DAW's and Kronos

Discussion relating to the Korg Kronos Workstation.

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4GodnWV
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Post by 4GodnWV »

Ha!

Well...that didn't take long. About an hour actually. Laid down 16 bars with a scratch piano, as planned. Added several strings parts, some horns, woodwinds, a piccolo line, harp arpeggios, even a little timpani roll during the last measure. Had a blast!

Went back and replaced the piano track, as I did several tracks during the process. Used 10 tracks. Obviously it sounded unfinished, but I was going for knob turning experience.

Big problem. How do I save it? I looked everywhere I could think of, saw no "Save Song", but I'm guessing there is one somewhere. (I did find a 'rename song' button - did that) Ended up going to Disk and using 'Save All'. Hoping it'll be there when I restart the Kronos, but if not, no big loss.

Also, Is there a way to import (copy) a combi into the sequencer?

Btw - Do I understand correctly that I have only saved a MIDI file?
SanderXpander
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Post by SanderXpander »

Maybe an entry level version of FruityLoops would be worth checking out, Bertotti. Despite the "amateur" vibe that may have hung around the original launch, it is nowadays a pretty mature DAW and excels at the "turn (variable) loops into a song" workflow. I use Sonar most of the time and also Ableton but I've worked alongside some young hip hop producers and was flabbergasted how quick and easy some things are in FruityLoops.
4GodnWV
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Post by 4GodnWV »

QuiRobinez,

You Wrote:
"The specs are more then enough to run any daw or VST (Virtual synth) that you want."

Thnx

You Wrote:
"...if your approach is mostly sequential song based then Cakewalk sonar or cubase are the best choices."

I will definitely look at them

You Wrote:
"With the Native Instrument Komplete series you add a powerfull series of VST's and Effects to your DAW. I would also recommend to look at the Spectrasonics suite (especially Omnisphere 2)."

Looking at both. btw, will they both work with either Sonar or Cubase?

You Wrote:
"If you are considering Native Instruments then i can highly recommend to include the Native Komplete Keyboard..."

Actually, I am looking at a Komplete Kontrol S61. It comes with Komplete 11 Select which should give me a good start into the NI stuff. I have an old Alesis QR6.1 that has a Fatar KeyBd. Love it!
bmtg
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Post by bmtg »

Instead of Save All, you can just do Save Seq and it will save the Kronos Sequencer song(s). It's in the upper right pull down menu of the Save Tab in the Disk mode page.

Native Instruments will work in Sonar and Cubase and many other DAWs (but not all, check the DAW specs. Some of the "Lite" versions won't for example.).

You can also use the Kronos to work as your master KB for NI instruments. What I do is have a program on the Kronos that doesn't make sound in the Kronos, and select that when I'm playing into the DAW (or the standalone NI Kontakt). I also modified the MIDI controller of this program so that the first fader is sending Mod Wheel midi, which is better than using the Joystick on the Kronos because the JS springs back, (not good for setting an expression level)

In the NI instrument window, you can right click almost any instrument parameter and assign it to a Kronos controller by moving the controller as it is "listening". This includes pedals and faders.

Cheers
bmtg
Kronos 2.73 - NanoPad2 - MBP - DP9
SanderXpander
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Post by SanderXpander »

Both the Native Instruments suite and Omnisphere use the VST standard (Virtual Studio Technology, developed by Steinberg) which means they "plug into" your DAW. Pretty much every DAW on the planet supports this. There's currently a very slow transition happening from VST2 to VST3 but insofar as they work, both Sonar and Cubase support them.

As for your question about saving a song, Save All should catch that, including a PCG file with ALL your sounds and combis. If you had chosen "save SEQ" that would have saved only the contents of the sequencer memory which would also have been fine unless you were planning to completely change all your programs and combis around before continuing to work on the song again. But there's more -

When you use the sequencer, you may have noticed a song number at the top. You can have multiple songs in the sequencer memory. Choosing "save SEQ" saves all of them. I don't know how you work but it's conceivable that you'd have all of your CD's songs in a single SEQ file. That's easier to load and save than 12 different ones. The sequencer memory is limited but I think it should fit such a modest amount of songs unless you record a ton of automation data. The general idea is that you'd save a file called "myCD.SEQ" or something like that and also load that every time you want to continue working on it. That way you keep adding to the same file. You can add a date to the name if you're worried about backing up. It's easy to create a new song - just type a number in the field at the top and you'll be prompted to set the length and off you go.
4GodnWV
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Post by 4GodnWV »

bmtg,

Appreciate the input on NI/DAW/Kronos control. Might pick your brain after I get the NI/S61 set-up.

bmtg & Sander,

Save Seq - got it, thnx
4GodnWV
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Post by 4GodnWV »

Sander,

You Wrote:
"The general idea is that you'd save a file called "myCD.SEQ" or something like that and also load that every time you want to continue working on it."

I'll try that tomorrow. Thnx
jones
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Post by jones »

I greatly prefer using a DAW (Reaper) vs the kronos built in version.
Its just so much easier , the kronos can do just about everything but theres that "ship in a bottle" aspect to the interface.

If you go with a PC DAW then it opens up the world of VSTi , I absolutely love omnisphere, it is designed by a worship music Christian so there is plenty of that type of sound included.

Like this, I think I can hear God. !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAyT5CJbndc

or this "Worship essentials for Omnisphere"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi7VaR7gYl0
4GodnWV
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Post by 4GodnWV »

jones,

You Wrote:
"I greatly prefer using a DAW (Reaper) vs the kronos built in version.
Its just so much easier , the kronos can do just about everything but theres that "ship in a bottle" aspect to the interface.

I am currently reviewing DAW's and my plan is to eventually purchase one. In the interim, learning the Kronos seq and audio recorder can only be a benefit. Enjoying the process.

You Wrote:
"I absolutely love omnisphere, it is designed by a worship music Christian so there is plenty of that type of sound included.

I have listened to the links you provided. Thnx. Beautiful pads.
VICTOR KENNEDY
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Post by VICTOR KENNEDY »

Hi 4Gd...I have an i7 iMac with 12 GB Ram running ProTools. Also an i5 MacBook Pro with 16GB Ram.

Both these machines easily handle ProTools, LogicPro X, or any and all other software packages I use.

I have in fact just completed a full 10 song album with my band, recorded entirely in my Home/Spare Room Studio.
We used and Alesis DM10 Electro Drum Kit to trigger Toontrack SD2 drum sounds within ProTools etc, and DI'd all the Bass and Guitars thru an Avid Eleven Rack interface, Vocals thru a Slate Digital VMS One mic system, and me playing Keyboards via a Native Instruments Kontrol 61 keyboard.

I used a lot of Native Instruments VI's for keys...Pianos, Organs, Synths, etc etc.

I also use a lot of the Slate Digital mixing suite plugins, as well as Waves suites, and Eventide's Tony Visconti plugins.

It's rather amazing just how big and good a sound we've been able to achieve using such a setup.

You'l have no problem running any DAW on a computer with your specs.

As far as using Native Instruments Virtual instruments, why would you need them at all, when the Kronps has so many great sounds itself.

Hope you get your sound sorted.

Go Wel...
iMAC OSX 10.11.3, 3.4 GHz i7, 12 GB Ram | MacBookPro OSX 10.10, 2.5Ghz, 16GB Ram | A+H Qu16 | ProTools 12.6 | Korg Kronos2 61 | MicroKorg | N.I. Komplete - Kontrol | Alesis DM10 | Avid Eleven Rack | Slate VMS One | Fender, Maton, Epiphone Guitars |Allen+Heath Qu-16 | Etc Etc...
4GodnWV
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Post by 4GodnWV »

Several weeks back many of you offered your opinion on a PC/DAW setup for my Kronos. After processing the advice given I am ready to make the following purchases, but I am still concerned that my inexperience might lead to compatibility issues.

My choices:
1. Dell 7010 Tower, Core i7, 3.4GHZ 16GB 2TB DVDRW, Win 10 Pro
2. Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2
3. Cakewalk SONAR Professional
4. Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2

I realize that Cakewalk in not on the list of DAW's for which the S61 MK2 is pre-mapped, but if I understand correctly, I can map it myself. Other than that, does anyone see any compatibility issues?

Tia,
4God
GregC
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Post by GregC »

4GodnWV wrote:Several weeks back many of you offered your opinion on a PC/DAW setup for my Kronos. After processing the advice given I am ready to make the following purchases, but I am still concerned that my inexperience might lead to compatibility issues.

My choices:
1. Dell 7010 Tower, Core i7, 3.4GHZ 16GB 2TB DVDRW, Win 10 Pro
2. Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61 MK2
3. Cakewalk SONAR Professional
4. Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2

I realize that Cakewalk in not on the list of DAW's for which the S61 MK2 is pre-mapped, but if I understand correctly, I can map it myself. Other than that, does anyone see any compatibility issues?

Tia,
4God
for your # 4, check with Spectrasonics . Try to get above their recommended spec. You can email them on that and they will get back to you in 1-2 days.
Kronos 88. MODX8
Achieve your musical dreams :)
https://soundcloud.com/user-898236994
4GodnWV
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Post by 4GodnWV »

Greg C... the computer specs are more than sufficient to handle Omnisphere. I couldn't figure out if Omnisphere would work with Cakewalk. Finally found a page on their site that lists compatible DAW's...Sonar is on the list. Thnx
SanderXpander
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Post by SanderXpander »

Those will work fine. I'd consider a 250GB SSD for the operating system and apps but if money is tight you can very well work without one. The main thing I'm missing on there is an audio interface. There's a chance the on board sound will suffice for you but a lot of the time it's more trouble than it's worth (instability, popping/crackling or a lot of latency). Don't let the computer guys sell you a "professional" Sound Blaster. They're aimed at gaming and home theatres. From upwards of about 150 bucks you can have a decent quality device that will give you low latency drivers and good preamps.
4GodnWV
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Post by 4GodnWV »

Sander - thnx so much

Can I add an SSD later, perhaps external?

As for the audio, you guys had already warned me about that. Looking at NI Komplete Audio 6 - looked at it and a Steinberg UR242, but figured since I was going with NI keyboard (comes with Komplete 11 Select software) it would match.
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