Vox Continental on sale at Sweetwater

[HSS]

I didn't pay much attention to the VC before because I've had a Nord 5d 73 and Numa Compact 2x for about 5 years and they more or less occupy the same niche as the VC as a portable Swiss Army knife with gig worthy bread and butter sounds.   

 

Now that the price of the VC has come way down, I'm interested, especially because of the consistently good reviews about its action for piano playing.  I already understand from online user reviews that it's generally thought to have good AP's and excellent EP's, but there seems to be a wide range of opinions about the quality of its B3 emulation.

 

In the context of the above, I have a few basic questions about the VC for those in the know.   I'm sorry if the answers to my questions are already widely known (or possibly buried in other threads).

 

1. Can the VC do a basic split and, if so, is the spit point adjustable?

 

2. Is there library of additional sounds from Korg that can be downloaded into the board like the Nord 5d and Numa Compact 2x? 

 

3.  How does the VC's basic B3 emulation and internal Leslie sim compare to the Nord 5D's and Numa Compact 2x's (new upgraded Leslie sim)?  Can the VC's Leslie sim be toggled on/off with a sustain pedal?  I think I already understand that the VC has a single option for C/V and percussion which can merely be turned on or off.

 

4. Are the VC's LED drawbars responsive enough for rapid changes on the fly while playing live? How do they compare to Nord's LED drawbars?

 

5. Can the VC's organ sound be ported to a separate output to run an external Leslie sim without effecting the other sounds? 

 

Thanks. 

 

 

[AnotherScott]

16 minutes ago, HSS said:

1. Can the VC do a basic split and, if so, is the spit point adjustable?

 

2. Is there library of additional sounds from Korg that can be downloaded into the board like the Nord 5d and Numa Compact 2x? 

 

3.  How does the VC's basic B3 emulation and internal Leslie sim compare to the Nord 5D's and Numa Compact 2x's (new upgraded Leslie sim)?  Can the VC's Leslie sim be toggled on/off with a sustain pedal?  I think I already understand that the VC has a single option for C/V and percussion which can merely be turned on or off.

 

4. Are the VC's LED drawbars responsive enough for rapid changes on the fly while playing live? How do they compare to Nord's LED drawbars?

 

5. Can the VC's organ sound be ported to a separate output to run an external Leslie sim without effecting the other sounds? 

 

1. yes and yes, but there's no octave transpose for the individual parts, so that limits it to playing low sounds on the left and high sounds on the right.

 

2. no

 

3. It is not true that "VC has a single option for C/V and percussion which can merely be turned on or off" -- I don't know about C/V, but different factory presets have different percussion settings. So while it's true that, on any given patch, you can only turn percussion on or off, you can pick a different patch, so that's how you get your choice of 2nd or 3rd harmonic percussion, slow or fast decay, normal or soft volume. But whether you'll find a patch that has the exact combination of those things that you want, in conjunction with the other characteristics you prefer (e.g. the amount of leakage, where some presets have more than others), is not assured. As for the comparison you asked about, I think the Nord is notably better. I have not heard the new Numa.

 

4. not great. It basically works, but it's easy to "miss" and have to try again, and it can sometimes be hard to get something at the precise value you want (e.g. you're aiming for 4, and it seems to want to go to either 3 or 5, that kind of thing).

 

5. no

 

 

[jejefunkyman]

AnotherScott was faster than me as usual 😁

I'd just say that if you look for a powerful and accurate B3 emulation, you should look into another board.

I did a side by side comparison between the Nord Electro 5D and the VC on the day I came at the shop to buy it, and I personnaly preferred the action and the AP and EP tones of the VC. This made me pull the trigger, especially considering the huge price difference between the 2 boards there was at this time (in 2019).

But I didn't have any expectation concerning the B3 emulation, as I was mostly buying the VC to have an affordable lightweight board with a good action and good AP, EP and Clav sounds to carry to rehearsals (I was using a Krome 73 before that and the action was really awful especially for playing AP so I was looking for something else).

I neither had any expectation concerning split capabilities as I always use 2 boards anyway.

So I just took the B3 emulation as it was, and put it to good use on some occasions. It was just enough for me.

As a bonus, there is a very good sfz brass patch, and some very nice synth sounds (leads), with the side lever acting as pitch bend.

So I use the VC as my main board for rehearsals and as a second board for gigs in combination with a SV2.

But as I said and repeat here, I'm not playing organ centered music which requires very precise settings.

Concerning the sound library, there was just an OS update at some point in time (same time as for the Grandstage) which brought some additional sounds, especially a nice soft piano and some bass and guitar sounds to be used for splits. But that's it basically. I don't expect anything more coming from Korg for this board.

 

[Pa Gherkin]

As I understand it,pitch bend is introduced with the lever on the left end but what about modulation, typically vibrato?

[CyberGene]

4 minutes ago, Pa Gherkin said:

As I understand it,pitch bend is introduced with the lever on the left end but what about modulation, typically vibrato?

Modulation is through one of the touch LED strips, as far as I understand. Which isn't so bad if you think about it.

[HSS]

Thanks for your prompt and thorough replies AnotherScott and jejefunkyman.

[niacin]

11 hours ago, CyberGene said:

I see that on some of the synth patches, one of the assignable controls (the last two LED touch strips) can be used for portamento on/off. But is it only on/off or can the timing be changed in more degrees?

 

I read that the Hammond emulation is not really top-notch (and as @AnotherScott explained it's because they didn't emulate a real Hammond but instead emulated their own CX-3 clone from the past which in itself was not a perfect Hammond clone) but how bad/good is it? Is it closer to the better clonewheels or rather closer to the rompler organs?

 

Finally, what's the included expression pedal used for? Can it be assigned to desired parameters, e.g. filter cut-off on synth voices?

Portamento time isn’t adjustable.

 

The organ is fine unless you’re playing in an organ trio. It sounds more like a Hammond tonewheel than like Korg’s 1981 analog CX3 (which i used to own). I believe the engine is from the CX3 model in the Kronos, but as with everything on the board editing is limited, in the case of the organ you can change a preset’s drawbar settings and turn percussion on or off, chorus/vibrato on or off, and leslie fast or slow or off.

 

The expression pedal can be used for expression or wah.

[Fleer]

Good point. That’s what convinced me too, at first, as I wasn’t at all looking for an organ emu. So I started seeing it as a nicer looking GrandStage sibling. And so I jumped.  And again. And again. 

[HSS]

I've never laid hands on a VC but as mentioned previously, it gets consistently good reviews for its AP action relative to other SW actions.

   

Even though I know that opinions about action are highly subjective, for those in the know, do you consider the VC's action for AP playing as good as or better than the old Kurz SP4-7's, which I like a lot, and the Numa Compact 2x's, which I consider acceptable?

 

Again, thanks. 

[AnotherScott]

35 minutes ago, HSS said:

Even though I know that opinions about action are highly subjective, for those in the know, do you consider the VC's action for AP playing as good as or better than the old Kurz SP4-7's, which I like a lot, and the Numa Compact 2x's, which I consider acceptable?

 

I haven't played either board in a while, but I'd say it's at least in the SP4-7 range. It doesn't get stiffer toward the back of the keys the way the SP4-7 and NC2X do. Neither the SP4-7 nor VC push back against your fingers as much as the Numa Compact 2X, which to me gives both of them that advantage as well.

[Scazbot]

The Vox Continental has now been listed as a product no longer available at Sweetwater and its listing left up purely for reference. I bring this up because we’ve seen a number of Korg products on-sale lately and this is cementing my opinion that something new is coming. Some new stage piano (organ) that begins to fill the hole they left by stopping production on the Grandstage and the Vox Continental.
 

They have the Nautilus so I guess I’m assuming new or re-skinned Nautilus’ will most likely be the product that continues covering the Kronos end of their market but what about a new stage piano. SV-2 is a great board but Korg isn’t going to have just one decent stage piano after having so many before and the sudden sales seem like everyone is clearing out stock for something new. Perhaps many “new” things. 

[AnotherScott]

I think the Grandstage was not updated/replaced in the line because it was squeezed out from both sides. Originally, it filled a gap between the SV1 (which for all intents and purposes couldn't even split/layer, and had relatively few sounds) and the Kronos (which was much more expensive). But then the SV2 added more sounds and functionality to the SV1 (and raised its price), lessening its positioning from the low side, while the Kronos was replaced by the less expensive Nautilus, lessening its advantage from the high side.

 

But the Vox still fills a void in the line, and I think Korg would still want to compete there.

[drawback]

This has me wondering of a third iteration of the CX3, as the core component of a new multi-engine board to compete with the YC line.

[AnotherScott]

Just a heads-up... SW again has stock of black Vox Continental 73 at $999.

[Tripp323]

lower priced ($1000-1500) smaller (61 or 73/76 key) stage keyboards  - your thoughts to compare?

 

Yamaha CK61. 61 non weighted, many sounds, drawbar sliders, built in speakers, pitch and mod wheels,  USB midi  12 lbs! $999

Price/weight/features are great - question is the Korg keybed

 

Vox Continental (discontinued) 73 semi? weighted waterfall keys with piano, organ 16 lbs! tube drive. fast slow Leslie switch also pitch bend. LED drawbars  No speakers.  $999. vox sounds!    Waterfall, not weighted.  Has some great sounds and coolness factor.

 

Kurzweil PC4-7.  76keys. 19lbs $1500

Does Roland make a 73 key?  Why doesn’t yamaha put their weighted 73 keyboard onto the CK61?

What is Korg bringing out now that Grandstage and Vox Conty are going away?

 

Weighted:

The Numa x 73 is weighted keys and ~26lbs. nice polyphony and downloadables.  pitch/mod joysticks !?  $1330

How do you like playing piano or e-piano on this board?

 

There are many 88 key digital pianos too… heavier weight and larger size

Casio PX5S is 88 weighted key - weight 24lbs.  $1099

The Yamaha CK88 (weighted keys) is 29 lbs for $1300

Roland RD 88 weighted keys. 30 lbs. $999

Kawai ES520.  88 weighted 32 lbs.  $1400 

 

[JamieT]

I realize that the Continental is designed primarily as an organ (i.e. waterfall keys), but how the heck do they not include a pitch bend and mod wheel??? It has 38 built-in synth sounds and people are going to want to use this as a MIDI controller for their sound modules and soft synths.  

 

[stoken6]

3 hours ago, JamieT said:

I realize that the Continental is designed primarily as an organ (i.e. waterfall keys), but how the heck do they not include a pitch bend and mod wheel??? It has 38 built-in synth sounds and people are going to want to use this as a MIDI controller for their sound modules and soft synths.  

 

iirc there's a pitch wheel mounted sideways, and one of the touch-drawbar things can adjust modulation. But I agree that's a compromise when compared to e.g. Roland's VR730 or Yamaha's YC.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[JamieT]

9 hours ago, stoken6 said:

iirc there's a pitch wheel mounted sideways, and one of the touch-drawbar things can adjust modulation. But I agree that's a compromise when compared to e.g. Roland's VR730 or Yamaha's YC.

 

Cheers, Mike.

Thanks for the clarification. I looked at the instruction manual online and there is something called a "bend lever" on the left side that functions like a pitch bend wheel. 

[jason88]

I have one, and the lever on the left does act as a pitch bend to the synth section. I really like my 73 key version (black version) quite a bit.  At the price I got mine I have zero regrets