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Korg Kross 2 61 keybed?


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What stoken6 said. Out of all the boards I own, the award for best action has to go to my DX7.

Hardware

Yamaha MODX7, DX7, PSR-530, SY77/Korg TR-Rack, 01/W Pro X, Trinity Pro X, Karma/Ensoniq ESQ-1, VFX-SD

Behringer DeepMind12, Model D, Odyssey, 2600/Roland RD-1000/Arturia Keylab MKII 61

 

Software

Studio One/V Collection 9/Korg Collection 4/Cherry Audio/UVI SonicPass/EW Composer Cloud/Omnisphere, Stylus RMX, Trilian/IK Total Studio 3.5 MAX/Roland Cloud

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Keybeds don't necessarily evolve for the better. Not everyone is Casio.

I agree... and even Casio hasn't always gotten better from one generation to the next. For example, the Privia PX-x30 models didn't feel nearly as good to me as the PX-x00 or PX-x10.

 

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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Can anyone comment on the keybed and feel of the Korg Kross 2 61? Is it that bad? I hate the keys in my old Korg X50 but this is several generations of potential improvement.

Its what you might graciously call Klack City. Low-end Korgs have felt like no-name Xmas keyboards in a department store for a while now. :facepalm: OTOH, I love Korgs in general, have for years; the engines are doubleplusgood. I still get solid performance from a TR61, whose keybed is a bit squishy and thus dubious for piano, but quite satisfactory otherwise. You adapt. It depends on your goals, studio space and budget, but if the sound and GUI work for you, treat it like a module. Once you have a really solid controller, the rest is a fairly simple matter of routing. I know, "simple," ha ha, but its easier now than its ever been

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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It's supposed to be the same as the Krome 61/Krome EX 61. I don't mind it much. Just make sure you don't play towards the backs of the keys a lot and you'll be fine. Never played an X-50.

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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Here are two threads I started a while back that may be helpful to you.

 

Kross 2 61 and Juno DS 61 Keybeds vs Cheap Yamaha PSR Feel

 

Need advice - one of two keyboards might need replacing - this one there's a ton of posts to sort through but there's some info there on the Kross 2 61.

Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000

Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R

Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT

Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments

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I use the Krome 61 which I understand has the same keybed as the Kross 2 61.

 

It takes a bit of getting used to. Playing velocity-sensitive patches with a good level of control is tricky, and the keys give a 'squishy' rather than 'snappy' response. The other challenge is the unusual hinge point of the keys, which make it slightly more challenging playing chords or passages laden with sharps/flats.

 

 

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I"ll probably grab a MODX6 at some point just to play the odd string/brass line or whatever I can"t fit onto the Kronos 73... Yeah, the Korg Kross is quite cheap, but feels terrible.

 

Worse than going from my Extreme (with the much loved FS keybed) years ago to helping a friend program a TR or a Triton LE; can"t remember. Apart from the keys, I"d have had one. Know the interface well; sounds are, for a bit filler, no worse than the Triton I used for years. Shame, really.

 

Both have the dreaded external DC power brick, though! God knows where I"ve misplaced my Minilogue adapter oops.

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There is one at the studio that we had our rehearsals, and I played it a couple of times when I didn't want to carry my rig. Bad decision... If you are planning to play anything similar to a piano, the touch is way too light for that. I didn't like it on organ patches either, too springy at release, but feels like a pound of steak when you press them.
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Thanks for all the responses! This has been very helpful. Especially linking those other threads which were interesting to read through.

 

For context if anyone cares toread: I'm in a weird spot with what gear upgrade/replacement I'm looking for. Really trying to lighten my load. I need to replace my dead/dying Korg X50 that I use with my mutli-genre rock band. I have a an SV-1 which I love and use for my jazz bands as well but I hate lugging it. For my rock band, I really only use it for EPs, it's just so heavy and limited. I drag my Behringer Deepmind to my rock band but that is limited in it's own way and pretty hefty as well.

 

I'm considering the Vox Continental for EPs and it's piano-player-friendly semi-weight keys (15lbs - for rock band and jazz band) and throwing a Korg Kross on the top tier (8lbs - for rock band). Both have nice bags and I can just see myself zipping in and out of shows and rehearsals. With a new baby, speed, weight and tidiness are everything.

 

Any thoughts or critics or suggestions are welcome. :)

 

Cheers! :)

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Depending upon your budget, a 22lb. Nord Stage 3 Compact could be a light, single board solution, if you are OK with a waterfall keybed for everything. The two boards you mentioned (Vox and Kross 2) have a combined MAP of $2,648, while the NS3C is $3,599. If you call around, you may be able to get some meaningful discounts. Add a K&M 18880 stand and you're as light as can be.

Nord Stage 3 HA88, Nord Stage 3 Compact, Casio CT-S1, Radial Key Largo, Westone AM Pro 30, Rolls PM55P, K&M 18880 + 18881, Bose S1 Pro, JBL 305p MKII, Zoom Q2n-4K

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I'm considering the Vox Continental for EPs and it's piano-player-friendly semi-weight keys (15lbs - for rock band and jazz band) and throwing a Korg Kross on the top tier (8lbs - for rock band). Both have nice bags and I can just see myself zipping in and out of shows and rehearsals. With a new baby, speed, weight and tidiness are everything.

Well, if you're not going to need to play pianos from it, you may find the Kross action not so bad. I actually don't dislike the basic feel, it's just that for anything velocity sensitive, I look at it almost as a mini-keyboard, because you can really only effectively play on the front half of the keys. If you can get by with 49 keys, the Yamaha MX49 weighs the same as the Kross, and at least its action is more even feeling front-to-back. (You'll need to use a Mac/PC editor if you want to split/layer more than two sounds on the Yamaha, or to do sound editing.) If you want something superlight, and can deal with actual mini-keys, the 61-key Korg Microstation might do it for you, but it's discontinued, you'd have to find one used.

 

Based on the weight you mentioned, I see you're looking at the 61-key Vox rather than the 73. As a Vox alternative, you could also look at the Numa Compact 2 (or 2X if you want it to also include some of the Vox-like organ/synth functionality), which is an 88 that actually weighs even a bit less than the Vox 61, and still has a very workable sound and action for piano/EP. Unlike the Vox, the Numa also functions as a decent 2-zone MIDI controller, it even has aftertouch. This would give you the option of using its keys to occasionally play the sounds that are in your top board, if you find there are certain times you want to play that board's sounds using a better keyboard (i.e. if you end up with that Kross or, the MX with only 49, or the Microstation with mini-keys). In terms of on-site setup time, it only adds plugging in one more cable (Numa MIDI Out to second board MIDI In). But you'd have to put some home-time in to configure it to do what you want.

 

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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The numa compact 2x was very high on my list until it came out and I got a better sense of it's functionality and sounds. The EPs, which are crucial to me coming from an sv-1, just didn't stand up. Not did the other sounds. As a midi controller alone, it would probably be great. But it ain't cheap for just that. It also seems like a largely unsupported product. Though, you could say that about the vox as well so far. But, at least it starts with pretty top notch sounds. The Kross 2 actually sounds really good to me, and yeah, maybe as second tier synth focused board, it could work for me. Just wish I had a decent keyboard store here that works have it. The local Guitar Center's keys room looks like the Hall of Justice from Mad Max...
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