Korg Forums

groove dude · Joined: 26 Jan 2011 Posts: 3

I just bought the black wavedrum, which I love but was disappointed to see only a couple of weeks after I bought it that there was an expanded sound set on the oriental wavedrum as the Namm debut stated.
It seems a shame to not have some sort of upgrade ability for existing owners of the silver and black models :cry:
Is there any way to swap a chip or something in the existing models to upgrade them to the oriental's specs without having to purchase a whole new drum just for the Arabic options :?: :?:
It would be very nice for current owners and supporters of this product to have that option, Akin to when I had my old wavestation converted to EX specs. an upgrade cost would certainly be cheaper than purchasing a whole new drum. :idea: :idea: :idea:

WaveDrummer · Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:26 pm Post subject:

Your predicament seems to be a very common one from what I'm seeing on comments across the web (Youtube comments, etc).

At this time, I am unaware of any "upgrade" option for owners of the Silver or Black version, but I will do my best to get a definitive answer from Korg USA directly.
(Rich F. are you reading any of this?)

Keep in mind, however, the Oriental version is $50.00 U.S. more than the Black version (which is already $50.00 more than the Silver), and from what I've been told, the Oriental won't be shipping in the U.S. for at least another month or so. I have no info on what the production/shipping schedule is for other countries/regions.

But don't be too disappointed, all the Wavedrums are awesome! My first view of the Black one was at NAMM and I was pleasantly surprised that it looked even better in person than in photos. It appeared to have a flat-black finish in the pics I had seen, but up close it actually has a nice, subtle, very fine, rainbow glitter added into the finish. Besides, you'll likely become addicted to the Wavedrum and want more than one anyway. Seriously.
Wink

groove dude · Joined: 26 Jan 2011 Posts: 3

The wavedrum is very nice indeed and a very different beast from the handsonic 10 it sits beside in my studio (which is more of a hand trigger for samples rather than an "instrument" like the wavedrum. Together though they are a nice compliment to each other, performing different tasks. Another wavedrum would be hard to fit in: hopeful there will be some sort of board swap from an authorized korg dealer (even if it were upwards of $200, it would be far cheaper than buying another whole unit as there is 2/3 overlap in the unit's capabilities.
I truly hope the techs at Korg give this a think for us current owners of their great product.

bubinga · Joined: 09 Jan 2011 Posts: 6

I am in the same ball park with groove dude and just bought a black one from US and it will arrive to me second week of February. And then I see the Oriental announced, then two days after that I see it is available already in stores. Damn !

And I did not think that the Black Korg is pure color cosmetic. I thought its rim is metal and the silver one plastic. I would not pay for color difference only.

Korg website and press announcements are really lacking depth, correct product description and they are misguiding.

If the additional sounds, loops and algorithms is due to pure software, it's a shame Korg did not implement a USB interface to upgrade sounds. It would even be useful to exchange "found sounds" by other fellow wavedrummers. And I would pay $200 for an upgrade.

I do not think Korg will ever offer an upgrade opportunity. And it's a big shame. Hope they proove me wrong.

WaveDrummer · Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:36 am Post subject:

I can appreciate the frustration, especially over the rim issue--believing that one was plastic and one was metal. I can only speak for myself on this matter, but if you go back and look at the Youtube videos from PASIC 2009 and NAMM 2010, I always tried to make it very clear that the rim on the Silver Wavedrum was aluminum and durable.

Unfortunately, it became an extremely common misconception. I believe to a lot of people, contrary to the message, it simply appeared to be plastic.

And for what it's worth, the Oriental did appear somewhat suddenly, without much notice. I only got my first glimpse of one a few weeks before NAMM 2011.

But I'll be here to help in any ways I can when you do receive your awesome Black ones. They do look cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrso0c14f-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1RUBRQBFWk

groove dude · Joined: 26 Jan 2011 Posts: 3

Seems like it would be possible: look at the Fishman aura pedals: those who bought the old ones (dedicated to specific instruments) were given an upgrade option to the Aura 16, which added upgradable software and even a USB port when there wasn't one. Hopefully Korg will give us current owners an option as the Arabic presets are beautiful. :D please?

rnbwkat · Joined: 27 Jan 2011 Posts: 2

It does suck that there are no upgrade paths. I was moments away from getting the black series when I saw the Oriental AND found a distributor to get one (kraftmusic.com). It arrived yesterday and I have only begun to play around with it. Addictive - indeed.

You can bet I will be on the forums to learn all I can.

peace
Kat

Panason · Junior Member Joined: 13 Mar 2011 Posts: 80

Does the Oriental have a different DSP engine? Or just 50 extra memory slots?

Can't you just program the oriental sounds into a silver or black Wavedrum by copying the parameters off the Oriental's manual?

By the way, the silver looks cheap and plasticy to me too, because of all the cheap chinese gear in the last decade, (and still coming) using the cheap aluminium-look paint that soon rubs off Sad

It probably looks better up close, but a darker finish would have been preferable. Titanium rim, next time ? Amorphous alloy? Smile

Bertotti · Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:24 am Post subject:

No you can not program the oriental sounds into the originals. The problem with the originals is the oriental has additional algorithms to use, I think the # is 9.