Korg Forums

jeremykeys · Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 2:32 am Post subject:

magikroom: Very cool with the June! Good score. I myself have an old Poly6 but it needs work. The Juno to me was the serious competition except for the lack of memory. Tons of great sounds to be had there.

As for the KK. Still have to think about it. Budget wise and for other reasons. I do like the live tweakability of it but it just doesn't seem solid enough to me. I could be wrong though. I toured for 3 years with a Roland U-20 and that doesn't seem like a solidly built keyboard but it held up fine. The only problem I had with it was the switches failed under the heat of playing hard.
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If music is the food of love, play on and play loud!
Gear: Kronos 73, Triton Pro-X, Wavestation EX, Polysix, King Korg, Monotron and Monotron Duo, Minikorg, Moog Grandmother, 1 Roland U-20, Hammond M3, 4 acoustic and 6 electric guitars, 1 Ibanez 5 string bass, a bunch of microphones and other very cool toys, 1 wife and 3 cats!

magikroom · Junior Member Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 59

jimknopf · Platinum Member Joined: 17 Jan 2011 Posts: 3374

The only problematic thing for gigging I see, is the silly wall wart of the KK: a really ugly sub par decision by Korg. But even that can be handled.

Else, I regard all this "built like a tank" talk, about gear made of flight steel and possibly Flintstones stone, as severely outdated. A KK is such a lightweight, that it is extremely easy to carry in a case or even gig bag, without anything happening during transport or play, unless you behave really careless and amateurish.

I'm no fan of cheap plastic, but I am still terribly glad, that nowadays gear does not require two people to carry something like a Rhodes or an old-fashioned heavy 88key synth or master keyboard, not even talkingh about former B3/Leslie removal parties and keyboard castle building. Laughing

So to me it's just the other way round: as long as gear does it's job, I will always prefer what's easier to carry and handle. And I see nothing which could stop anyone from using a KK anytime, anywhere. I think it's rather a decision about the kind of sound and synth design you want to use. To me the KK is like a gift in due time concerning that, without any alternative being of bigger practical use to me for the money right now. Simple as that.
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Kronos 73 - Moog Voyager RME - Moog LP TE - Behringer Model D - Prophet 6 - Roland Jupiter Xm - Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I - Elektron Analog Rytm MkII - Roland TR-6s - Cubase 12 Pro + Groove Agent 5

Bald Eagle · Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 2:06 pm Post subject:

I have to admit that the KK is growing on me. I absolutely hated it when I first heard about it. But every time I go to the store I check it out for a while and it does sound really nice.

I wont go into what it should or shouldn't have been or any specific features so I'll just say that's its not so bad compared to most of the other poor excuses for keyboards that are out there right now.

magikroom · Junior Member Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 59

JPWC · Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 3:27 pm Post subject:

magikroom, what kind of beer joints are you playing? You need to get better gigs like me. The pay isn't very good, ($0), but the audience is much kinder, my mother in-law. Very Happy

Joking aside, in the environment your describing, very few keyboards would survive for very long.

good luck.

(although, my old korg prophecy survived a mixed drink spill, had to disassemble and clean.)
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Kronos-6, Krome, M3, Radias, KingKorg, microKorg, KP-2, KP-3, KO-1, KO-1 PRO, Karma, microX, monotron, monotribe, PadCONTROL, Wavedrum Mini, Volca Keys, Beats, Bass, Sample, monotron Duo & Delay, microArranger, M1, Wavestation, Volca Sample, Keys, Beats & Bass, MS-20

JD-XA, JD-Xi, Aira (system 1, TB3, TR8, MX-1), Prophet 12, Mopho X4, Jupiter-80, FA-06, D50, CS1x, CZ101, DX200, AN200, analogFOUR, MachineDrum, MonoMachine, Motif XF6, Virus Snow, Nord Lead 2X, OP-1, MFOS, Tenori-on, QY100, QY70, meeblip se, miniBrute, microBrute, Bass Station 2

jeremykeys · Posted: Mon May 13, 2013 2:52 am Post subject:

I've had the fortune;or misfortune depending on how you look at it; to have played both sides of the fence. I once had a drunk knock over 2 keyboards; they we're stacked on top of each other; and I wasn't exactly nice to him about it. I know for a fact that he badly needed dental work after. I was much younger then and prone to shall we say aggression behaviour? Maybe! Embarassed

But then on the other side, in a rock band during my keyboard solo where all the rest of the band members are off stage, I've had 33,000 rockers dancing!
That was in Austria at a huge biker convention/show.
Nowadays I play much smaller pub gigs. Just last Friday I played with my rock band and used just the Kronos. It's my local pub and I can walk to it although that's not with my gear of course. Most people there know enough not to touch my equipment. There is the odd idiot but usually someone will steer him away before he gets into trouble.

My wife will cut off his bits if she doesn't know him and he decides to touch my Kronos! I LOVE her!

Gigs are funny, eh?
_________________
If music is the food of love, play on and play loud!
Gear: Kronos 73, Triton Pro-X, Wavestation EX, Polysix, King Korg, Monotron and Monotron Duo, Minikorg, Moog Grandmother, 1 Roland U-20, Hammond M3, 4 acoustic and 6 electric guitars, 1 Ibanez 5 string bass, a bunch of microphones and other very cool toys, 1 wife and 3 cats!

Chriskk · Senior Member Joined: 10 May 2011 Posts: 349

The tube thing is just a gimmick. I am not sure what a single tube can accomplish. Take any rompler and run it through a real tube amp which uses multiple tubes and you will be amazed.

kevinh_12345us · Joined: 20 Mar 2013 Posts: 45

Usually you want to run your synth through a PA house system and not a guitar amp.

A guitar amp is not designed to produce the full frequency range that the KK is capable of. An acoustic guitar amp would be more full frequency.

The tube really does make a difference in sound or you can turn it off.

Almost everyone comments on the tube (positively).

I own a KK and even with some of the limitations it sounds wonderful.

djcactus · Senior Member Joined: 03 Dec 2011 Posts: 375

the tube wasn't even a part of the considerations when i picked up the instrument. Though it does sound better then the stock electribe's tubes
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2xds-10, ds10+, m01

jimknopf · Platinum Member Joined: 17 Jan 2011 Posts: 3374

djcactus · Senior Member Joined: 03 Dec 2011 Posts: 375

Im going to have to agree with jim on this one.

If you sat down and played one in an isolated environment im sure you would only be trying to prove a point if you still felt the same way.
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2xds-10, ds10+, m01

jeremykeys · Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 12:33 am Post subject:

The best tube/no tube example to me is the fact that I use tube pre-amps when recording vocals or acoustic guitars. For me it all depends on the sound that I'm looking for for that particular song part. I think the tube in the KK is a brilliant idea. I don't know what tube it is but if it is a 12 AX7; which is a very common pre-amp tube; then I know exactly how it's going to colour the sound. It'll be really good!
Those of you who already have a KK already know this!

Those who think the tube is silly, well, you're wrong. Sorry but it's true.
_________________
If music is the food of love, play on and play loud!
Gear: Kronos 73, Triton Pro-X, Wavestation EX, Polysix, King Korg, Monotron and Monotron Duo, Minikorg, Moog Grandmother, 1 Roland U-20, Hammond M3, 4 acoustic and 6 electric guitars, 1 Ibanez 5 string bass, a bunch of microphones and other very cool toys, 1 wife and 3 cats!

djcactus · Senior Member Joined: 03 Dec 2011 Posts: 375

Its a sweet board that doesn't hide its functionality behind hours of programming, i picked it up because its features were accessible, its light, i already have a weighted 88, and it sounds good. I wanted some synth action because i learned to play keys on a wurlitzer so this thing pretty much fits the bill.
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2xds-10, ds10+, m01

antitolg · Joined: 12 Dec 2009 Posts: 18

Got mine a few days ago and here's some thoughts off the top of my head:

Pros: Nice sound, quite accessible, easy to grasp

Cons: So-so build quality (especially the black parts of the keyboard, though even Kronos gave me the same feeling),
- somewhat pointless PCM section (could serve as oscillators to create sounds other than subtractive but useless as acoustic emulations)
- overpriced for what it is

Conclusion so far: If it was meant strictly as a VA Korg could have left out PCM samples (thus lowering the price maybe?) and add more hands on controls to get rid of menus as much as possible (a la Nord Lead),

or they could have added a decent PCM section (with flash memory) for usable acoustic and electric pianos (even those two would be enough since this is no Hammond clone and the rest of Korg's acoustic emulations are pretty bland anyway). This makes me think of a hybrid of KK and Krome (and somewhat similar to a Nord Wave).

Alas it is what it is now and I purchased it since I immediately needed a VA and don't like the way Nord, Novation or Virus sound. So far so good.

If anyone happens to have questions I'll try to be of assistance.

Regards.