jimknopf wrote:
The price argument sounds a bit funny to me. The omission of aftertouch is bad, but hardly bad enough to think a grand is too much for this synth. May I ask which other polyphonic synths give us such a well done analog-like, non-aliasing, non-stepping basic character, and then delevering a whole set of classic filters which really do a good job?
The only one doing this in a comparable way, which I know of, is the Arturia Origin at ~3000$ for the keyboard version. And although I like a lot of the Artiria functionality, it is much easier to handle the KK, while it does sound at least as good to me - for my personal taste even better..
Sound on Sound said in the conclusion of their review
Some new synths bear all the hallmarks of success, while the futures of others are less clear. On the positive side, the KK is simple for the beginner, it offers depth for the expert, its lack of digital artifacts is admirable, and you could carry one around on a skateboard. It sounds good, and it’s more flexible that you might imagine, too.
But then there’s the price. I had imagined that the KK would complete with the likes of the Roland Gaia and the StudioLogic Sledge but, with a list price of £1200 (bar a penny), it’s in a different price band.
If you want a polyphonic VA with such a good sound (in the sense of close to analog originals and multiple modelled filters), so easy to use, and with a perfectly working overdrive and all basic effects on board, what else would you recommend for the same amount of money???
I wouldn't even consider one of the compared synths named by SOS, as useable alternatives, so why should it be in the same price range?
Yes, I know: because we want things as cheap as possible.
But that is rather wishful thinking than an argument, is it?
I think it is much more important for Korg to deliver more classical and modern presets to give users fast access to well known sounds without investing too much time, than to have a lower price. With a rich patch base this thing will sell extremely well at the present price point IMHO. It is easy to get some of your favorite patches done with it quite fast, but it would be much too time consuming for users to program whole patch libraries and do what some sound programmers do for the well known soft synth libraries or the Arturia Origin, not talking of the thousands of available patches for the Access Virus.
Kronos 73 - Moog Voyager RME - Moog LP TE - Behringer Model D - Prophet 6 - Roland Jupiter Xm - Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I - Elektron Analog Rytm MkII - Roland TR-6s - Cubase 12 Pro + Groove Agent 5
I myself find it hard to compare to the Gaia. I don't know the Sledge. The 61 versus 49 keys is a showstopper for me. I was always wondering about the 37 keys on the mimmoog but you couldn't beat it's sound.
To me the KK kills the Gaia. It just sounds more "analogue" if you will.
If music is the food of love, play on and play loud!
Gear: Kronos 73, Wavestation EX, Polysix, King Korg, Monotron and Monotron Duo, Minikorg, Moog Grandmother, my very old MiniKorg, 4 acoustic and 9 electric guitars, 1 Ibanez 5 string bass, a Steel guitar, a bunch of microphones, 2 pairs of studio monitors and other very cool toys, 1 wife and 4 cats and a lava lamp!
fortunately the librarian helps a little bit with only 100 user slots.
I dont see myself necessarily needing more then 100 of my own sounds from a bi-timbrel synth for any one live show.
I understand the price isn't the most welcoming but if you read the review from SOS the big complaints were user space for saving and price. Everything else was positive. I got the pdf because i wanted to see what gordon reid had to say about it, he reviews damn near every keyboard, and wrote all of synth secrets.
jeremykeys wrote:I was always wondering about the 37 keys on the mimmoog but you couldn't beat it's sound.
44 keys, actually. And really, I think that's not much of an issue for a monophonic instrument.
As for the tube status being global and not storable by preset, I wonder if it might be related to the fact that it's, well, a real tube. It's not a digital effect or emulation that can be "virtually" set... i.e. that knob might actually be an analog control that needs to be physically turned to do what it does. So it might not have been trivial (or cheap) to build in a way to control the function digitally. (Though it would at least have been nice to have been able to store the on-off status, even if the level of the knob couldn't be stored.)
Last edited by Scott on Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I just got back from the local music shop where I played with KK for about 30 minutes. I thought it sounded pretty sweet, but the keys felt sub-par to me, and the price of 1288 Canadian seems to me rather high for what's on offer in the package. Besides, an Alesis IO dock/iPad connection with the ol' Motif XS gives me much more sonic flexibility already than KK can offer me on its own, so... nice test drive but no sale.
My wife says I can have one next year! We just had an expense with the car. Poop! My music store, Long and McQuades, often has a 6 month no interest finance deal. I've bought a bunch of things there that way.
If music is the food of love, play on and play loud!
Gear: Kronos 73, Wavestation EX, Polysix, King Korg, Monotron and Monotron Duo, Minikorg, Moog Grandmother, my very old MiniKorg, 4 acoustic and 9 electric guitars, 1 Ibanez 5 string bass, a Steel guitar, a bunch of microphones, 2 pairs of studio monitors and other very cool toys, 1 wife and 4 cats and a lava lamp!
djcactus wrote:
I understand the price isn't the most welcoming but if you read the review from SOS the big complaints were user space for saving and price. Everything else was positive. I got the pdf because i wanted to see what gordon reid had to say about it, he reviews damn near every keyboard, and wrote all of synth secrets.
I really want to have this synth, just wondering where i'm going to put it, i don't have any more place to fit it. It's the only reason that makes me hesitate.
But by the end of the year, i will have to find a solution, can't wait
It would be so welcome to have some kind of rack, desktop or a smaller size keyboard (for room purpose).....and that would involve cheaper price too....
If music is the food of love, play on and play loud!
Gear: Kronos 73, Wavestation EX, Polysix, King Korg, Monotron and Monotron Duo, Minikorg, Moog Grandmother, my very old MiniKorg, 4 acoustic and 9 electric guitars, 1 Ibanez 5 string bass, a Steel guitar, a bunch of microphones, 2 pairs of studio monitors and other very cool toys, 1 wife and 4 cats and a lava lamp!
I already own a 2 tier stand, with a Nord Electro 3 (61keys) and a keyboard 88-key stage piano with hammer-action that i really like for the feeling touch, using it mostly on everything for playing over vst and Nord Electro.
And on my table a Novation MKII 49 keys midi controler, really cool for preset memory and midi control over hardware and software.
Probably the Nord will have to be fit somewhere else as it don't have so many control (except Organ) and i play it with my stage piano.
So iam just thinking how i'm going to dribble with all those piano, with my hammer-action keyboard for playing on the Nord and the KingKorg, but keeping easy and confortable access to their control....
And desktop would have been so cool for that purpose and not loosing space for unnecessary keys piano (for my case).... but i have to do with what compagny are able to offer
tepa wrote:I already own a 2 tier stand, with a Nord Electro 3 (61keys) and a keyboard 88-key stage piano with hammer-action that i really like for the feeling touch, using it mostly on everything for playing over vst and Nord Electro.
And on my table a Novation MKII 49 keys midi controler, really cool for preset memory and midi control over hardware and software.
Probably the Nord will have to be fit somewhere else as it don't have so many control (except Organ) and i play it with my stage piano.
So iam just thinking how i'm going to dribble with all those piano, with my hammer-action keyboard for playing on the Nord and the KingKorg, but keeping easy and confortable access to their control....
And desktop would have been so cool for that purpose and not loosing space for unnecessary keys piano (for my case).... but i have to do with what compagny are able to offer
I won't be getting a KK until next year. I just bought an iPad 4th gen with 128 gig hard drive. It's more suited to what I need right now.
If music is the food of love, play on and play loud!
Gear: Kronos 73, Wavestation EX, Polysix, King Korg, Monotron and Monotron Duo, Minikorg, Moog Grandmother, my very old MiniKorg, 4 acoustic and 9 electric guitars, 1 Ibanez 5 string bass, a Steel guitar, a bunch of microphones, 2 pairs of studio monitors and other very cool toys, 1 wife and 4 cats and a lava lamp!
