Totally Underwhelmed!

AndreasF · Post by **AndreasF** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:23 pm

Is it me or does the sympathetic resonance piano engine sound more annoying than nice? To me it just sounds like wind chimes in the distance and doesn't sound musical or even anything like a real piano, at least on the older Kronos pianos. It seems like a cheap marketing ploy to upgrade without really doing too much. The touch-drag functionality should have been there from the start (the technology always was), and as such tends to make the parameters jump wildly if you drag wrong. The setlist upgrade is nice, but easy window dressing to add to the OS.

What I would have loved to see was new filters like in the KingKorg, or another synth model perhaps.
I'm underwhelmed.

ed_f · Post by **ed_f** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:42 pm

And what a marketing ploy! They got my $0. Fooled again.

jimknopf · Post by **jimknopf** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:43 pm

AndreasF, I can't follow you at all here.
I definitely like the string resonance a lot, with most of the pianos.

BobTheDog · Post by **BobTheDog** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:49 pm

ed_f wrote:And what a marketing ploy! They got my $0. Fooled again.

Yep that's the last time I install a free update, totally disgusted here.

AndreasF · Post by **AndreasF** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:51 pm

Play short chord hits and that half second chiming sound that trails off really is bad. It gives me a complete headache.

keego · Post by **keego** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:54 pm

For me the Vintage effects added to use outside of EP1 is the best bit of what I think is a fantastic upgrade.

genehart · Post by **genehart** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:55 pm

AndreasF wrote:Play short chord hits and that half second chiming sound that trails off really is bad. It gives me a complete headache.

turn it off then )

AndreasF · Post by **AndreasF** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:00 pm

Turn it off? Well then why the hell are they bragging about this being a huge feature? I was so excited about the update, I invited a large group of fellow musicians to hear it, and to the one they said something along the lines of "Ewwww". It truly gives me a headache. I really expected so much more of Korg for version 3.

AnyMeans · Post by **AnyMeans** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:00 pm

AndreasF wrote:Play short chord hits and that half second chiming sound that trails off really is bad. It gives me a complete headache.

What setting are you using for the SR parameter? I really like the pianos with SR parameter set to 19 or 20. It is definitely subtle to my ears.

Francois · Post by **Francois** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:12 pm

AndreasF, nobody is forcing to use sympathetic resonance. You can remove it if that's what you wish. And as much as it is an important part of teh update, it's by no means the only one.

keego wrote:For me the Vintage effects added...

That's also my favourite bit of OS 3.0.2. Until I can try Berlin D that is.

AndreasF · Post by **AndreasF** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:18 pm

If I set it low enough for it not to have an annoying ring, then I don't even hear much of a difference between that and when it is off. I was so excited by the update I invited a large group of fellow musicians over, and their sentiments were exactly the same. It's quite annoying and unnatural sounding. It really gave me a headache.

There's still great achievements that can be made in DSP programming, it's such a shame Korg is wasting their talents on cheap gimmicks just to extend the Kronos line a little longer, presumably while they buy time to develop the real advances for the next generation workstation.

Again, couldn't they have included some of those new KingKorg filters? It wouldn't have cannibalized the KingKorg, which is such a great performance machine.

ed_f · Post by **ed_f** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:33 pm

I had an interesting discussion with a Kronos sound developer. He asked if I thought he should include sounds that are outside the natural range or controls that went past natural control.

My position is that it should be included, part of digital music that can be amazing is the ability to create things that are impossible in the real world.

While he agreed on that level, he said the problem is in the hands of some he gets comments like "That doesn't sound right" or "When I set it to 100% is sounds terrible"

Well yes the scratch of a violin bow set WAY too high (while possibly useful in the right context), may sound bad to the person used to just pushing the violin preset and moving on. But, depending on the use - in a mix sometimes you actually need to push those beyond what could be easily recorded in the studio.

I am sure if you push things like string resonance, damper resonance, damper noise, etc. WAY up.. it sounds pretty bad. But, if you take the time to dial them all in for the needs of the project the amount of realism is really amazing.

What I am happy to see is that instrument makers (thank you Korg) have learned that many of the elements that make a sound great are beyond the "fundamental". Early piano sounds were often sterile and lifeless. Now the ability to add in other factors in subtle ways expands our sonic pallet in powerful in many directions.

BobTheDog · Post by **BobTheDog** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:37 pm

AndreasF wrote:Turn it off? Well then why the hell are they bragging about this being a huge feature? I was so excited about the update, I invited a large group of fellow musicians to hear it, and to the one they said something along the lines of "Ewwww". It truly gives me a headache. I really expected so much more of Korg for version 3.

Maybe you should have had a little listen first, it's never good to make a fool of yourself.

genehart · Post by **genehart** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:42 pm

Update gives everything that was promised, they didn't announce to satisfy every expectation. Also , that satisfaction depends on what kind of music you perform ) Is there a lot of staccato based phrases in your piano parts ?
Do you tweak kronos presets trying to get what you need ?

jimknopf · Post by **jimknopf** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 9:42 pm

Andreas, you invited "a large group of fellow musicians" to do what? Test an OS update for the quality of it`s SR?

For my ears it`s not hard to balance the piano settings in a way which includes the new resonance in a very useful and welcome way.

The whole update with essential usability upgrades (load sample data is very important for memory management, etc.) is huge from my view, and I regard your "buying time" and "gimmick" talk as completely off track, frankly!