Combi Discussion - Korg Kronos

This isn't a huge tutorial, moreso a brief discussion about how I approach making Combi's. I'll have another tutorial at some point that gets more into the details of this, but the basis for how I create a combi is discussed in this video.

[@myfz6]

after being a MOTIF XF 8 fan for so long , when i really wanted the KRONOS in 2011 i finally sold my MOTIF and got the NEW KRONOS 88 LS. KORG really has made an INTENSE KRONOS. My Gosh i cannot believe everything you can imagine they have thought of. I love this new thing. It's a bit over whelming at first. Appreciate the videos. These are so helpful.

[@park171]

Your videos are great. KORG Kronos is a Homage to the very first digital workstations. The most featured packed bar none! But it’s complicated but can do everything. And workstations that came out after can no do what Kronos can do. If you some one that has limited needs then there are great choices out there. But for now in 2020 Kronos is still it!

[@edgardocrespo3840]

Thank you so much for a very easy to understand tutorials.More power to you.

[@garyholdsworth53]

I love the layered single-note chord idea. I am going to have to try that. I like it better than the chords on pads idea. Those can work too (just not as convenient to touch the screen or pad while playing, and the pad is another piece of gear to buy).

[@yareyoufat]

David, thanks for the tutorial. Looking forward to more in-depth info on the Kronos for live playing. Suggestion, can you explain how to sample from a CD player and save to one note on the keyboard? Thanks, Steve from No Cal

[@AudoraAudio]

Steve Boydstun Steve - I've only had these synths a few months. I'm doing what I can for tutorials and such as I learn it, but I haven't actually learned how to do that just yet. Your best bet is to check the manual, or ask on the Korg forums under the Kronos section!

[@bpf0x]

This is amazing. Also, I'm not sure who picked up on it, but this is the castle theme from Super Mario World.

[@AudoraAudio]

Good eye! I was playing around with trying to play the Super Mario World castle theme on one keyboard :)

[@bairahrecordings]

Cool tutorial,I'm thinking about adding a 61 key Kronos 2 to my productions.

[@Ben.Babylon]

Could you make a video showing how to assign Karma to automate the panning like you were saying in the video? I'm very interested in that. Maybe in the video you could show, if it's possible, other interesting ways to use Karma. I don't know if you can, but maybe you can automate the effects, maybe you could automate reverb or volume or whatever.

[@cc7cc10]

Great tutorials David but I actually have a kind of unrelated question; what is the model of your pen and where did you get it? I am using an iPad pen but the tip is so much larger than yours that sometimes I have a hard time touching very small buttons on the screen. Thanks.

[@AudoraAudio]

It's actually just a Wii U pen, it works awesome!

[@sitcow.l.l.2470]

Hi Dave, hope you keeping well. Your videos are extremely helpful. As stated in this video, is there any chance you can create a combi from scratch for live performance. Any time at your convenience. Your help will be highly appreciated. Thanks

[@yareyoufat]

David, two questions: First, if you have a Boss FS-6 Dual foot peddle, could you program it to go backwards as well as forward when using it live? Also, If I want, let's say, a flute sound below C3, is there a way to use it in the lower register and get a high pitch? Thanks, Steve in Nor Cal

[@alphasxsignal]

Pedal is great to use.

[@MatthewThomsonMusic]

Hi great video i learnt alot!!! i have a kronos 2 61 key piano and a yamaha cp4 as my midi controller. I was wondering if there was a way to use combi mode on the kronos so that i can set a sound patch to be played via midi from my Yamaha cp4 whilst having another sound on the Kronos. Note that i want all the sounds coming from the kronos as the yamaha is just the 88 midi controller (hopefully that makes sense)! I really want to be able to have the George Duke rhodes sound played on the Yamaha (as its 88 keys and my main board) while having a kronos synth lead on the Kronos as a live set up.

[@Chopins11th]

Regarding the layering in which you assign a 12th stretch (F-C) to one key for the reason of not being able to reach that stretch (seems most people have about a 10th stretch). Were you serious about Rachmaninoff begin able to play those intervals or is that just sarcasm? If so, that's a heckuva stretch! and...though I'm just now viewing this vid, I am hoping you will already have or if not, "will have" a video on how to map out drum kits so you can assign multiple kick drums next to each other, mult snares, etc, in order to create a completely custom kit that enables more real time playing. Thanks again for the great tutorial!

[@AudoraAudio]

+Chopins11th Oh yes... his stretch was massive: www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Sergei-Rachmaninoff-and-His-Amazing-Hand-Span I'm going to have a video eventually on building drum programs yes. I've only just started really diving into it, since I've been doing a lot of sampling lately and that's going to be my next video most likely. (A sampling tutorial, with a focus on looping samples and how to get it into a program cleanly) Once I experiment and get comfortable with Drum programs though, I'll be sure to put something up!

[@jymcaputo]

many pianists are not physically capable of playing certain Rachmaninoff pieces due to his huge stretch.....no different from a short guy not being able to slam dunk.

[@AntonioRockGP]

Great video. Just a question, using the setlist to go in sequence through the sounds that way, I imagine it's very easy to fill out the 127 slots... How do you cope with that? Multiple setlists for the same concert? Thanks

[@AudoraAudio]

Yes, exactly! And once you get to the end of setlist 000, slot 127, it will immediately go to setlist 001, slot 000. It's sequential even if the setlists are named differently, etc.

[@AntonioRockGP]

@@AudoraAudio got it. Thanks a lot

[@iloschmid]

super Tips thanks

[@myfz6]

is it possible to use a Mono Hammond Pedal that is for the LESLIE 3300 to use on the KRONOS as a Foot switch like you were using your BOSS?

[@shambhalaambient1802]

that was very helpful.... Could you please explain a proper use of karma or i mean like intense orchestral karma programmed combi. thanks in advance

[@stevescott3268]

In this video you have that single bass note F2, playing at C2. You did not explain the steps to accomplish that. Could you please explain how?

[@Chopins11th]

Sorry if this has already been answered but - Can you assign a second pedal for "decrements?" Nice to program incremental steps up in Set List mode, but often I have the need to switch back n forth between like two different combi's and I wouldn't want to assign the same ones over and over just so I can access them with an increment pedal only. Any help much appreciated and again, Please forgive if it's answered already. I find myself a little impatient when I find such nice KZbin tutorials such as yours.

[@AudoraAudio]

+Chopins11th You could yes. The Kronos only has 3 pedals, one of which is pretty much permanently assigned as the damper, but the other two are assignable. Thanks for the kind words :) You can find the pedal assignment under the Global button, and I think it's the "Midi" tab but I'm not currently in front of my Kronos.

[@jymcaputo]

great technical explanation.....I need to hire you. But next time, you might want to consider taking 5 minutes to learn the song (or at least the portion of the song) that you're using as your example in the tutorial (Africa intro.... A to C#mi).

[@richard81372]

I have created a combi, but any time I turn the system off, and say turn it on the next day, I loose my combi, can you teach me how to save my combi after it is created? And how do I change the colors of the setlists

[@perrycapitani544]

David - Your easy to follow tutorial was extremely helpful to me. I attempted to build a compbi using two Programs. However I was unable to copy and insert effects like you showed, and can't understand what I may be doing wrong. After copying the two effects from the 1st Program for my first timbre in IFX1 & IFX2, I was unable to copy three effects from the next Program into IFX 3, 4 and 5. The "To" designation never changed from IFX1 and was grey, so I was unable to change it myself. Can you think of what I may be doing wrong? Thanks in advance. Perry

[@AudoraAudio]

Make sure when you copy the effects, that you're not choosing "All Insert Effects" but rather "All Used" - All will copy everything but all used only copies the insert effects that are used in the program so you can set IFX destinations. See if that helps!

[@perrycapitani544]

Wow! Spot-on. It worked like a charm. Thanks again.....P

[@alphasxsignal]

Can you create styles on the kronos is some way.

[@AngelsPiano]

Absolutely awesome! Thank you so much... total noob here and I found the answer I was looking for. Thanks! :)

[@LukeWilliam]

hi I just have one very very important question is it possible to control your Combi through the Fader on the kronos? like assign different combis to different faders and control them together

[@chotonbarua5049]

Yes It's Possible.. Just press MODULE CONTROL to Number "C".. It will activate your faders to the timbres of your combi... :)

[@ColdBuffetKing]

Thanks for posting. Any tips for CPU usage in Combi mode?

[@AudoraAudio]

The biggest thing really comes down to the engine itself. If you have a simple engine (like the PolySix) making the majority of the layers, you're going to have less issues with CPU than if you have a bunch of MS-20's or AL 1's. Each engine takes more or less polyphony so if you can plan ahead and make some sounds using one engine over another, then do that instead. That's the biggest contributing factor generally. There's a guide online that shows how much polyphony each engine runs. www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=59889&sid=b977c97600fdbfae1a615ed5c40ac1ff Generally it looks like this though: -- SGX-1: 100 voices -- EP-1: 104 voices -- HD-1: 140 voices -- AL-1: 80 voices -- CX-3: 200 voices -- STR-1: 40 voices -- MOD-7: 52 voices -- MS-20EX: 40 voices -- PolysixEX: 180 voices Remember things like Stereo vs Mono for HD-1, and under the common page for each engine, using the various numbers of voices. If you can get away with making the sounds as simple as possible to save polyphony, do it!

[@ntsikintsele6971]

Hi there I have a korg Kronos X and I’m experiencing polyphony issues in combi mode,how do I fix this problem?

[@AudoraAudio]

It depends on what's wrong. Different engines are more complicated and will use more polyphony than other engines. It's possible you simply have run out of polyphony.

[@ntsikintsele6971]

Audora Audio but I don’t layer much the most I’d layer would be five to six sounds and sometimes don’t even play them at once. Even if I Play one sound it still chokes.

[@AudoraAudio]

@@ntsikintsele6971 Look at the Perf meters tab - you can see by muting the various layers which one is taking up the most polyphony. It's not at all about how many layers there are, it's about which engines you're using in those layers. There are some MOD 7 programs that you can only play a few notes because it's such a voice-hungry engine. Karma also has an impact since it'll use voices as well potentially.

[@AudoraAudio]

@@ntsikintsele6971 Here's the voice polyphony list: -- SGX-1: 100 voices -- EP-1: 104 voices -- HD-1: 140 voices -- AL-1: 80 voices -- CX-3: 200 voices -- STR-1: 40 voices -- MOD-7: 52 voices -- MS-20EX: 40 voices -- PolysixEX: 180 voices If you have a sound in one engine that is causing polyphony issues, then substitute that sound with a sound from another engine that sounds similar, or program the sound in another engine yourself and that should help.

[@bobcatt2294]

Audio is low - thumbs up.

[@m.berklee_]

Is karmas midi files???

[@John-lv6uj]

How do you Loop on the Kronos 2

[@AudoraAudio]

There are a few different ways - you'd have to be more specific. Do you mean while sequencing? Or using Karma? With a step-sequencer?

[@John-lv6uj]

@@AudoraAudio I just bought this March 16, 2022. I want to do an 8 bar loop for just Hooks.

[@John-lv6uj]

@@AudoraAudio Thank you Dave

[@gordonbryant6460]

This is Combi 101? Could you put out a video that actually starts from zero to build a combi?

[@AudoraAudio]

Thanks Gordon - I just did that now. I only went over the basics, but the stuff is there that you'd need to build a much more complicated combi thank just what I did in the example. Let me know if you have questions though!

[@gordonbryant6460]

KZbin wouldn't allow me to to reply to your reply, hence the new post. Your definition of what constitutes a 101 course is considerably more advanced than what I need. I've tried and tried and TRIED to build a combi using the directions on page 60 in the Operating Guide with no success whatsoever. If you would, please consider putting together a short, starting-from-scratch tutorial on building a stone-simple combi using only two or three sounds. That would be a HUGE help. Many thanks in advance.

[@AudoraAudio]

Gordon Bryant I JUST recorded this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJ67o4uglKmdmKs Give that a watch and follow along, pause if you need to catch up. I explain from the beginning using only 2 sounds to start and add a 3rd sound.

[@EricBBarker]

"When I cover Dream Theater songs"... ...okay, I hate you now. I can never find bands that want to cover DT songs. I've learned a few on my own, but when I go to work, it's aways EVH and Rick Springfield :( Get to cover some Nubuo Uematsu in my video game band, which gets close to DT, but still!

[@garyholdsworth53]

better than hiring another keyboard player too!

[@fazzodude]

Hey Gary! Funny running into you on a Korg Kronos KZbin vid. I just picked up a Kronos. -Kelly M.

[@alphasxsignal]

Kronos is to complexed to create fast.

[@dhpstudios2009]

alphasxsignal ideal for sounddesigner

[@AngelsPiano]

Hi David, do you know if there's a way to always mute the Damper Noise and Mechanical noise in a program? Thank you!