Help me Please Between Korg Kross 2 Or Roland Juno Ds, For live performances

[xDotero]

Hi guys, I feel very hesitant. I am looking for a synthesizer that allows me to create divisions and layers as I want and easily accessible. I care a lot about acoustic piano sounds, leads synth , pads, strings , Bells. I want to use it to play with my bandmates Rock, Pop, Metal. I don't know if I buy Korg Kross 2-61o Roland Juno Ds61. I need keys that have a good level of sensitivity, to add dynamics in piano solos. In my band I have a drummer of course, but I don't know if the sequencers of these synthesizers also create complex melodies, which would be impossible to play live.
I have read that the Korg Kross is more a work station and has better sounds on strings and leads, but it also serves to play live, however the Roland Juno has more dynamics in its keys although they are smaller is more to play live than to be used in studio. It is true ? Help me please i am new in this, i come from play Digitals pianos all my life.! Thanks so much

 

[Biggles]

Welcome.

I have only played the synth action 61 key versions of both but seeing you play piano I would assume that the 88 key versions would be those that you are considering.

What could be a quick decider is the instrument voice change, the Roland beats the Korg hands down.

Say I am playing my Kross 2 and am holding the keys down and playing either a single Program or a Combi if I then select another Program or Combi the notes I am holding cease sounding, it is a major pain. The Roland holds the instrument sounds you are playing until you release the keys.

Now the Sequencer on the Korg is much superior to what the Roland offers.

Youtube
Roland has a whole bunch of their own tutorial videos on the Juno, they are listed as by Product Support

Korg has what they call their Video Manuals

So search out both and watch the videos, they will give you a far better idea of the capabilities of each keyboard than you will find just watching reviews.

Finally
There has been zilch extras available to download and install from Korg in the nearly two years since the Kross 2 was announced, this is very annoying.

It was a close call for me deciding between the two and the thing that decided it for me was the smaller overall size of the Korg and its much lighter weight but this was between the 61 key versions.

 

[xDotero]

Welcome.

I have only played the synth action 61 key versions of both but seeing you play piano I would assume that the 88 key versions would be those that you are considering.

What could be a quick decider is the instrument voice change, the Roland beats the Korg hands down.

Say I am playing my Kross 2 and am holding the keys down and playing either a single Program or a Combi if I then select another Program or Combi the notes I am holding cease sounding, it is a major pain. The Roland holds the instrument sounds you are playing until you release the keys.

Now the Sequencer on the Korg is much superior to what the Roland offers.

Youtube
Roland has a whole bunch of their own tutorial videos on the Juno, they are listed as by Product Support

Korg has what they call their Video Manuals

So search out both and watch the videos, they will give you a far better idea of the capabilities of each keyboard than you will find just watching reviews.

Finally
There has been zilch extras available to download and install from Korg in the nearly two years since the Kross 2 was announced, this is very annoying.

It was a close call for me deciding between the two and the thing that decided it for me was the smaller overall size of the Korg and its much lighter weight but this was between the 61 key versions.

Thanks for your reply sir,
I will buy the one with 61 keys for its portability, to go to practice. Now I don't know what a sequencer can do, because all I see on youtube is drum sequences and rhythms for solo players. maybe, I may need some complex melodies but I don't know if I can program that at Roland or Korg.

 

[anotherscott]

Picking up from what Biggles said...

Kross has the full multi-track sequencer, Roland does not.

Roland allows you to switch from one sound to the next, without previously held/decaying notes cutting off when you switch to the new sound, Korg doesn't have that feature.

Both let you split/layer up to 16 sounds. Korg give you five simultaneous insert effects to work with that you can allocate among your sounds, Roland gives you three.

If you're doing a simple 2-way split, Roland lets you easily independently adjust the volume, octave, or selected sound for either side of the split on the fly. Korg really wants you to set these things up in advance, and is not so amenable to that kind of on-the-fly manipulation.

Neither 61 actions are good for subtle control of piano dynamics.

Korg is better at integrating additional sounds externally (i.e. you can easily mix and match its sounds with, for example, the sounds from iPhone/iPad apps). Roland is better if you want to load custom keyboard-playable sounds (like downloaded soundfonts or your own custom samples) into the instrument itself.

The Roland is also available in a 76, which gives you more space to do splits without running out of keys for any of your parts. Of course, both are also available in 88s, but those are a lot bigger and heavier. They feel better for piano, though.

 

[Biggles]

I did suggest watching the manufacturers video tutorials

Have you followed my suggestions?

This is Korg’s Video Manual tutorial it is 1 of 7

This is the first of the Roland tutorials for the Juno DS

Watching the product videos will give you a far better idea of the capabilities of each keyboard.

 

[Fellwalker]

I have just bought a Roland Juno DS61 and am very very impressed with the build quality and the quality of the voices too
dont play live but for me its certainly worth thinking about,


All the best, Brian