Korg Kronos
Encyclopedia
The Kronos is a music workstation
manufactured by Korg
that combines nine different synthesizer
sound engines with a sequencer
, digital recorder
, effects
, a color touchscreen
display and a keyboard
. Korg's latest flagship synthesizer series at the time of its announcement, the Kronos series was announced at the winter NAMM Show
in Anaheim, California in January, 2011.
Essentially a computer housed in the form of a musical keyboard, Kronos utilizes for its operation an Intel Atom processor running a custom operating system based on the Linux kernel,, much like Kronos' predecessor and Korg's previous flagship synthesizer workstation, the OASYS
. Kronos includes 9 different sound engines, including the entire range of recent Korg different synthesis technologies and new ones.
, Kronos has nine different sound engines:
The HD1 High Definition Synthesizer which Korg first introduced in the OASYS
uses sample-based synthesis
and wave sequencing to generate sounds from the multisamples stored on an internal solid state drive. Note: the built-in Preset PCM ROM is 314 MB
The SGX-1 Premium Piano sound engine utilizes continuous (un-looped) stereo piano samples sampled at eight velocity layers per key and played directly from the internal solid state drive to produce either a Steinway
-styled or Yamaha
-styled acoustic grand piano. The samples are directly streamed from the solid state drive by using VMT (Virtual Memory Technology) This synth engine didn't exist on Korg Oasys
.
The EP-1 MDS Electric Piano employs the same Korg "MDS" modeling introduced in the SV-1 Stage Vintage Piano released in 2009 to produce electric piano
sounds. The sound engine offers four models based on specific classic Rhodes electric pianos
and two based on Wurlitzer
pianos, with software control over hammers, tines, reeds, and mechanical noise elements. It also simulates amplifiers, cabinets, speakers, and effects associated with those historic electric pianos. This synth engine didn't exist on Korg Oasys
.
The CX-3 Tonewheel Organ engine is carried over from the Korg CX-3 modeled tonewheel organ
released in 1980. The CX-3 engine models classic tonewheel organ, including rotary speaker effects, vibrato and chorus effects, and tube amplifier. Nine hardware sliders on the Kronos' control panel function as organ drawbar controllers. This synth engine first appeared on Korg Oasys
.
The AL-1 Analog Synthesizer models analog subtractive synthesis
, with a range of modeled oscillator waveforms, filters, hard sync, analog-style FM, and ring modulation. This is another sound engine passed down from the Korg Oasys
.
The MS-20EX Legacy Analog Collection models an expanded version of the original Korg MS-20
semi-modular monophonic analog synthesizer originally released in 1978. This engine is basically another version of the version released by Korg in their "Legacy Collection" software previously and also found on Korg Oasys
. Similarly, the PolysixEX Legacy Analog Collection models an expanded version of the 6-voice Korg Polysix
analog synthesizer produced by Korg from 1982-3, and also previously released as one of the software synthesizers in that same collection.
The MOD-7 Waveshaping VPM Synthesizer is capable of classic FM sounds and has import compatibility with Yamaha DX7
SysEx formatted sounds. The MOD-7 engine also combines Variable Phase Modulation (VPM), waveshaping, ring modulation, samples, subtractive synthesis, and modular patching to create a wider range of sounds than would have been possible on a classic Yamaha DX-series synthesizer. This synth engine first appeared on Korg Oasys
.
First released by Korg as an expansion to the Korg Oasys
, the STR-1 Plucked String Synthesizer engine creates sounds derived from the physical properties of struck or plucked string sounds. This sound engine is well-suited for creating sounds like guitar, harpsichord and clavinet, harp, and bell sounds, as well as other sounds based in the physics of a plucked string but not directly related to any known instrument.
In terms of size, there are three variants of the Kronos. There are 61, 73, and 88-key versions of this workstation, with the latter two employing graded hammer action keys, and the 61-key version with synth action keys.
185 effect types are available. They can be applied as 16 internal effects, 12 insert effects, and 2 master effects. In addition to these effects, a separate 3-band EQ for each track is available.
Kronos features the Kay Algorithmic Realtime Music Architecture, or KARMA, a complex arpeggiator that generates complex musical phrases in realtime based on the input of a performer. KARMA was developed by Stephen Kay and first appeared in the Korg KARMA
keyboard workstation.
Kronos is capable of sampling audio and has full sample editing functionality. Sample import and export are supported. Import sample formats supported include Korg, Akai
, SoundFont
, WAV
and AIFF files.
Kronos sounds can be computer edited using Kronos editor software. Kronos can also be integrated within a computer digital audio workstation
as a software plug-in.
Music workstation
A music workstation is an electronic musical instrument providing the facilities of:*a sound module,*a music sequencer and* a musical keyboard.It enables a musician to compose electronic music using just one piece of equipment.-History:...
manufactured by Korg
Korg
is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
that combines nine different synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
sound engines with a sequencer
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
, digital recorder
Digital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
, effects
Effects unit
Effects units are electronic devices that alter how a musical instrument or other audio source sounds. Some effects subtly "color" a sound, while others transform it dramatically. Effects are used during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, keyboard and bass...
, a color touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
display and a keyboard
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
. Korg's latest flagship synthesizer series at the time of its announcement, the Kronos series was announced at the winter NAMM Show
NAMM Show
The NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world, founded in 1901. It is held every January in Anaheim, California, USA, at the Anaheim Convention Center...
in Anaheim, California in January, 2011.
Essentially a computer housed in the form of a musical keyboard, Kronos utilizes for its operation an Intel Atom processor running a custom operating system based on the Linux kernel,, much like Kronos' predecessor and Korg's previous flagship synthesizer workstation, the OASYS
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
. Kronos includes 9 different sound engines, including the entire range of recent Korg different synthesis technologies and new ones.
Sound Engines
Like its predecessor OASYSKorg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
, Kronos has nine different sound engines:
The HD1 High Definition Synthesizer which Korg first introduced in the OASYS
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
uses sample-based synthesis
Sample-based synthesis
Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be contrasted to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. The principal difference with sample-based synthesis is that the seed waveforms are sampled sounds or instruments instead of fundamental waveforms such as the saw waves...
and wave sequencing to generate sounds from the multisamples stored on an internal solid state drive. Note: the built-in Preset PCM ROM is 314 MB
The SGX-1 Premium Piano sound engine utilizes continuous (un-looped) stereo piano samples sampled at eight velocity layers per key and played directly from the internal solid state drive to produce either a Steinway
Steinway
Steinway may refer to:* Steinway & Sons, an American and German piano manufacturer* Steinway Hall, a building housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos* Steinway D-274, the concert grand piano by Steinway & Sons...
-styled or Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
-styled acoustic grand piano. The samples are directly streamed from the solid state drive by using VMT (Virtual Memory Technology) This synth engine didn't exist on Korg Oasys
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
.
The EP-1 MDS Electric Piano employs the same Korg "MDS" modeling introduced in the SV-1 Stage Vintage Piano released in 2009 to produce electric piano
Electric piano
An electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
sounds. The sound engine offers four models based on specific classic Rhodes electric pianos
Rhodes piano
The Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
and two based on Wurlitzer
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes....
pianos, with software control over hammers, tines, reeds, and mechanical noise elements. It also simulates amplifiers, cabinets, speakers, and effects associated with those historic electric pianos. This synth engine didn't exist on Korg Oasys
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
.
The CX-3 Tonewheel Organ engine is carried over from the Korg CX-3 modeled tonewheel organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
released in 1980. The CX-3 engine models classic tonewheel organ, including rotary speaker effects, vibrato and chorus effects, and tube amplifier. Nine hardware sliders on the Kronos' control panel function as organ drawbar controllers. This synth engine first appeared on Korg Oasys
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
.
The AL-1 Analog Synthesizer models analog subtractive synthesis
Subtractive synthesis
Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis in which partials of an audio signal are attenuated by a filter to alter the timbre of the sound...
, with a range of modeled oscillator waveforms, filters, hard sync, analog-style FM, and ring modulation. This is another sound engine passed down from the Korg Oasys
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
.
The MS-20EX Legacy Analog Collection models an expanded version of the original Korg MS-20
Korg MS-20
The Korg MS-20 is a patchable semi-modular monophonic synthesizer which Korg released in 1978 and which was in production until 1983. It was part of Korg's MS series of instruments, which also included the single oscillator MS-10, the keyboardless MS-50 module, and the SQ-10 sequencer...
semi-modular monophonic analog synthesizer originally released in 1978. This engine is basically another version of the version released by Korg in their "Legacy Collection" software previously and also found on Korg Oasys
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
. Similarly, the PolysixEX Legacy Analog Collection models an expanded version of the 6-voice Korg Polysix
Korg Polysix
The Korg Polysix is a six voice programmable polyphonic synthesizer released by Korg in 1981.- Features :The synthesizer's main features are six-voice polyphony , 32 memory slots for patches and cassette port for backing up patches, and an arpeggiator.On its release it was, along with the Roland...
analog synthesizer produced by Korg from 1982-3, and also previously released as one of the software synthesizers in that same collection.
The MOD-7 Waveshaping VPM Synthesizer is capable of classic FM sounds and has import compatibility with Yamaha DX7
Yamaha DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is an FM Digital Synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986. It was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer. Its distinctive sound can be heard on many recordings, especially Pop music from the 1980s...
SysEx formatted sounds. The MOD-7 engine also combines Variable Phase Modulation (VPM), waveshaping, ring modulation, samples, subtractive synthesis, and modular patching to create a wider range of sounds than would have been possible on a classic Yamaha DX-series synthesizer. This synth engine first appeared on Korg Oasys
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
.
First released by Korg as an expansion to the Korg Oasys
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
, the STR-1 Plucked String Synthesizer engine creates sounds derived from the physical properties of struck or plucked string sounds. This sound engine is well-suited for creating sounds like guitar, harpsichord and clavinet, harp, and bell sounds, as well as other sounds based in the physics of a plucked string but not directly related to any known instrument.
In terms of size, there are three variants of the Kronos. There are 61, 73, and 88-key versions of this workstation, with the latter two employing graded hammer action keys, and the 61-key version with synth action keys.
Other capabilities
The Kronos has a 16-track MIDI sequencer combined with a 16-track 24-bit audio recorder. The recorder can record up to four tracks simultaneously.185 effect types are available. They can be applied as 16 internal effects, 12 insert effects, and 2 master effects. In addition to these effects, a separate 3-band EQ for each track is available.
Kronos features the Kay Algorithmic Realtime Music Architecture, or KARMA, a complex arpeggiator that generates complex musical phrases in realtime based on the input of a performer. KARMA was developed by Stephen Kay and first appeared in the Korg KARMA
Korg KARMA
The Korg KARMA music workstation was released in 2001 as a specialised member of the Korg Triton family.Unlike most other Korg workstation names, the KARMA name is rendered in capitals as an acronym for the Kay Algorithmic Realtime Music Architecture...
keyboard workstation.
Kronos is capable of sampling audio and has full sample editing functionality. Sample import and export are supported. Import sample formats supported include Korg, Akai
Akai
Akai is a consumer electronics brand, founded by Saburo Akai as , a Japanese manufacturer in 1929. It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used...
, SoundFont
SoundFont
SoundFont is a brand name that collectively refers to a file format and associated technology designed to bridge the gap between recorded and synthesized audio, especially for the purposes of computer music composition...
, WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
and AIFF files.
Kronos sounds can be computer edited using Kronos editor software. Kronos can also be integrated within a computer digital audio workstation
Digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
as a software plug-in.