Korg Forums

[tkgsingsct]

I don't know the right terminology to ask this question. I'm a newbie. I've played a Casio Privia for years.

I want to program the Kross so that I can switch from keyboard setup to keyboard setup (say, I want piano and strings for 1, and vibes ony for 2) by hitting the switch pedal. So I start out the song on piano/strings, and in the middle I can switch to vibes by hitting the pedal. Then hit the pedal for the next voice, and so on.

Any help appreciated, and if you can tell me the right terminology to use as well, that'd be helpful. I'm playing Keyboard II for Sondheim's Company if that helps.

[billbaker]

There are two places that need to be addressed, and not being a Kross owner I don't know if they're available to you -- but they should be, since pretty much every Korg board for the past 20 years has been able to do these things.

The first is that you need to make a choice for your assignable switch (note: not pedal or damper) that will be patch increment plus/up 1 when you step on it: INCR +1. This is done in the Global menu under Controllers.

Then you need to save your current set-up using whatever media Krome supports (card, USB, etc.) This will allow you to restore your original set-up if anything goes drastically wrong.

Then you set up a USER bank (.pcg) and start putting your voices into the proper order to support your backing the singers in the show. When saving these programs you may want to make the names the same as the SONG TITLE/Section so you have a visual cue as to where you are in the show. If you get out of order the inc(+)/dec(-) button should serve to get you back where you need to be and the TITLE/Section will help you ID exactly where that is.

Also note that you might want to edit/copy the ifx/mfx section of each group so that there's a less jarring transition between each voice as there would be going from "biggggg hall" to "small room verb" to "dry but flanged" - some voices just don't belong together in a series like the one you're looking at setting up.

Finally, as a default/panic voice you might want to make piano your 000 slot so you can always find that basic sound quickly if you need it.



BB
_________________
billbaker

Triton Extreme 88, Triton Classic Pro, Trinity V3 Pro
+E-mu, Alesis, Korg, Kawai, Yamaha, Line-6, TC Elecronics, Behringer, Lexicon...

[tkgsingsct]

VERY helpful, thanks BB

I may have some additional questions, I hope you won't mind my ignorance. The Privia is a very simple device to program, so this is pretty jarring.

[billbaker]

I'll ask a question preemptively, then.

For the 2nd Keyboard slot you're doing: just how many voices are we talking about?

The full-out step process is a bit time consuming and doesn't make much sense if you're just switching back and forth between, say, strings and marimba and harp -- inc/dec should be as quick as a foot-switch to change between those if they're adjacent -- and you can set that up easily in a user bank.

The step process only really makes sense if each song makes use of tones with a very specific color. For example, the 2nd Key part may just say "synth brass" but your MD may want tones that mimic French Horn for one, a high-mid trumpet Brass Section for another, and a solo muted trumpet or fluglehorn for another -- all brass, but very different from each other and each conveying a nuance or emotion that the others can't -- in that case the step process makes sense.

- - - - - -

One last thing on this topic; the only one who knows what your keyboard can do is you. Sometimes the Music Director has a specific thing she/he's looking for and will ask for that specifically. But often they ask for that because that's all they know to ask for; any ideas they have from the score may be limited to what keyboard sounds were readily available when the music was written (Company - 1970).

I played a musical with directions that included synth maker; this to be played on Rhodes, this on Arp, and this line on Moog - with no other detailed direction in the music other than which keyboard in that imaginary stack I should be reaching for. [and think on that for a moment... that the composer or orchestrator had the idea in his "ear" that Moog was one specific sound]

Now, I was playing just one keyboard, so what do I do with those directions? My experience would lead me to assume that the 1st player was on piano and the 2nd was the "color" guy providing EP (Rhodes or more historically typical a wurlitzer because of a smaller footprint in the pit), a comping string ensemble sound (Arp) and a lead line (at a guess something along the lines of ELP's "Lucky Man" triangle wave), respectively. But look at those directions as categories with today's synths in mind and you'll realize that you have dozens of choices.

The worship leader at my church will ask for a Pad on everything, and hates the "stringy" pads I like. But as volume of a song builds and more definition is required, the big nebulous pads that work in the quiet and intimate parts don't cut it any more and I'll go to a massive orchestral string patch... and that he's OK with because it works.

So don't be afraid to suggest or audition variations on what's asked for, because that part of the process (if there is time for it) can have a tremendous impact on your effectiveness as the emotional driver behind a scene.



BB[/b]
_________________
billbaker

Triton Extreme 88, Triton Classic Pro, Trinity V3 Pro
+E-mu, Alesis, Korg, Kawai, Yamaha, Line-6, TC Elecronics, Behringer, Lexicon...