Hold key

[Bald Eagle]

I can't try those specific patches as I don't have a Krome. I have an M3 which also uses the EDS engine. That being said ... If the sound is gradually fading out maybe its the amp envelope. If you just hold the keys in your drone section and don't play anything else do they slowly fade out?

[bentstavanger]

I can't try those specific patches as I don't have a Krome. I have an M3 which also uses the EDS engine. That being said ... If the sound is gradually fading out maybe its the amp envelope. If you just hold the keys in your drone section and don't play anything else do they slowly fade out?

No, they do not fade over time. The disappear OSC by OSC until 119th keypress, at which point the last OSC is gone. I can play slow or fast, it doesn't make a difference. The last OSC still goes silent at the 119th keypress. So, depending on the number of notes in my drone, I can play 110-115 notes in the EP section, before things start going wrong with the drone. When the OSC's in the drone dies, it is very sudden and noticeable.

No, if I hold they keys in the drone section and don't play anything else, they do NOT slowly fade out. The drone will sound indefinitely in this case. However, then I would need another keyboard to play melodies etc.

:-/

[bentstavanger]

When the OSC's in the drone dies, it is very sudden and noticeable.

Just to clarify what I mean by this: Each time I press a key and an OSC dies, it is heard as a noticable loss in the drone. Either in the number of notes in the chord, e.g. the top note suddenly disappears, or as a sudden loss of "phatness" of one of the notes, e.g. the fifth suddenly becomes a lot thinner and also weaker in terms of volume as compared to the other notes. The latter I interpret as the loss of one of the notes two OSC's...

[Bald Eagle]

At this point I would say that the voice allocation algorithm of the EDS engine is cycling out what it considers to be old notes even though it might not actually be necessary.

I have had similar issues with notes cutting out when triggering notes and samples of an extremely long duration. There are no parameters to control voice allocation with EDS so there is really nothing that can be done in that area.

[bentstavanger]

At this point I would say that the voice allocation algorithm of the EDS engine is cycling out what it considers to be old notes even though it might not actually be necessary.

I have had similar issues with notes cutting out when triggering notes and samples of an extremely long duration. There are no parameters to control voice allocation with EDS so there is really nothing that can be done in that area.

Yes, I was thinking along those lines also. I don't understand the reason for this, however. It's really too bad the designers of the Krome did not consider this problem. Otherwise it's a fantastic keyboard. I guess playing drones is not a major concern of the mainstream keyboarder...

[nambuco67]

P.S. Paulo, I lived in Brazil for many years and speak Portuguese fluently. But let's continue in English, as this is an English language forum. 'Tá bom, mano?

Hey Mano, tudo bom?

What a small world!

From what you described, it seems you are holding notes from muted channels/layers,. Check if damper is disable on all 15 channels but the one you want.

I am not able to test it on Krome because I just upgraded to Kronos, but I read about an OS update (on Kronos) to avoid damper holding muted layers and reducing poliphony. Do you have OS 1.03 on your Krome?

Abraço,

Paulo

[bentstavanger]

From what you described, it seems you are holding notes from muted channels/layers,. Check if damper is disable on all 15 channels but the one you want.

I am not able to test it on Krome because I just upgraded to Kronos, but I read about an OS update (on Kronos) to avoid damper holding muted layers and reducing poliphony. Do you have OS 1.03 on your Krome?

Olá, Paulo!

Yes, small world indeed! Thanks for the suggestions.

I tried out disabling the damper on all channels except the drone, but there was still the same problem.

Then I checked the OS version number: 1.02, even though I bought the Krome only 10 days ago...

To update the OS I will need an SD card, which will not be easy for me to get hold of presently. I am in the middle of a tour, and have absolutely no spare time to go shopping for electronic equipment. Amazing, that it can not be done via USB... :-/

Anyway, I downloaded the new OS from the Korg site, and read the version notes. They mention nothing about my problem, so I have little hope of a solution by updating the OS. But I will of course do it anyway. I'll report back.

Até mais

[bentstavanger]

At this point I would say that the voice allocation algorithm of the EDS engine is cycling out what it considers to be old notes even though it might not actually be necessary.

One interesting observation: If I hold the keys of the drone with my left hand while playing with my right hand, the drone continues to sound, no matter how long I play melody, chords etc. on top.

Not really useful for my purpose, as holding the keys down manually for the duration of an entire song is extremely unpractical. But maybe useful in understanding the way the sound engine works? And why? :-/

[bentstavanger]

I am not able to test it on Krome because I just upgraded to Kronos, but I read about an OS update (on Kronos) to avoid damper holding muted layers and reducing poliphony. Do you have OS 1.03 on your Krome?

OK, I got the SD card and did the update. It did not solve, unfortunately, but I was not expecting to either, so no big deal. I wanted the SD card anyway, so I could make a backup of my combis.

Anyway, I'm gonna start working now on the arpeggiator solution. Hope to get some results. I'll be back.

[bentstavanger]

An arp might help in combi mode if the sound (program) being played is set up so that the release time covers or disguises the initial "note-on" volume of the next note played. That could allow you to re-trigger the drone voice automatically putting it back at the head of the line where polyphony and note stealing is concerned (oldest note played [drone] is the first to be cut). And even sitar requires an occasional string strike to keep the drone sounding.

A low speed one-note repeating pattern arp at low speed might actually sound like a rhythmic drone pattern closer to a real sitar. Also, regardless of the number of tracks or split or layered mode the arp can be set up such that only the drone notes are triggered, that they don't sound in non-arp play, and that the assignable foot-switch can be used to start/stop the arp remotely.

The arpeggiator solution works! It is not 100% perfect, some sudden attacks and volume changes are heard once in a while. I'm sure I can handle that with some additional tweaking of the arp pattern and the sound itself. I did not lengthen the release time of the pads I wanted to use, that would have made it difficult to control them (i.e. stop them at the right time). Rather I found something on p. 213 of the parameter guide that proved to be useful:

Gate [Off, 001...100%, Legato]
Off: Even if a tone has been entered, it will not sound at that
step. You can also use this to stop a legato tone that was
previously sounding.
Legato: The tone will continue sounding until the same tone
is played again (including Gate: Off) or the pattern returns
to its beginning.
The Legato setting is valid if the Gate parameter (Prog P7: 7‐
1b, Combi P7:7‐3(4)c, Seq P7:7‐3(4)c) of each program,
combination, or song is set to Step. If you specify Legato,
make sure that the Gate of the previous mode is set to Step.

That did the trick! One added benefit is, that I don't have to unlatch and latch again every time I wish to change the drone. Since it is an arpeggiator pattern, it will automatically change to the notes I'm playing on the keyboard, without any leftovers from the previous chord. Like the Akai Miniak I have been using until now.

Problem solved! Thanks to everyone for your feedback. Cheers

[nambuco67]

Great !!