Korg TR 76

[Mode_Fan]

Hi all,

 

I just ordered a KORG TR 76, and was just wondering if anyone had one yet, and if so how is it ?

 

Wont get mine until the end of Jan, so I havent played with it at all...

[SilverDragonSoun]

Just out of curiousity, why would you buy something you haven't played? Especially something so new and unproven. I like Korg stuff but there are so many unknowns with something new I just couldn't do it. I hope it all works well for you.

[Mode_Fan]

Ouch,..... good point though....

 

 

$300 ? you mean the Casio stuff

[aliengroover]

Yeah, in general, it's a good idea to actually mess with it before you buy it, BUT...

 

If you've played an LE, you've played a TR. Same difference, though the TR is beefed up with more ROM and features (well...there's the USB and new card). NOW...

 

If you haven't played an LE, then you're rolling the dice on a roughly $1300 instrument.

Peace

[keynote]

Originally posted by Mode_Fan:

Hi all,

 

I just ordered a KORG TR 76, and was just wondering if anyone had one yet, and if so how is it ?

 

The TR 76 is the same as the TR 61 key but with 15 additional keys. The TR 76 has the exact same Keybed as the TR 61 so if you've played a TR 61 you've basically played a TR 76. Does that make sense?

 

I was able to play the Korg TR 61 Music Workstation recently and I have to say I really liked it. The keybed's feel is a little on the light side but it is easy to adapt to. The spring tension is quite nice and it reminds me somewhat of my long since retired Motif ES7's key action; with the Korg TR having a slightly stiffer tension if my memory serves me correctly.

 

The sounds were really quite good in every category that I tried. There are also some very good acoustic Piano sounds. Plus there are some good renditions of B3 emulations in the Organ department. The Combo patterns are very well done and there is a nice "audition" button for each and every Voice. You also get a Joystick, 2 Assignable switches, 4 Assignable knobs, and a Category key. It even has Dual Polyphonic Arpeggiators.

 

I also liked the look of the Board, and even though the LCD screen is small it is very readable with good onscreen contrast.

The Sampling option is the same PCM card that is found on the Triton, i.e. the EXB3. The cost is around $179.00 which you have to buy separately. The Samples accepted are AIFF, WAVE, AKAI (S3000/S1000 samples and mapped multisamples plus Korg format sample data loading is available.

 

Now this is the kicker! The price for the TR 61 is around $1,000 and around $1,300 for the TR 76!!

 

Can you say WOW!! That sure does sound like a good deal to me! Of course you have to add $179.00 for the Sampling option and of course the RAM that goes along with it (additional RAM that is; since a 16MB SIMM comes with the Sampling kit). Another cool feature is the ability to use an SD (Secure Digital) Memory Card for storage purposes with up to 1 Gigabyte's worth of data.

 

And what I find incredible is the relatively light weight for both the TR 61 @ 17.20 lbs. (7.8 kg) and 20.28 lbs. (9.2 kg)

for the TR 76. Kudos! to Korg for making these beasts extremely portable, especially for the gigging musicians out there.

 

I only played it for around 30 minutes but the impression I came away with was a very positive one and immediately set my mind in motion on GAS.. Although I want to wait and play a TR 76 first because that would be the one I would get if indeed I decide to get the TR, plus I would rather not buy sight unseen if at all possible and because there may also be some subtle differences on the TR 76 that I'm not aware of.

[Mode_Fan]

Thanks Mike that was great... especially the first paragraph...

[David Loving]

You got to have faith!

[keynote]

Originally posted by daviel:

You got to have faith!

Good one daviel!

 

I understand the concept and I HAVE purchased many items Online sight unseen and even special ordered items with the most recent being a Remote Commander for my Sony 35" XBR Direct View TV just a few days ago from Sony Online. And it works perfectly fine.

 

I do have Faith but I want to circumvent some of the hassle of purchasing something so valuable online or through special order and then happen to find out that the TR 76 doesn't quite fit my bill after all. First of all I was told by a Korg Rep (Ken P****) that the TR 76 has the exact same keybed as the TR 61. That is fine and dandy and I do appreciate his forthright answer but as we know not all info given by company employees is 100% trustworthy 100 percent of the time. So to be safe I would rather play one firsthand just to verify his statement. Not that he is wrong of course but playing one myself will satisfy my own curiosity.

 

Another negative from purchasing such a large bulk item online or through special order is if something is damaged during shipment there would be added aggravation and the hassle to repack and re-ship it. Not to mention the extra shipping charges that may or may not be compensated for. In other words they may pay for re-shipping it to them but not necessarily them sending a new one back to me, etc.

 

Where I played the TR 61 was at Guitar Center and the TR 76 is a special order item only there. If I were to purchase the TR 76 from GC on special order and then find out it doesn't fit my bill as I thought etc., and I try to return it, I will have to fork over a 15% re-stocking fee (Open Box policy) and there would be no refund at all but only an exchange for the exact same item or some other item. Of course if it is defective when I receive it then they would have the option of refunding my money or only replacing the defective one with a new one depending on the mood and/or generosity of the salesman involved.

 

So to make an already long story short...er I must be able to play it in person before I will make my final decision on such a sophisticated and intricately designed piece of equipment that for some reason FEDEX, UPS, AIRBORNE and all the others seem to somehow wreck havoc with during transit. And they seem to do it on a fairly frequent basis from the reports that I've heard. They seem to fair better though from the Ship Yards to various retail outlets. Possibly because Korg, Yammie, Roland and other companies won't tolerate diminishing returns on their investments and extra care and attention is given to them by the various bulk item shipping companies like FEDEX, etc.

 

It is just a precaution mind you. That is why I usually will not purchase large bulk items online or special order items sight unseen. Besides possibly circumventing some needless hassle and aggravation if it doesn't work out or the item is delivered defective.

 

>> Merry Christmas! to you in this otherwise politically correct 'holiday season'.

 

Just think... If there had been no Jesus all the Retail establishments for the last 100 years wouldn't have made diddly-squat during the month of December. In fact even November because the after Thanksgiving day sales are most noteably purchased for "Christ"mas gifts. Now they want to take "Christ" out of Christmas and simply call it the Holiday Season with the salutation "Merry Christmas" being substituted with the words Happy Holidays.

 

Little do they know that they are biting the hand that feeds them. And if they don't agree with that assessment they should take a long look at the figures showing the number of devout Christians in this Country and the money they possess and that they can easily withold and shop elsewhere if they so choose. Jesus IS the reason for the season no matter what they try to connive or conjur up. I mean come on! It's been that way for over 2000 years. So why change a good thing?

 

So in accordance with my politically incorrect idealism I say again "Merry Christmas" to one and all. And may this Christmas season bring to you that one special piece of Gear that you've always dreamed of.

[Mode_Fan]

I actually work in a Pro A/V store and ordered one at cost from my supplier, this is the reason for not seeing it before buying. So if I did have any problems with it I could likely easily send it back, or just bite the bullet, as I am getting it for a great price.

[MidLifeCrisis]

quote:

---

Originally posted by keynote:

So in accordance with my politically incorrect idealism I say again "Merry Christmas" to one and all. And may this Christmas season bring to you that one special piece of Gear that you've always dreamed of.

[bigbaby987]

the TR is very nice.. i actually the sound of it better than the Extreme

[SilverDragonSoun]

the TR is very nice.. i actually the sound of it better than the Extreme

 

Wow that's a pretty extreme statement

 

Seriously though are you talking about comparable sounds ie piano sounds on the TR versus Piano sounds on the Extreme. I'm looking at getting a Triton Extreme 76 at some point in the future but now I'm curious about the sound of the TR series.

[bigbaby987]

it's just a personal thing.. i'm not a fan of the extreme at all... either way the TR sounds really good.

[ricxxx]

i have been recommended the TR as I need to replace a D50 which I had from new (shows how old i am). Can anyone let me know what the organ sounds are like - does it have a leslie effect?

 

i too am in the unfortunate position of probably having to buy before hearing it:-(

 

Happy New Yr

[Stephen Fortner]

I just took a TR61 out of the box for review, so feel free to fire away with things you want to know about it!

 

Totally aesthetic and subjective first impression: It has a more pro and expensive feel right off the bat than the LE did. Looking forward to digging into it.

[SilverDragonSoun]

I would like to know your impressions of the sounds on the TR versus the Triton Extreme. Specifically are they similar, different, better or worse in your opinion.

 

I have a Triton LE 61, so your first impression is of interest to me.

[NYKeys]

I posted this review on tritonhaven.com

 

Posted - 20/11/2005 : 16:38:38

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Just played one Yesterday at Guitar center and it is def an entry level synth. I really did not have a lot of time to get into the ins and the outs of the synth. The store was closing in about 30 Min

 

The size is on the same scale as the LE

 

My Current gear that I have is kind of limited to a

Alesis QS6.1

Yamaha S30

Yamaha KX88

 

 

Since I am in the market to update my stuff I had only this to go by.

what I want is ear candy. To be honest this just did not do it for me.

 

To be fair to the TR I was only listening to it in mono through a Roland K150. It might be a totally different animal in stereo.

 

Had just enough time to go through all the Piano & EP sounds and some leads and Drum and Bass Combinations. They all sounded nice but they were not enough to really make me want this board. So I went into the global settings and all of the effects are off. Of course by this time I had eaten up about 25 minutes of my time and had only 5 min to go through a couple of patches. It helped some but I don't think this new synth will do it for me as it almost mirrors my S30 sound. I might go back up there today If I have some time.

 

..............................................

 

 

on a side note If you guys have not checked out the new MO6, It is pure ear candy. IMHO it blows the TR-61 out the water.

[keynote]

Here is a recent video on the Korg TR Music Workstation for anyone interested:

 

Korg TR Music Workstation Demo

 

It is a 11 MB .wmv file but you may find it opening in Winamp instead of Windows Media Player. You will need a recent version of Winamp. Enjoy!

 

 

As I stated in an earlier post I think the TR sounds very good, especially for the price. Also there is a possibility that Korg may produce an 88 key version.