, Octave shift is a master control, and according to the manual master controls apply to both side of split.

ok, tried it and it’s not possible to adjust the octave independently for each sound :-( Quite disapointing, I must say...

Hopefully they will make it possible sometime... But what are the Korg guys thinking about, man...pffff

Thank. You. Korg. Thank you. Thank you.
In the name of both my Continentals, 61 and 73.

This is the update list:

The VOX Continental Ver.2.0 has evolved into an even more complete stage keyboard by adding carefully selected new sounds
and convenient performance functions including the much-requested split function. Here is a list of the improvements:
Summary
– 58 versatile and usable sounds have been added
Enhanced keyboard tone variations such as Soft Grand Piano for ballads and singing, including Small Grand Pianos,
Forte Piano (that is based on the original piano from 18-19th-centuries), Harpsichord, Electric Piano tone with effect settings,
FM Electric Piano, Pianet, Toy Piano. Also, included due to popular demand are ensemble sounds such as Brass Ensemble,
Mellotron, and some enhanced Synth Pads. In addition, Bass sounds such as Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass, and Synth Bass have been added for a split function.
There are more timbre variations and the Vox Continental will be reborn for a wider audience.
– The split function has been added
– The damper effect can be enabled or disabled for each sound part
– A scene set function has been added, and the number of scenes has increased from 16 to 64
– The amount of noise that is characteristic of vintage organs can be adjusted
– The tonal character of the PIANO part can be switched using the bending lever

I think the coolest thing about this update is finally being able to do a "Manzarek split": Vox right hand and rhodes left hand. The Conti is killing for both parts.

hoping to do this update in the next couple of days, looking forward to it.

^^^ This!

update was flawless, went as well as any update from Nord or Crumar. Easy peasey.

Yes, the update process looked more complicated on the paper and on the video that it really is !!

A question to those who've done the update . . . if you split the keyboard between organ and piano, does organ "high trigger" mode still work in the split?

Read somewhere (in a German forum) that we should be able to use the expression pedal on both parts of the split or on only one.

Hello, can you please send the link to this discussion? I checked in one german forum that I know, but did not see this mentioned.

Thank you very much!

Of course.
It’s https://www.musiker-board.de/threads/der-vox-continental-thread.666653/page-15
But it refers to the damper effect, not the exp pedal. So the jury’s out on this, I’m afraid. Here’s hoping ...

Meanwhile, there’s also a French thread running: https://fr.m.audiofanzine.com/orgue/vox/continental-73/forums/t.700231,commentaires-sur-la-news-vox-met-a-jour-le-firmware-de-son-continental-a-la-v2.html

OK, so this is the german forum I also know, and as you said, they are refering to the damper effect.

Also, I know the french forum, as I'm a french expat in Germany ;-)

You may have seen my forumer name in the chain of posts...

So, looks like for the time being, we will have to deal with the split function as it is, hoping that Korg will implement the 2 features (ie expression pedal and octave independent settings) in the next update... fingers crossed ;-)

Well for me, it is not such a big deal, as I'm not a big fan of the split function, but still, I'd like to have the possibility to use it from time to time, to avoid carrying two keyboards...

Same here, split function is of less importance to me, also ‘cause I have mounted both Continentals on the same stand above each other. Wish I knew how to post a pic, I tried uploading a jpeg of less than 1MB but no luck.

We’re checking the same threads! Sadly I’m no member (yet) in the German and French ones, but I do participate in the ones @ GearSlutz, KVR and YamahaMusicians.

It seems the GrandStage only got 10% extra sounds, while the Vox got 40% more and, particularly, all those tweaking possibilities, like using the bender to swap between two piano versions. This update really shines.

So you speak also french and german, woahh, congratulations ;-)

In Gearslutz, I did not find a lot of love for digital keyboards, or ROM players as they call it... So I'm seldom consulting it. I neither go to the Yamaha forum, as I'm more a Korg addict!

But in the Korg forum, participants are also not so active as here. So I think here is definitely the best keyboard forum! Also the pianoworld forum is not too bad (though not as good...).

For the Conti update, I think one of the best feature is the addition of bass sounds. I felt it was a bit missing until now. I liked also the new Funky Lead sound, will definitely use it on stage.

For Brass ensemble, I still prefer the n°1 voice called "Bright Brass", which I've been already using quite a lot...

And the Soft Ballad Piano is also welcome!

Very true. Forgot about those bass sounds. Adan was right referring to Manzarek. We should be able to do a respectable Light My Fire with a Fender Bass on the left and a Vox to the right.

Definitely welcoming that Soft Ballad Piano yet I’m still wondering which two of the GrandStage grands are included in the Conti. I’m guessing it’s the GrandStage Grand and the Fazioli.

Also active in the Pianoworld forum but read-only in the Korg one. Should participate there, as I also prefer Korg to Yamaha in general. Had some bad experiences with the MODX (6 and 8) so now I’m waiting for the next update.

And here’s hoping for the Kronos 3 at NAMM

Of course, the GS had more to begin with! So now it's got 564, while the Vox has 198.


Certainly makes sense now that you can split the board!

Bass sounds are also good to have as standalone, to quickly record ideas, when inspiration strikes ;-)

Knowing Korg's thought processes as I do, no doubt they didn't add the octave offset feature because they were only thinking about providing LH bass split capabilities. In many of these new product releases they seem to be trying to un-complicate the specs and features.... for whatever reason.

That’s 208 for ya, A/Scott, and at half the price of a GrandStage
Seriously, it’s the GUI tweaking capacity and the waterfall keyboard that sets the Conti apart.

I guess I miscounted! But the price is pretty close these days, at least in the U.S. - $1899 for the Vox 73, $1999 for the Grandstage 73.
Of the two, the Vox is the one that intrigues me more, between the tube, the light weight, the drawstrips, the overall operational ergonomics. I'd like to get my hands on one one day to try the action for myself.

Do try the Vox boards, Master Scott, and if you like ‘em, several shops in Europe have them for $1000 or so.

And yeah, that tube is mesmerizing

But why are the Vox 73 and Grandstage 73 prices so close to each other in the US???
In Europe, it's very different, there is a clear price delta between both...
This US price positioning looks strange to me...

Oh no, it's especially bad, since Korg generally waits quite some time before releasings OS updates!!!

I did the update and it went smoothly. Of the new sounds I'll only use a few: the funky lead, sine pad and especially the soft ballad piano are sweet. Having had a Kronos I really appreciate being able to open and close the lid on the acoustic pianos with the lever, imho it's better than EQ for quickly getting a good piano sound in a given room. I can't see me using the split much given its limitations. What I'd really like is the ability to set the key range of the key/layer. That I would use a lot. It was a nice surprise that the update didn't wipe my scenes. Thank you Korg.

Are we sure you can't set damper and volume pedal control to each side of the split? On my Grandstage, damper is an actual setting (on or off) on each side of the split and then there is a setting called "other control" (on or off) that actually controls anything plugged into the other pedal jack on the back panel.

Therefore, I am able to set damper and volume control on both sides of the split.

Mike

I've been checking out Thomann Music. I believe they have locations in Germany and another in the UK. Their prices are a lot lower than US companies that want MAP for everything. $922 for the 61 key, $1015 for the 73 key.

Sweetwater apparently wants to bundle the KB stand with it. Personally, I would have no use for the stand, I have a few extras.

Thomann also has a lower price on the Novation Summit. Not sure how warranty would be handled.


Mike T.

If it works on the GrandStage, I guess they should be able to make it work on the Vox Continental.
I believe the damper pedal already works per part.

As for the sounds, quite substantial difference between the GrandStage update (37MB for 50 sounds) and the Vox Continental update (349MB for 58 sounds) which is 10 times as large.

And a question.
I haven’t updated my Continentals yet.
Now there’s an (older) v1.0.1 update.
And there’s the latest v2.0 update.

Are these incremental? Or should I first do the v1.0.1 and then the V2.0?