HELP - Using Krome in SONAR

diego_vizia · Post by **diego_vizia** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:39 pm

Hi.

I'm a newbie when it comes to mixing, sound routing, and all that stuff, and I need some help from experienced users.

The thing is I've always composed and made music using SONAR and some VST's, but recently, I've come across a Korg Krome and I thought it had some really cool features and a VERY good sound module, so I decided to go for it and spent over $1000 getting it. I don't want to regret the investment, so I'm asking you guys for help.

First I'll explain my current setup:

OS: Windows 7 64-bit
DAW: SONAR 8 Producer (64-bit)
Sound Card: X-Fi XtremeMusic PCI
Speakers: Edifier R1900 TIII

The first problem I encountered with the Krome is that it doesn't have built-in speakers, so if I'm using SONAR and want to try out some things on the Krome, I can't, since I don't have the necessary audio cable right now (6.3 mm plug to RCA). But that's not a problem, since I can buy that at any audio house.
Then the main problem: SONAR doesn't detect my workstation. I've installed the USB-Midi drivers and the Krome editor stand-alone program and VST plugin, but nothing shows up on SONAR. It doesn't show up as MIDI in/out, and even if I open up the VST plug-in editor, my PC doesn't seem to interact AT ALL with my Krome. If I play keys on the virtual keyboard shown in the plugin, nothing happens. If I play some keys on the Krome, nothing happens. If I select "Receive All" or any other option, I get an error message.

What I want to accomplish with my new workstation is this:

- Compose music and produce it on SONAR using the Krome as a MIDI controller.
- Make some MIDI tracks use Krome's sounds and other tracks use other VST's (like Omnisphere or EWQL Colossus). I want to be able to hit the play button on SONAR and hear the whole song at once, with some tracks using Krome's sounds and other tracks using other VST's.
- Mix the song and export it to a single audio file to be able to test it on other sound systems.

Can I do that with my current gear (maybe some new cables) or do I have to buy a new sound card with more than one input?

Thank you very much in advance.

Bald Eagle · Post by **Bald Eagle** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 1:19 pm

The first thing to do is try to access the Krome outside of Sonar with nothing else running. Use something like MIDI-OX, it's a free download. If that can't see the Krome then you may have installed the USB driver incorrectly. Be sure you followed the instructions exactly.

The Korg USB driver also has an issue with 32/64 bit mode, it can only support one at a time. If you have something running in 32 bit mode that accesses the Korg driver then Sonar won't work with it at the same time since its 64 bit. Check that no other 32bit MIDI apps are running.

diego_vizia · Post by **diego_vizia** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:38 pm

Bald Eagle wrote:The first thing to do is try to access the Krome outside of Sonar with nothing else running. Use something like MIDI-OX, it's a free download. If that can't see the Krome then you may have installed the USB driver incorrectly. Be sure you followed the instructions exactly.

The Korg USB driver also has an issue with 32/64 bit mode, it can only support one at a time. If you have something running in 32 bit mode that accesses the Korg driver then Sonar won't work with it at the same time since its 64 bit. Check that no other 32bit MIDI apps are running.

I tried connecting it to a different USB port, and somehow it now appears as a MIDI device, but it only works as a MIDI Input. There's no damn way I can send MIDI data to play through Krome, which is the main reason I bought the workstation in the first place.

If I open up the Krome Editor and press some keys on the keyboard, I see that reflected in the virtual keyboard of the plug-in (the keys I press are pressed there as well), but if I do it the other way around (I click on some keys with my mouse), I can't hear any sound coming from my Krome.

I'm getting really frustrated with this...

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:42 pm

I guess you have looked at all the port selection screens on the software side of things? Both in the editor and in Sonar you should be able to select the Krome as output port.

Also, have you tried using the Korg midi driver removal utility to see if there are any other old or corrupted midi drivers causing trouble?

diego_vizia · Post by **diego_vizia** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:54 pm

SanderXpander wrote:I guess you have looked at all the port selection screens on the software side of things? Both in the editor and in Sonar you should be able to select the Krome as output port.

Also, have you tried using the Korg midi driver removal utility to see if there are any other old or corrupted midi drivers causing trouble?

I tried all of that. Krome does appear as output port in SONAR, but when I select it, nothing happens. I then go back to the MIDI Devices screen and it's unchecked again.

When I open MIDI-OX, it receives the MIDI data the Krome sends, but when I try to select "Krome" as an output device, it says an invalid parameter was passed to a system function and it doesn't work.

I don't know about the Krome editor port configuration, since when I tried to open it again, the driver no longer worked. It miraculously decided to work once, and that was it. When I restarted my PC, it didn't work anymore. I've tried uninstalling it, installing the 32-bit version, installing the 64-bit version, changing USB port, turning off/on the Krome. Nothing helped.

Seems the problems is that the USB-MIDI driver was programmed by monkeys. I wonder how Korg can make a $1000 workstation if they aren't capable of even something as simple as making a driver...

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 6:11 pm

It seems more like the retarded Windows issue where you can't have more than ten midi devices. It's easy to build this up since Windows counts every new installation (including the same device on a different USB port) as a new device.

Try the Korg midi driver removal utility. It's included with the driver installation. It's not the general driver uninstaller but a separate utility. Boot it up, untick the box "show Korg drivers only" and look at the list(s). Remove everything old and unused and corrupted. Also remove the Krome driver. Reinstall that, only the version you actually need (32/64 bit) and try again.

diego_vizia · Post by **diego_vizia** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 6:19 pm

SanderXpander wrote:It seems more like the retarded Windows issue where you can't have more than ten midi devices. It's easy to build this up since Windows counts every new installation (including the same device on a different USB port) as a new device.

Try the Korg midi driver removal utility. It's included with the driver installation. It's not the general driver uninstaller but a separate utility. Boot it up, untick the box "show Korg drivers only" and look at the list(s). Remove everything old and unused and corrupted. Also remove the Krome driver. Reinstall that, only the version you actually need (32/64 bit) and try again.

I already tried the uninstall utility, but only for Krome devices. I'll try removing everything later and reinstalling.

Thanks for your help. I'll try it out later and let you know.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 6:33 pm

I can't be completely sure it's the problem but it's definitely something that crops up from time to time. Supposedly the upcoming Windows 10 finally fixes it, it's been around at least since XP days and probably before. Hope it will solve things for you.

diego_vizia · Post by **diego_vizia** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:24 pm

SanderXpander wrote:It seems more like the retarded Windows issue where you can't have more than ten midi devices. It's easy to build this up since Windows counts every new installation (including the same device on a different USB port) as a new device.

Try the Korg midi driver removal utility. It's included with the driver installation. It's not the general driver uninstaller but a separate utility. Boot it up, untick the box "show Korg drivers only" and look at the list(s). Remove everything old and unused and corrupted. Also remove the Krome driver. Reinstall that, only the version you actually need (32/64 bit) and try again.

Removing all MIDI devices and reinstalling the drivers solved the problem. Thanks a lot!

Though I have another problem now. I don't know how to use the plug-in editor to make several MIDI tracks sound through Krome simultaneously with different sounds. I tried putting the plug-in to "SEQ" mode and assigning instruments to the different channels, but the sound stutters and cuts constantly, most of the notes don't sound or sound out of time. It's a mess, I don't know what I'm doing wrong...

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:38 pm

I think your problem MAY be that you have local control on, on the Krome. Sonar by default will echo incoming midi back to whichever port you use on the selected track. If you have local control on on the Krome that means each timbre will receive the same note twice, which could cause the effect you're indicating. One solution would be to turn off local control on the Krome in the global menu. As far as I understand you could use combi or sequence mode. Maybe combi mode will work better?

I'm not an expert on using it with a DAW though. I have Kronos, not a Krome, but I almost never use it in the studio.

diego_vizia · Post by **diego_vizia** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 3:35 am

My problem was that the ASIO latency was set too high. I lowered it and now it works just fine. I still have trouble setting the instruments though... when I change the instrument for one channel, many other channels change to some random instruments. It's really annoying. I'll try to delve deeper into my Krome and see what I can do with it. It looks like a very powerful gear.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:17 am

Is this using the VST plugin? Have you synced all patches successfully? That seems very weird.

diego_vizia · Post by **diego_vizia** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:28 am

SanderXpander wrote:Is this using the VST plugin? Have you synced all patches successfully? That seems very weird.

Yes, this happens when using the VST plugin. I think it also happened with the standalone application, but I can't remember for sure.

The patches sync automatically when the program opens up, and I can see all of them and select the one I want for the channel I select, but that sometimes also changes other channels randomly to some completely random instrument. It's very weird.

For example, I change the instrument for channel 3 to German Grand Piano, and along with that, the plug-in changes the instrument for Channel 1 to Jazz Drum Kit, when the previous instrument was actually a Slap Bass. So I have to change it back to Slap Bass, then change instrument for Channel 4, and change back Channels 1 and 2, and so on, until all instruments are correct. It takes a lot of time and it's annoying, because it shouldn't be doing that.