Korg Forums

[aron]

I just got it. Wow, I love some of the sounds! Yes the keybed could be better but as long as it works, I'm not complaining. The sounds are so great!!!!! I am having fun with the electric pianos and using the SW to adjust the effects. The fade in/out with the mod wheel works well.
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Korg Kronos, RD-88, Yamaha VL1, Deep Mind 6, Korg Kross, author of unrealBook for iPad.

[stratquebec]

[aron]

I'm telling you, I am getting great sounds out of this Kross. I can't believe that I paid so little for so much!
As I said, I need a keyboard to take when I go traveling and play concerts. My theory is that a lighter keyboard might survive in the SKB case better than my heavier keyboards that I usually take.
I am having so much fun programming the Kross. It is so easy to setup cool effects with the SW1 and SW2 and with the mod wheel.
The choice was between the MX61 and the Kross and I think I made the correct choice. I usually ask for a Motif when I play concerts as well, but the Kross is so good that I can probably do everything on it.
I really can't complain, this is the best keyboard that I have spent so little on. My Kronos would not survive being sent to neighbor islands in the SKB. The handlers already smashed off the end of my PC361, separated the LCD glass from the display and ruined the backlight. Previously they cracked my Yamaha keyboard keys as well. etc... etc...
I didn't expect the Kross to sound as good as it does. I'm taking it on jam sessions and small gigs. I have new sounds that sound as good as any other keyboard.

One more positive! The Kross outputs voltage on the MIDI ports. That means my wireless Mi.1 MIDI interface can work with it.

Kross - handle, 10 pounds, runs on batteries, awesome sound!
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Korg Kronos, RD-88, Yamaha VL1, Deep Mind 6, Korg Kross, author of unrealBook for iPad.

[stratquebec]

Wow! Thanks for these comments! I understand that traveling with the Kronos is adventurous. Great news about the Kross.

Will go test drive one that's for sure!

BTW, every time I listened to some Kross demos on the web, I always felt that the Kross sound fuller, warmer has more mojo than the Krome that sounded more streril compared.

Do you compared the kross and the krome before choosing the Kross?

[aron]

No I didn't compare the Kross to the Krome.
If I had considered the Krome, then I would have had to consider the MOXF which was really cool, but a cluttered interface. I think I was stuck on the idea of a 10 pound keyboard. I chose between the MX61 and Kross.

Here are the drawbacks I have found for the Kross while programming.
The IFX doesn't have any stereo chorus or delays. In fact, the only delay you can have is on MFX 2 - which means you cannot have delay->reverb.
There is a limited amount of electric piano samples. Luckily I found one or two programs that I like and was able to modify them.

It's weird that the IFX doesn't have chorus, but it does have phaser and even organ chorus/vibrato.

Despite all of these omissions, it still sounds good.
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Korg Kronos, RD-88, Yamaha VL1, Deep Mind 6, Korg Kross, author of unrealBook for iPad.

[stratquebec]

Ok thanks a lot for the precisions aron.
I definitly will go try one of these Kross.

Cheers!

[aron]

I also noticed that there are not a lot of synthesizer sounds. In fact the rotary knob should have had a "synthesizer" entry. Just the plain stuff like Oberheim, Prophet type brass/synth sounds. Easy enough to make but interesting that it doesn't have a lot.

You can also modify a factory program and save it onto itself.
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Korg Kronos, RD-88, Yamaha VL1, Deep Mind 6, Korg Kross, author of unrealBook for iPad.

[stratquebec]

Yeah for sure there will be some limitations, that's an entry level board after all but it seems to sound very very well. Pianos, EPs, drums sound very good in the demos I've listened to.

How's the sequencer? Did you tried to do some things with it?

[aron]

I haven't used a keyboard sequencer in years. I want to try the step sequencer and the audio recorder. Will be working on analog synth style sounds shortly but I am finding that programming this keyboard is pretty easy. I'm not even using the editor yet.

One thing that Korg and Yamaha have embraced is a quick editing screen - make the sound brighter, darker, faster, slower.

I want to say that I invented this style of editing LONG AGO in Galaxy Plus Editors! Mine was just as smart - adjusting multiple parameters on the fly.
I of course did not invent this, but I am taking credit nonetheless hahaha
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Korg Kronos, RD-88, Yamaha VL1, Deep Mind 6, Korg Kross, author of unrealBook for iPad.

[stratquebec]

And Keep on giving more inputs about the Kross !

[aron]

OK, used it on the first gig. It's so small, I realized I can fit it in my JP-8000 gig bag. It also is so small for my SKB case.
It's almost too light - I went for some pitch bend bass and nearly flipped it!
The sounds were great! Some of the sounds I setup sounded more present and clear than the Kronos. There's a lesson in there about too much effects.
I noticed that the Kross is somewhat weak in terms of strings. It doesn't have the light and airy high end of the Kronos. Will have to tweak a lot for the strings. I also noticed that when programming analog type sounds, you can really hear that the portamento is not really smooth. Also the analog waveforms are really pitch shifted when playing high and there's lots of aliasing. It's still a great sounding keyboard though for gigs. Believe it or not, I like the piano sound live and the EP while not even close to the Kronos is still fun to play.
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Korg Kronos, RD-88, Yamaha VL1, Deep Mind 6, Korg Kross, author of unrealBook for iPad.

[stratquebec]

[Bald Eagle]

[aron]

Yes it does but no chorus or reverb - unlike the Kronos. In fact, even with the MFX, only MFX 2 has reverb or delay. MFX 1 is mostly modulation.
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Korg Kronos, RD-88, Yamaha VL1, Deep Mind 6, Korg Kross, author of unrealBook for iPad.

[Bald Eagle]