KORG KRONOS

Posted on Sun 21 August 2011 in entries

This feature is taken from Issue 7 of our brochure...

Intrepid synth explorer, studio engineer and Absolute Music hi-tech guru, Tim Way sets off to find the secrets of this mighty Titan...

KING KRONOS

Kronos… two simple syllables that add up to what must have been the most hotly anticipated and eagerly awaited synth release in, well, as long as I can remember. In Greek mythology Kronos was the first of the Titans, offspring of the earth (aka Gaia – ha, tell that to Roland) and the sky (otherwise known as Uranus, snigger, snigger) and father of the mighty Zeus. The Kronos of legend was indomitably powerful (he ended up castrating his own dad, by the way), but can the synth to which he lends his name match his might?

KORG KRONOS - GUEST APPEARANCE

Shortly after it was announced to the synth-loving public, I was among an honoured few to be invited to Korg HQ to spend a day with the Kronos. I’m always sceptical about new products in a ‘reinventing of the wheel’ kind of way, especially where keyboard workstations are concerned, but the minute I walked through the door to the strains of mad pads, arps and stabs, that cynicism was laid to rest.

The highlight of the day was the live demonstration and in-depth talk from Korg’s leading sound designer Steve McNally, who’s had a big hand in bringing the Kronos to reality. I eagerly put pen to paper as Steve enthused about feature after feature, but once I’d filled up three pages of notes I had to give up with writer’s cramp and that was in the knowledge that Steve had only just started to brush the surface of what this amazing instrument can do.

In short, the Kronos has no boundaries. It’s a great live tool, is extremely impressive when it comes to production and is totally amazing as far as sound design is concerned... and I promise that’s not just the bubbly (thanks Korg) talking!

KORG KRONOS - UPFRONT AND PERSONAL

Before going into a bit more detail, I’ll fill you in on the basic bullet points of this crazy beast:

• It has nine sound engines that share polyphony and that’s no problem for the Kronos as its
power could run a third-world country (allegedly).
• It also boasts a 30GB solid-state drive and everything can be seen extremely clearly on the eight-inch TFT display.
• The 16-track sequencer is complemented by a 16-track hard-disk recorder that lets you record four tracks simultaneously.
• You can also send and receive two channels of audio via USB.
• Like many a Korg synth, the Kronos has its sounds grouped into Programs, Combinations and Performances and over all this you have 'Set List' mode and real-time Performance control.
• There’s also a drum sequencer in here and a fully functioning KARMA synth built-in, which is an amazing addition (Google it and you’ll see why).

KORG KRONOS - REV UP THE ENGINES

As Steve McNally was keen to impress upon us at the Kronos demo, sound design is at the very heart of the machine, so in terms of synth engines, what do you get?

SGX-1 is a premium piano. It’s got one job (piano sounds) and you have control over those sounds. It’s simply stunning! My favourite sections were the beautiful German Grand as well as the superbly crisp Japanese Grand. SGX-1 has a total of 9GB with no looping, including contributions from such greats as Herbie Hancock and Lyle Mays.

MS-20EX is lifted from the Legacy Analogue Collection and is a nod to the classic MS20 modular analogue monosynth. This section brought a big smile to my face as, thanks to the touchscreen interface, you can wire it up exactly the way you want. Massive sound, intuitive feel… the MS-20EX was a definite highlight for me!

PolySixEX is another old-school icon and the Kronos’ version gives you direct control with no multi menus. This took me straight back to my very first synth, the Korg DW6000… you know the sound!

AL-1 is an analogue synthesiser and a big point of interest here are the low aliasing oscillators on high-pitched sounds, meaning no more of that unnatural raspy swish swoosh. A top quality synth.

CX-3 is the tonewheel organ emulation and this has everything you’d expect right down to the nuts and bolts we love to squeeze out of our tonewheels. Just no rocking the Kronos though, you hear?!

MOD-7 is a wave-shaping virtual FM synth engine, once again with wiring via the touchscreen. It makes me laugh (in wonderment, you understand) at just how easy the operation is with this interface.

Next up is the STR-1 string modelling engine. No more parpy violins for me as the STR-1 gives you everything you want from strings… and a lot more. We’re talking physical modelling here, so plucked strings are well and truly pheasanted (as the plicker said) and you can even ‘re-excite’ your sounds to introduce feedback to be controlled using the joystick.

In case you didn’t have enough pianos earlier, next comes the EP-1 MDS electric piano engine. As with the SGX-1 there’s no looping and, like the CX-3, we’re yet again treated to all the mechanical delights associated with electric pianos. As if that wasn’t enough, EP-1 also treats you to a selection of vintage pedal effects and amp emulations!

Ninth but not least is the HD-1 high-definition synth. An area of total awesomeness and a sonic one-stop-shop (a term that doesn’t even scrape the surface of what’s in here). If you can’t find what sound you want in any of the other synth engines, you’ll find it here. No aliasing, just pure, unadulterated, incredible sound.

KORG KRONOS - SO MUCH MORE...

Now that’s a worry. The end of the review is in sight and I’ve only scratched the surface of Kronos and its synth engines. Obviously I’ve not even mentioned the KARMA module (well, four modules if you’re in Combi or Sequencer mode) with its 2,048 presets and wave sequencing control. Neither have I delved into the 16-track MIDI sequencer that can store up to 200 songs at 1/480 resolution, or the open sampling system or the high-fidelity effects (185 types, I thank you), or the dynamic drums, or the fact that Kronos can be seamlessly integrated with all your plug-ins in your DAW platform.

Looks like you’re gonna need to call into our synth showroom to scratch the surface of this dad-castrating Titan for yourself!

KORG KRONOS - TECHIE STUFF

• Keys: 61 - natural touch semi-weighted, 73 or 88 - RH3 real weighted hammer action
• Synth engines: Nine (SGX-1, EP-1 MDS, HD-1, AL-1, CX-3, STR-1, MOD-7, MS-20EX, PolySixEX)
• Polyphony: up to 200 (depending on synth engine)
• Programs: 1,664, 1,510 preset
• Combinations: 1792, 448 preset
• Drumkits: 152, 77 preset
• GM Level2 preset programs: 256 plus 9 drum programs
• Preset PCM: 314MB (1,505 multisamples & 1,388 drum samples in ROM)
• Drumkit: Assignable stereo/mono samples with eight velocity zones per oscillator
• Drum Track: 697 preset patterns
• Sampling: Open sampling system, 16-bit/48kHz stereo/mono, 4,000 sample locations (1,000 multi)
• Effects: 12x insert, 2x master, 185 effects types
• Sequencer: 16-track plus 16-track hard-disk recorder (200 songs)
• Ins & outs: 2x balanced ins, 4 balanced outs, L/R out, MIDI In/Out/Thru, S/PDIF In/Out, USB

For more information on the Korg Kronos, or to buy one, click the relevant link below. Or, if you want to get yourself on the waiting list, then give us a call on 01202 597180 and we will inform you as soon as we have an available Kronos in stock - no pressure to buy!