Feedback on Kore2, please.

[Garth Henderson]

Heya,

 

Is anyone using the Kore2 on stage and/or in the studio?

 

How does it work with a dualcore laptop? Noticeable latency?

 

What about a desktop (or new laptop) quad? Noticeable latency?

 

How is the interface with assignable controllers for real time changes (B4, synths, etc.)?

 

Does it work well with Sonar7?

 

Thanks,

Garth

[DanS]

Your best bet is the NI forum. Not too many people here have K2. I had K1, but returned it cuz it shut down my system one too many times.

[Mark Schmieder]

You should be aware that there was a major change made to Kore2 today: NI is now dropping the price of the combined package, and also selling the Kore2 software on its own (with an upgrade option for the hardware later on).

[Garth Henderson]

Thanks, Mark. The NI news on Kore2 is what sparked my interest.

 

I think there is more openess and discussion on comparable solutions through this forum than the a vendor specific forum.

 

If a player didn't like a product, they replaced it with something better. Like what DanS said about the K1. I'd like to know what/why players are using.

 

I want a rig with as few wires as possible and quick set/tear down and transport. I don't have a lot of money or room in my house - so I need to use my stage equipment at home for composition, recording, and playing.

 

The "component" (synth, controller, and laptop) approach makes since to me.

 

For me, 2 keyboards are required with zones. I've been using this with my S90/XK2 combo for years. The XK2 has the split function that it instantaneous for a 3/2 octave split for comping.

 

I'd like to replace my current setup with a laptop, semi-weighted controller on top, dumb piano action controller on the bottom (sharing the top controller's controls), and a small touchscreen laptop with soft synths and my recording software of choice (currently Sonar). I want both keyboards to be as close together as possible (like the dual manuals on a B3).

 

The goal is to make this setup so quick and easy that I can use it for sit-ins, one set gigs, and 30-40 minute jam sessions. Part of every keyboard player's "signature" style is our combination of equipment and sounds.

 

The new 76 key weighted VAX77 keyboard folding keyboard takes us there now but costs $2,700 - kinda pricy.

 

Currently I'm using Sonik 2, some NI modules, and some Cakewalk modules. I think I could probably go with NI for most of what I do. Their B4 and Massive synths are outstanding.

 

I like the ability to to use a tablet laptop. Using a laptop is far better than buying a keyboard workstation that quickly becomes obsolete. I wish Muse would release just a software version. They get great performance because of a Linux base (maybe just Wine) instead of sucking bloated Vista. Muse boots up in under 5 seconds.

 

BTW: I'm not a Mac fan because they won't open up the software to run on computers not made by Apple. Yeah, I'm a huge Linux fan and would love for Mac or (an improved lightweight .NET version of) Windows to run on Linux with an open hardware architecture. The knowledge and collaborative nature of the Internet is making it tougher for corporations to suppress good ideas. Musicians and programmers are both creative innovators.

 

If Kore2 will do everything I need using a dual core laptop (no noticable latency, dropouts, crashing) with a controller (Axiom or Roland) and a lightweight piano (Yamaha or Casio) - I think I'll buy it.

 

I'm always interested in improvements and alternate solutions.

[Mark Schmieder]

Did you notice a price on the software-only version? I only saw the revised combo price.

 

I can see Kore speeding up some on my jingles work (not that I get a lot of that work, YET... but as my main client is my lead singer, who does web design for a living, and as he promises to set up a website for me this month as it's way better than MySpace for self-promotion, that could change soon...).

 

Usually, in that line of work, you're trying to be as economical as possible without compromising core principles. That means being REALLY fast about sound selection, arrangement, etc. That would be my main application of Kore, to help me give clients a faster time estimate for lower overall project cost.

[Garth Henderson]

Thanks, Mark, for the thoughts.

 

The software only version that I would like to see is a complete Muse box running on a laptop as a dual boot option. Vista is a hog and Muse gets extremely better performace with a Linux OS.

 

The current software only option from Muse is to purchase the Komplete set for Muse if you already own a Muse.

 

The current software only version for Kore2 is if you want to run the Kore2 without their hardware interface.

 

Sorry for the confusion.

[bloodyMary]

When trying out Kore I kinda felt it was "heavy". The interface, loading times, it just needs too much resources to do even simplest task. It takes about 130MB of RAM by itself, without any patches loaded. Too much, if you ask me. I guess it loads ll of its engines t startup.

 

The presets were pretty much useless to me. I mean, they all sound good, but for my purposes I found maybe 5 or 6 useful sounds.

Most of the library are weird synth sounds for modern electronic music.

 

I has a decent piano, great choir and string pads, a couple of good aggressive leads.

 

 

Of course, YMMV, and you may find most of the sounds useful.

 

Oh, and you can't edit the sounds, that was a major turn-off for me. The manual says if you have the full versions of engines installed, you can access edit options within Kore (for example, if you have Kontakt, you can edit sample-driven patches of Kore. If you have FM8, you can edit FM-driven Kore patches).

 

 

[Al Coda]

 

The new 76 key weighted VAX77 keyboard folding keyboard takes us there now but costs $2,700 - kinda pricy.

 

I'm always interested in improvements and alternate solutions.

 

So,- has somebody seen, played, tested this keyboard in real world meanwhile ?

 

They promise a lot on their website, especially for Reason remote.

 

Anyone ???

 

A.C.