Programming for Broadway shows

dcpiano88 · Post by **dcpiano88** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 12:46 am

Hello hive,

I am a Music Director, Broadway pianist, and Mainstage 3 power user for Programming musical theater keyboards all over the country. I recently bought a Korg Kronos 2 and I love it so far. Because I do not do much "on-board" programming (splits, layers, etc), I have a couple of questions I would love to know about the Kronos and its programming abilities before I commit to using only the keyboard sans Mainstage, computer, and separate audio interface, in an actual show.

What is the maximum number of layers I can have in a combi? Many Broadway shows can have 5+ layers or sounds in one patch. Without even talking about splits, what is the maximum number of voices I can have in one patch or layer? Would it be 16 to correspond to the number of MIDI channels assuming I set each channel to Gch?

Because I will be using combis for a majority of the patches, how easy it is to set a split point for each of those above sounds in a patch? Which tab do I go to set my splits?

Lastly, how easy (or difficult) is it to take sounds I have sampled (primarily using the old Autosampler software), and import them into the Korg Kronos? I am assuming my samples would need to be in wav format? Any other details I need to know about external sounds getting imported into the Kronos? WOuld all this be easier on an editor? and is there even one for Mac with the new 3.03 OS?

Thanks in advance!

Kevin

Korg Kronos 2 88, Korg Triton Extreme Workstation, Yamaha S90XS, Yamaha NU1, Yamaha C7, Logic Pro X, Mainstage 3 Power User

ferchis · Post by **ferchis** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 3:08 am

What is the maximum number of layers I can have in a combi?

you can have up to 16 layers all ringing at once, but bear in mind that it would severly tax polyphony depending on what those layers/programs are.
and yes, they can all be either on the MIDI Gch, or you can even send them to different ones and control them with a separate MIDI keyboard.

Because I will be using combis for a majority of the patches, how easy it is to set a split point for each of those above sounds in a patch?

It's actually pretty easy, but it will nevertheless take some time to get used to. once you are accostumed to the Korg way of doing things, you'll be flying.

You do this at the MIDI filter/zones --> Keyboard zones tab, where you set the top and bottom key of each layer/program

Broadwave · Post by **Broadwave** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:19 am

Hi Kevin,

Adding to what ferchis mentioned, you can effectively have more than 16 layers if you also take into consideration that each program has 2 EXi slots - yes the Kronos can be ridiculously powerful, but you have to keep an eye on the polyphony (which is one reason why I bought a second Kronos).

I'm only just getting to grips with Autosampler in Mainstage 3, but I only sample the basic waveforms, then set my loop points in DSP Quattro ready for importing the Wavs into the Kronos - it's a relatively painless task once you get used to it.

As far as getting the wav files into the Kronos, I recommend getting a USB network adapter, and use the FTP function to transfer sample data between your Mac/Kronos. It's also a perfect and easy way to do backups - I can recommend "Fetch" as your Mac FTP client.

Korg have released an new version of the Editor to work with OS 3, but sadly it lacks any sample management - all the work has to be done on the Kronos itself.

branman · Post by **branman** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:31 am

Kevin, under your circumstances, make sure you carry a UPS, because if someone kicks out your power cable, or interrupts the AC feed in any way, I don't think your show would appreciate the 3 or so minutes it would take for a full re-boot and large sample load. If it was me, I'd still carry Mainstage in a laptop and some kind of basic controller, should the Kronos act up - there's war stories on this forum - ram getting loose, boot issues etc.

QuiRobinez · Post by **QuiRobinez** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:55 am

dcpiano88 wrote: What is the maximum number of layers I can have in a combi? Many Broadway shows can have 5+ layers or sounds in one patch. Without even talking about splits, what is the maximum number of voices I can have in one patch or layer? Would it be 16 to correspond to the number of MIDI channels assuming I set each channel to Gch?

theoretically you can have a maximum of 16 layers, but it depends on the choosen instruments. If you play all layers together you will definitely run out of cpu power to handle all the voices which will result in massive note stealing. But probably you won't have any sections on your song where you need all those layers of sounds sounding together. In that case there are a few things you need to know. I just answered a similar question on facebook about cpu usage on the kronos in combi mode and how to setup the kronos for combi use. I think there are some interesting tips for you in that post:

for more cpu power and less note stealing three things are important in combi mode.

1: in global mode - basic tab (system preference section) you see a option called Mute Mode: set this one to Live (now the mute behavior in combi mode is changed) if you mute a timbre while playing it won't take any polyphony and cpu resources anymore. If you leave it to the default Studio setting, then it still consumes cpu en polyphony because only the audio path is muted and not anything else. So use the setting: Live
- don't forget to save the global settings to the right top menu to save your kronos this way.

2: if you use Effects, reassign effects to several timbres. For instance when using a delay effect for timbre 1, 2 and 3, there is nothing wrong with assigning one delay effect and use that one delay effect for all three timbres. If you use three delay effects then obviously this will take much more cpu power then one. This applies of course to all effects used. Same for a reverb, just set the reverb in one of the MFX slots and use the send channel for each timbre to determine the amount of reverb.

3: a very important feature is the timbre Priority checkbox on the combi - Timbre parameter tab - Midi subtab. Basically what this does is influences the note stealing of each timbre. For your main sounds (like piano and bass) set this priority to ON (checked). For pads and other sounds that are less important leave it off (unchecked). Don't activate the priority for every timbre. So let's say you play a piano with a pad underneath, you have the priority checked for the piano and unchecked for the pad. Now when you play and run out of cpu the kronos will try to keep the sound going for the piano and it steals some notes of the pad sound. It does this really good and most people won't hear it in a band context.

dcpiano88 wrote: Because I will be using combis for a majority of the patches, how easy it is to set a split point for each of those above sounds in a patch? Which tab do I go to set my splits?

In combi mode go to the MIDI filter/zones and keyboard zones subtab, activate the top key entry and hold the Enter key on your kronos and press the note on the keyboard to set the value. Do the same for the bottom value for each timbre.

dcpiano88 wrote: Lastly, how easy (or difficult) is it to take sounds I have sampled (primarily using the old Autosampler software), and import them into the Korg Kronos? I am assuming my samples would need to be in wav format? Any other details I need to know about external sounds getting imported into the Kronos? WOuld all this be easier on an editor? and is there even one for Mac with the new 3.03 OS?

This is very easy, use an autosampler software and when you sampled your instrument export that library to a soundfont library (SF2 file). Now copy that sf2 file to a usb stick and load that one in the kronos. Now a bank will be made with the programs and the samples which you can save on the kronos to a kronos sample library. Put that saved library in the autoload section of the kronos and your sounds will be there when you start the kronos.
Of course you can assign the kronos effects to the sample programs (hd1 module) if you want to have specific effects on them.

andrewt · Post by **andrewt** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 5:44 am

Hi Kevin, I just saw your post.

I mainly play cello and guitar in pits, but I've played keyboard for 2 shows now using my Kronos. I know a few other local keyboardists that use Mainstage and my Kronos has been more reliable (of course using a UPS) with no issues.

Mostly for that reason, I much prefer using the Kronos for shows. Also, many of the Kronos sounds (pianos, organs, EPs, synths) are better than the stock Mainstage sounds. It's nice being able to use the onboard virtual analog synths to tweak things.