Layering instrument sounds in a Korg Arranger.

[Biggles]

With my Korg Kross 2 synth/workstation layering sounds to create a new Registration or Combi as Korg calls them is a very quick and simple process.

Alas with a Korg arranger it is not quite as straightforward.

The question was asked over on the Korg forum so that led me to re-read a How To article in the Korg World mag issue 6 Creating Registrations, and follow along to create for the first time a new Registration on my own arranger.

I decided I wanted to combine a Dark Pad and Movie Strings 2 together to create a new Registration and this is how to do it:-

Enter Sound mode
Copy Dark Pad to a User Bank
Exit
Select Movie Strings > Menu > Basic > it shows 15 oscillators
Exit
Select Dark Pad from User Bank > Menu Basic > change oscillators from 2 to 17
From drop down menu select copy oscillator
Select Movie Strings
Select oscillator location as 3
Then go through from 3 to 17 adjusting the volume to -10dB
Save as Dark Pad + Strings
Test play and if all OK then you are good to go, but sone fine tuning of the volumes of each oscillator may be required if this is the case make the changes and save.

Then go into Style mode
Change upper 1 to Dark Pad + Strings and save as a new Keyboard Set.

Limiting factor is the total number of oscillators you wish to use in your sound, available memory also seems as though it may be a possible issue, I had to delete sounds from User Banks to be able to save my new registration.

 

[anotherscott]

Hmmm. If all you want to do is layer Dark Pad with Movie Strings 2, why not simply put Dark Pad in Upper 1 and Movie Strings 2 in Upper 2 (or vice versa), adjust their volumes on the Mixer page, and then "Write Kbd Set to Library"?

 

[Biggles]

Someone over on the Korg forum wants more options, specifically to put on the Lower section of their Pa and apparently the available sounds did not have the instrument voice combinations that they were after and they did not know how to create their own registration.

There are 24 oscillators available and a combination like Movie Strings already uses 15 hence more instruments can be added to use up the 9 blank oscillators if a user wants a fuller sound.

A Pro Musician wrote the article in the Korg Mag and I followed along with two arbitrary sounds.

There are other ways to increase the instrument voices in the lower section (left of the split) by extending the range of some of the upper voices but I have not tried this other method as yet.

 

[anotherscott]

Ah, yes, this more complicated method could be useful if you want a single part (e.g. Lower) to have more than one sound in it. There is a similar ability in the Kross (though as you allude to, less need for it, since Kross lets you flexibly mix-and-match up to 16 timbres in s combi anyway). You could edit a single Program in a Kross to have multiple sounds in it, up to the point where you run out of oscillators.Some of Korg's own factory programs employ this technique. For example, there is a whole category of "Layered PIanos" which are single programs with layered piano sounds in them, like "Grand Piano+Strings".

 

[eagleyes]

Sirs, in the Juno DS, I believe I can layer up to 16 sounds (each sound is called a patch therein and a patch can have up to 4 parts) - now does this mean the following:

1. A total of 64 parts (individual wave forms) can be layered on the DS
2. On the PA 700, does each oscillator correspond to an individual wave form?
3. Can I combine multiple such sounds into Upper layers as well as the one lower one?
4. Basically, can I combine as many sounds as oscillators available?

Or have I completely misunderstood this whole thing?

 

[anotherscott]

Sirs, in the Juno DS, I believe I can layer up to 16 sounds (each sound is called a patch therein and a patch can have up to 4 parts) - now does this mean the following:

1. A total of 64 parts (individual wave forms) can be layered on the DS

Yes... but keep in mind that individual instruments often need more than one part to create their sound (where a part is called a Tone, which consists of a Waveform and various settings). And if you actually programmed something that layered the max 64 tones/waveforms all at once, you'd exhaust the 128 polyphony by playing just two notes.

 

[DavidS]

Pete Shaw did a very interesting trick, where he turned the style off, and changed the Bass from the style to (e.g.) strings. This had the effect of giving an extra string sound where the bass would otherwise have been.

 

[DavidS]

Also, if you were desperate and had a lot of time on your hands, you could play the combination and sample it.
I do think there would be room for someone to get a soundbank together for common lower combinations. There are quite a few in the factory settings already.