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TheWeed42
Joined: 21 Jun 2011 Posts: 13
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:10 am Post subject: Kronos upright pianos? |
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Hi all,
I'm looking to upgrade to my first "serious" keyboard, and I'm really liking the Kronos. The pianos are great, smooth sound transitions are amazing, and the pads are just killer-sounding. But, I got to play a friend's Nord Electro 3, and was blown away by the upright piano sounds.
Considering that 90% of the music I play (country/alt rock covers) was recorded on upright pianos, I'm now also considering a Nord stage 2. That's how important those sounds are to me. The Stage 2 also has a good organ and seems simpler to use with better realtime control IMO. But the Kronos kills it in every other area.
Here's my question: are there any good upright piano sounds on the Kronos? Can the SGX-1 emulate that? From all the demos I've heard, the Korg pianos are almost too squeaky clean. When I get a chance to try out a Kronos, where should I start looking for a trashy upright sound?
Thanks for the help! |
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franzlp Full Member
Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 193
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:24 pm Post subject: |
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Well how about this for an answer... if you buy a Kronos (which by the way is fully programmable) I would think that you could take a clean and high quality piano an trash it up via programming quite easily. It's much easier to do that. It just takes a little thought and patience. This would give you a chance to start mastering the instrument from a tech perspective. The Nord or anything else doesn't come close. |
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TheWeed42
Joined: 21 Jun 2011 Posts: 13
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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While I'm sure that's true, does the Kronos actually have any upright-ish patches? I'm not going to buy either one without trying them, and I was hoping someone could suggest a few patches to try. Looks like there's one called "Upright Piano" but it's an HD-1 program. |
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Lando Full Member
Joined: 08 Feb 2011 Posts: 100 Location: Stockholm, Sweden
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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Ye, trashing up for instance the German grand will never replace an actual upright sample, they sound different.
I don't have a Kronos yet so I cannot answer your question, but my guess is that no manufacturer have anything close to Clavias library. Just tried all their uprights on my new Stage 2 and it's quite amazing - everything from beautiful huge vintage uprights to beat up-bar pianos. Also included a sample of the piano I started playing on which was extremely fun and nice. |
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felsineus
Joined: 07 Apr 2011 Posts: 29
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 4:00 pm Post subject: |
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I'm also intrigued to know what's the better kronos'way to obtain a good upright. Of course, I think it's possible. My curiosity started when I saw on the manual a setlist picture and a slot named "Lady Madonna, upright piano". |
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CfNorENa Senior Member
Joined: 19 Aug 2008 Posts: 437 Location: SF Bay Area
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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Lando wrote: | but my guess is that no manufacturer have anything close to Clavias library. |
You're probably right. The only demos I've heard that show similar range are from the Kurzweil PC3 series -- lots of great-sounding uprights.
But surely *some* of the Kronos samples are from uprights, no? Would seem like a foolish oversight not to have those... _________________ Korg gear: Kronos 73.
Other gear: Oberheim SEM | SCI Prophet 5 | Roland MKS-70 | Waldorf Microwave XTk |
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Randelph Platinum Member
Joined: 18 Oct 2008 Posts: 604 Location: San Francisco, CA
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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TheWeed42 wrote:
Quote: | Considering that 90% of the music I play (country/alt rock covers) was recorded on upright pianos, I'm now also considering a Nord stage 2. That's how important those sounds are to me. The Stage 2 also has a good organ and seems simpler to use with better realtime control IMO. But the Kronos kills it in every other area. |
It's hard to know what keyboard is necessarily better FOR YOU. I've got the Stage, and while I have serious G.A.S for the Kronos, I've been realizing that I'm actually just fine for now (don't have the money now anyway).
The Stage 88 is 10 pounds lighter than Kronos (which is my upper limit; add a 25-30 pound rolling bag and we're already talking some serious weight at the end of the night), 5-6" shorter, and delivers on all the bread and butter sounds I play on it- love the organs, the pianos, the eps, the synth. And it's not a constant distraction. A workstation has endless appeal on many different levels, but it can take away from the simple purpose of practicing and playing.
For music like alt rock/country, I'd imagine the Stage II would be perfect. And it certainly keeps you in the performer-musician mindset. The trouble with workstations is it brings out the engineer side, which is fine, but sometimes I just want to play music.
The Nord Stage II is not a workstation, but one of the best, most user-friendly and inspiring Stage/Live keyboards made. Just because the Kronos out does the Stage II in many ways, it doesn't mean that it's the best board for you. Sometimes less is more, esp. if the less it does do is exactly what you need and is an intuitive extension of you and your playing.
Randy _________________ Keyboards: Kawai ES920 / Casio CT-X5000
Instruments: Keys / Alto Recorder and Melodica |
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Gargamel314 Platinum Member
Joined: 25 Dec 2007 Posts: 1147 Location: Carneys Point, NJ
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:47 pm Post subject: |
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Seems to me somewhere in the Triton Extreme, Triton, and M3 downloads section there's a pretty decent upright sample. I can't remember where exactly, off-hand. The included programs wouldn't be compatible with the Kronos, but the sample data definitely would. _________________ Korg Kronos-61, 01/Wfd, SONAR Pro |
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TheWeed42
Joined: 21 Jun 2011 Posts: 13
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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felsineus wrote: | ... I saw on the manual a setlist picture and a slot named "Lady Madonna, upright piano". |
That sounds like the one I saw, and if it is, it uses the HD-1 patch. After scanning through the Kronos patchlists, that's the only program I can find.
I also think it would be a huge oversight not to include more than one upright sample. Even the old Yamaha S90 I used to borrow had a couple.
Hoping someone knows more about this. Would love to have a Kronos for the other things, but even a Stage 2 is cheaper than a Kronos + Nord piano/electro 3 setup. |
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TheWeed42
Joined: 21 Jun 2011 Posts: 13
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:11 pm Post subject: |
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Randelph wrote: | For music like alt rock/country, I'd imagine the Stage II would be perfect. And it certainly keeps you in the performer-musician mindset. The trouble with workstations is it brings out the engineer side, which is fine, but sometimes I just want to play music.
The Nord Stage II is not a workstation, but one of the best, most user-friendly and inspiring Stage/Live keyboards made. Just because the Kronos out does the Stage II in many ways, it doesn't mean that it's the best board for you. Sometimes less is more, esp. if the less it does do is exactly what you need and is an intuitive extension of you and your playing. |
My thoughts exactly. I had some serious G.A.S. for a Stage EX for that reason, back when I couldn't afford anything and Kronos hadn't been announced. And I do think the Stage 2 is SO sweet. I'm just cautious because it's more money than I'll probably have again for many years, and I don't want to get something that's limited out of the box. No matter whether that box says "Korg" or "Clavia." |
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EXer Platinum Member
Joined: 17 Jan 2011 Posts: 558 Location: France
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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Don't forget the Kronos is also a sampler.
You can find samples of an upright piano and load them into your Kronos. |
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operaman Full Member
Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 100
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:43 pm Post subject: |
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EXer wrote: | Don't forget the Kronos is also a sampler.
You can find samples of an upright piano and load them into your Kronos. |
This. _________________ Korg Kronos 61::Kurzweil PC3X::Alesis Fusion 8HD::Korg Microstation::DSI Prophet 08:::Korg Polysix::2X Oberheim Matrix 1000 |
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shap Full Member
Joined: 09 Apr 2011 Posts: 194 Location: US northwest
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:44 pm Post subject: Go try it |
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Don't know where you are located, but at least in the US the K61's can now be found on sales floors to try out. Granting that you may not want a semi-weighted action, that would at least let you try out the patch...
If you are in the US, call the biggest Guitar Center in your area. If you're not, then I'm afraid I don't know where to send you, but somebody else here probably will. |
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TheWeed42
Joined: 21 Jun 2011 Posts: 13
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Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 1:14 am Post subject: |
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EXer wrote: | Don't forget the Kronos is also a sampler.
You can find samples of an upright piano and load them into your Kronos. |
Well, it would be great if I could load the Ivory u.r.p. samples onto it. Is that even possible? It seems like the samples would be proprietary. |
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shap Full Member
Joined: 09 Apr 2011 Posts: 194 Location: US northwest
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Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 1:23 am Post subject: |
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I'm worried that this is going to sound snotty, which is definitely not how I mean it: if Ivory is your standard of reference, I think you're going to find that the Kronos blows you away.
I should have a K88 coming in early July, but there seems to be one on the floor closer by than I had thought, and I'ld be willing to breeze by and check out that patch. I'll be able to tell you how close it comes to the one on the corresponding Beatles recording, but that's still no substitute for listening with your own ears.
PM me and tell me a location, and I'll see if I can identify a dealer who has one in your area. _________________ Motif XF8, Kronos-88 (ordered), V-Synth GT, DT-Extreme eDrums
PC Core i7-920/24GB/3TB (2x)
Motu 2408mk3 + 24I/O
Sonar Producer, everything EastWest
Brian Moore iGuitar+Roland GI-20, Composite Acoustics 6, 12 string guitars, Multiple Ovations from when they were still worth it
Presonus Eureka (2x), TC Helicon VoiceOne
ADAM A7's and JBL 4328Ps, each for its purpose
Border Collies + Misc. Squeaky Toys |
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