The sequencer has a capacity of 210,000 MIDI events for up to 128 Songs, with a resolution of 480 parts per quarter. Instead, the same effects structure is available for Combis as for Programs, and you have to determine where each Timbre is inserted into the routing map. It goes to show that the construction doesn't necessarily have to be compromised, even on entry-level products, thank you! Three controller inputs are provided: one for a damper/half-damper pedal, one for an assignable expression pedal and the third for a pedal switch. How can I best connect several MIDI synths/keyboards to my computer? The same is true in the world of keyboard workstations.

I can’t see why you would want it in the studio and, on stage, your lighting engineer will cover it with gaffer tape.

Polyphonic arpeggiator: 1280 patterns, 12-note polyphonic, of up to 64 steps. The compromises made, especially in terms of ROM, sound layers, the quality of the squishy keyboard (on the 61-key model), and the small screen, which does have an effect on the usability, given the abundance of functions.

And then you have the bells, which have an incredible sparkle, thanks to 16 bit/48 kHz sampling.

They run on Vista / W7 / W8 and Mac OSX (10.5 and later). That's partly what differentiates the Kross from the Krome. It also includes two arpeggiators and a drum track.

Another application is the recording of successive takes with the possibility to send everything to your DAW to assemble a multitrack recording with Time Code preservation.

The mechanism of the "NH" keyboard surely has something to do with it!

For each step, you can define the pitch, velocity, Gate time and Flam (which simulates s strummed guitar).

Each Program also includes a drum track into which you can load one of 772 preset patterns, and a 64-step sequencer for creating your own patterns.

The workstation market is on the brink of extinction, under the pressure of software tools ─ or at least that's what you read everywhere.

It’s definitely going to require a little time behind the manual but if manuals aren’t your thing, Korg did create a pretty massive video walkthrough on the Kross 2 pages, going through more than just the basics.

Fortunately, you can switch it off. The Kross can export and import SMF, just like its bigger siblings. It’s lighter, has improved battery life, has more memories with double the number of Favourites, offers improved controls, and adds the expansion memory, the pad sampler, recording, and audio/MIDI over USB. Filters per voice: Two multi-mode filters (LP, HP, BP, BR). Once you’ve completed your Program, you can decide whether to add it (or not) to your lists of favourites.

Given its heritage, you might expect the Kross 2 to boast a large, touch-sensitive screen and the type of user-interface found on Korg’s other workstations. Modulation per voice: Two contour generators, two LFOs, two AMS mixers, two tracking generators. The basics have been preserved, though.

Sennheiser selling MD421-II at £179 for October !

I wasn’t surprised to find that the rear panel is a bit sparse. It is available in the programs (second channel), combinations (channel 16) or sequences (track 16).

Most noticeable are the loss of multiple audio outputs and the provision of just a single L/R stereo pair for all audio, together with a headphones output that echoes these. Audio Recorder: Up to three hours continuous 48kHz/16-bit recording per song; up to 200 songs. Hopefully, both will have arrived by the time that you read this.

As on any good workstation, you have wind instruments (pretty good overall), strings (different sections including a large stereo one and solo instruments that sound pretty good), vocal sounds (classical, pop, jazz), basses (with an excellent presence and punch), guitars (average), and percussion sounds (all right, with a special commendation to the stereo jazz kit by the jury).

Pad sampler: 16 pads × eight banks — up to 14s of audio per pad. The Kross 2 isn’t expensive and it isn’t state-of-the-art, but you shouldn’t discount it for those reasons. And don't forget a whole array of decimators, dynamics processors, vocoders, EQ, filters, distortions, delays, reverbs, all of which can be used alone or chained in series and/or in parallel.

Inevitably, the Kross 2 suffers from a number of other shortcomings. The synthetic programs are plentiful and excellent, making Kross really shine when it comes to sombre pads and luxurious progressive textures, a real strength indeed. The sequencer can also record Sysex, including GM, XG and GS standards.

KORG KROSS Editor is an application for Mac or Windows computers that allows you to edit the KROSS programs, combinations, songs, favorites, drum kits, arpeggio patterns, effects, and global settings. If I’m using both hands to play a piano/orchestra Combi and I want to swell the strings, I want aftertouch. Alternatively, you can replay complete backing tracks and add a bit of live performance to these — not that I would ever condone this, of course. These patterns are created in Global mode and applied to the current program, combination or sequence.

An interesting module, indeed! The contents of this article are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, whether mechanical or electronic, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. To that end, it uses the SD card reader with instantaneous audio recording (no need to save). Then there’s the biggie... It’s a great shame that its keyboard cannot generate aftertouch.

Programs are based upon a pair of four-part, velocity-cross-faded, multi-sample oscillators that draw from approximately 112MB of ROM.

At the same time, each channel/track has two adjustable sends for each MFX placed on the master buses.

They can be used in single, serial, parallel or 24 dB dual mode (the number of poles is doubled). Thus, you have vintage phasers, flangers, chorus, ensembles, wah wahs, and compressors imitating Vox, EH, Black, Orange, Red, and Korg (Polysix) effects. Instead, there’s a sophisticated, programmable, polyphonic arpeggiator that’s far removed from the up/down/random devices of traditional synths.

About Roland Juno DS The Roland Juno DS is an electric synthesizer by the famous brand Roland.

Review: Greg Walker Korg’s little playstation comes in synth-action 61-key and weighted 88-key iterations, and while the Kross may look like a bit of a toy thanks to its lightweight frame, it actually packs a pretty hefty punch while covering a lot of musical bases.

Just like with the arpeggiator, you can define the activation zone of the Drum Track and the velocity (defined by the starting note). Technology tends to follow a path from expensive to affordable. Technologies first encountered in flagship instruments drift down until they appear in models that their manufacturers hope will be widely affordable. I liked the M50’s editor/librarian because it made programming quicker and easier. The structure of Kross won't throw off people familiar with the brand, except for several minor details: In Program mode, you have a sound, an arpeggiator, a drum track, a step sequencer, and seven multi-effects at your disposal.

The transportability of the keyboard is not only highlighted by its impressive 9.5 lbs. Songs can be recorded from external audio, imported from WAV files, or recorded from live performances and sequencer playback from the Kross 2 itself.

It uses one or two oscillators with four velocity zones (each of which can be assigned a mono or stereo multi-sample) or a percussion kit, which can be edited in Global mode (each key can be assigned from one to four layers of mono or stereo samples).

Combination mode: 16 Timbres with individual Tone Adjust. Korg has provided Kross with pre-set templates, so you don't have to start from scratch: 16 in ROM, 16 in RAM. Finally we come to the illuminated Korg logo, which I view as pointless. This free software was originally produced by Korg Inc.

To simplify sound selection, the Kross has two dials, one for the categories (12 in total, including one for user programs) and one to make selections within the current category. Sure, these simple patterns are available as presets, but there are a further 1280 rewritable pattern memories, and a wide range of parameters — octave range, resolution, gate length, steps per beat, velocity, flamming, swing and more — make it more of a mini-sequencer than an arpeggiator. Download the audio files (in FLAC format).

The pattern can be triggered as soon as you press a key, benefiting from the Latch mode. It’s huge! You can also find very musical key Mellotron samples (strings, vocal, flutes). Plus, some well thought-out bonuses like the fast split/layer functions, the Step Sequencer (Drum Grid would've been a more appropriate name), vocoder (with mic/line inputs), and the audio recorder. The Kross inherited Krome's arpeggiator, namely, a powerful 12-voice polyphonic module, now with 64 steps (Krome is limited to 48 steps). Editing then comprises specifying the start, loop and end points of each sample, as well as truncating and normalising them if required.

On the 88-note version, this also leaves room for a compartment in which you can store small cables, SD cards, and so on. There is one arpeggiator available for the programs and two for combinations and sequences. The way the sequencer works is analogous to the combination mode: 16 MIDI in/out tracks (+ tempo track), one Drum Track, two arpeggiators, one Step Sequencer, five IFX, and two MFX. Despite being an entry-level workstation, the Kross is uncompromising in the assembly of its programs, far beyond what any competitor offers in this price range.

Today ─ more than ever ─ the Japanese company is the leader in the market, a position that only Yamaha and Kurzweil seem to be able to dispute, since Roland still needs to get back in the saddle. For some reason (perhaps to avoid unwanted phasing or chorusing) Korg’s programmers omitted to crossfade the underlying samples, but I found that doing so improved matters considerably. You’ll find that there’s much that you can achieve this way although, if you need true audio/MIDI integration within a keyboard, you should be looking toward the Kronos or one of its competitors. Likewise, if I’m using one hand to play a monosynth lead and the other to play the organ accompaniment, and I have my feet poised above a bass synth and various swell pedals, I need aftertouch to control the Leslie effect. The 20 Hottest Products from the NAMM Show 2014, Review of the Baloran The River analog synthesizer, These iOS synths have the power to rival desktop virtual instruments, A review of the Boss SY-300 guitar synthesizer, Certain multi-samples have only one layer. The views expressed are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the publishers. A bit less beefy than the Krome, it provides seven multi-effects, regardless of the operating mode: five insert multi-effects (IFX) and two master multi-effects (MFX); that means, the global multi-effect and one third of the algorithms are gone. Drum tracks also have access to the full effects structure of the Kross 2 with each instrument independently routable so, if you want your snares to suffer... sorry, I mean benefit from compression and gated reverb while your kicks are enhanced and your cymbals are flanged, that’s all possible.

Among the 134 algorithms available, there are 14 that are more powerful and use twice the resources (two effects slots). I hadn’t expected to be impressed, but it’s a far better instrument than I had anticipated, and a significant improvement over the original Kross, both in terms of sounds and usability.

Keyboard: 88-note velocity-sensitive graded hammer action.