Korg krome alternative/upgrade recommendations

[Nigel]

Hi Peeps,

After a second visit to the repair shop I've given up on my korg krome and decided to upgrade. I love it's versatility but in truth it's never cut the mustard live alongside my juno ds and novation mininova.

I play in a synth led disco/pop/edm covers band so I'm looking for a plethora of on board patches, sampling (FA-06?) and intuitive simplicity. I'm not into DAW just yet.

Rudimentary research has pointed towards: MOXF, FA06, VR09 so far with KRONOS being a distant dream. Budget is up to £1000.

Thanks for listening.

 

[CowboyNQ]

I'm sorry to hear your Krome is not meeting your needs Nigel.

My battle-hardened Krome has never let me down and sounds fantastic. I'm in the midst of programming a range of sounds in it for a new 2019 tour. I keep thinking "it won't be able to do this" and it keeps proving me wrong. We're all entitled to our opinions and mine's been "cutting the mustard live" since 2013, to the point of getting enquiries about it from sound engineers and other musicians at gigs I play. As recently as rehearsal last weekend, in fact! For some gigs it's the only 'board I take.

I think all the other 'boards you mention are also very good and have their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Can I make a hopefully not too cheeky suggestion? If you're really serious about improving your sound, I'd be placing the Roland KC550 far higher on the upgrade priority list than the Krome.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Nigel]

Hey Cowboy!

I hoped you would help me out as you have so in the past...a go-to guy

I love it for the 5 million drum patterns and patches but I find it incredibly weak in the brass area. Also it doesn't have that depth of bass,kinda, phat feel of the roland. I suppose I've lost confidence in it but will definitely keep it as the current problem is intermittent. The current repair will bring my spend up to nearly £400 in a year.

Always appreciate your sound advice.
Regards Nigel

 

[CowboyNQ]

What's causing the need for the repair, Nigel? Nothing more frustrating than having to take your keyboard to the workshop all the time - touch wood I've never had an issue with mine.

Brass "phatness" - have you tried layering multiple patches in a combi?

One of my bands currently does "Radar Love" and I play all the minor pentatonic brass stuff in the breakdown. It sounds killer! I created a custom patch for it. Sadly my Krome is currently about 1600km away so I can't exactly tell you what I did. But I'll check it out when I get a chance for you. I don't think it was anything too complex.

 

[Nigel]

First the screen packed up - just a solder and a fiddle but a design flaw. Now the dreaded internal SD card failure - potentially a new motherboard at £300 exc.
Admittedly I need to more time layering and fiddling. I haven't even worked out how to save presents - DOH.

 

[CowboyNQ]

First the screen packed up - just a solder and a fiddle but a design flaw. Now the dreaded internal SD card failure - potentially a new motherboard at £300 exc.

Yuck. I would have thought if there is an internal SD card flaw that's a manufacturer's issue? You shouldn't be paying for that one. Good luck and I feel for you.

Admittedly I need to more time layering and fiddling. I haven't even worked out how to save presents - DOH.

Ah...well you are yet to unlock what makes the Krome so incredibly powerful and versatile. Don't write it off just yet! If you need any help feel free to PM me, or alternatively you could ask on the Korg forums, there are some VERY clever chaps on there who can make the Krome really talk.

 

[Nigel]

You've convinced me to read the manual at least....

 

[Mighty Motif Max]

FYI the MOXF, MODX, and VR-09 do not have sampling.

 

[anotherscott]

FYI the MOXF, MODX, and VR-09 do not have sampling.

...but on the MODX, you can sample on the computer, and load the samples into the keyboard. (Also on the MOXF if you buy an optional flash card.) The Casio MZ-X500 and 300 also sample.

 

[Mighty Motif Max]

...but on the MODX, you can sample on the computer, and load the samples into the keyboard. (Also on the MOXF if you buy an optional flash card.) The Casio MZ-X500 and 300 also sample.

Very true. I got the impression that the OP wanted sampling on board to be triggered with pads perhaps. Not sure. Thanks for chiming in. Always appreciated.

 

[Nigel]

Very true. I got the impression that the OP wanted sampling on board to be triggered with pads perhaps. Not sure. Thanks for chiming in. Always appreciated.

Yes you are correct. I don't want to use a laptop at gigs just the occasional stab on a pad at my fingertips for dancey stuff. The Roland FA08 is drawing me in.

 

[anotherscott]

The idea of the laptop-for-samples (i.e. in the MODX) isn't to use the laptop at gigs, but to use the laptop at home to set up the board to play samples from its keys at the gig. But if you want to play the samples from trigger pads, nope, MODX doesn't have 'em (nor do the MOXF or VR09). Moderately priced boards with built in pads for sample triggering would be the FA, the Korg Kross 2, the Casio MZ-X500 and 300. One variable to consider is that some of the pads are velocity sensitive (you can set them so that the samples play louder or quieter depending on how hard you hit the pads), others are not. On the Casio, the 500 pads can respond to velocity, the 300 cannot. I'm pretty sure the FA does not.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

Moderately priced boards with built in pads for sample triggering would be the FA, the Korg Kross 2, the Casio MZ-X500 and 300.

AFAIK Roland DS falls into this category as well.

 

[anotherscott]

Yes, Roland DS can play samples from pads, using its Audio Player function. It's a bit different from the others. You load sets of 8 as desired from a USB stick (the samples are not saved in the Roland itself), and you can't play more than one such sample at a time. The OP actually already has a Juno DS, so maybe he needs more functionality than that...?

 

[Nigel]

Thanks guys, some great info there. I'm now gonna educate myself on using the juno ds to trigger and I'm contemplating getting an FA as an upgrade.

Yes, Roland DS can play samples from pads, using its Audio Player function. It's a bit different from the others. You load sets of 8 as desired from a USB stick (the samples are not saved in the Roland itself), and you can't play more than one such sample at a time. The OP actually already has a Juno DS, so maybe he needs more functionality than that...?

 

[anotherscott]

contemplating getting an FA as an upgrade.

I look at the FA as more of a sidegrade. It definitely has some significant advantages (like two expansion slots instead of one, supernatural synth, drawbar level adjustable organ, sub out, nice big color screen, ability to put effects on 16 sounds at a time instead of 3, better MIDI Program Change functionality), but the DS also has a number of advantages over the FA (ability to load custom samples as instruments that can be played from the keyboard, ability to put more than one insert effect on a single tone, patch remain when switching between performances, better controls for independently switching the sound/volume/octave of the sounds on either side of a split)... for my purposes, the DS was better than the FA. It depends what you need. Even comparing the basic sound sets isn't definitive. The FA's non-SuperNatural sounds come from the XV-5080; the DS soundset is its own thing but largely based on the Fantom (with the older XV5080 sounds available as axial downloads).

 

[Nigel]

I agree with all of that - it's the krome I'm replacing for live performance and within a budget.
My band plays disco and EDM so synth sounds and samples are more important than organs, pianos or strings.

 

[Biggles]

I agree with the others, you have the tools in your present kit including hopefully a fully working Krome then learn how to use their functions more effectively and you will save yourself a grand.

If you have lost confidence in your Krome then why not trade it in for a keyboard that will do what you want?

Can I suggest that you look at yet another Korg but this time the Kross 2, Anotherscott writes that the DS can only play one sample at a time, well on my Kross 2 I can play multiple samples at the same time so this would seem to be more suited to your usage.

Time to watch a few video tutorials and a visit to a music store like PMT may be in order.

 

[anotherscott]

I agree with all of that - it's the krome I'm replacing for live performance and within a budget.
My band plays disco and EDM so synth sounds and samples are more important than organs, pianos or strings.

Anotherscott writes that the DS can only play one sample at a time, well on my Kross 2 I can play multiple samples at the same time so this would seem to be more suited to your usage.

Are the pads on the Kross 2 velocity sensitive? That's a nice feature of the Casio MZ-X500, if you're into pad triggering.

 

[Biggles]

Are the pads on the Kross 2 velocity sensitive? That's a nice feature of the Casio MZ-X500, if you're into pad triggering.

I record the sample on my Kross 2 which has velocity sensitive keys and the recording is accurate with what I have played. The saved sample is then assigned to a Pad and it plays what is recorded which includes and changes in volume that result where a greater or lesser velocity has been used. I know this is the case because I have to re-record a Bass line which I have over emphasized the wrong note and it bugs me each time I play a song and trigger the Bass sample via its Pad.