It is Kronos related

[Vlad_77]

Hey Wizards,

I need some advice please. As you can see in my sig, I am a proud Kronos owner. However, I want to add another board or module to my rig. Here's the problem:

I have learned from living in The Netherlands that the cars are small. As such, except for big gigs when we have our roadies, I cannot use my Fantom X8 or XV-88 in gigs. So, I am using the Kronos (no matter what) and my Kurzweil PC3. Now, I LOVE my Kurzweil but, it goes into the well known fits that Kurzweils are wont to do and sometimes I have to try to turn the thing on five or six times. I have tried every fix but the problem is maddeningly intermittent. In addition, I want to add the Roland sound back. So I am seeking your advice on how best to complement the kikker Kronos sound. I do have the money for another Kronos, but, I think that would be overkill.

Here are my options:

1. A Jupiter 80 AND an Integra-7
2. A Jupiter 50 AND an Integra-7
3. A Jupiter 80
4. Integra-7 driven by a 76 key master MIDI board if such a beast exists
5. Integra-7 driven by the Kurzweil IF I can fix the stupid initializing scanner problem.

Thanks guys! Sharp, I wanted to post this here as I feel I would get more focused advice and it is related directly to Kronos. However, if you see fit to redirect or move the thread I completely understand.

All of that said, I have never received bad advice here and I completely trust any advice you folks might have. I am working with approximately a 4000 Euro budget.

Best,
Vlad

PS: I would have posted also in the Roland Clan, Sonikmatter, and Motifator, but, I am not a masochist.

[Stipes Vigilo]

Good luck on finding a 76 or even a 73 key controller. Those are my favorite too. You might be able to find an older studiologic vmk-76 key and I personally love the feel of these boards since they use a wood key hammer response.

Something I've always hated about Rolands are the keybeds, especially the non-weighted ones and the weighted ones increase in size/weight to make them a better studio instrument than for travel use. Depends on your styles of music too as well as your preferences in sound, but you could also go with a Yamaha Motif XF7 or XS7 for additional sounds and keybed with an Integra to get that range of sound. A second Kronos? Yeah, personally, I would go with that! Weighted-73 key; 9 engine sound beast. What's not to love about that?

edit/add: I use two Motif racks too (XS & ES) and you're right, the guitars are fantastic!
2nd edit/add: I also use a Roland V-Synth GT on top of my Kronos and they compliment each other quite well, I just don't get the same feel from the Fantoms or new Jupiters as I do with the V's AP ElasticAudio.

[Vlad_77]

Hi Stipes,

Thanks for your response. I would love to get a V-Synth but they are very very hard to find in The Netherlands. Certainly a possibility would be a V-Synth XT rack from Ebay for instance. The thing is, the V-Synth is a great synth for creating great soundscapes and for some projects it would be fantastic. Again though, finding a V-Synth XT or GT here is very hard.

The Kurzweil is such a powerful keyboard and complements the Kronos nicely too but, that "initializing scanner" problem is as I said so maddeningly sporadic that I never know from gig to gig whether I have hit a lucky streak and it behaves it self. If it consistently would fire up, then my solution would be just an Integra-7 and slave it to the Kurz. As you know, when you're gigging, your gear has to be reliable and as I stated I have tried every fix listed on Sonikmatter and Cunka.com but none of them seem to produce stable results.

I kind of like your idea of an XS7 or XF7 as another possibility. I am currently in a classic rock band, developing an acoustic act based largely on Gaelic music (Irish and Scottish) plus I am writing my own stuff. The classic rock band is the busiest right now and I have gone beyond the point of frustration with the Kurz. A second Kronos would be cool, but, I love the way Korgs and Rolands sound together. In addition, I sometimes need to play acoustic guitar phrases while the two guitarists are doing electric stuff and frankly, Yamaha is king of guitar sounds with Roland a close second at least for me.

Gahhh if only the cars were a tad larger here!!

Thanks again and also thanks in advance for more thoughts from this great community.

[Bertotti]

Would the Roland A88 controller specifically made for the integra be to big! It has the same action as my kids rp301 and I really like that action but that is obviously very subjective. There is also the a49 but that is probably way to small for your use unless you added two of them. Just a thought.
On I think the action is called ivory feel on the a88.
Or perhaps do like some others have done although it is only a 61 key board, add the integra 7 and a king korg, is it possible to slave the integra to both boards and use either one or both to control it, I don't know bit just another thought. Or even a Used or new Nord Stage2?

[metallo]

I'm currently using a kronos 73 and a V-Synth GT (plus a korg trinity plus that will be in my gear for ever and ever) and they are the perfect fellows eachother.
I know is pretty hard to find a V-Synth GT but also the V-Synth or the V-Synth XT (easier to find maybe?) can be very good.

[Stipes Vigilo]

A88 & KingKorg suffer from no aftertouch. To some it's not important but an absolute must for me. There is the Akai MPK88 in that regards, but it does weigh a bit. For the smaller 61 key there is the Akai MPK61 and the Novation Impulse too. I too wish they would make a 73/76 key controller or better yet, a dual 73 key controller. But from what the companies have told me at NAMM, that's never going to happen.

And as far as the V-Synth GT goes, Roland does have a stock of them and several online dealers are willing to order them for you right now. I don't know what their shipping policies are for trans-atlantic are, but Sweetwater Music and NovaMusik come immediately to mind. And you do want the GT 2.0 over the XT and original IMO. It equals two XT's and has the vocal designer (like a VP 550/770) built in. I would like to see something more like a V-Synth GT 3.0 or GTX 3.0 with 73 key semi-weight. I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

[metallo]

I would like to see something more like a V-Synth GT 3.0 or GTX 3.0 with 73 key semi-weight. I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

I would get it on the day of the release, it would be a dream came true.

[Ahnyxrik]

Go for the JUPITER-80 for sure! It makes a fine mix.
I personally bought a Yamaha Motif XF6 to match my Kronos.
If I could afford it, I'd get the Jupiter-80, too!
The 3 together would be AWESOME!
Good luck!

[cello]

I would go for the Jupiter-80 - I know how good it is and the JP-80 was a great addition to my OASYS before I sold it.

The Integra I hear duplicates a lot of the Jupiter-80, yet is not a rack JP-80! So I'd probably hold off on getting that just now until you've got some familiarity with the JP-80.

The biggest weakness of the JP-80 is no librarian - sound management is easy in practical application, until you run out of free slots and have to delete tones/livesets/registrations to make room for any new ones. A librarian would make this more manageable. Roland is being lobbied internally to produce one.

In the meantime I developed a 'blank soundset' for the JP-80 which took many many hours to create but it helps in sound management until Roland provide a librarian. It can be downloaded from my Repository of Sound link in my signature below.

I'm more active in RC now than here as I have very little Korg stuff left - no keyboards anyway. We're not that bad over there!

Hope you enjoy getting whatever you decide upon - do let us know!

[Vlad_77]

Well I did it and MUCH thanks for the advice from all here! I just got home a half hour ago with a Jupiter 80!

This instrument is breathtaking! I have NO idea what I am doing so I am running through the Live Sets and Registrations. My Kronos is where the band rehearses so I won't be able to hear them together until this weekend. I really appreciate the feedback from everybody. I have a feeling that Kronos and Jupiter 80 are going to be a great pairing.

What is really blowing me away is how fat even the single play sounds are!

Cello, I've seen you at RC and was going to comment on a few of your posts but I forgot my password and username there GRRRR.

So folks again, I now have the best and second best keyboards I could EVER hope for!!

Best,
Vlad

[JPWC]

Right now my favorite live duo is the Kronos and JP80,

and for the not much weight and quick setup gig, I use the Krome & KingKorg.

but of course it all depends on the performance, solo or band, instrumentation in the band, genre.

[Vlad_77]

Right now my favorite live duo is the Kronos and JP80,

and for the not much weight and quick setup gig, I use the Krome & KingKorg.

but of course it all depends on the performance, solo or band, instrumentation in the band, genre.

Looking at your list of gear, the Kronos and Jupiter must be a great combination considering the amazing musical power you have. I am jealous!