The Roland FA continues to amaze me. I did a ton of research and own many keys. I have to point out the studio set mode is superb from a live play perspective and for complex songs. Quick, easy, multi-faceted controls.
TheShaktube hello.. I currently have a Kronos and a Yamaha motif xs given to me by my band.. But I am looking at getting a personal Roland fa08... Have you played the korg Kronos before? How does it compare with the Roland fa?
Delight Madujibeya I only played it in Sam Ash briefly. I like the inputs on the FA for my Minitaur and my Refaces, love the D beam, wow that can really be expressive, and the Integra sounds/ Supernatural tones are just off the cuff. You would not know it was not an acoustic guitar. At first, like any machine, I didn't really get it but it seems like you can control anything. I'm sure I would fall in love with the Kross too but the FA can do all things easily live and that is the real winner for me. No one has patience for menu diving and the anxiety of that is bad MOJO.
I'm thinking about getting the 08 but am worried if the fully weighted keys will affect making synth melodies and playing synth sounds? I want to play piano too hence the 08
Great demo Gaz. My 73 key Kronos arrives here tomorrow 3/28/2018, and I can hardly wait. I'm only using it for my home use with my wife being my only audience.
While I agree with many of the comments here, I like synth/workstation keyboards that are intuitive. Both the Kronos and the Montage are beasts, but in live performance with Ver. 2 firmware, the Roland FA smokes everything else. I also own a MOXF6 (which I love) so I know what I am taking about. It still boils down to personal preference.
Recently bought a Kronos 73 to add to my M3 and Triton studio 88 both (fully expanded). I just love Korg, tried all the others and the Kronos is top of the tree in my view. I don't really need the m3 & triton anymore to be honest, but they are still so good I can't bear to part with them!
I agree with some of the others, none of these are 'Arranger' keyboards. They may be workstations. Some of the latest Arranger keyboards are also crossing over into the Workstation arena. Even my older Korg PA800 can upload samples, do voice editing, although not easily in real time, has a 16 track sequencer, two SMF players and built in storage. The newer PA4X Pro by Korg and Genos by Yamaha are great keyboards with a lot of features that sound well enough to play on a gig and not be embarassed.
Those are not arranger keyboards. They are synth workstations. Except for the Korgs (I had the Triton), I've owned the other 3, and they are all superb. The fa06, in my opinion, is an amazing instrument that deserved a much sturdier construction. Overall, a great presentation/ review. Thank you so much!
None of these is an Arranger, as you say. Arrangers have full-band accompaniment styles with live song arranging controls. The MX49 and Montage are not workstations either. The MX49 has only preset patterns and can playback SMFs off a flash drive. The Montage does not have a proper sequencer, just a basic sketchpad, and no internal audio recording or sampling. The 128 polyphony in the Montage is x2, since the FM-X engine has it’s own polyphony. BTW, the Kronos can load DX/TX FM banks and individual patches from the original .syx files, which the Montage requires a PC app to do the same task. And the Kronos can run more than 16 effects, since several synth engines have their own dedicated effects. The EP-1 engine, for instance, has stomp boxes and amp/cabinet. The CX-3 engine has rotary speaker, and Poly-Six has chorus built in.
Depending on how you define polyphony the Montage's AWM section not only has 128 voice polyphony but 256 as it's 128 voice stereo polyphony. Quite a nice step up from older instruments. Too bad they left out a decent sequencer and more sound synthesis engines (which do exist in other Yamaha instruments). I guess I'll wait till Yamaha finally puts something together like Korg's Kronos where they combine all their technologies in one instrument. The Kronos was interesting when it came out. But that's quite some years ago now and the Intel Atom CPU was already dated when it came out. Not to mention the flimsy hardware controllers some of which feel like from a 200 EUR instrument. They should have charged 300 bucks more for the Kronos and put decent controllers on the panel. Hopefully Korg will not again recycle the dated hardware in the next generation of Kronos and update the CPU to a decent one.
Wald Geist - Happy with my Kronos, though I wish they would go with Flash-RAM for faster startup time. People poopoo the Kronos, but no one has come out with anything better. Korg has also continuously updated the OS and maintained backward compatibility in new models. . The Atom may still be around for its low power requirement and low thermals.
The Kronos is propably the most versatile workstation around if you don't want to use a computer, even it actually is just that a PC with a keyboard and screen attached. Its the annoyance tho to know, that if just Korg would pull their fingers ot their a*** and Make a Kronos with a modern laptop MB holding a mobile i7 that can take advantage of way faster ram and ssd's and update their freakin old 32bit oasys code to 64bit to take advantage of more modern hardware, this would be an absolute "killer" machine. I really can't see that the effort in converting their current 32bit linux system to a 64bit version wouldn't pay off in the future for how they could sell new software synth plugins for current Kronos users. I think many Premium Kronos users would gladly pay for an "upgrade kit" to their current Kronos to a 64bit version with support for up to 64Gb ram and a m.2 SSD instead of the current sata drives (if your willing to pay the extra money for premium components) these are up to 3x as fast in read. Even it would become slightly more expensive, it would never reach Oasys levels, since the Oasys only was as expensive as it was because of the ultimate hardware it had for being designed actually pre 2000. A modern mobile i7 propably have more than 20x the performance of the DSP's used in the Oasys, and its like 50 times as fast as the crappy Atom used in Kronos v.1
mrdali67 - M.2 is a form factor, not a transfer protocol. M.2 SATA memory is the same speed as a SATA SSD. M.2 NVMe can be 6-7 times faster than SATA, but none of this helps with boot time (youtube it ) which is the real bottleneck in Kronos. Once Kronos boots, there is no further load time between patches, like there is on a PC. The more RAM and storage you add for more sample libraries, the longer the boot/preload time will be, as it is a fixed rate. I could see an i7 for more polyphony, especially MOD-7 for me. I would rather Korg go to flashRAM like the Kurz Forte instead of SSD, for instant-on operation, and still ability to stream large libraries.
Obviously there are some people who go out and buy the latest, greatest keyboard, but I'd say that there are more people who are in the market for a certain type of keyboard at a certain time at a certain price point WHETHER NEW OR USED. Let's see a comparo of new products vs. still-great former flagships for the same money. E.g., if you had up to $1500 to spend, what workstation would you buy?
Hey y’all I’m new to all this stuff. I got a new Roland Juno ds 76 for Christmas that I absolutely love. What does arrangers and or workstations do that mine doesn’t? I would be interested in upgrading at some point or adding another if another machine could add to my kit. I’m not a professional, but would love to play keys some day in a praise worship type capacity. Thanks y’all
I hope someone can help me, I just want a keyboard that can help me compose music, specially for video games, so I'm looking for a keyboard with tons of different samples and sounds as well as a lot of editing features, everything else is secondary to me, I don't rlly know which is the best option for me pls help.
Hello! I am Danielle. I would like to buy the Kronos piano, but i need someone professional like you to advice me if it’s good enough, how to use it etc. In which country and city is your shop? I would like to come to speak with you in person.
Hi. I am buying this keyboard on Tuesday. Price is £999. Can you advise me if this is a good price? Also. . How easy is it to create a track and what is the internal storage? The last korg I owned was an M1. Sorry . . The kronos
I got an email, with the Roland 6 - 8s. I like them. I have a piano now. It has a few sounds. But, nothing like those. I think it would be fun to be able to make stuff using all those cool functions and sounds. I watched a movie last night called Blood Rage. It had a kick ass synth soundtrack. haha Now, I have synth in my head.
That's the whole idea. Even more - workstations were actually first where you could make music without computer - Korg M1 I think was the first proper workstation. Modern worksations quite often have connection to computer for easier control through designated software, but bottom line is - you don't need one.
This will connect to a DAW as well anyway but it is more of a standalone which in my opinion, is quicker and easier to use. DAWs are ok but over complicated sometimes. I'm dumping my Roli controller and buying the Roland FA...
MX49 is definitely not a workstation, it's certainly not in the top 5 best keyboard's either, the YAMAHA MOXF / Motif / Montage for Yamaha, Korg Triton, Krome, Kronos, / Roland Jupiter 50 / the FA series I hated personally, had one for a week and hated the synth engine and had what sounded some serious phase issues (unless it was a faulty unit) but it just sounded total crap to me, anyway just a few of my fav workstations i've listed :) PS - Gaz what are your views on the Montage vs Kronos? also Gaz you sound quite local to me!! nice to see a local lad demoing this stuff, all the best, Gav.
Very nice job and selection! I'd like to know if the Yamaha MX can be used as a "stand-alone" sequencer to create complete arrangements? I've been getting different answers from both musical supply stores and youtube videos. You seem like the guy who might have the correct answer! Thank you for posting, and again Great job!
Hello. I wish you could give me your advice: should I buy a second-hand roland xps30 (juno ds) or a brand new korg kross?they will cost me pretty much the same so... Which one will give me more for my money? Thanks in advance. Great review btw
Rosario Cabezas get the Kross 2 if you're a music maker. It has real time controls and the 16 pads. Well being honest, the Korg menu sucks but if you get the hang of it, it's fine. But get the Kross 2
I'm a little more than disappointed that you didn't pay attention to Yamaha's really great line of Arrangers, the Tyros 5 (76 keys) and even greater is the Genos (also with 76 keys), then, as well, the PSR S (970 and 770 with the recent additions of the 975 and 775) series for the gigging musician who usually doesn't need external amplification for smaller venues. The sound and capabilities of these are incredibly beautiful and powerful beyond belief.
You are absolutely right, the Genos and most other top "arranger" keyboards are almost as powerfull as "real" workstation synths, tho you sacrifice some of the synth versatility in all "arrangers" compared to workstation synths. I guess its because "arranger keyboards" have a "toy'ish reputation" in many PRO musicians minds, but imo a keyboard like the Genos is fully on par soundwise with eg. the Top keyboard here the Korg Kronos, and it hammers all the other keyboards presented here completely to the ground. If they wanted, they could easy put "arranger" features in keyboards like the Roland FA or Korg Kronos. The problem is its still 2 different user segments, as most professionals would wrinkle their noses if they had to admit they use an "Arranger" keyboard in the studio .. god forbid it, even it sounds just as great. Apart from that .. the Genos with its 76 synth key action is actually more expensive as a Korg Kronos 88 :)
Latifolias ... I have to disagree I havn't payed attention To Band in a toybox for many years simply because it was a joke already when it came out, so i recently gave it atry and found a working hack... Yes it has definetly become much much better also with "live" arrangements. But come on... It still is a toy. It doesn't even come close to rival the new Arrangers from Yamaha, Korg or Keytron. Not mentioning Roland cause there hasn't happened anything new from Roland the last decade. Yes they reuse arrangements alot, all the brands do, but who said the built in arrangements should be the end result. I personly see it as a framework. Even the live styles get boring if you use the same 8 beat for 40 different songs. Here the musician takes over and programs his own midi arrangements or record that guitar and bass riff he wants with the onboard hd recorder
Latifolias It's hard for me to get back with anyone on a Sunday. However, I did notice your comment. If we just accept the material that the manufacturer puts on these keyboards it is extremely limited. As "mrdali67" pointed out it has to be the genius of the keyboardist that takes what is and makes truly beautiful music from the keyboard. He also mentioned Roland. I'm sorry, but Roland lost my attention when they abandoned the gigging musician by removing speakers from their arranger keyboards. Also, going back to what "mrdali67" said again, the versatility of the machine to edit what is within is incredible. On my Yamaha, it's comparatively easy to build, and use new styles (just remembering to program them in "Cmaj", the keyboard will then translate them into the key you are playing in), including intros, variations, fills, endings, adding patches for riffs, etcetera. All of this hasn't begun to explore what you can do with the voices themselves. It's utterly amazing. Besides which, if you go to places like PSR Tutorial or The Unofficial Yamaha Keyboard Resource Site there are tens of thousands of free styles that you can pick up. You've just got to do a little digging to find them. In fact, my Yamaha PSR S770 uses the sense sound engine as the Genos has and I've got most of the unique styles and voices on my keyboard as the Genos does. Just kwichurbeliakin (sound this out) and start looking for what you can find.
RUBBISH!! There is an abundance of new styles and features in the 975. How would u know if u haven't bought one? An expandable keyboard provides limitless opportunities for innovative musicians. I take it ur not one?
Gerry De naro Hi Gerry, I take it that you didn't actually read my comment. I specifically mentioned the S775 and S975 instruments along with the S770 and S970. My final comment was that "the sound and capabilities of these are incredibly beautiful and powerful beyond belief. I play the S770, and with the resources of places like PSR Tutorial, The Unofficial Yamaha Resource Site,Orgaforum, etc., provide incredible helps to us who are musicians. With the simple edition of a USB stick, and some time spent organising, and preparing the material there, you have thousands of styles and voices at your command, including most of those found in the Genos. By the way, I'm a reasonably accomplished musician who cut his teeth on an early Yamaha Intelligent synthesizer after seeing "Chariots of Fire" and "Fame" in 1980. It opened my eyes,I went to a local music shop, came home with a keyboard, began to study, and I've been playing now for nearly 38 years. I spend at least an hour or two each day practicing, and play semi-professionally for senior citizens centers, coffee shops, besides church groups. Every Sunday, I'm singing and playing with the worship team at Church. I'm also regularly asked to play at mid-week services for other churches, and seven times a year I'm also singing, and playing for larger events sponsored by the local Rescue Mission. At these I'm often playing for more than two thousand people. If you have an S975, you have a truly amazing keyboard which is one of the finest on the planet. When you add in what you can do with the functions, assignable knobs and other functions on these keyboards is just plain unreal. The one major feature that I wish that Yamaha had put on these is found in the Genos. That is an internal port for the USB stick. It'd be super not to have to remove the stick every time you pack up and move your keyboard from gig to gig. I also keep a copy of mine handy just in case I lose it. Once a week I back my stick up, and keep the backup in a pocket in my keyboard case. This way, if something happens to my stick, or it gets lost, I'm not dead in the water. I usually create registrations to have a setlist for all the music I use in every performance, Hopefully I've been able to give you a little bit of help here, and wish you all the best. Rob
Hi! We've actually written a blog on some of the best keyboard workstations that you might find useful - Lee www.pmtonline.co.uk/blog/2017/09/18/the-top-7-best-keyboard-workstations/
Hey ZZZ, You don't have to know about music to sequence ur originals don't get discouraged! The isometric isolater adamater prefix quantizez the multimameralix profinater to make it easy enough for the flux compasiter to vilvlate the cordius klotius for a perfect sound. So don't sweet it!
Would you say these are overwhelimg for a serious beginner producer songwriter? Or would a manuel explain it all? Or is there anything more intuitive. Id like to be able to access a bunch of different sounds and effects and be able to layer them to make a full blown song
The Roland FA Series is intuitive for your needs. However... should you create a song & want to save it to a PC, SD card or whatever, note that exporting audio takes place in real time, so you'll have to wait over an hour to export a four-minute song comprising 16 tracks, and none of the samples used are exported with it, so you could end up wondering what's happened to the things that make your creation the masterpiece that it is.
@@777CCT oh wow thats a game changer to be honest. Not exporting the samples seems a bit redundant. Thank you for taking your time to reply. I am still on the hunt ❤️
Hey can you make a tutorial on how to record yamaha mx 61/49 please? I am really getting trouble while recording audio and while converting midi files into audio
I have been using KETRON PRODUCTS FOR 40 years , that geek demonstrater, didn't even mention it , He is so impressed by all the cool space cadet sounds , the problem is if you want to get jobs in clubs or music venues you need to sound like the stones ,Bob Seger , George Strait , ZŹ,Top, & BB King , GET REAL.
The theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the thereminist. It is named after its inventor, Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. A helpful hint as to what that hand gesture instrument in the corner is. :)
hey man, should i buy korg kross with 88 keys? im not a pro, and im still learning some stuff. In my country Krome or Kronos are really really expensive
Tomás I would go with the Juno DS88 in that price range. You will get more for your money and the Kross doesn't have very good key action compared to the Roland.
I got my Fa08 scratch and dent for the price of a new Ds88. A little goo be gone and it was new again. I have a Juno di so I was pining for the new features of the ds88; however, the FA is a whole different league. I still love the Juno but it is lonely. Scratch and dent, it's about the sound!
Kronos is expensive in any country, I was lucky and bought a shop demo model which was cheaper even tho it was coverd with fingerprints but soon cleaned up. Go with a Juno ds88 or Krome.
"Wish You A Happy and Healthy and Peaceful New Year in 2020, Definitely, Full With Wonderful Musics and Joys" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello Gaz! Thank you for your useful sources of information on several brands of Musical Workstations! I recently purchased a Fantom 8 (88-key version). It's quite sophisticated and heavy as well!. It seems to be that I should spend a lots of times to use it effectively. But, it is a real powerful musical workstation to be used for several yrs ahead. Meantime, I would ask you a question regarding to the Fantom-8, Korg- Cronos (88-key) and Yamaha Montage-8, as among 3 of these models, which one is the most convenient and most user-friendly one? and best in sounds regarding to pianos features? Again, I would be appreciated for your response in advance, and Wishing You All The Bests and God Bless. Kind Regards, (TN)
Looks like a lot of learning for these items . I prefer a basic piano or keyboard with speakers , none of these have speakers you have to plug into a PA system .
i need a new keyboard/synth/workstation... i have a motif xs6 but it's slowly dying, need a new one. wow so much choice it's really hard to choose... don't want to spend too much. i absolutley need a good inboard sequencer montage is the most expensive but i think it looks the most like my motif.... but the korg krome and the roland fantom also seems very nice and are about half the price? this is impossible to choose.....
Yeah no kiddin' a Kurzweil K2000 v.2.0 from 1993 blows away any Roland workstation (& I'm Roland guy own a bunch of'em) much less the version's past 3.0 . The V.A.S.T. synth engine is much more complex and deep than anything from Roland ever. I like controlling the Kurzweil's from the Roland's. The Roland's keybeds & action are somewhat better than the Kurzweil's (since they are a piano makers) I find. But as far as I the sound goes Kurzweil's V.A.S.T. system is far better than anything Roland has ever done (except for maybe some of the analog stuff they made aka Jupiter's, Juno's etc. even the Kurzweil's come pretty darn close to those respectively IMHO. thanx dudes
My Pop band rig is a FA-06 riding over a Kronos-2 88. The action on the FA-06 sucks. Keys are too small. The ends of the black keys are too close to the key's pivot points. But its features are nice. I use the built in SP404 sampler for a lot of one shot samples. Great sounds. I wish Roland would bring back a proper Fantom based around real Pro line hardware.
I own a Fantom and I own a Roland FA and They are both good, do you own a Roland FA? You said that the keys are too small my FA has normal Piano sized keys they are not small. There nothing small about the Roland FA
Yes I have the FA-06. I bought it on preorder when it first came out and it is still part of my rig for 2 bands I work for. The keys are about 14% shorter than piano keys. It plays fine if you only play in white keys but if you play in black keys where the thumb is rooted on a black key and you are playing lines out of chordal structures the leverage is reduced for fingers that are near the fallboard side. The keys are too short and this puts the finger too close to the fulcrum. The old Fantoms were way better hardware.
Certainly was for me. I've never even clicked the "Sequencer" button on my Kronos since installing Cubase. It looks very capable, but the thought of fiddling through all those tiny onscreen controls doesn't entice me much. :)
I love them. To me, having a keyboard that doubles as a controller or your DAW is ideal. I have the NI Kontrol but I’d probably have been happier with a capable keyboard.
They're all good ...buy all of them..doesn't matter...if you want to do this and that then buy the one that does this and the one that does that so you can do everything whether or not it is composed
Great video. Why? Because you speak clearly and do NOT fill it with words and phrases that mean nothing. Thanks. One stupid question: the name Gaz doesn’t exist in north America that I know of. Where does it come from? When I first heard it I thought it was a joke for obvious reasons. Just curious. No disrespect meant.
hi there, do you recomend fa06 to play many Coldplay and The Killers covers? I'd use pianos, pads, synth and strings. Or do you recomend Yamaha MODX6+?
While the Yamaha is a great keyboard with synth features, it's not really a synth per se. Also, if you're looking for a "step sequencer", you will be disappointed. The sequencer in this machine is for playback only and will not record like a step sequencer will. Still a great keyboard.
@@OlympusHeavyCavalry It got a "Key Buy" designation from *Keyboard* when it came out, so that's something. Listen to them all for yourself, in any event.
Yes its expensive and complicated to , the kronos is nothing to play with thats for sure .And will go down in history as one of the best . people can say what they want.....
I've seen quite a few of these Workstation keyboards & heard their respective samples, of other instruments e.g. guitars, saxophones, drums, etc.. They always leave me disappointed I e. sound cheap, tacky & inauthentic.
In DAW Mode, can you use the Korg Kross's/Kronos's USB-Audio to record the Mic Input audio in a separate track from the mix you are hearing? Os it is thought Just to record its own keyboard sounds, whereas you need the Roland FA in order to use it as a full Audio interface?
The Roland FA continues to amaze me. I did a ton of research and own many keys. I have to point out the studio set mode is superb from a live play perspective and for complex songs. Quick, easy, multi-faceted controls.
TheShaktube hello.. I currently have a Kronos and a Yamaha motif xs given to me by my band.. But I am looking at getting a personal Roland fa08... Have you played the korg Kronos before? How does it compare with the Roland fa?
Delight Madujibeya I only played it in Sam Ash briefly. I like the inputs on the FA for my Minitaur and my Refaces, love the D beam, wow that can really be expressive, and the Integra sounds/ Supernatural tones are just off the cuff. You would not know it was not an acoustic guitar. At first, like any machine, I didn't really get it but it seems like you can control anything. I'm sure I would fall in love with the Kross too but the FA can do all things easily live and that is the real winner for me. No one has patience for menu diving and the anxiety of that is bad MOJO.
I'm thinking about getting the 08 but am worried if the fully weighted keys will affect making synth melodies and playing synth sounds? I want to play piano too hence the 08
Roland drums stink....lol
Are you able to sample other hardware into the Roland?
His Scottish-like accent makes this video that much more cool XD
Nerd
I like them ALL,Really COOL❤
Great demo Gaz. My 73 key Kronos arrives here tomorrow 3/28/2018, and I can hardly wait. I'm only using it for my home use with my wife being my only audience.
How's your playing going?
While I agree with many of the comments here, I like synth/workstation keyboards that are intuitive. Both the Kronos and the Montage are beasts, but in live performance with Ver. 2 firmware, the Roland FA smokes everything else. I also own a MOXF6 (which I love) so I know what I am taking about. It still boils down to personal preference.
Recently bought a Kronos 73 to add to my M3 and Triton studio 88 both (fully expanded).
I just love Korg, tried all the others and the Kronos is top of the tree in my view.
I don't really need the m3 & triton anymore to be honest, but they are still so good I can't bear to part with them!
I agree with some of the others, none of these are 'Arranger' keyboards. They may be workstations. Some of the latest Arranger keyboards are also crossing over into the Workstation arena. Even my older Korg PA800 can upload samples, do voice editing, although not easily in real time, has a 16 track sequencer, two SMF players and built in storage. The newer PA4X Pro by Korg and Genos by Yamaha are great keyboards with a lot of features that sound well enough to play on a gig and not be embarassed.
I'm more impressed by this man than the Keyboard, he's Amazing!
Really relaxing, easy going demo to listen to. Great stuff!
Those are not arranger keyboards. They are synth workstations.
Except for the Korgs (I had the Triton), I've owned the other 3, and they are all superb. The fa06, in my opinion, is an amazing instrument that deserved a much sturdier construction.
Overall, a great presentation/ review.
Thank you so much!
Nord Stage 3 and further series are great Engine! And Real Passionate Tones!!!
Very cool and GREAT OVERVIEW! Thanks, makes my decision process much easier
None of these is an Arranger, as you say. Arrangers have full-band accompaniment styles with live song arranging controls. The MX49 and Montage are not workstations either. The MX49 has only preset patterns and can playback SMFs off a flash drive. The Montage does not have a proper sequencer, just a basic sketchpad, and no internal audio recording or sampling. The 128 polyphony in the Montage is x2, since the FM-X engine has it’s own polyphony. BTW, the Kronos can load DX/TX FM banks and individual patches from the original .syx files, which the Montage requires a PC app to do the same task. And the Kronos can run more than 16 effects, since several synth engines have their own dedicated effects. The EP-1 engine, for instance, has stomp boxes and amp/cabinet. The CX-3 engine has rotary speaker, and Poly-Six has chorus built in.
Depending on how you define polyphony the Montage's AWM section not only has 128 voice polyphony but 256 as it's 128 voice stereo polyphony. Quite a nice step up from older instruments. Too bad they left out a decent sequencer and more sound synthesis engines (which do exist in other Yamaha instruments).
I guess I'll wait till Yamaha finally puts something together like Korg's Kronos where they combine all their technologies in one instrument.
The Kronos was interesting when it came out. But that's quite some years ago now and the Intel Atom CPU was already dated when it came out. Not to mention the flimsy hardware controllers some of which feel like from a 200 EUR instrument. They should have charged 300 bucks more for the Kronos and put decent controllers on the panel.
Hopefully Korg will not again recycle the dated hardware in the next generation of Kronos and update the CPU to a decent one.
Agreed , Yama Genos is an arranger.
Wald Geist - Happy with my Kronos, though I wish they would go with Flash-RAM for faster startup time. People poopoo the Kronos, but no one has come out with anything better. Korg has also continuously updated the OS and maintained backward compatibility in new models. . The Atom may still be around for its low power requirement and low thermals.
The Kronos is propably the most versatile workstation around if you don't want to use a computer, even it actually is just that a PC with a keyboard and screen attached.
Its the annoyance tho to know, that if just Korg would pull their fingers ot their a*** and Make a Kronos with a modern laptop MB holding a mobile i7 that can take advantage of way faster ram and ssd's and update their freakin old 32bit oasys code to 64bit to take advantage of more modern hardware, this would be an absolute "killer" machine.
I really can't see that the effort in converting their current 32bit linux system to a 64bit version wouldn't pay off in the future for how they could sell new software synth plugins for current Kronos users. I think many Premium Kronos users would gladly pay for an "upgrade kit" to their current Kronos to a 64bit version with support for up to 64Gb ram and a m.2 SSD instead of the current sata drives (if your willing to pay the extra money for premium components) these are up to 3x as fast in read.
Even it would become slightly more expensive, it would never reach Oasys levels, since the Oasys only was as expensive as it was because of the ultimate hardware it had for being designed actually pre 2000. A modern mobile i7 propably have more than 20x the performance of the DSP's used in the Oasys, and its like 50 times as fast as the crappy Atom used in Kronos v.1
mrdali67 - M.2 is a form factor, not a transfer protocol. M.2 SATA memory is the same speed as a SATA SSD. M.2 NVMe can be 6-7 times faster than SATA, but none of this helps with boot time (youtube it ) which is the real bottleneck in Kronos. Once Kronos boots, there is no further load time between patches, like there is on a PC. The more RAM and storage you add for more sample libraries, the longer the boot/preload time will be, as it is a fixed rate. I could see an i7 for more polyphony, especially MOD-7 for me. I would rather Korg go to flashRAM like the Kurz Forte instead of SSD, for instant-on operation, and still ability to stream large libraries.
have you tried the yamaha Genos yet? Seems like a pretty cool package.
Incredibly good Job, great posting 💗 💚
Obviously there are some people who go out and buy the latest, greatest keyboard, but I'd say that there are more people who are in the market for a certain type of keyboard at a certain time at a certain price point WHETHER NEW OR USED. Let's see a comparo of new products vs. still-great former flagships for the same money. E.g., if you had up to $1500 to spend, what workstation would you buy?
My Yamaha Montage 8 is life
Awesome!! loved your video,thanks for sharing it here!
gaz should have his own channel, very well presented.
Hey y’all I’m new to all this stuff. I got a new Roland Juno ds 76 for Christmas that I absolutely love. What does arrangers and or workstations do that mine doesn’t?
I would be interested in upgrading at some point or adding another if another machine could add to my kit.
I’m not a professional, but would love to play keys some day in a praise worship type capacity.
Thanks y’all
Go to system while on drum kit....then to course tune....tune up while playing a hi hat....
Then soon it goes backwards.....
Just got a Yamaha MODX8, what a machine, got all i want❤
@Your Nightmare it's have after touch.... You have to to apply it in control panel....
I hope someone can help me, I just want a keyboard that can help me compose music, specially for video games, so I'm looking for a keyboard with tons of different samples and sounds as well as a lot of editing features, everything else is secondary to me, I don't rlly know which is the best option for me pls help.
Hello! I am Danielle. I would like to buy the Kronos piano, but i need someone professional like you to advice me if it’s good enough, how to use it etc. In which country and city is your shop? I would like to come to speak with you in person.
Hi. I am buying this keyboard on Tuesday. Price is £999. Can you advise me if this is a good price? Also. . How easy is it to create a track and what is the internal storage? The last korg I owned was an M1. Sorry . . The kronos
I got an email, with the Roland 6 - 8s. I like them.
I have a piano now. It has a few sounds. But, nothing like those.
I think it would be fun to be able to make stuff using all those cool functions and sounds.
I watched a movie last night called Blood Rage. It had a kick ass synth soundtrack. haha Now, I have synth in my head.
It sounds funny I have all of these new synth workstations but I'm still looking for a good shape kurtzweill k2000vp love the sounds on it.
I just got a k1000 for free. It's awesome
How does the Roland Juno DS compare to these? As detailed and dumbed down as you can answer
Roland Fantom !!!
Is it possible to make music on a workstation without a computer?
That's the whole idea. Even more - workstations were actually first where you could make music without computer - Korg M1 I think was the first proper workstation. Modern worksations quite often have connection to computer for easier control through designated software, but bottom line is - you don't need one.
Answer is yes ,it's self-contained .
This will connect to a DAW as well anyway but it is more of a standalone which in my opinion, is quicker and easier to use. DAWs are ok but over complicated sometimes. I'm dumping my Roli controller and buying the Roland FA...
Funkstar124 you woint be disappointed the roland fa is awsome I have the fa06 I love it I also bought the new modx6 they go good together.
Yes,it is possible.
soundcloud.com/skyy38/indiana-jones-ringtone
Thanks for the input loved the video man
Great video. Very informative. Thanks!
I would add mine...Moxf6. Best value for price.
Robert Clark no the yamaha modx6 is the best
Great... kronos and roland fa will be a great duo
The Yamaha Genos Trumps all of these I'm saving up for one!
he said work station, not arranger
@@jacobbrown1690 the Genos is both ;)
That Kronos is a nice piece of kit....
Are there any synth arranger combos keyboards available??
MX49 is definitely not a workstation, it's certainly not in the top 5 best keyboard's either, the YAMAHA MOXF / Motif / Montage for Yamaha, Korg Triton, Krome, Kronos, / Roland Jupiter 50 / the FA series I hated personally, had one for a week and hated the synth engine and had what sounded some serious phase issues (unless it was a faulty unit) but it just sounded total crap to me, anyway just a few of my fav workstations i've listed :) PS - Gaz what are your views on the Montage vs Kronos? also Gaz you sound quite local to me!! nice to see a local lad demoing this stuff, all the best, Gav.
We need a real musician to do demos thanks
We need real wankers in the comment section, oh wait
Very nice job and selection! I'd like to know if the Yamaha MX can be used as a "stand-alone" sequencer to create complete arrangements? I've been getting different answers from both musical supply stores and youtube videos. You seem like the guy who might have the correct answer! Thank you for posting, and again Great job!
Hello. I wish you could give me your advice: should I buy a second-hand roland xps30 (juno ds) or a brand new korg kross?they will cost me pretty much the same so... Which one will give me more for my money? Thanks in advance. Great review btw
Rosario Cabezas get the Kross 2 if you're a music maker. It has real time controls and the 16 pads. Well being honest, the Korg menu sucks but if you get the hang of it, it's fine. But get the Kross 2
Daniel Menon ok thank you
Neither and again get a Kurzweil if can afford it (used one's are pretty reasonable these days) you'll be better in the long run thanx dudes
so helpful, thank you!
I'm a little more than disappointed that you didn't pay attention to Yamaha's really great line of Arrangers, the Tyros 5 (76 keys) and even greater is the Genos (also with 76 keys), then, as well, the PSR S (970 and 770 with the recent additions of the 975 and 775) series for the gigging musician who usually doesn't need external amplification for smaller venues. The sound and capabilities of these are incredibly beautiful and powerful beyond belief.
You are absolutely right, the Genos and most other top "arranger" keyboards are almost as powerfull as "real" workstation synths, tho you sacrifice some of the synth versatility in all "arrangers" compared to workstation synths. I guess its because "arranger keyboards" have a "toy'ish reputation" in many PRO musicians minds, but imo a keyboard like the Genos is fully on par soundwise with eg. the Top keyboard here the Korg Kronos, and it hammers all the other keyboards presented here completely to the ground.
If they wanted, they could easy put "arranger" features in keyboards like the Roland FA or Korg Kronos.
The problem is its still 2 different user segments, as most professionals would wrinkle their noses if they had to admit they use an "Arranger" keyboard in the studio .. god forbid it, even it sounds just as great.
Apart from that .. the Genos with its 76 synth key action is actually more expensive as a Korg Kronos 88 :)
Latifolias ... I have to disagree
I havn't payed attention To Band in a toybox for many years simply because it was a joke already when it came out, so i recently gave it atry and found a working hack... Yes it has definetly become much much better also with "live" arrangements. But come on... It still is a toy. It doesn't even come close to rival the new Arrangers from Yamaha, Korg or Keytron. Not mentioning Roland cause there hasn't happened anything new from Roland the last decade.
Yes they reuse arrangements alot, all the brands do, but who said the built in arrangements should be the end result. I personly see it as a framework. Even the live styles get boring if you use the same 8 beat for 40 different songs. Here the musician takes over and programs his own midi arrangements or record that guitar and bass riff he wants with the onboard hd recorder
Latifolias
It's hard for me to get back with anyone on a Sunday. However, I did notice your comment. If we just accept the material that the manufacturer puts on these keyboards it is extremely limited. As "mrdali67" pointed out it has to be the genius of the keyboardist that takes what is and makes truly beautiful music from the keyboard. He also mentioned Roland. I'm sorry, but Roland lost my attention when they abandoned the gigging musician by removing speakers from their arranger keyboards. Also, going back to what "mrdali67" said again, the versatility of the machine to edit what is within is incredible. On my Yamaha, it's comparatively easy to build, and use new styles (just remembering to program them in "Cmaj", the keyboard will then translate them into the key you are playing in), including intros, variations, fills, endings, adding patches for riffs, etcetera. All of this hasn't begun to explore what you can do with the voices themselves. It's utterly amazing. Besides which, if you go to places like PSR Tutorial or The Unofficial Yamaha Keyboard Resource Site there are tens of thousands of free styles that you can pick up. You've just got to do a little digging to find them. In fact, my Yamaha PSR S770 uses the sense sound engine as the Genos has and I've got most of the unique styles and voices on my keyboard as the Genos does. Just kwichurbeliakin (sound this out) and start looking for what you can find.
RUBBISH!! There is an abundance of new styles and features in the 975. How would u know if u haven't bought one? An expandable keyboard provides limitless opportunities for innovative musicians. I take it ur not one?
Gerry De naro
Hi Gerry, I take it that you didn't actually read my comment. I specifically mentioned the S775 and S975 instruments along with the S770 and S970. My final comment was that "the sound and capabilities of these are incredibly beautiful and powerful beyond belief. I play the S770, and with the resources of places like PSR Tutorial, The Unofficial Yamaha Resource Site,Orgaforum, etc., provide incredible helps to us who are musicians. With the simple edition of a USB stick, and some time spent organising, and preparing the material there, you have thousands of styles and voices at your command, including most of those found in the Genos.
By the way, I'm a reasonably accomplished musician who cut his teeth on an early Yamaha Intelligent synthesizer after seeing "Chariots of Fire" and "Fame" in 1980. It opened my eyes,I went to a local music shop, came home with a keyboard, began to study, and I've been playing now for nearly 38 years. I spend at least an hour or two each day practicing, and play semi-professionally for senior citizens centers, coffee shops, besides church groups. Every Sunday, I'm singing and playing with the worship team at Church. I'm also regularly asked to play at mid-week services for other churches, and seven times a year I'm also singing, and playing for larger events sponsored by the local Rescue Mission. At these I'm often playing for more than two thousand people.
If you have an S975, you have a truly amazing keyboard which is one of the finest on the planet. When you add in what you can do with the functions, assignable knobs and other functions on these keyboards is just plain unreal. The one major feature that I wish that Yamaha had put on these is found in the Genos. That is an internal port for the USB stick. It'd be super not to have to remove the stick every time you pack up and move your keyboard from gig to gig. I also keep a copy of mine handy just in case I lose it. Once a week I back my stick up, and keep the backup in a pocket in my keyboard case. This way, if something happens to my stick, or it gets lost, I'm not dead in the water. I usually create registrations to have a setlist for all the music I use in every performance, Hopefully I've been able to give you a little bit of help here, and wish you all the best.
Rob
what do you suggest for those who have a Roland G-70 and want something identical but lighter in weight. Thank you
Hi! We've actually written a blog on some of the best keyboard workstations that you might find useful - Lee www.pmtonline.co.uk/blog/2017/09/18/the-top-7-best-keyboard-workstations/
How the hell did the MX49 make it on this list? Sneaky blue bastard..
The keybed of Krome 88 is not good. I’m in the right? . Thanks you very much for this review!
It isn't good on the Fa either
Hey ZZZ, You don't have to know about music to sequence ur originals don't get discouraged! The isometric isolater adamater prefix quantizez the multimameralix profinater to make it easy enough for the flux compasiter to vilvlate the cordius klotius for a perfect sound. So don't sweet it!
But can it take Kureg capsules?
Awesome information!
Would you say these are overwhelimg for a serious beginner producer songwriter? Or would a manuel explain it all? Or is there anything more intuitive.
Id like to be able to access a bunch of different sounds and effects and be able to layer them to make a full blown song
The Roland FA Series is intuitive for your needs. However... should you create a song & want to save it to a PC, SD card or whatever, note that exporting audio takes place in real time, so you'll have to wait over an hour to export a four-minute song comprising 16 tracks, and none of the samples used are exported with it, so you could end up wondering what's happened to the things that make your creation the masterpiece that it is.
@@777CCT oh wow thats a game changer to be honest. Not exporting the samples seems a bit redundant. Thank you for taking your time to reply. I am still on the hunt ❤️
According to you which is better of all?
should i buy all of them or just one?
Hii..... What do you think about Roland XPS 30 ???
Hey can you make a tutorial on how to record yamaha mx 61/49 please? I am really getting trouble while recording audio and while converting midi files into audio
I have been using KETRON PRODUCTS FOR 40 years , that geek demonstrater, didn't even mention it , He is so impressed by all the cool space cadet sounds , the problem is if you want to get jobs in clubs or music venues you need to sound like the stones ,Bob Seger , George Strait , ZŹ,Top, & BB King , GET REAL.
The theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the thereminist. It is named after its inventor, Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928. A helpful hint as to what that hand gesture instrument in the corner is. :)
hey man, should i buy korg kross with 88 keys? im not a pro, and im still learning some stuff. In my country Krome or Kronos are really really expensive
Tomás I would go with the Juno DS88 in that price range. You will get more for your money and the Kross doesn't have very good key action compared to the Roland.
I got my Fa08 scratch and dent for the price of a new Ds88. A little goo be gone and it was new again. I have a Juno di so I was pining for the new features of the ds88; however, the FA is a whole different league. I still love the Juno but it is lonely. Scratch and dent, it's about the sound!
Agreed. I have a Old Kross 61, and A JUNO DS88, and trying to replace my old kross with a Yamaha MX61 V2
Kronos is expensive in any country, I was lucky and bought a shop demo model which was cheaper even tho it was coverd with fingerprints but soon cleaned up. Go with a Juno ds88 or Krome.
So? Which the better one? FA or Juno DS?
"This is the Roland fa 06" proceeds to play fa 08😂
"Wish You A Happy and Healthy and Peaceful New Year in 2020, Definitely, Full With Wonderful Musics and Joys"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello Gaz!
Thank you for your useful sources of information on several brands of Musical Workstations!
I recently purchased a Fantom 8 (88-key version). It's quite sophisticated and heavy as well!. It seems to be that I should spend a lots of times to use it effectively. But, it is a real powerful musical workstation to be used for several yrs ahead.
Meantime, I would ask you a question regarding to the Fantom-8, Korg- Cronos (88-key) and Yamaha Montage-8, as among 3 of these models, which one is the most convenient and most user-friendly one? and best in sounds regarding to pianos features?
Again, I would be appreciated for your response in advance, and Wishing You All The Bests and God Bless.
Kind Regards,
(TN)
Great to hear a friendly accent Gaz. Hello from Ayr buddy.
I have 1 question, why in gods name are you having one line out for mono for the keyboard?
My Yamaha DX7 still doing the best for me.
*.ʚ soft jxpan ɞ.* wish I hadn’t given my Yamaha psr away! I regret it now.
*_COMO SIEMPRE YAMAHA LO MEJOR. YAMAHA THE BEST_* 🎹🎹
ROLAND crea teclados muy buenos, siempre serán de los mejores, su única competencia es KORG. Pero últimamente me voy más por los Roland.
Отличная пятёрочка!
Me encantan los Korg Krome y Kronos
What's better? a keyboard workstation or a sampled instruments software?
depends on you
Looks like a lot of learning for these items . I prefer a basic piano or keyboard with speakers , none of these have speakers you have to plug into a PA system .
"Looks like a lot of learning for these items" - correct success does not come easy.
Hi sir please reply me and help me how to turn a KORG KROME in KORG R LIGHT A white?
i need a new keyboard/synth/workstation... i have a motif xs6 but it's slowly dying, need a new one. wow so much choice it's really hard to choose... don't want to spend too much.
i absolutley need a good inboard sequencer
montage is the most expensive but i think it looks the most like my motif....
but the korg krome and the roland fantom also seems very nice and are about half the price?
this is impossible to choose.....
Really excellent... awesome
Many thanks for the same.
Kindly advise which is best for Music composing / Live recording
I have a Montage 7 and I love it but Roland RD2000 is a beast also. Im surprise he pick MX49 really?.
Is the roland fa 08 a midi controller as well?
Casio MZ-X500 must be in Top 5 list
Yamaha Company overtakes Korg?
Next phantom should have touch screen/display 👌
Don't have the Kurzweils on there?!?
Yeah no kiddin' a Kurzweil K2000 v.2.0 from 1993 blows away any Roland workstation (& I'm Roland guy own a bunch of'em) much less the version's past 3.0 . The V.A.S.T. synth engine is much more complex and deep than anything from Roland ever. I like controlling the Kurzweil's from the Roland's. The Roland's keybeds & action are somewhat better than the Kurzweil's (since they are a piano makers) I find. But as far as I the sound goes Kurzweil's V.A.S.T. system is far better than anything Roland has ever done (except for maybe some of the analog stuff they made aka Jupiter's, Juno's etc. even the Kurzweil's come pretty darn close to those respectively IMHO. thanx dudes
I would have swapped the MX61 with the MOXF
James Hanington I did that I thought that my mx61 was better was easier to work but now I replaced my moxf6 with the modx6 way better.
These are not arranger keyboards, these are workstations. Arranger keyboards and workstation keyboards are two completely different products.
How so?
Can you use the Krome as a midi controller with apps like Abelton Live and Cubase?
yes
My Pop band rig is a FA-06 riding over a Kronos-2 88. The action on the FA-06 sucks. Keys are too small. The ends of the black keys are too close to the key's pivot points. But its features are nice. I use the built in SP404 sampler for a lot of one shot samples. Great sounds. I wish Roland would bring back a proper Fantom based around real Pro line hardware.
I own a Fantom and I own a Roland FA and They are both good, do you own a Roland FA? You said that the keys are too small my FA has normal Piano sized keys they are not small. There nothing small about the Roland FA
Yes I have the FA-06. I bought it on preorder when it first came out and it is still part of my rig for 2 bands I work for. The keys are about 14% shorter than piano keys. It plays fine if you only play in white keys but if you play in black keys where the thumb is rooted on a black key and you are playing lines out of chordal structures the leverage is reduced for fingers that are near the fallboard side. The keys are too short and this puts the finger too close to the fulcrum. The old Fantoms were way better hardware.
Veronica McCarrison do also love the sound & action on the Kurzweil PC3K8? Thanks.
I wouldn't call the Krome 61/73 "semi-weighted" at all... Both feel more like unweighted synth-action keys, compared to all my other synths
I thought the DAW would be the end of these things. Now I kind of want one.
Certainly was for me. I've never even clicked the "Sequencer" button on my Kronos since installing Cubase. It looks very capable, but the thought of fiddling through all those tiny onscreen controls doesn't entice me much. :)
I love them. To me, having a keyboard that doubles as a controller or your DAW is ideal. I have the NI Kontrol but I’d probably have been happier with a capable keyboard.
Anthony Rodemus hello, is it possible to record i song i made on my kronos into cubase keeping al the tracks separately?
This would be a great backup for going dawless. People are really into midi only setups.
They're all good ...buy all of them..doesn't matter...if you want to do this and that then buy the one that does this and the one that does that so you can do everything whether or not it is composed
Great video. Why? Because you speak clearly and do NOT fill it with words and phrases that mean nothing. Thanks. One stupid question: the name Gaz doesn’t exist in north America that I know of. Where does it come from? When I first heard it I thought it was a joke for obvious reasons. Just curious. No disrespect meant.
Gaz is a nick name / short name for Gary / Garry :)
I love my fa06 but, sad I can’t record vocal tracks very easily
hi there, do you recomend fa06 to play many Coldplay and The Killers covers? I'd use pianos, pads, synth and strings. Or do you recomend Yamaha MODX6+?
Can you do a vid on best keyboards for use of talk box
While the Yamaha is a great keyboard with synth features, it's not really a synth per se. Also, if you're looking for a "step sequencer", you will be disappointed. The sequencer in this machine is for playback only and will not record like a step sequencer will. Still a great keyboard.
with a korg pa700 with some control pedals I can do the same please -__- dont need that stuff
Kurzweil k2600xs , Ensoniq Ts12, Yamaha Montage, Korg Kronos, Kurzweil pc3k8
why the old ts12? my boy used to have one but I never loved it
I was wondering why no Kurzweil as well
@@dmitribovski1292 U can say that again why no Kurzweil thanx dude
The Korg Krome 88 seems a good compromise with the tooling it offers and the cost/quality ratio.
Krome is a toy
@@liljons6753 Why is it a toy?
@@OlympusHeavyCavalry
The sounds are thin...
More of a entry level..,
Goid for just playing
@@liljons6753 Maybe it should have been named differently? I suppose it is a compromise for those learning production etc. Cheers bud :-)
@@OlympusHeavyCavalry It got a "Key Buy" designation from *Keyboard* when it came out, so that's something. Listen to them all for yourself, in any event.
korg kronos is king
Too expensive for a 2011 product.
Yes its expensive and complicated to , the kronos is nothing to play with thats for sure .And will go down in history as one of the best . people can say what they want.....
Yamaha MX-49... Workstation?
No
I've seen quite a few of these Workstation keyboards & heard their respective samples, of other instruments e.g. guitars, saxophones, drums, etc.. They always leave me disappointed I e. sound cheap, tacky & inauthentic.
Vst are doing better jobs because there is no limitation
I think KORG pa4x and yamaha genos should fit in this video
They’re arrangers, not workstations
Best live keys?
Roland 😍
In DAW Mode, can you use the Korg Kross's/Kronos's USB-Audio to record the Mic Input audio in a separate track from the mix you are hearing? Os it is thought Just to record its own keyboard sounds, whereas you need the Roland FA in order to use it as a full Audio interface?
Absolutely amazing. Can you do a series on the Casio Keyboard synths?
Casios are toys
Check out Casio MZ x500 best bang for your buck!!!
Casio XWp1 & Roland BK 9 the best sounds for me...one man band !!!
Work station were so cool back on the 90s mid 2000s but sometimes allot of the sounds are dated. vst are taking over
All of my favourite.... 😱😱😱😱