Korg NAUTILUS

[drawback]

 

I have no idea when Korg will release the remaining piano samples. (Japanese, Berlin, Austrian) Do you Kronos owners know how that works? Are they included in future updates, or are they something that you have to purchase?

 

 

Just checking out the Nautilus Voice Name List online, page 287 lists all the SFX-2 pianos there, with a sidebar: "When the instrument is shipped from the factory, these pianos do not sound. The optional NAUTILUS Sound Library is required that will be onsale in the future." This is how the Kronos Shop operates, where you can pick and choose which expansions you want â at least that's their spin on it. No doubt you'll see that site breakout on various channels, including here. Be prepared to fork over some big bucks. Berlin Piano was $250 but far better than the stock German on my Kronos. I also bought Busch's EP packs â very reasonable and worth it â and easy to customize.

[gg22]

Korg Grandstage - has all Korg Pianos (Berlin, Italian, Austrian, etc), no fiddly touch screen, lighter, shorter, 30 seconds boot time, and cheaper.

[Skinny]

 

I have no idea when Korg will release the remaining piano samples. (Japanese, Berlin, Austrian) Do you Kronos owners know how that works? Are they included in future updates, or are they something that you have to purchase?

 

 

Just checking out the Nautilus Voice Name List online, page 287 lists all the SFX-2 pianos there, with a sidebar: "When the instrument is shipped from the factory, these pianos do not sound. The optional NAUTILUS Sound Library is required that will be onsale in the future." This is how the Kronos Shop operates, where you can pick and choose which expansions you want â at least that's their spin on it. No doubt you'll see that site breakout on various channels, including here. Be prepared to fork over some big bucks. Berlin Piano was $250 but far better than the stock German on my Kronos. I also bought Busch's EP packs â very reasonable and worth it â and easy to customize.

 

D"oh

I looked at that, or so I thought. (I have had limited time to mess with this board - full time + job, 2 kids, etc). Late nights + dad brain = didn"t register.

 

Thanks for the info. I did read about Busch"s piano (Clear Piano, I think) in an old thread where Moonglow mentioned his frustration with Kronos mono pianos. Might try that, as soon as I"m sure they can properly load in the Nautilus. I need to message Busch on that.

[drawback]

 

I have no idea when Korg will release the remaining piano samples. (Japanese, Berlin, Austrian) Do you Kronos owners know how that works? Are they included in future updates, or are they something that you have to purchase?

 

 

Just checking out the Nautilus Voice Name List online, page 287 lists all the SFX-2 pianos there, with a sidebar: "When the instrument is shipped from the factory, these pianos do not sound. The optional NAUTILUS Sound Library is required that will be onsale in the future." This is how the Kronos Shop operates, where you can pick and choose which expansions you want â at least that's their spin on it. No doubt you'll see that site breakout on various channels, including here. Be prepared to fork over some big bucks. Berlin Piano was $250 but far better than the stock German on my Kronos. I also bought Busch's EP packs â very reasonable and worth it â and easy to customize.

 

D"oh

I looked at that, or so I thought. (I have had limited time to mess with this board - full time + job, 2 kids, etc). Late nights + dad brain = didn"t register.

 

Thanks for the info. I did read about Busch"s piano (Clear Piano, I think) in an old thread where Moonglow mentioned his frustration with Kronos mono pianos. Might try that, as soon as I"m sure they can properly load in the Nautilus. I need to message Busch on that.

 

Just a bump to say that I happened to look on Busch's site and the KRONOS category has been updated to KRONOS/NAUTILUS. https://www.purgatorycreek.com/index.php/kronos/

[allan_evett]

I just picked up a Nautilus 61. Got it two weeks ago, and used it on a gig this past weekend. In 2020 I'd sold off an original Kronos 61, slimming down the gear collection during the Covid, gigging debacle. Missed it more than anticipated and tried a Kross 2 61 this past summer, thinking it might cover 2nd tier duties over my Stage 3 76. The EDS-i sample-based sound engine is very strong, but I struggled with the action; plus I did miss some of the models in the Kronos.

 

The Nautilus does exclude some of the functions of the Kronos (mostly control surface stuff), but I've found it super-easy to get around. Not missing the sliders-as-drawbars too much; for basic jobbing stuff I set up presets anyway. Did some quick Program edits and also ported several factory Combis and Programs into a Setlist; painless and fast. Love the action! It reminds me a lot of the two Roland A-70 controllers I used in the 90s and early 2000s. Don't need the aftertouch, as I have it on a couple other keyboards - if needed.

 

Overall, a winner. Has a couple quirks and oddities, but nothing even close to being a deal-breaker. And it's much easier on the wallet than a replacement Kronos.

[LarsHarner]

Hello (just returned to the forum today)- I purchased the Nautilus 61 in June. I traded in my Krome 61 towards it . I am really enjoying it- I've been a Korg fan since the 90's. I find the keybed much better than the Krome and about on par with my original Motif 6. I was never going to pay $3k for a Kronos- personal choice. The Nautilus to me was a good deal as it was 20% off- minus $340 Krome trade in and then another 8% credit towards another item. Now, although the Steinway grands sound more like the typical Korg pianos we have in their workstation- i like the others which include a small Yamaha and what I believe is a Fazzoli. I do mostly Rhodes/B3/Piano and am enjoying writing on it. I haven't used the sequencer digitial audio as much as I am using the computer.

 

* I did write to Korg 3 or 4 times about when the piano sounds would be available- they didn't know. I noticed the same thing as drawback said before- it mentions in the manual being for sale vs a free download.

I did however think to myself during the darkest days of 2020 that I should have purchased the Kronos way back when for $3k- gave enough money to dating sites and girlfriends that weren't as loyal as Korg

[allan_evett]

I'm getting ready to import Purgatory Creek's famous synth sounds into my Nautilus 61. They're PCG files (mostly AL-1 model-based) that sounded great in my Kronos 61.

[Moonglow]

I'm getting ready to import Purgatory Creek's famous synth sounds into my Nautilus 61. They're PCG files (mostly AL-1 model-based) that sounded great in my Kronos 61.

I"m interested in hearing how this goes, Allan! I"ve got a lot of mileage from those programs in your my K-88.

[allan_evett]

I'm getting ready to import Purgatory Creek's famous synth sounds into my Nautilus 61. They're PCG files (mostly AL-1 model-based) that sounded great in my Kronos 61.

I"m interested in hearing how this goes, Allan! I"ve got a lot of mileage from those programs in your my K-88.

 

The sounds loaded in just fine; it's good to have several favorites back again. Guess I missed your my Kronos 61 more than initially thought. There are useful functions in the Kronos which are absent in the Nautilus, but there are several thoughtful new features on the Nautilus. So it's a trade-off of sorts. And despite the front panel live control choices in the Kronos, I pre-programmed most of my live stuff. I'm digging the Nautilus; it's straightforward and fairly easy to get around.

[Skinny]

Nautilus update and sound libraries for Nautilus available.

 

Clonk

 

I"ve been waiting for these pianos. Hoping the Japanese C is better for me than the stock pianos.

[LarsHarner]

@Skinny thank you for posting as I had been asking Korg about these for months. I am going to order this weekend.

[Skinny]

I"m seeing more on there that I"m interested in; the K-Sounds Signature piano, the Q Up Arts Holy Grail, and the Purgatory Creek C7 grand.

 

Ideally, I want a somewhat bright sound that doesn"t sound like feces when played mono. The stock Nautilus pianos (in mono) sound plasticky in the midrange.

[LarsHarner]

Has anyone upgraded the firmware yet? Also, I am wondering how many gb left I will have on the harddrive after this.

[EscapeRocks]

 

The Kronos German Grand now on my Nautilus

 

[Skinny]

I can"t register my Nautilus. I get a shitty '500 internal server error' on the new Korg webpage. I successfully purchased and installed Purgatory Creek C7 Duo. But as soon as I try to input my Public ID on the website, it results in that error.

[ElmerJFudd]

Korg has had a really slow website for as long as I can remember. They"re also having a sale on libraries for the Kronos and Nautilus. I wonder if they are just getting hammered at the moment. Or if they need to get their web guys in to straighten something out.

[Skinny]

Or if they need to get their web guys in to straighten something out.

 

I"m guessing this. Eveything else on the site worked fine for me; just the keyboard authorization fails.

[LarsHarner]

Right now my EX318 isn't unzipping

[LarsHarner]

Or if they need to get their web guys in to straighten something out.

 

I"m guessing this. Eveything else on the site worked fine for me; just the keyboard authorization fails.

 

I'm just asking- but my authorization failed as well - I retyped without the dashes that were on the public ID of the board and it worked- so I just wanted to throw that out there. now have the registration and am going to download 318 from a different broswer.

[aellison62]

Lars Harner, same thing happened to me with the EXs318 . Let me know if you get it unzipped in another way. I emailed the Korg shop and told them it wouldn"t unzip. All the others worked fineâ¦..

[wd8dky]

I had trouble with 318 also. The native tool in Windows Explorer wouldn't unzip it. I downloaded 7-Zip, an open source tool, and that worked fine.

[LarsHarner]

Thanks wd8dky I am going to try that today. Also, I am perhaps missing something - to get the other ex's to work I am getting a message "samples not loaded"- was there something I was missing when I installed and authorized the sounds? thanks

[Skinny]

I'm just asking- but my authorization failed as well - I retyped without the dashes that were on the public ID of the board and it worked- so I just wanted to throw that out there. now have the registration and am going to download 318 from a different broswer.

 

Well paint me green and call me Gumby. Omitting the dashes worked.

 

Thanks!

[LarsHarner]

I will try 7-Zip later- @aellison I wrote to Korg as well but sometimes it takes them a few days and they could be off for the holiday as well.

 

Is there a difference between loading the samples via KSC/RAM & Virtual Memory? It seems I can have the preload and perhaps one or two of the others loaded simultaneously at the same time. Is the limitation based on the Sampling RAM or something else? I am usually pretty good technically but their manuals aren't that clear or my patience isn't great.

[EscapeRocks]

Hey all,

 

There is a VERY knowledgeable Nautilus guru who has all these things figured out.

He hangs out in the Korg Nautilus "forum" on Facebook

 

He's gotten me out of a few jams

[aellison62]

Yes, Nautilus FB forum is VERY helpful. And the 7-Zip worked well with the EXs318. I am VERY happy I got to install and authorize my (previously purchased for my Kronos) KApro EXs19 Signature collection on the Nautilus. The funny thing is, on the new Korg shop, it doesn"t show my Kronos as using it. So I can use it on TWO more if I wanted !

[kalpajazz]

Hello, a question to the KC gurus: Nautilus also handles smouth transition with external midi zones? Example, combi 1 transmits on channel 4 and combi 2 transmits on channel 5... thanks

[Mighty Motif Max]

Got to play a Nautilus 61 last night using headphones and through a mono studio monitor at GC both. It was stock, i.e. no Kronos pianos loaded, just the Italian, Japanese Upright, and German Grand 2. My take? It still sounds like the Krome/Kronos...not terribly surprising, but the new pianos still have that newer "Korg" sound in the midrange that's exemplified with the original Kronos/Krome German Grand. Not my thing. The keys were fine, but not my favorite - a step below the Fantom 7 action for me. Much better than the cheaper Korg keys though. Build quality seemed adequate; I didn't pay that much attention to it.

 

Other sounds were good. Really though the Nautilus felt like a scaled-up Krome, one of which I owned for several years. The lack of controllers felt really limiting with things like the CX3 organs, synth patches, etc. Those patches sounded nice, but they just seemed like they were "in a box" and you couldn't interact with them much. The knobs that push in remind me of the Ibanez 7-series pedals (TS7, DS7).

 

So basically, it sounds good, but basically like a Kronos, the action isn't as nice as I'd like it, and the lack of controls and overall interface makes it feel like an upgraded Krome rather than a board of its own.

[miden]

Nautilus is just sooooo long though. I was looking seriously at getting one but it's size is definite turn-off!

[Mighty Motif Max]

27 minutes ago, miden said:

Nautilus is just sooooo long though. I was looking seriously at getting one but it's size is definite turn-off!

See, now, to me the 61 wasn't overly huge. It's on the deep side, but the length didn't seem overly out of line...it was about the same as the Fantom 6 that was sitting right below it.