Kronos Sounds in a VST3?

[J.S. Bach]

I wasn't able to find an answer with a search so here goes what might be a dumb question: Is there a VST3 plug in available that would have all of the sounds that are on my Kronos? Or is there a way to convert the sound files in my Kronos to work from my computer without being connected to my Kronos? For traveling I'd like to leave my heavy Kronos at home and still be able to use a Midi keyboard to record into my DAW.

[ChrisDuncan]

What you're talking about is very similar to the ESP plugin offered by Yamaha for the Montage. There is no similar creature for the Kronos.

If you don't want to gig with the Kronos, you're looking at getting whatever VSTs that you need to cover your gigs. If this is the route you want to go, it looks like Native Instruments has pretty good integration between their controllers and software, but be prepared to spend some money.

[J.S. Bach]

Thanks. That explains why I couldn't find anything.

[ChrisDuncan]

While the answer to your question was "no, it doesn't exist," I do have a thought on the use case you're trying to address.

The way you worded it sounds like travelling in general rather than using it on a gig. If that's the case and you're just talking about recording, you can doubtless find a lot of decent vst plugins, often for free, with sounds that are, "close enough for rock and roll" in the various areas that you use, e.g. pianos, organs, basic synths, etc. Depending on your DAW, you might have some already installed. For example, Cubase has Retrologue, which is a pretty decent subtractive synth, and even the included free version of Halion has a workable piano and organs.

So here's what I would do. Take your midi keyboard on the road with you, and when inspiration strikes, use these vsts to write and record with. They won't usually sound as good as the Kronos, but that doesn't matter. Don't record the audio, just record the midi.

Then, when you get home, take your midi tracks and point them to the appropriate sounds on the Kronos. You can then render them as audio from the Kronos and get the high quality sounds.

Even though I don't travel, this is how I record all keyboard parts. I never record the actual audio when performing, I just record the midi. If I want to do some cleanup / fix mistakes, it's easy to do, and then when I'm ready to render, I just point it at the appropriate keyboard and get the audio recorded. It's a very flexible way to work that holds up both at home and out in the wild.

I don't know if this would work in your situation, but it's an option to consider.

[J.S. Bach]

Thanks, I was starting to think along those lines. I find inpiration from some of te Kronos sounds but yours is a practical solution. Yes, I'm not gigging- I have two homes and record in both. They're 1300 miles apart and it's a pain driving across the country with the Kronos.

[Scott]

Something else you may find useful... Kronos has 9 engines... 3 of them ARE available as very similar VSTs, I don't think there's any way to move the programs back and forth between the Kronos and VST versions, but at least you can get much the same sounds/capabilities/approach for those kinds of sounds. They're currently on sale, too.

The ones you can get as VSTs are EP-1 ($100), MS-20 ($50), and Polysix ($50). But probably more appealing is "Korg Collection 5" ($299) which includes all 3, plus numerous other emulations, including Triton, M1, Wavestation, Prophecy, Mono/Poly, Mini-Korg, Micro-Korg, ARP 2600, ARP Odyssey, Vox Super Continental.

For a CX3 organ replacement, there are numerous emulations which actually sound closer to a Hammond organ than CX3 does... you can check out VB3, B3X, Blue3, B5.

[J.S. Bach]

Thanks

[carlinlemon]

What you're talking about is very similar to the ESP plugin offered by Yamaha for the Montage. There is no similar creature for the Kronos.

If you don't want to gig with the Kronos, you're looking at getting whatever VSTs that you need to cover your gigs. If this is the route you want to go, it looks like Native Instruments has pretty good integration between their controllers and software, but be prepared to spend some money.

THIS (Yamaha Montage ESP) is exactly what I'm looking for. A VSTi that I can sync with my hardware Kronos, import/export my sounds, travel anywhere in the world without lugging my hardware, etc. I have 10 years of programming songs in my Kronos that I will never be able to walk away from and would give a nut and a kidney to be able to perform with a laptop. Please Korg!

[CliveJ]

Well there’s always https://vst-store.com/products-norctrac ... tails.html

If all else fails you can sample your Kronos yourself and bring it into Kontakt or similar.

Of course if you use Karma none of this will work but I recall Stephen Kay saying somewhere that the next Karma release won’t be tied to any particular keyboard.

[J.S. Bach]

ok, thanks

[fomalhaut]

But probably more appealing is "Korg Collection 5" ($299) which includes all 3, plus numerous other emulations, including Triton, M1, Wavestation,

If working with VSTs is a possibility, I think the best option is the full Korg Collection set, as it includes not only the MS20 and Polysix, but also the previous flagship Triton (and two of them, not sure of the differences). If you can make it sound good on the software version of a Triton, you will probably find a similar or better patch on the real Kronos.