Korg Forums

Does anyone else wish the sample buttons on the KOPro more closely emulated the way the sample buttons work on the KP3?

Specifically-
The KP3 stops recording at the end of the bar automatically so there's no risk of that extra burp of volume at the beginning when the loop wraps around. For a sustained note across the entire bar, this is particularly problematic.

The KO 'overdub' feature means that if you go to trigger a loop but have your finger on the XY, you just added an unintentional blip to your loop. I don't think there's an undo like on the MiniKO.

There's no one-off sample hit that I can see. Is there?

OK, there's no loop start point editor or way to drop out parts of a sample, but this is not important to me.

Can anyone make the case to me that I should not want these features? Am I 'doing it wrong'? For my purposes, I consider the sample buttons on the KO a last resort and am considering buying a second used KP3 just for the samples. (How crazy is that?) I'd love to see Korg release a software update to match the recording features of the KP3 similar to the way they released the very well thought out beat-matching modes for sampling on the KP3 in a software update.

I looked at other loop recorders and I think the KP3 is my favorite, particularly for the price and one button operation. My last other option is I'm going to try to put together a software sampler in Usine that functions just like the KP3. I'm trying to stay all hardware on my setup so this is a last option.

Thanks all,
CCQ

well, kpro is not a sampler...it is a synth with an audio looper function...I think it works fine as is, and that buying a kp3 would better suit your sampling needs anyways.

Thanks. I've got one. And a Mini...
And an Electribe.
Well, two.
And some other stuff...

Just wondering if anyone else is left a little cold by the loop recorders. Seems like it was more trouble than it was worth to take some pretty perfect little buttons and remove useful functionality from them.

-CCQ-

The KPro is what you get when the Korg engineers are told to turn the KP3 into a Kaossilator by recycling 99% of the old hardware instead of designing a proper product from the ground up. They did a pretty good job, given the constraints that some idiot management probably placed on the product. that's also why it has the stupid fixed length gate arp controlled by a switch on the back of the unit instead of using the much better patterns in the original kaossilator.

Korg could've avoided all these problems by alpha testing their KPRO concept with some of us who could've told them about their terrible choices, but they don't bother to ask us. ever. not once. They just do what they do and throw it out on the market, expecting us to be thrilled with whatever it is. The sampling glitch would've never made it into the production unit if they tested it with real users first. Some of us have used the original kaossilator for thousands of hours, but what the hell could we know? We don't speak japanese and work in a Tokyo dance club, which is where I imagine that Korg gets all of its kaoss ideas.

get a KP3 use it with your KOpro...problem solved!

SMK wrote:get a KP3 use it with your KOpro...problem solved!

Or 2, 3, 4 KP3's.....

xmlguy,
It never occurred to me that I may prefer the original KO to the big one... I just assumed more buttons meant more usable and the recording feature I like so much. I like the heft of it - it sits on my desk without sliding around. And the lights are cool, you know... But they do give good feedback so you can be a little more precise about where you touched the last time so you can find it again. The different button purposes -vs- the KP3 take some getting used to - the only one that really throws me is the 'hold'. And now that I think of it, when I was looking for the KO, I assumed I would like the 4 sampler buttons, which I apparently do not. Hmmm. And different gates would be nice... Hmmm. Now I'm wondering if the new KO mini II isn't what I really wanted all along.

As for Korg, I look around my desk and I see a lot of Korg gear. Sure sometimes it looks like Marketing said, 'no don't include that feature or we won't sell any of this other thing', but they seem to get it right by me.

Thanks for your feedback.

-CCQ-

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i really think the kpro and ko1 are not the same type of instrument...i treat them completely differently from each other....and i don't mind the arp on the kpro at all, it just takes some practice and creativity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHI6_IhDSQw

that's just a quick example of how you can get sweet arps out of even the simplest settings

bottom line for me is that they are both great at certain things, and they play together amazingly...no reason not to hook your ko1 into kpro via the line in or a mixer...you got all your arps right there...and some of the samples on the ko1 are better in my opinion, like the theremin and flute...just sound better on the ko1....and they are so cheap you can pick and choose parts...throw a mini kp in the chain or and/or a kp3...i love the quad too...

but then again i really am a person who likes to play with different workflows and constraints

Hi CCQ,

The new Kaossilator 2 looks promising, but I can't tell until I actually try it for myself to see if Korg has mucked it up or not. They always tout the new features and leave the bad news for us to discover for ourselves. I want to believe it will truly be improved without some new stupid and aggravating way they've discovered to go backwards two steps. They also miss out on painfully obvious additions that everyone knows that they should have added....but didn't...like USB and midi sync.

The SD flash and dual loops are definitely improvements.

One of the biggest problems for all of the kaossilators is the inability to quickly and easily pick the key and scale together so that you can do chord progressions in realtime. Strangely enough, the DS-10 and iMS20 can do this by using the pattern buttons to change key and scale together for use by the Kaoss touchpad in the software. The lack of chord progressions ends up being a huge limit to doing interesting songs in realtime without sampling, and even with sampling, 2 loops only gives you two chords to select for playback unless you time chord changes perfectly within the loops. I get around this limitation by using external samplers like the KP3, sp404, and sp606.

Bowmoney,
That's a great trick with the .75 gate time. Never occurred to me to play with the 'off' times. The way they interact with the repeating samples opens up a whole new world. Nice one. In my case there's a little click that happens when it gates so I'll have to play with the duty cycle to get it right. I've actually watched your videos before when I was planning my purchase, so thanks again.

xmlguy,
I spent last night trying to use the line-in record functions on my ESX-1 and although it's do-able, the idea of hitting all of those buttons in the dark with people watching just isn't happening. - BUT - I think I've found the answer to my sampling needs. Korg's got the Microsampler. It's got the loop modes I want, and adds slicing and pitch change. I think that's going to be the way to go for me and it's been like a whole week since I bought any gear.

-CCQ-

I agree that the sampling method of the KPro with either REC on or holding a sample pad irritates me and I sometimes wish it was the same way as the KP3.. especially when trying to use the pad at the same time as turning a loop on/off. takes alot of coordination but you can train your muscle memory to be able to let off the pad milliseconds before hitting a pad and finger back on pad to continue sound (essential if using the arpeggiator and wanting the notes to stay on the beat)

other gripes:
- no HOLD button, the hold shift and release pad doesnt do the same... cant hit HOLD and sound continues with same point on pad
- no PAD MOTION.... really?!?! WTF?! major oversight on Korg's part!

other than these (in the grand scheme of things) minor issues. I'm very happy with my KPro. really dig the different tempos you can create with the Arpeggiator. like 0.33 and 0.66 time. gives a completely different dynamic to the usual boring 4ths, 8ths or 16ths... now if only the KPro sent out MIDI data AFTER the arpeggio instead of the sustained note that is being held.

@CCQ: RE: microsampler: a mate of mine has the microsampler but after he saw my Roland SP404 he's trying to swap me for it (no dice! =P ). I personally prefer pads on a sampler: less likely to hit the wrong sample while playing live and can use it for finger drumming. the 404 is GREAT as a sample sound generator when sequenced from the EMX/ESX.. and its also got some really good effects on it (but only one effect on at any given time) but it cant copy a sample across multiple pads and pitch it like keys (without alot of PT and hairloss!) I also think the pattern sequencer on the microkorg is a bit better. I thought about the ESX and the microsampler.. then a colleague lent me his SP404 and I felt it met all my sampling needs and then some... so i bought it from him.