A powerful FM synth? Whether it sounds identical with the original Polysix is no longer the issue (it can, by the way) because, once you've started throwing all of the Kronos's additional capabilities at it, emulating the original becomes just a tiny subset of what you might ask it to do.But why include the MS20EX and PolysixEX in the Kronos at all? You can't say that about some manufacturers' products three months after release, let alone three months before!We keyboard players are a funny lot, and never was this more obvious than when Korg allowed the first sounds from the Kronos to trickle out into the world. Touch is very nice, well above my old Korg M-50 but of course it's not the same range and it feels. Bath The Kronos is very innovative and comprehensive, but will it be able to break this fatal rule? If I wasn't a level‑headed sort of person, I would be tempted to buy a Kronos for this alone. It is a sharp looking machine. Sure, keeping track of patchable FM algorithms is a bit mind‑bending, but it can be done and, if you want to experiment further, you can use the PCMs from the HD1 engine or even samples and streamed audio as FM operators, which leads to all manner of weird and wonderful outcomes.MOD7 is also able to load Yamaha DX7 SysEx libraries. With Korg's Berlin Grand piano and thousands more go-to sounds, the Kronos is ready for any show or session. In the 4 years that the Kronos has been out it never had any new iteration physically until now. And even when you understand each section in isolation, it still doesn't tell you what it's like to use the Kronos and the disparate ways there are of using it. We managed to get 16 mono MS-20EX's running at once in a Combi with the Kronos' Voice CPU just hitting the 60% usage mark and it's entirely possible to get a 40-note poly MS-20EX running, though you will likely max the CPU!During the time we've had the Kronos, we haven't run into any significant polyphony issues and although some note stealing is inevitable with super-complex patches, you really can run a whole lot of stuff.PolySixEX, like the MS-20EX sounds much like the real thing, with an authentic look and a warm, thick sound and the chorus, ensemble effects and simple arpeggiator are great.The AL-1 analogue modelling engine is the one to choose if you don't wish to add the inherent MS-20 or PolySix character to your sound - it has a punchy sound of its own.This engine is hugely versatile and everything you'd want parameter-wise is included, from several LFOs and wave types, to AMS (alternate modulation sources), drive controls, filter types (including the usual LPF, HPF BP and multimode) and a step sequencer for adding time evolving effects to the sound.It sounds analogue, with solid oscillators and juicy filters with no aliasing. Korg have written a dedicated Expansion Instrument (EXi) to make best use of their two new families of grand piano samples.
I've mentioned a few issues above, and there are two others worth mentioning. Leave a Comment / Digital Piano Reviews / By Eliza Brooklyn. Overflowing with morphing oscillators, multi‑mode filters with 22 filter profiles, EGs with selectable slope profiles, LFOs with nearly 200 waveform variations, multiple AMS Mixers, and much more, it was never going to reveal its secrets quickly or easily.
In other words, it's more flexible and in many respects more powerful than the OASYS. My favourite facility is 'In Track' sampling, which allows you to record audio, then converts it into a multisample, saves it in a Program, loads the Program into a sequencer slot, and then inserts a note into the sequence at the point at which you started sampling. An unsurpassed clonewheel organ? Apart from the loss of the luxury hardware and sexy cosmetics, the major difference between the Kronos and the OASYS is that the new model's screen is significantly smaller and mounted flush with the panel.
But if I were ever to be stuck on that mythical desert island, a Kronos 88, a decent sound system and a working 13A mains socket would be more than enough to keep me occupied until Claudia Schiffer hove into view on her otherwise crewless 80-foot yacht.Of course, the Kronos isn't perfect. Prices are MSRP. I love the pitch and modulation on this board, works great and is very smooth.The features are those of the most complete workstation market .. nothing to say! The single-touch operation may appear to be outdated but unlike today’s cell phones, you can explore the Kronos with a stylus or fingernail, which works best when choosing stuff from option packed pop-out menus. The pattern can also be stopped and played by its dedicated on and off buttonThe Korg Kronos doesn’t offer any specific innovation that justifies the upgrade from its older model since you could get all the latest features with a cost-free OS upgrade. Is it a state‑of‑the‑art piano? However, we fear the shiny black end caps will scratch easily and look shabby after a few gigs. Secondly, the simplicity of the PolysixEX begs even the most nervous programmer to create new sounds, while the patchability of the MS20EX encourages you to try things that you would never attempt using a modulation matrix. The answer is threefold.
The Korg Kronos after its launch in 2011, changed the whole concept of The Korg Kronos workstation is a very important keyboard for any musician as is represents a vast paradigm shift in the development of Keyboard.
Discovering this at the start of the review made me wonder, will the Kronos continue to play held notes correctly — including all of their effects — when you change to the next Program or Combi? First up is the SGX-1 piano engine, which is the front end used to access all of the samples for the German (Steinway) and Japanese (Yamaha) grands. For one thing, it's complex. My OASYS sits with its Mellotron Programs lying silent until I remember that I have to load the samples from the drive.