Building a two board rig, what is a good pairing?

[ElmerJFudd]

What’s all included on the Kross ROMs and Fx is very good.  Its build and action are really cheap.  But I can’t say significantly less than the VR-09 or DS61 or even an FA-06. 
 

Sound list is impressive. With GM stuff to fill in the blanks. 

https://cdn.korg.com/us/support/download/files/f976a1b85ad4179beb679ece0806d85f.pdf

[AnotherScott]

1 hour ago, ElmerJFudd said:

Has Casio discontinued this board and a few other models recently as well?  

XW-P1 has been gone for quite a while. I think they discontinued it in 2018. It's too bad, especially since there's been effectively no replacement.

[kaptainkeys]

5 hours ago, Shamanzarek said:

I would second the Casio XW-P1 as an inexpensive top Keyboard that can cover a lot of ground. The tone wheel organ section is more adjustable than ROMpler organs and can do a couple things the much more expensive tone wheel simulators can't. It has a very full-featured programmable hex layer synth section. There is an assortment of other sounds like pianos, strings, brass, etc. The XW-P1 was discontinued but a used one might turn up with some searching. 

Did some research into this board and found one for sale near me.  It is a nice looking and sounding board, I may consider it.  What board would you recommend pairing it with?

23 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

XW-P1 has been gone for quite a while. I think they discontinued it in 2018. It's too bad, especially since there's been effectively no replacement.

Shame, a successor to this board would have been great imo, especially if they made it a bit more premium feeling in terms of quality and looks.  If they upped the organ engine and upgraded the PCM samples, and maybe gave it 8 parts instead of 4, it would sell like hotcakes.

[AnotherScott]

The area on the right of the XW-P1 is a great place for a tablet, for additional/substitute sounds as needed, easily integrated with the board's MIDI Zone functions. One caveat is, I've played a few of them (and its G1 sibling), and while some had a nice "buttery" action (better than the low-cost Rolands and Korgs), others had an annoying "clacky" action, so it's good that you found one near you, so you can play it first.

 

It still pairs nicely with the PX-5S but a desire for more differentiation might be another reason to lean Kross. Kurzweil SP6 was mentioned above, nice choice, but I think that will be harder to find in your price range.

 

p.s. -- as I prepare to clear out a bunch of my "too many" keyboards, I'll probably have both a Kross 88 and a PX5S for sale, I'm in the New York area.

 

[TWizzle]

+1 on the PX-5S and VR-09 combo. I gigged that exact rig for a few years. The VR replaced a Kross 61, and I found it much more enjoyable to play.

 

I sold the VR years ago, but still have my PX-5S. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it, even though it doesn't get out as much as it used to.

[kaptainkeys]

47 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

I'm in the New York area

As am I, ironically

[kaptainkeys]

48 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

so it's good that you found one near you, so you can play it first

Unfortunately, I contacted the owner and he said he already has a buyer lined up for it and he just forgot to take the post down.  I also probably wouldn't pair it with the PX5S, since the soundsets are very similar.  I'm thinking the PX5S or MX88 and PC3LE6 is probably what I'm going to go with, unless I can find a better combo (like a cheap MOXF8) or prices on FA07s magically come down in the next week or two.

[AnotherScott]

I'd say MX88 generally has better orchestral instruments and acoustic piano sounds than Kross 88, but there are other sounds where I think Kross is stronger. Kross has more overall flexibility when it comes to MIDI, splits/layers, effects, sequences. You can get around the MX's split/layer limitations with the John Melas software, but it's nice to have it on the board, too. On the board, the MX only supports splits/layers of up to two sounds. But maybe splits/layers and MIDI zoning becomes less important if you're combining with a PC3-something (i.e. rather than something like the VR-09). Kross would probably be cheaper than MX. What do you think your budget for the 88 is, assuming you put the Kurz on top?

[kaptainkeys]

44 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

I'd say MX88 generally has better orchestral instruments and acoustic piano sounds than Kross 88, but there are other sounds where I think Kross is stronger. Kross has more overall flexibility when it comes to MIDI, splits/layers, effects, sequences. You can get around the MX's split/layer limitations with the John Melas software, but it's nice to have it on the board, too. On the board, the MX only supports splits/layers of up to two sounds. But maybe splits/layers and MIDI zoning becomes less important if you're combining with a PC3-something (i.e. rather than something like the VR-09). Kross would probably be cheaper than MX. What do you think your budget for the 88 is, assuming you put the Kurz on top?

I found a PC3LE6 for $700, so that would leave me with about $800 for the upper board.  An original Kross would then fit into that budget, but I'd like to see if I could get a Kross 2, since it isn't fire truck red and has the sample pads.

[kaptainkeys]

@AnotherScott I found a Kross 2 88 for $800, as well as on original Krome for $750.  Which one do you think will have better sounds and features?

[Mighty Motif Max]

I would say the Krome will have better sounds, except for EDM-type synth and drum sounds. I owned a Krome for 4 years.

[kaptainkeys]

22 minutes ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

I would say the Krome will have better sounds, except for EDM-type synth and drum sounds. I owned a Krome for 4 years.

EDM synth sounds and drum sounds are not really my focus anyway, I don't think I will use keyboard drums in a live situation (I'd probably use a dedicated drum machine or a real drummer instead), and I don't like or play EDM music, most of the synths sounds I will use are 80s sounds (synth brass, synth strings, some vintage sounding leads, pads, synth bells, some synth bass).

[Mighty Motif Max]

Go for the Krome then. You can also load in an M1 soundset or a Best of Triton soundset (and KromeHeaven has some nice soundsets too).

[AnotherScott]

6 minutes ago, GotKeys said:

@AnotherScott I found a Kross 2 88 for $800, as well as on original Krome for $750.  Which one do you think will have better sounds and features?

I haven't used either myself, but I'm pretty familiar with them. Original Krome is almost identical to current Krome EX, for your purposes. The main difference is additional sounds, not of the type you've mentioned being interested in.

 

Although Kross 2 is a lower end model, it does have some features absent from the Krome (and Krome EX), i.e. the sampling/trigger pads, battery operation, audio input/vocoder. But overall, unless one of those Kross-specific features is really important to you, I'd take the Krome, for the improved pianos/EPs (much larger sample set, based on Kronos sounds), the touchscreen (advantage for overall ease of use and patch selection), and the more capable EDS-X sound engine (vs. EDS-i in the Kross) which gives it more sonic potential (e.g. 8 velocity layers instead of 4, more EQ flexibility).

 

 

[kaptainkeys]

43 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

Although Kross 2 is a lower end model, it does have some features absent from the Krome (and Krome EX), i.e. the sampling/trigger pads, battery operation, audio input/vocoder. But overall, unless one of those Kross-specific features is really important to you, I'd take the Krome, for the improved pianos/EPs (much larger sample set, based on Kronos sounds), the touchscreen (advantage for overall ease of use and patch selection), and the more capable EDS-X sound engine (vs. EDS-i in the Kross) which gives it more sonic potential (e.g. 8 velocity layers instead of 4, more EQ flexibility).

The Kross specific features such as battery power and the trigger pads are not that important to me, neither is the vocoder.  I'd rather have the better soundset derived from the Kronos, touchscreen and better sound engine at the expense of a little extra weight (like 4 pounds, which doesn't matter that much to me, since the board is still less than 40 pounds).

[Sean M. H.]

2 hours ago, GotKeys said:

@AnotherScott I found a Kross 2 88 for $800, as well as on original Krome for $750.  Which one do you think will have better sounds and features?

 

That's quite a value for a lot of board (speaking of the Krome) provided it's in good shape.  The sounds are a subset of what is essentially still Korg's "flagship" sounds (given that Nautilus is basically a repackaged Kronos, and Krome is derived from Kronos).  That paired with a MOX6, XWP1, etc would make a fantastic setup for the money.

[kaptainkeys]

16 minutes ago, Sean M. H. said:

That paired with a MOX6, XWP1, etc would make a fantastic setup for the money.

I'm probably going to end up pairing it with a PC3LE6

[AnotherScott]

39 minutes ago, Sean M. H. said:

 

That's quite a value for a lot of board (speaking of the Krome) provided it's in good shape.  The sounds are a subset of what is essentially still Korg's "flagship" sounds (given that Nautilus is basically a repackaged Kronos, and Krome is derived from Kronos). 

 

Krome is not derived from Kronos. Kronos has nine engines, Krome has one engine... and its one engine (EDS-X) is not any of the nine that are in the Kronos (EDS-X is kind of a scaled down version of the Kronos' HD1 engine, with differences including, I believe, that HD1 uses uncompressed samples and EDS uses compressed samples). However, Krome does have sampled versions of some of the Kronos' modeled EP sounds, and scaled down versions of some of its multi-gigabyte SGX pianos.

[Old No7]

On 3/22/2022 at 8:26 PM, ElmerJFudd said:

Don’t forget you’re going to need bags, amplification, and a two tier stand. 

 

And... And... And TWO MOVING BLANKETS!!!

 

Old No7

[kaptainkeys]

40 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

Krome is not derived from Kronos. Kronos has nine engines, Krome has one engine... and its one engine (EDS-X) is not any of the nine that are in the Kronos (EDS-X is kind of a scaled down version of the Kronos' HD1 engine, with differences including, I believe, that HD1 uses uncompressed samples and EDS uses compressed samples). However, Krome does have sampled versions of some of the Kronos' modeled EP sounds, and scaled down versions of some of its multi-gigabyte SGX pianos.

I know that, I had no illusions that I'd be getting the SGX-2 and EP-1 engines from the Kronos.

19 minutes ago, Old No7 said:

And... And... And TWO MOVING BLANKETS!!!

Unironically, I think I have some in my garage from when I last moved, but I'm going to probably pick up some semi-hard SKB or Gator cases for the boards.