Korg Kronos 88 Synthesizer

In short the Korg Kronos is THE synthesiser. A real groundbreaking piece of live performance and production equipment this synthesiser brings together everything you could want in one place in an all-encompassing powerhouse of a workstation.

Just consider the sound engines you have under the hood with this beast. A total of nine, from classic instruments, unique sounds and sounds that weren’t even possible until now. Although any could be a product in its own right Korg has crammed them all into the Korg Kronos Synthesizer, each with their own set of parameters and functions. Here’s what you’re getting: SGX-1 Premium Piano, EP-1 MDS Electric Piano, CX-3 Tonewheel Organ, HD-1 High Definition Synthesizer, AL-1 Analog Synthesizer, MS-20EX Legacy Analog Collection, PolysixEX Legacy Analog Collection, MOD-7 Waveshaping VPM Synthesizer, STR-1 Plucked String Synthesizer.

KARMA

First appearing in 2001 the KARMA music technology is now in its second generation on the Korg Kronos 88 Synthesizer. Capable of producing phrases, drum grooves and full backing tracks this technology responds to the way you play to add musical effects. With the second generation comes even more functions: KARMA Wave-Sequencing, Note Mapping and 8 scenes per layer.

Drum Track

Lifted from the M3 and M50 the Korg Kronos 88-Key Synthesizer features Drum Track for creating reference beats and rhythm tracks to full production drum tracks. Also with drum performances from pro drummers included your tracks and all the extras and applications that have been utilised on this feature your tracks will always have a professional sheen.

Sampling

Across all modes the Korg Kronos Synth is the perfect sampler; capable of sampling both itself and external audio sources. Samples have all the editing controls you could need including: truncate, normalize, time stretch, & time slice. They can also be exported as AIFF or WAVE files and samples can be imported, via a USB storage device, in AIFF, WAVE, SoundFont 2.0, and AKAI S1000/3000 formats.

Sequencer/Recorder

With a combination of a sequencer/recoding section the Korg Kronos 88 Synthesizer features 16 MIDI tracks and 16 audio tracks. This makes it easy to utilise all the functions of the Korg Kronos 88 Synthesizer with the MIDI sequencer and then record up to four simultaneous tracks of 16-bit/24-bit uncompressed data at a sampling rate of 48 kHz from the same device. You can then play along with the track, resample the Korg Kronos and put the extra track in the mix. Use all the available functions and even connect up a CD burner, via USB, and save your track to disc without even touching a computer.

Up to 16 Simultaneous Effects

The Korg Kronos 88 Synthesizer comes readily armed with 16 internal, each of which offers 185 different effect types. Each effect also has up to 72 parameters and real-time modulation capabilities. Every timbre, sequencer track and audio track has its own three-band EQ for tonal sculpting.

Of the 16 effects 12 are Insert effects, which can be used on individual or multiple timbres, and on individual or multiple tracks. The remaining four effects consist of two Master effects for sends 1/2 and two Total effects to be used on all tracks as your finishing your sound.

Control

Its important that the feel of an instrument is right or you’ll never get on with it. The Korg Kronos Synthesizer has this down with their TouchView 8-inch (800 x 600 pixel), colour touch screen display giving you all the information in an easy to use interface. This is in addition to all the real-time controllers that are apparent on the synth. Onboard controls include: a 4-way joystick, ribbon controller, vector joystick, nine sliders, eight knobs and a number of switches. Alongside these the Korg Kronos also has connectivity for a damper pedal, and two assignable pedals for a foot pedal and a foot switch.

Keyboard

The Korg Kronos 88 Synthesiser not only features of a full compliment of keys, but also a Real Weighted Hammer Action (RH3) keybed, providing a grand piano-feel. This feature changes the weighting of the keys across the keyboard in four stages; going from lighter for the high notes, to heavier for the lower notes.

Computer Connectivity

The Korg Kronos 88 Synthesizer integrates easily with your computer in many ways. Hook via USB and you can send and receive MIDI signals. The, free to download, Kronos Editor software allows you to edit sound and settings from your computer. The Korg Kronos Synth can also send and receive two channels of audio to and from your computer. Using the, also free to download, Kronos Plug-in Editor software you can use the Kornos from many DAWs as a plug-in instrument.