DAW, so if you want MOD-7 you... have to buy a Kronos! Smile

HTH

-=Peter=-

iixorbiusii · Full Member Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 198

We can actually already hear a little of what mod-7 has to offer in respect to DX7 authenticity - Stephen Kay mentions in his thread about his Challenger tribute song, that the e.piano sound, amongst others, is a modified patch straight out of his DX7II... Sounds good to me Wink

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