Is the Juno Gi comparable to the Korg Kronos?

mrsonic996 · Post by **mrsonic996** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:39 pm

I love the sound of Korg Kronos. Especially here http://soundcloud.com/korg/ubiquity-1

Unfortnealy, it's quite expensive for my budget. I am looking since some weeks at the Roland Juno Gi. Could you get a result similar to that? I already
love the Diverse Piano, EP, and nice Organ sounds on the Juno Gi. But Is it that good for it's price?

I'm really willing to know. The Juno Gi is one of the best keyboards I think I could afford at this price.

Also looked at the Yamaha Mox6. Not too amazing, and it has the same price of the Juno Gi. The tones in the Yamaha are just weak and don't give you any kind of feeling. The Piano is so-so and isn't not even close to the awesomeness of Juno Gi's Piano.

I'm looking to use the Juno Gi, to play solo, To use in work with a DAW and VST's (Like FlStudio and Ni Massive, FM8, etc), and to take advantage of its lightweight, and take it at my Keyboard Lessons starting in October.

I really like the Kronos. Can really the Juno Gi be close to that? If not better?

I would really like some tips. I Think i'm choosing it as a first Keyboard because of the nice acoustic sounds and the okay synths. I also like Multitrack recorder thing with the Sliders. It would be WAY handier using it on my PC Than moving the sliders with my mouse one by one.

After I get a regular Keyboard that has also Acoustic Sounds, i'm really REALLY willing to buy the Korg R3. It sounds insanely good to me, seems really powerful and the interface is BRILLIANT. I love working with it. I once gave it a try at a Local Musical shop. It looked really powerfull.
Is it that Powerful? Is the Korg R3 a great synth?

So what would be the verdict?

Also, Any other keyboards I would be recommended to look at? Preferably, Not over 1000 euros. My budget can't be extended more than that.

Thanks for reading! Regards, Teodor Dumitrace

Yoa · Post by **Yoa** » Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:20 pm

Personally, I'd go with the Kronos just because you can do everything you want to with it with ease. If you want cheap, though, the new Casio seems somewhat ok, but I've yet to play with it and, it being Casio, I have my doubts.

MarPabl · Post by **MarPabl** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 12:06 am

I think that comparing a $1,000.00 (not being a flagship) with a $3,000.00 workstation (flagship) is way out of the question... You just can't compare both. The similar result you get with both is that you can make music with them. Apart of that, I see no additional point of comparison.

For the price range you're currently in, your options are (in order of my personal preference):
- Korg M50
- Yamaha MOX6 (you didn't like this one)
- Roland Juno Gi

Compare those and make your decision. I also think that the Casio XW-P1/G1 are worth a shot.

All those workstations are "romplers". If you like the fact that Kronos has several synth engines, and not just a "rompler", then you can add to the list the Kurzweil PC3LE6 which is above the price range of the above options, but this one gives you Dynamic VAST (really powerful, comparable to Kronos on the PC3k version) and you can think that you get 3 synth engines encompassed on the powerful Dynamic VAST: "rompler", VA and KB3 (organ emulation)

mrsonic996 · Post by **mrsonic996** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:32 am

MarPabl wrote:I think that comparing a $1,000.00 (not being a flagship) with a $3,000.00 workstation (flagship) is way out of the question... You just can't compare both. The similar result you get with both is that you can make music with them. Apart of that, I see no additional point of comparison.

For the price range you're currently in, your options are (in order of my personal preference):
- Korg M50
- Yamaha MOX6 (you didn't like this one)
- Roland Juno Gi

Compare those and make your decision. I also think that the Casio XW-P1/G1 are worth a shot.

All those workstations are "romplers". If you like the fact that Kronos has several synth engines, and not just a "rompler", then you can add to the list the Kurzweil PC3LE6 which is above the price range of the above options, but this one gives you Dynamic VAST (really powerful, comparable to Kronos on the PC3k version) and you can think that you get 3 synth engines encompassed on the powerful Dynamic VAST: "rompler", VA and KB3 (organ emulation)

The MOX6 isn't who knows what from what i've heard and seen. Yet i haven't been able to get my hands on one yet. I will go and search to give it a try first.

Also, Is the Kurzweil PC3LE6 Much more different than the LE8? I haven't been able to find a LE6, only some LE8's. And the price is fairly good. Yet I must admit the PC3LE6 sounds really good.

And, What is your oppinion on the R3? Is it worthy to be get as a first Synth? I like the interface, but do you get that much control over the R3? I would really like to play with it myself and explore synthesis using the R3.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:19 am

If you want to explore synthesis then the R3 is a really good choice.

It's a full-on synthesizer where the sound is purely defined by the parameters. No samples or anything like that.

But no samples means no realistic pianos, guitars, drums, etc.

Actually the Radias is in your price range and it has a few samples including drums and such and is much more hands-on for tweaking and programming. It is also a great performance synth. It is the same synth architecture and sound algorithms as the R3, as the R3 is sold as a cheaper, more compact version of it.

You can almost craft entire performances or songs with it as it has two step sequencers, an arpeggiator, and up to four parts. The R3 can only effectively play one sound at a time, although it can layer or split that sound into two parts. But they are both really all about programming, so you'd have to really be serious about getting into that.

As for Kronos etc, I echo other's comments here. The Kronos is a flagship which actually uniquely features nine synthesisers in one, effectively. The other products you mention are LE (light edition) or entry-level products, the complete opposite end of the product range, so it is difficult to draw comparison.

I did once look at the Juno G (before the i) and was quite impressed. I preferred the Korg sounds though and went for the TR. but the inclusion of audio track disk recording was cool. Afaik only other workstation mentioned here with that is the Kronos.

mrsonic996 · Post by **mrsonic996** » Thu Jun 21, 2012 2:14 pm

X-Trade wrote:If you want to explore synthesis then the R3 is a really good choice.

It's a full-on synthesizer where the sound is purely defined by the parameters. No samples or anything like that.

But no samples means no realistic pianos, guitars, drums, etc.

Actually the Radias is in your price range and it has a few samples including drums and such and is much more hands-on for tweaking and programming. It is also a great performance synth. It is the same synth architecture and sound algorithms as the R3, as the R3 is sold as a cheaper, more compact version of it.

You can almost craft entire performances or songs with it as it has two step sequencers, an arpeggiator, and up to four parts. The R3 can only effectively play one sound at a time, although it can layer or split that sound into two parts. But they are both really all about programming, so you'd have to really be serious about getting into that.

As for Kronos etc, I echo other's comments here. The Kronos is a flagship which actually uniquely features nine synthesisers in one, effectively. The other products you mention are LE (light edition) or entry-level products, the complete opposite end of the product range, so it is difficult to draw comparison.

I did once look at the Juno G (before the i) and was quite impressed. I preferred the Korg sounds though and went for the TR. but the inclusion of audio track disk recording was cool. Afaik only other workstation mentioned here with that is the Kronos.

Many thanks. I think i will go for the Juno Gi Since the Di Was almost as twice as better than the G and the Gi is as twice as better as the Di. It's not that expensive either. And I need a Lightweight keyboard anyways, as I will have to carry it to Musical School.

MarPabl · Post by **MarPabl** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 12:22 am

mrsonic996 wrote:The MOX6 isn't who knows what from what i've heard and seen. Yet i haven't been able to get my hands on one yet. I will go and search to give it a try first.

Also, Is the Kurzweil PC3LE6 Much more different than the LE8? I haven't been able to find a LE6, only some LE8's. And the price is fairly good. Yet I must admit the PC3LE6 sounds really good.

And, What is your oppinion on the R3? Is it worthy to be get as a first Synth? I like the interface, but do you get that much control over the R3? I would really like to play with it myself and explore synthesis using the R3.

The Kurzweil PC3LE6 is just the same as the PC3LE8 being the only difference the number of keys and the fact that the PC3LE8 has a light balanced hammered action (similar to a piano) For the cost/benefit relation, the Kurzweil PC3LE is unbeatable IMHO and right now you can find the PC3-61 on eBay for around $1,000.00 If you like Kurzweil, you should buy this ASAP because such offers don't last long.

Personally, I also owned the Korg Radias. This is a great synth and it's way better than the Korg R3: for a synth fitting your budget, get a Radias instead. But I haven't suggested you those options because those are synths and you'll struggle to get acoustic sounds, sampler, sequencer and many features of workstations. If you don't care about that, you better get the Korg Radias, not the R3 And again, if you want a "rompler" and also a way to explore "VA" (DSP modeling) Synthesis, get the Kurzweil but be warned that you have a deep learning curve ahead