Korg Forums

[ravenxbishop]

i'm not sure if they should be called "voices" or "programs" or even "kits"

but i've read a number of things that seem to imply its possible to use things other than the korg specific sound set.

the combi's on karma lab are not new sounds ... but the instructions say you must be using the original sounds in order for them to work ... by which there is some indication that one could plausibly be using new sounds. and then there is :

http://www.pro-rec.com/karma.html

which specifically says "new sounds for your korg karma"

reasonable prices too.

so, how does one go about making a format that will fit into karma... from their own samples?

[X-Trade]

In the synth world in general there is often a confusion between 'sounds', 'samples', 'programs', 'combis' even, etc.

'Sounds' is quite ambiguous really and could mean any number of the above, just typically something which is played and makes a sound!
Part of the assumption is often that the synth just plays back a sample and does nothing to it, thus calling all of the built in programs 'samples' or 'sounds'. But the whole thing about a program is it tells the synth not just which sample(s) to use, but when to use them (velocity switching, keyzones), and what to do to them in terms of envelope, filter, panning, effects, arpeggiator, etc. That is all that makes up a 'program', the basis of the majority of work in a workstation like the Karma, Triton, M3, M50, etc.

Whilst programs and combis are 'programmed' - by inputting parameters in the edit screens - samples are 'sampled' or 'recorded'.

Now, you can not load your own samples into the KARMA. You can however create new programs using the variety of onboard samples, as well as creating combis that use those programs. You can also buy a number of expansion boards from KORG that add additional samples, and often come with a floppy disk with programs and combinations that use those samples. Note that you don't have to load the floppy disk - you could just go straight ahead and program your own sounds that use those new samples, as I often do. Some of the included programs on the disk though may be to your taste.

Which brings us on to the latter part of your question.
Many third party combis, and those that come with the expansion boards, will use some of the programs in the preload banks (A, B, & E), for example a drum kit, guitar, organ, or bass. Those combis may also come with their own programs, so it helps to keep that bank full of relevant programs and not the generic programs which are probably already available in the preload banks. In particular it means the EXB combis don't have to use up half the program bank on programs that don't necessarily use the new samples on the expansion board.

Bottom line is, you can not load your own samples to the KARMA. It is a feature which is sadly lacking in the KARMA, and honestly is a bit complicated in other KORG workstations. Very worthwhile if you can get your head around it thoungh.
Many people who program and distribute sets of programs and combis will often call them 'sounds', sometimes they are also called 'voices', although I get the impression this is generally a trend from cheap arranger type keyboards. Voices more accurately is a term more useful for describing polyphony of a keyboard - e.g. "it has a polyphony of 64 simultaneous voices".
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