Korg Forums

Hi all,

Does a 61 keys Kronos, when connected to a 88 external keyboard (thru MIDI) make this external keyboard inherit all the benefit of a 88 keys Kronos ?

I'm thinking of does all the "splits" works ? Are there any limitation ? (Can you have a "split" profile for the external keybed and another "split" profile for the Kronos keybed ?)

Do the external keyboard "replace" (virtually speaking) the Kronos keybed ? Or can the two coexist simultaneously ?

Could I play a specific Kronos piano using the external keyboard (thru Kronos) and use the Kronos keyboard for another instrument at the same time ?

I'm exploring the possibility of getting a lower cost 61 keys kronos but at the same time I'd like to have a full 88 keys keybed and I would like to know the plus and minus of this kind of setup. What can be done and what cant.

Thank you all for your time!

I've used an 88 key piano with the K61 and I thought it did cover the extra keys for Combis etc

Most of what you're wanting to do is possible by using MIDI and appropriate channels.
It will need careful planning with various settings.

Probably other forum members who actually have a similar set up will post further advice and better suggestions here,later.

I do this. I have the K61 and a Yamaha P80. I program pianos etc. to the P80 and string/organ etc. to the K61. I can layer and/or split on both keyboards. There are no limits using the external 88 note controller. I set the K61 global channel to ch 16. This doesn't change anything in the K61 as internal voices are all set to global. I set the controller to ch 1. So when setting up a timber in a combi, just set the channel to 1 if you want it plays from the 88 note keybed, or global if you want I played from the 61 note keyboard.
Also, I'm able to use one set of pedals for both keyboards.

Geo

I also do this.

I have a 88 keyboard piano on MIDI channel 2 connected to the Kronos at MIDI channel 1.

The only thing you need to change in combis is set the timbres (programs) you want to play from your piano to MIDI channel 2.

Sometimes I set the MIDI channel of the piano to 1 again, so I don't need to change the combis, or if I want to play a program.

There are a couple of other potential "minuses" to this approach: (1) most 88-key controllers don't send MIDI release velocity, which the KRONOS SGX pianos use to scale mechanical noise when keys are released, and the default value of 64 is too much for quiet playing..it's not a big deal, really, you just have to go in and edit the mechanical noise level...and (2) the controller's velocity curve(s) may or may not match up well with the SGX engine; I couldn't find any external 88-key controller that worked as well as the RH3 keybed on the K73 and 88 with respect to velocity "feel"...but these are both fairly subtle things, and may or may not be important to you, and certainly won't make any difference in a loud band situation...

df

ajean wrote:Hi all,

Does a 61 keys Kronos, when connected to a 88 external keyboard (thru MIDI) make this external keyboard inherit all the benefit of a 88 keys Kronos ?

Hi! I'm using a Roland A88 masterkeyboard connected to my Kronos61 and this is the best solution IMHO, because the 61 keys is smaller and lightest than the 88 keys. I can connect every 88 keys MIDI controller already avaiable in the rehearsal studio.
The Roland A88 send the release velocity and has a great key, with escapement and the Ivory Feel surface.
The problem is that this master is not MIDI USB compliant, so I have to connect the MIDI cable, instead the USB wich is power+MIDI.