Which has better drum? Korg or Yamaha?

[keyboardist2000]

Just wondering, which has better drums sound and sample

[Musicwithharry]

Just wondering, which has better drums sound and sample

I rather like the Korg drums over the Yamaha drums.

What I REALLY like to do is layer them with other drum kits from other brands. I have an Ensoniq VFX-SD and have created kits on the VFX-SD that will layer with the Korg PA700. That is for my studio work and I mix the VFX-SD drums separately on my recorder and they layer very well with the PA700 drums.

I also recently acquired an Alesis SR-16 that I made custom kits on to layer with the PA700 drums for live work. They too sound wonderful.

Grace,
Harry

[keyboardist2000]

okay, well can you explain me why you like the korg drums over yamaha drums?

[Musicwithharry]

okay, well can you explain me why you like the korg drums over yamaha drums?

I just like them better. They seem to resonate with me better.

With that said, I layer almost everything and so that is why I use the Alesis SR-16 along with the Korg PA700. It fattens the drums up and I suffer less with my drums getting lost in the mix, especially when playing live. The Korg is really good about everything having it place in the mix, but I find that in very dense passages, the drums can get a bit lost. It is the nature of electronic drums/drums sounds.

I also layer to help with polyphony. Instead of simply copying a different kit on two different tracks and copying the sequencer data over to both tracks, I can simply set up the MIDI channel for the Alesis to match the MIDI channel output on the drum tracks on the Korg.

I like what Korg offers more than the other companies. I have had Yamaha arrangers before. I used a Roland arranger for years before getting the PA700. I also had a Technics arranger back in the 90's and the PA700 is, by far, the best I have used. I have also had Korg arrangers in the past and I still think that the PA700 is the best I have used.

Before I got the PA700 (September 2017), I did a lot of research on different arrangers, including many of what Yamaha offers. I listened intently and even played a few that were locally available. I chose the PA700 over all the others because of price and features. I also chose Korg, because my studio is full of Korg and I like their sounds.

I hope that helps a bit...

Grace,
Harry

[keyboardist2000]

okayy, thank you for the information

[karmathanever]

In terms of "Keyboard drums", Yamaha was always good (I'm talking about "acoustic drums samples" of course)

In recent models (PA3 & PA4), Korg have stepped up and are now as acceptable as Yamaha.

Yamaha digital drum kit samples are far better than Roland

Just my opinion (owning Korg, Yamaha and Roland right now)

Pete

[Musicwithharry]

In terms of "Keyboard drums", Yamaha was always good (I'm talking about "acoustic drums samples" of course)

In recent models (PA3 & PA4), Korg have stepped up and are now as acceptable as Yamaha.

Yamaha digital drum kit samples are far better than Roland

Just my opinion (owning Korg, Yamaha and Roland right now)

Pete

I used to use Roland drums back in the day and they sounded very good. I used to have a pair of the JV-880 rack synths and used one for Drums and Bass and the other for EP sounds. They worked well for my original music when I played live and also created many albums with those sounds. They worked well.

I also had a Yamaha RY30 for a time and it seemed to sound good too. My favorite during those times was the Ensoniq VFX-SD. I still use the drums from that synth as a drum layer today when writing music.

My last album release used a combination of Korg M50 and Ensoniq VFX-SD drums. I like how they sound together.

The PA700 is a whole different beast because of the arranger portion. I use it by itself at the nursing homes and it has never really let me down.

For the trio I am putting together, I use the PA700, the Alesis SR-16 (newly acquired), and the Korg M50 (mainly for solos and parts I will play live). The PA700 really holds its own. The ONLY reason I got the Alesis SR-16 was for adding a layer to the drums so they are a bit more punchy when used live. They are not even that high from the Alesis, volume-wise, but still add enough variation to positively augment the drums on the PA700.

I think that to really get into Roland stuff, you would need the module that Roland uses in their V-Drum kits. THAT is where Roland really shines. I would also say the same about Alesis with their Strike Pro electronic drums.

There was/is also a drum brain called the Mimic Pro from Pearl (powered by Slate/Steven Slate Drums). What I heard on that was fantastic. If memory serves, that module is VERY expensive at $2,199 USD.

I think that the Korg drum kits would sound better if there were multiple outputs on the PA700. I imagine that they are markedly better coming out of a PA4X for that very reason. You could assign the drums (and bass) to the additional outputs on the PA4X and EQ/mix them differently than the other sounds.

That is also how I use the drum sounds on the Ensoniq VFX-SD. It has 4 outputs (Main L/R and AUX L/R).

I have always found Yamaha drums to be a bit predictable. They are usually pretty good, but predictable, nonetheless. I find the same to be true with Roland (unless you go back to the 808 and 909 machines and their obvious uses).

The BIGGEST things that I have found about electronic drums (whether from a keyboard OR from an E-kit) are the following:

1. Articulation and playing of the parts (this may relate more to programming the drums from a keyboard). We have to think like a drummer and get everything to sound like it really was/is being played by a real drummer. Knowing when to insert fills, how to actually play the fills, and such. I know that this is obvious to many, but should be stated anyway.

2. Mixing the drums differently than the rest of the sounds. If there are multiple outputs on the keyboard, this is easy. Taking up another couple of channels on a mixer specifically for drums is easy to do and really is worth it. It helps to EQ them and raise up the volumes so that the electric drum sounds do not get lost in the mix. Nothing will ever really compare to a real acoustic kit in that regard, but we can get very close.

3. Layering kits when needed. For acoustic songs (or 'unplugged' songs), having a single kit normally suffices. The styles in the PA series arrangers do a remarkable job with getting the drums and percussion to sound like they really are played by someone real. The different chordal variations also allow for more variety in patterns and that is a big plus. For other types of music, layering drum kits allow you to get a more full sounding kit.

I know in my case, I use the Rock Ambient, Pop Ambient and Vintage Ambient kits in most of what I program. They sound great. I was happy with them, but wanted a bit more punch in my MIDI sequences and that is why I added the Alesis SR-16 (hard to believe that has been in production for 30 years). It really opened things up, drum-wise, for my MIDI sequences. Maybe the snare on the Rock Kit is bright and higher pitched, but adding a kit from the Alesis allows you to make a snare drum that is not only high pitched (Korg), but also deep and gritty (Alesis). The two together really make a difference and add just what I want for my drums.

I had a Technics SX-PR270 in the 90's. It was a Digital Ensemble series and basically a home unit but was a full machine (it just weighed about 200 pounds and featured a 100 watt sound system). It had a feature that monitored what was being played live on the keyboard and would adjust the 'backing band' accordingly The more aggressive I played, the more it would add to the backing band (not just instruments, but also ghost snares, little fills, extra keyboard/bass parts, etc...). Maybe Korg could implement something like it. I consider that something akin to a mini-KARMA feature and it really did allow for a more live feel.

I remember past threads on this forum talking about the differences between Yamaha and Korg (I commented a number of times in those threads alone, especially during my search for a new arranger). Maybe the OP could search these and get a better idea of what we've talked about in the past comparing/contrasting the two).

Grace,
Harry