I finally put my hands on the kronos

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 8:42 pm

Did you check the whole keymap list on a Kurzweil? You will see velocity assigned keymaps, attack phases, noises and releases in there, too.

I indeed AM aware that the samples are dated - but they are done extremely well back in the day, and are still perfectly alright for my usage (well, apart from the piano sample, which could really use long samples and some other stuff). But, for most other stuff I play - PC3K8 is a quantum leap compared to X5D I had. When and if I purchase Kronos, it won't be as big a leap as that one was.

However, one thing I'll tell you - Kurzweil's UI is the fastest one out there. Screw the size of LCD, I can live with that, the logical layout and all the shortcuts win the whole deal for me. I thought Korg's touchscreens were the fastest. No, they aren't. This is all from my personal experience, and I understand that not everyone will think the same way, but this is how it is with me.

aron · Post by **aron** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 8:46 pm

Evildragon:

> They're on it, don't worry.

Yes, as long as Kurzweil and Korg have great people behind them, anything is possible.

I do think that Kurzweil could benefit from a "template UI" like the Kronos. For example, we know that the PC3 can do FM, it can do analog synthesis. Now what if they presented a preset algorithm as a Carrier/Modulator or as a 2 voice analog synthesizer? That's what I wanted to do with the iPad and the MIDI kit for Kurzweil. What I wanted to do is make a simple algorithm and using sysex control that single algorithm presented as a virtual synth. Unfortunately the sysex is not available (I did ask).

Ozy is right about one thing, I have not played the Kronos, only heard demos. I hope I do like it as much as I did my other Korgs. Man did I love my Mono/Poly!

Aron

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 8:48 pm

aron wrote:Unfortunately the sysex is not available (I did ask).

Sysex for PC3 is not available officially, it's used for communicating with SoundTower editor, though. You can try and intercept it with MIDIOX or something. That's what some peeps back at Mastering VAST forum are doing.

aron · Post by **aron** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 8:51 pm

Hehehe OF COURSE!!!!! You are right. I am too old and slow in my ways and forgot about MIDI peek'ing!!!!!!

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 8:52 pm

Good luck!

jemkeys25 · Post by **jemkeys25** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:06 pm

can you make music with a kurzweil? yes

can you make music with a kronos? yes

can you make music with a bucket, broom handle, and a string pulled tight? yes.

again, its not the instrument, its who's playing it, there's plenty of samples on the m3 i'm not to happy with, and every sound from oasys isn't going to win a gold star either, all these instruments are capable of literaly infinite sounds, samples or not, is it just a matter of being bored with what you have,and you want something new, or different, again you say 80s & 90s samples, what does that mean, a piano sounds different today than in 1990, we try to emulate the sounds and instruments of the past, isn't that what keyboards are about?

take kronos, DX7-1983, rhoades piano, what 1950's, or sixties, polysix, late seventies,early eighties, i mean com on, we want the old sounds, its like you want 4 dimesional sound, or its not good enouigh, just listen to the hits on the radio, most sounds are basic simple sounds.

jimknopf · Post by **jimknopf** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:10 pm

Yes, this is certainly something we can agree on!

chilly7 · Post by **chilly7** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:11 pm

jimknopf wrote:You guys force me to become clear cut once more, after already making peace with anyones sound taste, however strange it might look to me.

The ONLY thing that poisoned this thread - originally offering some very welcome first hand observations of spending some time with a Kronos - were silly and completely unnecessary little praising asides about the VERY MUCH DEBATABLE sound quality of the whole present Kurzweil generation.

I tell you one thing: I can live with different tastes, but if anyone in here thinks he/she can get by with just going on to claim big things about Kurzweil sounds, you get me back in no time, contradicting and calling it the emperor's new clothes: no matter who claims to see them, I just see a naked cheap ROMpler of the 80/s/90s and, certainly no remotely up to date synth.

And, Evil Dragon: good sampling has to do A LOT with high quality, multi velocity sampling, including things like release samples and noises. Working JUST with some filtering and the like is nothing but poor man's sampling, neccessary to rely on in times with small, looped low quality samples (80s/90s). THAT's exactly how much of the Kurzweil sounds to me: well programmed, but on a very poor and outdated sample basis.

Anybody make music with whatever you like, and judge your synth for yourself however you like, but just stop telling Kurzweil myths to halfway educated musicians in a Kronos forum!

+1

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:14 pm

jimknopf wrote:Kurzweil myths

again the religious metaphor... how boring...

How anti-intellectual...

How un-professional...

jimknopf wrote:to halfway educated

that, you got right.

I sensed very little education in all this trolling.

The whole "kurzweil" thing happened because someby HAD - really HAD, couldn't DO WITHOUT - jumping on a white horse, and start smearing everything which is not Kronos,

as if comparing the master functionalities of the pc3 [I still don't know if kronos circumvented some TERRIBLE shortcomings of Oasys and M3 under that profile] to the Kronos meant somehow lacking respect to a sacred graal.

And indeed:

jimknopf wrote:spreading FALSE MYTHS on a Kronos thread

which doesn't mean "in a church consecrated to Kronos praise", espacially since it's not financed by Korg. It means a "free debate space ABOUT Kronos AMONG Kronos prospect buyers, dissecting the good and the bad, the why and the why not".

It is not my business what you do with your money and how,

but on this thread I am currently managing 4000 euros.

All your trolling didn't help me one bit (or do you really believe that screaming: "naaahhhhh, nahhhhhh, its gooooood, its' gooooood! I don't want to hear anything else! lalalalalalalala" influences my purchases, or anybody else's?)

I think my report helped somehow myself and others, as did some intelligent replies.

But now I am bored unconscious by this meaningless feud.

See you when I test the Kronos again and can write something more serious and detailed (especially re the LCD, menus and the VAs - which I mean to TEST - as opposed to "I once used a real analogue of the same name, hence it must be good"

)

Which will happen - rest assured - well before ANY of you True Believers has even got close to a K, your "advanced purchases on sweetwater" notwithstanding

Wanna bet?

I have been the first and hardest "Kronos-sceptic" on this forum,

and the first to really look for a Kronos and test it (with the notable exception of course of those who had a chance at NAMM).

Guess why, Einstein!

aron · Post by **aron** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:19 pm

> take kronos, DX7-1983, rhoades piano, what 1950's, or sixties, polysix, late seventies,early eighties, i mean com on, we want the old sounds

You have a point. I had to sell my DX7 - that was very sad. Mine was modified to have 4X the memory! I do not miss my Rhodes on stage- too heavy. The Polysix - I do miss - I don't know why I bought that OB-X to replace it!!!!!!

For me, I want the backwards compatibility of the DX7 (for old patches that were pretty good) and the UI of the Polysix.

>a piano sounds different today than in 1990

I think people mean the pianos in synthesizers that were available circa 1990.

I view my keyboards as tools that will only last as long as the capacitors/parts will last

It's kind of sad that most keyboards will not have a life span as long as something like a guitar. I'm dreading the day the VL1 dies. Even my Sequential Pro one has a custom chip that is not really available anymore. Very sad.

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:24 pm

aron wrote:It's kind of sad that most keyboards will not have a life span as long as something like a guitar. I'm dreading the day the VL1 dies. Even my Sequential Pro one has a custom chip that is not really available anymore. Very sad.

"Sad"? YOU could die tonight, well before your synths need repair ("die"? Capacitors? There's service for that...)

A stroke, a bomb, the jealous husband of that gingerly waitress...

Forget the death of your synths. Enjoy YOUR life while it lasts. It's darn short.

If you outlast your digital synths, built on plastic whose half-life is 2000 years and whose carcasses will pollute the planet till the Messiah comes,

all the better.

Ars longa vita brevis!

jimknopf · Post by **jimknopf** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:28 pm

Speaking of intellectually poor talk: Ad personams and cheap insinuations are the best available indicators for that.

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:41 pm

jimknopf wrote:cheap insinuations

what insinuations?

O I see: that horrible innuendo that you, Einstein and Sherlock Holmes sleep with "married gingerly waitresses"?

Oh sorry.

Totally untrue. Unthinkable, I reckon. My bad.

I am the only one here who must be afraid of cuckhold husbands of pretty girls. Me, me. My bad. Guilty.

The only one who'll die in sin here is me. Guilty as charged.

Happy now?

(sure, ME, I am happy

)

jemkeys25 · Post by **jemkeys25** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:55 pm

i challenge you to a synth duel, whom ever comes up with the best sounds wins, use any gear you want, post your favorite sounds from all the synth catagories, and lets compare

aron · Post by **aron** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:23 pm

Hopefully when the Kronos comes out we can all share some of our patches. I will probably submit a few breath controller programs.