Korg Forums

[Vfx-sd guy]

I am trying to figure out how to record on my korg kross and have found the page where you can set up your punch in and out recordings, but I can't seem to figure out exactly how to get this thing to do just that. I set the measures and then begin the sequencer but when it gets to the first measure where I want the recording to start, it doesn't do anything. I don't know when I should hit the record button or even IF I should hit the record button and even when I do it just erases the track that I'm trying to punch in on. it would be nice to have a step by step tutorial for little things like this since it seems like the people that create these workstations are under the impression that you know mostly everything there is to know before you even get started. There is absolutely no online help that I can find that can help me with this without having to go through a thousand versions of "Jump". In fact, I've learned more from Spencer Berger and Maria Calfa-DePaul than any of the other so-called "experts" who can play "broken wing" endlessly (okay, I get it.) but can't explain how to fix minor playing mistakes because, apparently, they NEVER make any.
I would seriously appreciate anybody running through this in a dummy sort of way since I'm a 66 year old who just wants to play some oldies but can't seem to get past some of the more basic issues with this keyboard. If there's anybody out there who can help me out with this or point me to a video or anything that will help I will certainly appreciate the gesture. Thank you and I hope to hear from someone soon.
Ennis Jay

[sutekh]

There's a series of very basic tutorials on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJQszMui6GA

I've had the same problem punching in to a track- it erases whatever I had recorded on the track before. I may have found out why- on pg 56 of the Operations Guide under Recording Setup, the default recording method is always "Overwrite". This can be changed to Overdub, Manual Punch-In, Auto Punch-In, Loop, or Multi. So by changing it to "Manual Punch-In" that should solve the problem.

There's also these tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNEp4q2S0kE There's not much sound, it just shows what he's doing on the LCD screen, with some instructions below.

[sutekh]

On the main screen when you're sequencing there's 5 tabs at the top: Main, Prog, Mix, Rec, and Arp. Go to the Rec tab, and you'll see "Overwrite" at the bottom of the screen. Change this to either "Punch-In" setting.

I'm assuming it only affects the track that's selected at the bottom of the screen.

[Vfx-sd guy]

Thank you for responding so quickly. When I first attempted punch in recording, I did what you described but the recording would start from the beginning even though I had the measures mapped out. Wouldn't work. Today I tried it again and it did work so I'm happy with that. Let me ask you this; if I decide to use the foot switch to punch in and out, do I need to make some kind of global set up and which socket do I plug in to, etc. Also, does this work on the audio recorder as well? I have a very hard time figuring out where I am and can't figure out why sequencer and audio tracks can't be combined. It took another 3rd party to help me figure that one out. Anyway, I don't suppose there's a way to make the metronome click on half-notes, is there? I, actually, have several more questions but I'm just going to concentrate on the basics, right now. I, once, owned a number of Ensoniq keyboards and I was sequencing songs almost immediately after unboxing them and, technically speaking, I'm an idiot. I was the first one man band in my area and I'm not even a keyboard player but I was able to learn and record the parts because I didn't have to fart around with technical roadblocks. I'd talk about MIDI and people didn't know what I was talking about. Now, even I would be happy if I could grasp just ten percent of this thing. Anyway, I will have more questions and I already appreciate how quickly I received a response so please don't travel too far. Thank you again

[sutekh]

I agree. My first synth was the Ensoniq SQ1+ and it was known for having a very well-written manual that explained everything. So far the Kross is very intuitive for certain things like splits, layers, and tweaking sounds, but not for the fiddly recording stuff. (Such as why it keeps erasing the whole track, which I think the recording mode will solve)

It would be great to punch-in using a pedal. That's actually a great idea- but I have no idea whether it can do it or not.

I knew the Korg Triton inside and out. I could answer all your questions on the Triton (except the pedal for punching in) The Kross gets kind of Roland-ish (I had a Roland for a while that I could do nothing with. There'd be some obscure little check box 10 pages in that would prevent you from recording, that sort of thing. Too bad cause the sounds were great)

I'm watching one of Spencer Berger's tutorials now- he should do a whole series for Korg!

[Vfx-sd guy]

I've decided to forego trying to put a little act together on the kross since the learning curve is just too much for a 66yr old ex-guitar player who doesn't have the energy to program songs anymore, so I picked up a pa3x and I'll, either, load it up with mp3s of the songs I used to do and remove the vocals or find someone who creates midi files (like Monster Dan used to do for Ensoniq keyboards). Anyway, I'm just going to have some fun creating. I certainly do appreciate your answering my posts and I'm sure I'll be looking for help, eventually, in the pa3x forum. Meantime, the kross is for sale. Just sayin is all. Thanks again for your help.
Nick StJohn

[sutekh]

Know what i've been recording my ideas on until I learn the Kross? A CCrane CC Witness! It's an mp3 player that records audio- absolutely zero learning curve, like a tape deck (I mean an old Kmart tape deck, not some Tascam multitrack monstrosity. I had one of those and it was terrible)

The Kross is still way better than a computer- it takes 45 minutes to set up all the input levels and nonsense just to record a single track on Audacity etc.

You really hit the nail on the head (and inspired the following Rant)- Why can't programmers wrap their heads around the concepts of "simple" and "intuitive"? Look at an old tape recorder- the only counter-intuitive feature was having to press the Play and Record buttons at the same time. You press the two buttons and it records every time. Not so on the "professional" equipment. With a piece of "Pro" gear (or software) I've found you have only a 50/50 chance of it actually recording what you try to record, and you have to do a lot more than just plug in to set it up- there's all these fiddly levels and check boxes and poorly documented settings that force you to go online to a Forum just to find out how to make your "Pro" gear do what a $10 tape recorder was able to do 30 years ago.

The Kross is ahead of the 50/50 curve so far- but then again, it's been erasing my whole tracks whenever I punched in cause it took me weeks to find that "manual punch-in" setting. Why is an important obstacle like that buried? Why isn't it it prominently featured where you can't miss it? (Maybe Korg hired some guys from Roland to design the sequencer and audio recorder)