Korg KRONOS (2011) Operating instructions

1

Operation Guide

4

E

iii

About this manual

The owner’s manuals and how to use them

TheKRONOSincludesthreeowner’smanuals:

•QuickStartGuide

•OperationGuide

• ParameterGuide

AllofthesemanualsareavailableasPDFsonAccessory

Disc2,andareincludedintheon‐boardHelpsystem.A

printedversionoftheQuickStartGuideisalsoincluded.

Quick Start Guide

Pleasereadthisfirst.Itintroducesallofthebasicfeatures

oftheKRONOS,andisdesignedtogetyouupand

runningquickly.

Operation Guide

Putsimply,theOperationGuideisdesignedtoanswer

thequestion,“HowdoIdothis?”

Itexplainsthenamesandfunctionsofeachpartofthe

KRONOS,basicoperation,anoverviewofeachmode,

howtoeditsounds,recordonthesequencer,sample,and

soon.Thisguidealsoexplainstheb

asicsofeff

ects,

KARMA,DrumTrack,WaveSequences,andDrumKits.

Finally,italsocontainsatroubleshootingguideand

supplementalinformationsuchasspecifications.

Parameter Guide

TheParameterGuideisdesignedtoanswerthequestion,

“Whatdoesthisdo?”

Organizedbymodeandpage,theParameterGuide

includesinformationoneachandeveryparameterinthe

KRONOS.

PDF versions

TheKRONOSPDFmanualsaredesignedforeasy

navigationandsearching.TheyincludeextensivePDF

contentsinformation,whichgenerallyappearsonthe

sideofthewindowinyourPDFreaderandletsyoujump

quicklytoaspecificsection.Allcross‐referencesare

hyper‐links,sothatclickingonthemautomaticallytakes

youto

thesourceofthereference.

On-board Help system*

TheHELPbuttongivesyoubuilt‐in,context‐sensitive

accesstotheusermanuals,rightfromthefrontpanel.

Forinformationonanyfront‐panelbutton,knob,slider,

orreal‐timecontroller,justholddownHELPandthen

pressthebuttonormovethecontrollerinquestion.

ForinformationonthecurrentLCDpage,pressand

releaseth

eHELPbutton.

FormoredetailsonusingtheHelpsystem,see“HELP

button”onpage 3.

*English‐languageonly.

Supplementary guides

Voice Name List

TheVoiceNameListlistsallofthesoundsandsetups

thatareintheKRONOSwhenitisshippedfromthe

factory,includingPrograms,Combinations,

Multisamples,DrumSamples,DrumKits,KARMAGEs,

WaveSequences,DrumTrackPatterns,TemplateSongs,

andEffectPresets.

Updating and restoring the KRONOS

Thisdocumentcontainsinformationonupdatingand

restoringtheKRONOSsoftware.It’sprovidedseparately

asaconvenience;allofitsinformationmayalsobefound

intheParameterGuide.

New features in KRONOS software version 1.5

Thisdocumentprovidesanoverviewofthenewfeatures

inKRONOSsoftwareversion1.5.It’sprovided

separatelyasaconvenience;allofitsinformationmay

alsobefoundintheOperationGuide.

Conventions in this manual

References to the KRONOS

TheKRONOSisavailablein88‐key,73‐key,and61‐key

models.Themanualsrefertoallmodelswithout

distinctionas“theKRONOS.”Thefrontpanelandrear

panelillustrationsinthemanualshowthe61‐keymodel,

buttheyapplyidenticallytotheothermodels.

Abbreviations for the manuals: OG, PG, VNL

Inthedocumentation,referencestothemanualsare

abbreviatedasfollows.

QS:QuickStartGuide

OG:OperationGuide

PG:ParameterGuide

VNL:TheVoiceNameList

Symbols , , Note, Tips

Thesesymbolsrespectivelyindicateacaution,aMIDI‐

relatedexplanation,asupplementarynote,oratip.

Example screen displays

Theparametervaluesshownintheexamplescreensof

thismanualareonlyforexplanatorypurposes,andmay

notnecessarymatchthevaluesthatappearintheLCD

screenofyourinstrument.

MIDI-related explanations

CC#isanabbreviationforControlChangeNumber.

InexplanationsofMIDImessages,numbersinsquare

brackets[]alwaysindicatehexadecimalnumbers.

ThankyouforpurchasingtheKorgKRONOS.Tohelpyougetthemostoutofyournewinstrument,pleasereadthis

manualcarefully.

iv

Contents

About this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Introduction to KRONOS . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Front and rear panels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Frontpanel ................................. 1

Rearpanel.................................. 8

TouchViewuserin

terface .................... 10

Basic information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

AbouttheKRONOS’modes.................. 13

Abou

ttheKRONOS’PCMmemory ........... 16

Aboutpolyphony........................... 16

Basicoperations............................ 17

Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Turningthepoweron/off.................... 20

Connections................................ 20

Update information

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Newfeaturesinsoftwareversion1.5.......... 25

Playing and editing Programs . . . . . . .27

Playing Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

SelectingPrograms.......................... 27

UsingControllers ........................... 31

UsingtheChordPad

s....................... 35

UsingChordmode.......................... 36

Easy Program

Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Quickeditsusingtheknobs,sliders, and switches.

39

Detailed Program Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

EditingHD‐1Programs...................... 43

UsingLFOsandEnvelopes(EGs)............. 45

UsingAlte

rnateModulation(AMS)

and the AMS Mixers ........................ 46

ControllingPitch ........................... 48

UsingFi

lters ............................... 48

UsingtheAmpsection ...................... 51

UsingEXi.................................. 53

UsingVectorSynthesis...................... 54

Eff

ects..................................... 56

AutomaticallyimportingaProgram

into Sequencer mode ........................ 56

Playing and editing Combinations . . . .57

Playing Combinations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

SelectingCombinations...................... 57

Easy Combination editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

ChangingtheProgramswithinaCombi....... 60

Adjustingthemix........................... 60

EasyKA

RMAediting ....................... 61

Detailed Combination editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Combinationoverview...................... 62

Laye

rs,Splits,andVelocitySwitches.......... 63

MIDISettings .............................. 64

AlteringProgram

stofitwithin a Combination . 65

Effects .....................................66

Automaticallyim

portingaCombination

into Sequencer mode. ........................67

Savingyouredits ............................67

Creating songs (Sequencer mode) . . . . 69

Sequencer overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

AbouttheKRONOS’sequencer ...............69

Sequencermodestructure....................69

Playing Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

Playback ...................................72

ThecontrolsurfaceinSe

quencermode .........74

MIDI recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

Preparationsforrecording ....................76

Recor

dingMIDIinreal‐time..................78

MIDIsteprecording .........................81

RecordingthesoundofaCombinationor Program

82

RecordingmultipleMIDItracksfrom

an external sequencer........................84

RecordingSystemExclusiveevents............8

5

Recor

dingpatterns ..........................86

Otherwaystorecord.........................88

Audio reco

rding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Audiorecordingoverview....................89

Audioinputsettingsandrecordingsourceselection

90

Recordingprocedure.........................93

Othervariat

ionsofaudiotrackrecording .......99

PlacingaWAVEfileinanaudiotrack .........101

Song editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Songs.....................................103

MIDITracks...............................103

Com

montoMIDItracksandaudiotracks .....104

AudioTracks ..............................104

Using

RPPR (Realtime Pattern Play/Record) . . . . . . .106

CreatingRPPRdata.........................106

RPPRplayback.............................107

RecordinganRPPRperformance.............107

Sampling in Sequencer mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Saving your Song. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Other notes about Sequencer mode. . . . . . . . . . . . .110

KRONOSsequencerfileformats..............110

TheComparefunction ......................

110

MemoryProtect ............................111

AboutMIDI ...............................111

Set Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Set List Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Selecting and playing sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

SelectingSetLists...........................114

SelectingSlots..............................115

Editing Set Lists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Selectingandre‐arrangingsounds ............116

v

DetailedSetListediting.................... 117

SetListsandtheControlSurface............. 118

Smooth Sound Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Overview................................. 120

UsingSmoothSoundTransitions............ 120

Sampling (Open Sampling System). . 123

Sampling overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

AboutsamplingontheKRONOS ............ 123

Preparations for sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

AudioSettings ............................ 126

Sampling and editing in Sampling mode . . . . . . . . 132

Creatingmultisampleindexesand s

ampling–

P0: Recording............................. 133

Basicexamplesofsampling................. 135

Editi

ngloops.............................. 139

UsingTimeSlice........................... 141

Samplewaveformediting................... 144

Multisampleediting ....................... 145

SamplingfromanAu

dioCD ................ 145

Saving,convertingtoPrograms,andComparing..

146

Sampling in Program and Combination modes . . . . 148

Overview................................. 148

ResamplingaKARMAph

raseinProgrammode..

148

AutoSamplingSetup ...................... 149

MixingaKARMAdr

umphrasewith

a live guitar input, and samplingtheresult.... 149

Samplingaguitarfromtheaudioinputs,

while listeningtoaKARMAdrumphrase .... 150

Sampling in Sequencer mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

In‐TrackSampling ......................... 151

ResamplingasongtocreateaWavefile ...... 152

Global Settings, Wave Seq., Drum Kits . .

155

Global mode overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Global Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

BasicSetup ............................... 156

Globalaudiosettings....................... 158

MIDIsetting

s ............................. 158

Pedalandothercontrollersettings........... 159

Crea

tinguserscales ........................ 160

SettingCategoryNamesforPrograms,

Combinations,andKARMA ................ 161

Automati

cally loading RAM and EXs sample data . . 162

UsingtheKSCAuto‐Loadlisttoselect

which samples to load...................... 162

Creatingandsaving.KSCfiles............... 163

Using Wave Sequences

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

WaveSequenceOverview .................. 165

ProgrammingBasics....................... 165

Adju

stingthesoundofanindividualstep .... 166

UsingrhythmicWaveSequences ............ 168

Creatingsmooth,evolvingtimbres........... 170

ModulatingWaveSequences................ 171

SavingWaveSe

quences.................... 172

Using Drum Kits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

DrumKitOverview ........................17

3

Beforeyoustartediting… ...................173

EditingDrumKits ..........................174

SavingDrumKits ..........................176

Loading & saving data, and creating CDs.

177

Saving data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Overview .................................177

Writingtointernalmemory..................178

Sav

ingtodisks,CDs,andUSBmedia .........182

Loading data from disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

LoadingSongs,sounds,samples,

and KARMA GEs together...................186

Loadingindividualbanksfroma.PCGfile.....189

Loadingdatabyind

ividualitemorbank......189

Creating and playing audio CDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

CreatingaudioCDs.........................191

PlayingaudioCDs..........................19

3

Other disk operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Settingthedateandtime....................194

Using Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195

Effects overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Effectsbasics...............................195

EffectI/O ..................................19

6

Effectsineachmode........................196

Effects selection and routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

UsingeffectsinPrograms ...................198

UsingeffectsinCombinationsandSongs ......200

UsingeffectsinSamplingmode..............202

Usingeffectswiththeaudioinputs...........20

3

Detailed effects editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Dynamicmodulation(Dmod) ................205

MIDI/TempoSync ..........................205

CommonFXLF

O ...........................206

EffectPresets ..............................207

Using KARMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209

Overview - What is KARMA? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

ThestructureofKARMA ....................209

Performing with KARMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

PerformingwithKARMAinProgrammode...213

PerformingwithKARMAinCombinationmode ..

216

Editing KARMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

EditingKARMAinProgrammode ...........219

Ed

itingKARMAinCombinationmode .......223

Using KARMA in Sequencer mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

AutoSongSetup ...........................228

RecordingusingKARMA(single‐trackrecording).

229

Mu

lti‐trackrecordingusing

settings copied from a Combination...........230

vi

Synchronizing KARMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231

Synchronizationbasics ..................... 231

The“QuantizeTrigger”parameter ........... 231

Slaveoperation ............................ 232

Masteroperation .......................... 232

Using the Drum Track . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233

WhatistheDrumTrack? ................... 233

Performing with the Drum Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234

UsingtheDrumTrackinProgrammode...... 234

UsingtheDrumTrackinCombinationmode .. 236

Drum Track settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

DrumTracksettingsinProgrammode ....... 237

DrumTracksettingsinCombinationmode.... 238

DrumTracksettingsinSequencermode...... 238

UsingKARMAandtheDrumTracktogether.. 239

SynchronizingtheDrumTrack.............. 240

Creating Drum Track

patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241

Preparingauserpattern.................... 241

ConvertingaSequencerpattern

to a Drum Track pattern.................... 241

Appendices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243

Powersupply............................. 243

LCDscreen ............................... 243

Audi

oinputandoutput.................... 244

ProgramsandCombinations................ 245

Songs .................................... 246

SetLists .................................. 247

Sampling................................. 247

KARMA

.................................. 248

DrumTrack............................... 249

Vector.................................... 249

DrumKits................................ 249

WaveSeque

nces ........................... 249

Effects.................................... 249

MIDI ..................................... 250

Disks,CDs,andUSBMe

dia ................. 250

Otherproblems............................ 251

Error and confirmation mes

sages . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252

A(ADC–AreYouSure)..................... 252

B(Buffer)................................. 252

C(Can’tcalibrate–Completed)............... 252

D(Destination–Disk) ....................... 253

E(Error–Exceeded) ........................ 254

F(File–Front)

.............................. 255

I(Illegal–Index)............................ 256

H........................................ 257

K........................................ 257

M(Master–Mu

ltisample) ................... 257

N(Nodata–Notenoughsongmemory)....... 258

O(Obeycopyrig

htrules–Oscillator) .......... 260

P(Pattern–Program) ....................... 260

R(Rearsample–Root) ...................... 261

S(Sample–Source

)......................... 261

T(Theclock–Track)........................ 262

U(Unab

letocreatedirectory–USBHub) ...... 262

W(Wave)................................. 263

Y(You)....................................263

Disk and Media information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264

TypesofmediasupportedbytheKRONOS ....264

OperationsthattheKRONOS

can perform on media.......................264

Restoringthefactorysettings.................265

Spe

cifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266

vii

1

Introduction to KRONOS

Front and rear panels

Front panel

1. MAIN VOLUME knob

ThisadjuststhevolumeofthemainL/Raudiooutputs,

aswellasthevolumeoftheheadphonejack.

Itdoesnotaffectanyoftheotheraudiooutputs,

includingS/P DIF,individualoutputs1‐4,ortheUSB

output.

2. Control Surface

TheControlSurfaceisthesetof9sliders,8knobs,and

16switchestotheleftoftheLCDscreen.Itlookslikea

mixer,butcandoavarietyofthingssuchasediting

sounds,controllingKARMA,andsendingMIDI

messagestoexternaldevices.Youcanfreelychange

backandforthbetweenthed

ifferentfunctionswithout

losinganyofyouredits.

CONTROL ASSIGN buttons

Asexplainedbelow,youcanusethefrontpanel

CONTROLASSIGNbuttonstoswitchbetweenthe

variouscontrolsurfacefunctions.Youcanalsoview

andeditthecontrolsurfacesettingsontheLCDscreen

(P0–ControlSurfacepageineachmode).

TIMBRE/TRACK

TIMBRE/TRACKletsyouusethecontrolsurfaceto

adjustthevolume,pan,EQ,andsendlevelsforOSC

1/2,EXi1/2,ortheDrumTrackinProgrammode,the

currentMultisampleinSamplemode,andeachofthe

16TimbresorTracksinCombiandSequencemodes.

TheLEDstotherig

htoftheswi

tchshowwhether

you’recurrentlyeditingTimbres(orTracks)1‐8or9‐16;

presstheTIMBRE/TRACKbuttontotogglebetween

thetwo.

9. Vector

Joystick

11. SW 1&2

12. Joystick

13. Ribbon

14. Headphone Jack

1. Volume 2. Control Surface 5. Mode

4. Disk Access Indicator

6. Utility 7. Bank Select

18. Sampling16. Sequencer15. Exit

17. Tempo

3. Data Entry

19. TouchView

Display

8. KARMA

10. Drum

Track

Introduction to KRONOS

2

IfyouswitchtooneoftheotherControlAssignmodes,

andthengobacktoTIMBRE/TRACK,itwill

automaticallyreturntothepreviouslyselectedgroup

(1‐8or9‐16).

AUDIO

AUDIOletsyouusethecontrolsurfacetoadjustthe

volume,play/mutestatus,solo,pan,andsendlevelsof

theanalog,S/P DIF,andUSBaudioinputs.In

Sequencermode,youcanalsochoosetocontrolaudio

tracks1–8(HDR1‐8)or9–16(HDR9‐16).

AswithTIMBRE/TRACK,ifyouswi

tchtooneofthe

otherCo

ntrolAssignmodes,andthengobackto

AUDIO,itwillautomaticallyreturntothepreviously

selectedgroup(Inputs,HDR1‐8orHDR9‐16).

EXT

EXT(External)letsyouusethecontrolsurfaceto

transmitMIDImessagestoexternalMIDIdevices.

RT KNOBS/KARMA

RTKNOBS/KARMAletsyoumodulatesoundsand

effectswiththeknobs,andcontrolKARMAwiththe

slidersandswitches.

TONE ADJ/EQ

TONEADJ(ToneAdjust)givesyouhands‐onaccessto

soundediting,usingthesliders,knobs,andswitches.

InCombiandSequencemodes,italsoletsyouedit

ProgramswithinthecontextoftheCombiorSong,

withoutmakinganychangestotheoriginalProgram

data.

EQisavailableonlyinSetLi

sts.Thisisanine‐band

graphicEQappliedtothesoundafterTFX2,which

tailorsthesoundfromthemainstereooutputs

(includingtheanalogL/Routputs,S/PDIF,andUSB).

YoucanusethisEQtocompensatefortheacoustic

environmentofaspecificcluborotherperformance

venue.Thesl

id

ersaremappedtotheninebandsofthe

EQ,forquickandintuitiveadjustments.

More information on the Control Surface

FormoreinformationonhowtheControlSurface

worksinthedifferentmodes,see:

•Programmode:“0–9:ControlSurface”onpage 21

oftheParameterGuide

•Combimode:“0–9:ControlSurface”onpage 428of

theParameterGuide

•Sequencemode:“0–9:ControlSurface”onpage 534

oftheParameterGuide

MIXER KNOBS button

ThisappliesonlywhenCONTROLASSIGNissetto

TIMBRE/TRACKorAUDIO.Ittogglestheknobs

betweencontrollingthepanofallchannelsor

controllingthepan,EQ,andsendsofthecurrently

selectedchannel.

RESET CONTROLS button

ThisfeatureletsyouresettheVectorJoysticktothe

centerposition,orresetanyoftheControlSurface

sliders,knobs,orswitchestotheirsavedvalue.

Toresetasinglecontrol,holddownRESET

CONTROLSandthenmoveaControlSurfaceslideror

knob,pressoneofthecontrolsurfacebuttons,ormove

theVectorJoystick.

Toresetallofthesliders,knobs,andswitchesofthe

currentCONTROLASSIGNmodeatonce,holddown

RESETCONTROLSandthenpressthecurrently‐lit

CONTROLASSIGNbuttonagain.

Youcanalsoresetalloftheslidersandswitchesinthe

KARMAModulebyhold

ingRESETCONTROLSand

thenpressingtheKARM

AMODULECONTROL

button.Similarly,toresetasingleKARMAScene,hold

RESETCONTROLSandpressanyoftheSCENE

buttons.

Finally,youcanalsousethistoclearallsolos,by

holdingRESETCONTROLSandthenpressingthe

SOLObutton.

Formoreinformation,see“R

ESETCONTROLS”

on

page 22oftheParameterGuide.

SOLO button

ThisappliesonlywhenCONTROLASSIGNissetto

TIMBRE/TRACKorAUDIO.IttogglestheSELECT

buttonsbetweenselectingthecurrentOscillator,

Timbre,Track,orAudioInput(whenSOLOisoff)or

soloingthechannel(whenSOLOison).

FormoreinformationonSOLOinthevariousmodes,

see:

Programs:“SOLOswitchandSEL

E

CTswitches1–3”

onpage 24oftheParameterGuide

Combinations:“SoloswitchandSelectswitches1–8”

onpage 430oftheParameterGuide

Sequencer:“SoloswitchandSelectswitches1/9–8/16”

onpage 536oftheParameterGuide

3. Data entry

Whenyou’veselectedaparameterontheTouchView

display,youcanedititusinganyofthefourfront‐

paneldataentrycontrols:

•TheVALUEslider

•TheIncandDecbuttons

•TheVALUEdial

•Thenumerickeypad

Front and rear panels Front panel

3

VALU E slider

Usethistoedittheselectedparameter’s

value.Thiscontrolisconvenientformaking

largechangestothevalue,suchasmoving

quicklytotheminimumormaximum

setting.

YoucanalsousetheVALUEsliderasa

modulationsource,butonlywhenthe

followingaretrue:

•You’reontheProgrammodeP0‐Mai

n

page,andthebigProg

ramnameis

selected,or

•You’reontheCombinationmodeP0–

ProgSelect/Mixerpage,andthebig

Combinationnameisselected.

•You’reontheSetListP0‐Playpage.

Inthesecasesonly,theVALUEslidersendsMIDI

CC#18,andcanbeusedasamodulationsou

rce.

Inc and Dec buttons

Theseareusedtoincreaseordecreasetheparameter

valuebyindividualsteps.They’reconvenientfor

makingfineparameteradjustments.

VALUE dial

Usethisdialtoedittheselectedparameter’svalue.

Thiscontrolisconvenientwhenyouwanttoscroll

throughaverylonglistofselections.

0-9, –, ., and ENTER buttons

Thesebuttonsareconvenientwhenyouknowthe

exactvaluethatyouwanttoenter.Usethe0–9,–,and

decimal(.)buttonstoenterthevalue,andthenpress

theENTERbuttontoconfirmtheentry.

The–buttoninvertsthesign(+/–)oftheparameter

value;thedecimal(.)but

tonins

ertsadecimal,for

enteringfractionalvalues.

Special functions of the ENTER button

ENTERhasafewspecialfunctionswhenitispressed

incombinationwithotherbuttons.

Wheneveranon‐screenparameterletsyouentera

musicalnote(suchasG4orC#2),oravelocitylevel,

youcanenterthenoteorvelocitydirectlybyholding

downENTERwhileplayinganoteontheke

yboard.

Byhold

ingdowntheENTERbuttonwhileyoupressa

numericbutton(0–9),youcanselectuptotenmenu

commandsfromthecurrentpage.

InProgramandCombinationmodes,youcanhold

downtheENTERbuttonandpresstheSEQUENCER

REC/WRITEbuttontousetheAutoSongSetup

function.Thisim

portsthecurrentProgramorCombi

intoSequencemodeforquickandeasyrecording.

4. DISK access indicator

ThisLEDlightsupwhendataisbeingsavedtoorread

fromtheinternaldisk.

NeverturnoffthepowerwhilethisLEDislit.

Doingsocancauseallorpartofthedataonthedisk

tobelost,ormaycausemalfunctionssuchasdisk

damage.

5. MODE buttons

KRONOShassevendifferentoperationalmodes,each

oneoptimizedforaspecificsetoffunctions.These

buttonsselectthecurrentmode.

EachbuttonhasanLED,whichlightsuptoshowthe

modeyou’veselected.

SET LIST button

ThisselectsSetListmode.SetListsmakeitsimpleto

playandorganizeanyofthesoundsloadedintothe

KRONOS,withoutregardforwhatbankthey’restored

inorwhetherthey’rePrograms,Combinations,oreven

Songs.

COMBI button

ThisselectsCombinationmode,forplayingand

editingcomplexsplitsandlayersofPrograms.

PROG button

ThisselectsProgrammode,forplayingandediting

basicsounds.

SEQ button

ThisselectsSequencermode,forrecording,playing,

andeditingaudioandMIDItracks.

SAMPLING button

ThisselectsSamplingmode,forrecordingandediting

audiosamplesandmultisamples.

GLOBAL button

ThisselectsGlobalmode,formakingoverallsettings,

editingWaveSequencesandDrumKits,andmore.

DISK button

ThisselectsDiskmode,forsavingandloadingdatato

andfromtheinternaldiskorexternalUSB2.0storage

devices.YoucanalsocreateaudioCDsusingaUSB

CD‐Rdrive(notincluded).

6. UTILITY buttons

HELP button

TheHELPbuttongivesyoubuilt‐in,

context‐sensitiveaccesstotheuser

manuals,rightfromthefrontpanel.

Introduction to KRONOS

4

Forinformationonanyfront‐panelbutton,knob,

slider,orreal‐timecontroller,justholddownHELP

andthenpressthebuttonormovethecontrollerin

question.

ForinformationonthecurrentLCDpage,pressand

releasetheHELPbutton.

Whilethehelppageisonthescreen,youcantouchany

oftheon‐sc

reenlinks(highlightedinbluetext)for

moreinformation.Youcanscrollthroughthetextby

usingtheon‐screenscrollbars,pressingtheIncand

Decbuttons,orspinningtheValuedial.

ThetopoftheHelppagehas“breadcrumb”links,

whichshowthehierarchyofpagesabov

ethecurrent

one.Touchanyoftheselinkstojumptothe

correspondingpage.

Thebackwardsandforwardsbuttonsfunctionlikethe

similarbuttonsonastandardwebbrowser.Ifyouuse

linkstojumpbetweenpages,youcanthenusethe

backwardsandforwardsbuttonstomovethroughthe

pagesyo

u

’vealreadyviewed.

TheContentspageletsyouaccessanypartoftheHelp

system,includingalmostallofthetextandgraphicsin

boththeParameterandOperationGuides.TheIndex

containsashorterlistoflinkstoimportantarticles.

Toclosethehelpdisplay,justpresstheHELPbutto

n

again,presstheEXITbutto

n,orpresstheon‐screen

Donebutton.

COMPARE button

UsethisbuttontocomparethesoundoftheProgram

orCombinationthatyouarecurrentlyeditingwiththe

saved,un‐editedversionofthesound.Youcanalsouse

thisbuttontomake“beforeandafter”comparisons

whenrecordingoreditinginSequencermode.

7. BANK SELECT buttons

Usethesebuttonstochangebankswhenselecting

ProgramsorCombinations.TheLEDsinthebuttons

lightuptoshowthecurrentbank.

InProgrammode,thesebuttonsselecttheProgram

bank.TheyareactiveonlyonthePlaypages.

InCombinationmode,thesebuttonshavetwo

functions:

•Whenyou’reselectingCombinations,theychoose

theCo

mbinationbank.

•Whenyou’reassigningaProgramtoatimbre

withintheCombi,theyselecttheProgrambank.

InSequencermode,whenatrack’sProgramnameis

selected,thesebuttonschangetheProgrambank.

General MIDI banks

SelectingGeneralMIDIProgrambanksisalittle

differentfromselectingotherbanks.Eachtimeyou

presstheINT‐Gbutton,thebankwillsteptothenext

GM(2)bankorGMdrumbankinthefollowingorder:

G,g(1),g(2)–g(8),g(9),g(d),G,g(1),etc.

What’s in each bank?

FordetailsonthecontentsoftheProgrambanks,see

“Programbankcontents”onpage 27.Fordetailsonthe

Combibanks,see“Combinationbankcontents”on

page 57.

8. KARMA buttons

KARMAstandsfor“Kay

AlgorithmicRealtimeMusic

Architecture.”It’sanimmensely

powerfulrecordingandlive

performancetool,whichcan

provideawiderangeofmusical

effectsincluding:

• Arpeggiation

•Drumandinstrumentgrooves

•ComplexCCgestures(asifit

wasautomaticallymoving

knobsorjoysticksforyou)

•Musicalphrasegeneration

•Gatedandchoppeddanceproductioneff

ects

•A

nycombinationoftheabove

• …andmuchmore.

ON/OFF button

ThisswitchesKARMAonandoff.Aswiththeother

KARMAbuttons,thebutton’sLEDwilllightupto

showyouthatitisturnedon.

LATCH button

WhenLATCHisturnedon,KARMAwillcontinueto

playevenafteryou’vestoppedholdingnotesonthe

keyboardorMIDIIn.

Thisisconvenientwhenyouwanttoplayontopofa

KARMA‐generatedgroove,forinstance.

MODULE CONTROL button

InCombiandSequencermodes,KARMAhasfour

independentModules,eachofwhichcanbegenerating

adifferentmusicaleffect.Whenusedtocontrol

KARMA,theControlSurfaceslidersandswitchesare

fivelayersdeep:oneforeachModule(A‐D),andthen

aMasterLayerwhichcontrolsselectedparameters

fromallofth

eMo

dulesatonce.

TheMODULECONTROLbuttonselectswhetherthe

KARMASLIDERS,SWITCHES,andSCENESwill

controleitherasingleModuleindependently,orthe

MasterLayer.InProgrammode,onlyasingleModule

isavailable,andtheMasterLayerisusedtocontrolit;

youcannotselectot

hersettings).

Front and rear panels Front panel

5

9. Vector Joystick

TheVectorJoystickisapowerfulreal‐timecontroller.

DependingontheparticularProgram,Combi,orSong,

itmaymodulateProgramoreffectsparameters,or

adjustthevolumesofdifferentcomponentsofthe

sound.

FormoreinformationonhowVectorSynthesisworks,

see“UsingVectorSynthesis”onpage 54.

10. Drum Track

TheDrumTrackisabuilt‐indrummachine,fueledby

theKRONOS’shigh‐qualitydrumsounds.Thisbutton

turnstheDrumTrackonandoff.

Dependingonvarioussettings,theDrumTrackmay

begintoplayimmediately,ormaywaituntilyoustart

toplayonthekeyboard.Ifthebutton’sLE

Disblinking

onandoff,it’

swaitingforyoutoplay.

LINKED LED

IfthefrontpanelLINKEDLEDandKARMAON/OFF

switchesarelit,KARMAwillstartandstoptogether

withtheDrumTrack.Formoreinformation,see

“UsingKARMAandtheDrumTracktogether”on

page 239.

11. SW1 and SW2

Theseon/offswitchescanperformanumberof

differentfunctions,suchasmodulatingsoundsor

lockingthemodulationvaluesofthejoystick,ribbon,

oraftertouch.

Also,eachonemayworkeitherasatoggle,orasa

momentaryswitch.Intogglemode,eachpress

alternatesbetweenonandoff;inmomentarymode,the

swi

tchonlychangesforaslongasyouholditdown.

EachswitchhasanLED,whichlightsupwhenthe

switchison.

EachProgram,Combination,andSongstoresitsown

settingsforwhattheswitcheswilldo,andwhether

eachswitchdefaultstobeingonoroff.

12. Joystick

Thejoystickmovesinfourdirections:left,right,

forwards(awayfromyourself),andbackwards

(towardsyourself).Eachofthefourdirectionscanbe

usedtocontroldifferentprogramoreffects

parameters.

Thespecificassignmentscanchangedependingonthe

currentProgram,Combi,orSong.Generally,though,

theywilldosomethinglikethefunctionsshown

be

low:

StandardJoystickfunctions

13. Ribbon controller

TheRibboncontrollerletsyoumodulateProgramor

effectsparametersbyslidingyourfingerleftandright

alongitstouch‐sensitivestrip.

Aswiththeothercontrollers,itsspecificfunctionwill

changedependingonthecurrentProgram,Combi,or

Song.

14. Headphone jack

Thisstereo1/4”headphonejackcarriesthesamesignal

astheMainL/Routputs.

TheheadphonevolumeiscontrolledbytheMAIN

VOLUMEknob.

15. EXIT button

Thisbuttonmakesiteasytoreturntothemainpageof

thecurrentmode:

•Pressitoncetogotothepreviously‐selectedtabon

themainP0page.

•PressitagaintogotothefirsttabonthemainP0

page(suchasthemainProgramPlaypage).Ifyou

hadpreviouslyse

lectedaparameteronthispage,

thatparameterwillbeselected.

•Pressitathirdtimetoselectthemainparameteron

theP0page,suchastheProgramnameinProgram

mode.

WhereveryouareinProgram,Combi,orSequencer

modes,pressingEXITthreetimes(orfewer)willta

ke

yo

ubacktoProgram/Combination/SongSelect,where

youcanimmediatelyusethenumerickeysor / 

switchestoselectaProgram,Combination,orSong.

Whenadialogboxisopen,thisbuttoncancelsthe

settingsmadeinthedialogboxandclosesthedialog

box,justlikepressingtheCancelbutton.Ifapopup

menuorpagemenuisopen,pressingEXITcl

osesthe

menu

.

16. SEQUENCER buttons

Mostofthebuttonsinthissectionapplyonlyto

Sequencermodeand,inDiskandSamplingmodes,to

audioCDplaybackfromaconnectedUSBCDdrive.

REC/WRITEistheexception;ithasspecialfunctionsin

Program,Combination,andGlobalmodes,as

describedbelow.

Move the joystick…

Controller

Name

Normally controls…

Left JS–X Pitch bend down

Right JS+X Pitch bend up

Forwards

(away from yourself)

JS+Y Vibrato

Backwards

(towards yourself)

JS–Y Filter LFO (wah)

Introduction to KRONOS

6

PAUSE button

InSequencermode,thisbuttonpausestheplaybackof

thesong.Whenpaused,thebutton’sLEDwilllightup.

PressPAUSEonceagaintoresumeplayback,andthe

LEDwillturnoff.

InDiskandSamplingmodes,thisbuttonpausesaudio

CDplayback.

<<REW button

InSequencermode,whentheSongisplayingor

paused,thisbuttonwillrewindthesong.Whenyou

pressandholdthisbutton,itsLEDwilllightup,and

theplaybackwillrewind.(Rewindisdisabledduring

recording,andwhiletheSongisstopped.)

InDiskandSamplingmodes,thisbuttonrewindsthe

audioCD.

FF>> button

InSequencermode,whentheSongisplayingor

paused,thisbuttonwillfast‐forwardthesong.When

youpressandholdthisbutton,thebuttonwilllight,

andtheplaybackwillfast‐forward.(Fast‐forwardis

disabledduringrecording,andwhiletheSongis

stopped.)

InDiskandSamplingmodes,thisbuttonfast‐forw

ards

theaudio

CD.

LOCATE button

InSequencermode,thisbuttonwilladvanceorrewind

thesongtothespecifiedlocatepoint.Thisletsyou

jumpimmediatelytoanypointinthecurrentSong.

Thedefaultlocatepointisthefirstbeatofmeasure1.

Tosetthelocatepointtothecurrentposition,hold

downENTERandthenpr

essLOCA

TE.Youcanalso

settheLocatepointdirectlyviatheon‐screenmenu.

REC/WRITE button

InSequencermode,pressingthisbuttonwillenter

record‐readymode.Onceyou’ reinrecord‐readymode

(shownbythebutton’slitLED),youcanbegin

recordingbypressingtheSEQUENCER

START/STOP

button.Formoreinformation,see“RecordingMIDIin

real‐time”onpage 78.

InProgram,Combination,SetList,andGlobalmodes,

pressingREC/WRITEwillopentheSavedialogbox.

Formoredetails,see“Writingtointernalmemory”on

page 178,and“UsingtheSEQUENCERREC/WRITE

button”onpage 178.

InProgramandCombinationmodes,yo

ucan

hold

downtheENTERbuttonandpresstheSEQUENCER

REC/WRITEbuttontousetheAutoSongSetup

function.ThisimportsthecurrentProgramorCombi

intoSequencemodeforquickandeasyrecording.For

moreinformation,see“A u t o ‐SongSetup”onpage 2of

theParameterGuide.

START/STOP button

Thisstartsorstopsrecordingandplaybackin

Sequencermode.

InDiskandSamplingmodes,thisbuttonstartsand

stopsplaybackontheaudioCD.

17. TEMPO controls

TEMPO knob

Thisknobadjuststhetempoforthe

KRONOSasawhole,includingSongs,

KARMA,theDrumTrack,Tempo‐

syncedLFOsandBPMdelays,andEXi

StepSequencers.

TheLEDwillblinkatquarter‐note

intervalsofthecurrenttempo.

Note:IftheGLOBALMIDIpageMIDICLOCK

parameterissettoExternalMIDIorUS

B,orifitisset

to

Autoandaclockiscurrentlybeingreceived,then

neithertheTEMPOKnobnortheTAPTEMPObutton

willhaveanyeffect.

TAP TEMPO button

Thisbuttonletsyouentertempossimplybytapping

yourfingeronthebutton.Youcanusethis

interchangeablywiththe“TEMPOknob,”above.Two

tapsareenoughtochangethetempo;forgreater

accuracy,youcancontinuetapping,andthetempowill

beaveragedoverthemostrecent16taps.

Forexample,yo

ucanuseTAPTEMPOtocontrolthe

KARMAtempo:

1. InProgrammodeorCombinationmode,start

KARMArunning.

TurnontheKARMAON/OFFswitch,andplayakey

orapad.IfyouturnontheLATCHswitch,KARMA

willcontinueplayingevenafteryouliftupyourhands.

2. LightlypresstheTA

PTEMPOswitchseveral

timesatthedesiredtempo.

Noticethatthe“q=”intheupperrightoftheLCD

screenwillchangetoshowthenewtempo.

IfyoupresstheTAPTEMPOswitchatshorter

intervals,theplaybacktempowillbecome

correspondinglyfaster.

Note:Youcanalsotaptemposus

inga

footswitch.For

moreinformation,see“FootSwitchAssignments”on

page 1104oftheParameterGuide.

18. SAMPLING buttons

REC button

InSampling,Program,Combination,and

Sequencermodes,pressingthisbutton

enterstheinitialsampling‐readymode.

Thebutton’sLEDwilllightup.

Tocontinue,presstheSAMPLINGSTART/STOP

button,asdescribedbelow.

START/STOP button

InSampling,Program,Combination,andSequencer

modes,pressingthiswhentheSAMPLINGREC

buttonislitwilldooneofthreethings,dependingon

thesettingoftheTriggerparameter(ontheSampling

modeRecording‐AudioInputpage):

•IfTriggerissettoSamplingSTARTSW,sampling

willbeginimmediately.

Front and rear panels Front panel

7

•IfTriggerissettoNoteOn,samplingwillbeginas

soonasyouplayanoteonthekeyboard.

•IfTriggerissettoThreshold,samplingwillbegin

assoonastheselectedaudiosourcereachesa

presetvolumelevel.

OntheSamplingmode’sP1:SampleEditpage,

pressingthisbuttonwillplayth

eselectedsample.

ThisbuttonisalsousedtoplaybackWAVfilesfrom

thedisk.YoucanplaybackWAVfilesinthedirectory

windowofvariousDiskmodepages,intheDiskmode

MakeAudioCDpage,intheSequencermodeaudio

trackeditingdialogboxes,andintheSelec

tDir

ectory

menucommandoftheProgram,Combination,

Sequencer,andSamplingmodes.

19. TouchView display

TheKRONOSfeaturesourexclusiveTouchView

graphicinterface,basedonatouch‐panelLCDscreen.

BytouchingitemsontheLCDscreen,youcanselect

pages,tabs,andparameters,andsetparametervalues

viaon‐screenmenusandbuttons.

Shortcuts

Thefront‐panelcontrolsofferanumberofshortcuts

forcommonly‐usedfeatures,asdetailedbelow.

ENTER + numeric keys 0–9: Menu commands

Eachpagehasasetofmenucommands,which

provideaccesstodifferentutilities,commands,and

options,dependingonthepageyou’recurrentlyon. 

Youcanusethemenucommandsentirelyfromthe

touch‐screen,bypressingthemenubuttoninthe

upperright‐handcornerofthescreenandthen

sel

e

ctinganoptionfromthemenuthatappears.

Eventhougheachpagemayhaveitsownunique

menucommands,themenusarestandardizedasmuch

aspossible.Forinstance,WRITEisalmostalwaysthe

firstmenuiteminProgram,Combination,andGlobal

modes.

Youcantakeadvantageofthisstandardizationby

usingashortc

utto

accessanyofthefirsttenmenu

items:

1. HolddowntheENTERbutton.

2. Pressanumber(0‐9)onthenumerickeypadto

selectthedesiredmenucommand,startingwith0.

Forinstance,press0forthefirstmenucommand,1for

thesecond,andsoon.

Ifthemenucommandjusttoggl

esanoptiononandoff

(suchasExclusiveSolo),thenyou’redone.Ifthe

commandcallsupadialogbox,thedialogwillappear

ontheLCD,andyoucanproceedjustasifyou’d

selectedthecommandfromthetouch‐screen.

ENTER + REC/WRITE: Auto Song Setup

TheAutoSongSetupfeaturecopiesthecurrent

ProgramorCombinationintoaSong,andthenputs

theKRONOSinrecord‐readymode.

Ifinspirationforaphraseorsongstrikesyouwhile

you’replaying,youcanusethisfunctiontostart

recordingimmediately.Todoso:

1. HolddowntheENTERkeyandpressthe

SE

QUENCERREC/WRITEkey.

TheSetuptoRecorddialogboxwillopenandask“Ar e 

yousure?”

2. PressOK.

YouwillautomaticallyenterSequencermode,andwill

beintherecord‐readystate.

3. PresstheSTART/STOPkeytostartthesequencer

andbeginrecording.

ENTER + keyboard: Enter note or velocity value

Generally,ifaparameterspecifiesanotenumberor

velocity,youcanenterthevaluebyplayingonthe

keyboard.Todoso:

1. SelectoneoftheKeyparameters.

2. HolddowntheENTERbutton.

3. WhileholdingENTER,playanoteonthe

keyboard.

YoucanusethisshortcutthroughouttheKRONOS,

suchasforsettingkeyboardandvelocityzones,or

selectingthenotetoeditinDrumKits,Multisamples,

orRPPRsetups.

ENTER + LOCATE: Set locate point

ThisshortcutsetstheSequencer’slocatepointtothe

currentmeasure,beat,andtick,similartousingtheSet

Locationmenucommand(see“SetLocation(for

LocateKey)”onpage 626oftheParameterGuide).

1. HolddowntheENTERbutton.

2. WhileholdingENTER,presstheLOCATEkey.

Afterthis,pressingLOCATEreturnstheSongtothe

newlysetmeasur

e,beat,andtick.

CONTROL ASSIGN RT KNOBS/KARMA switch (LED

ON) + KARMA MODULE CONTROL switch

InCombinationandSequencermodes,thissetsthe

ModuleControltoMaster.Thisisthesameassetting

ModuleControltoMinP0:ControlSurface–

RT/KARMA.

CONTROL ASSIGN TONE ADJ/EQ switch

(LED ON) + SWITCH 1…16 switches

InCombinationandSequencermodes,youcanusea

shortcuttochangethecurrentTimbredirectlyfromthe

ControlSurface,withoutleavingToneAdjustmode:

1. PressandholdtheTONEADJ/EQbutton.

2. WhileholdingTONEADJ/EQ,pressa

PLAY/MUTEorSELECTbuttontoselectaTimbre.

ThePLAY/MUTEbuttonsselectTimbres1–8,andthe

SELE

CTbuttonsselectTimbres9–16.

ThisisthesameastheselectedTimbre/Trackin

TIMBRE/TRACKmode;changingonewillalsochange

theother.

3. ReleasetheTONEADJ/EQbutton.

TheControlSurfaceandscreenwillchangetoshow

theToneAdjustparametersforthenewlyselected

Timbre.

EXIT switch: Return to main page

Thisbuttonmakesiteasytoreturntothemainpageof

thecurrentmode:

Introduction to KRONOS

8

•Pressitoncetogotothepreviously‐selectedtabon

themainP0page.

•PressitagaintogotothefirsttabonthemainP0

page.

•Pressitathirdtimetoselectthemainparameteron

theP0page,suchastheProgramnameinProgram

mode.

WhereveryouareinProg

ram,Combi,orSequencer

modes,pressingEXITthreetimes(orfewer)willtake

youbacktoProgram/Combination/SongSelect,where

youcanimmediatelyusethenumerickeysor / 

switchestoselectaProgram,Combination,orSong.

EXIT switch: Cancel in dialog boxes

Whenadialogboxisdisplayed,thishasthesame

functionastheCancel,Done,orExitbutton.

Rear panel

1. AC Power connector

Connecttheincludedpowercablehere.

Werecommendthatyoufirstconnectthepowercable

totheKRONOS,andthenconnecttheotherendofthe

cabletoanACoutlet(see“1.Connectingthepower

cable”onpage 20).

2. POWER switch

Thisswitchturnsthepoweronandoff.Beforeturning

KRONOSoff,makesurethatyou’vesavedanyeditsto

yourPrograms,Combis,Songs,orotheruserdata.

Afterturningthepoweroff,pleasewaitforatleast

tensecondsbeforeyouturnthepoweronagain.

3. USB ports

USB A ports

Therearetwoexternal,high‐speedUSB2.0ports.You

canusethesetoconnectstoragemediasuchashard

disks,flashmedia,etc,aswellasclass‐compliantUSB

MIDIcontrollers.Formoreinformation,see“5.

ConnectingUSBdevices”onpage 23.

USB B port

Thishigh‐speedUSB2.0portletsyouconnecttoaMac

orWindowsPC,forsendingandreceivingMIDIand

audio,andforconnectingtothecomputereditor

program.Formoreinformation,see“7.Connectionto

acomputerviaUSB”onpage 24.

4. Analog AUDIO INPUTS

Youcanusetheaudioinputsforrecording,sampling,

andreal‐timemixingthroughthebuilt‐ineffects.

Mic/Line Inputs 1 and 2

Inputs1and2provide1/4”TRSbalancedconnectors.

Youcanusetheseforeithermicrophone‐levelorline‐

levelsignals.Thetwoinputshaveidenticalsetsof

controls,asdescribedbelow.

MIC/LINE switches

Thesesettheinput’snominalsignallevel.Setthese

switchesaccordingtothetypeofdevicethatyou’ re

connecting,andthenusetheLEVELknobs(described

below)tooptimizethegain.

UsetheLINEsetting(buttonpressedin)when

connectingtomixers,computeraudiosystems,signal

processors,orothersynthesizers.Thenominalle

velis

+4dBu,with12dBofheadroom.

UsetheMICsetting(buttonpoppedout)onlywhen

connectingamicrophone.

LEVEL knobs

Theseknobsletyoumakemorepreciseadjustmentsto

theinputlevel,aftersettingthebasiclevelswiththe

MIC/LINEswitches.

TheMINsettingisunitygain;theMAXsetting

providesabout40dBofgainaboveunity.

2. Power Switch

5. Analog

Audio Outputs

4. Analog

Audio Inputs

3. USB

8. Pedals6. MIDI

1. AC Power

connector

7. S/PDIF

In & Out

Front and rear panels Rear panel

9

5. Analog AUDIO OUTPUTS

AlloftheanalogaudiooutputsusebalancedTRS1/4”

phonejacks,referencedtoa+4dBusignallevel.

Connecttheseoutputstotheinputjacksofyouramp

ormixer.InadditiontotheL/MONOandRmain

stereoaudiooutputs,theKRONOSprovidesfour

individualaudiooutputs.

Thesoundfromeachoscillator

,drum,timbre/track,or

inserteffectcanbefreelyroutedtoanyoutput.

Additionally,youcanroutethemetronomesoundto

anindividualoutput,toseparateitfromthestereo

mix.Formoreinformation,see“Effectsselectionand

routing”onpage 198.

(MAIN) L/MONO, R

Thesearethemainstereooutputs;theirvolumeis

controlledbytheMAINVOLUMEknob.Allofthe

factoryProgramsandCombisareprogrammedtoplay

throughtheseoutputs.

Wheneditingsounds,orwhensettingupaSongin

Sequencermode,youcanaccessthemainoutputsby

settingBusSelecttoL/R.

Ifnocab

leisconnectedtotheRoutput,L/MONOwill

carryamonosummationofthestereosignal.So,ifyou

areconnectingtoadevicewhichdoesnothavestereo

inputs(suchasasimplekeyboardamp),usethe

L/MONOoutput.

(INDIVIDUAL) 1…4

These4additionalaudiooutputsletyouisolate

sounds,audioinputs,oraudiotracksforrecordingor

complexlivesoundsetups.

Thesecanbeusedasstereoormonooutputs,inany

combination.YoucanalsousetheGlobalAudiopage

LRBusIndiv.Assignparametertomapthemain

stereooutputstoanyoftheseoutputpairs,ifyo

uli

ke.

Notethattheindividualoutputsarenotaffectedbythe

MAINVOLUMEknob.

6. MIDI

MIDIletsyouconnectKRONOStocomputersorother

MIDIdevices,forsendingandreceivingnotes,

controllergestures,soundsettings,andsoon.For

moreinformationonMIDIconnections,pleasesee

“MIDIapplications”onpage 1125oftheParameter

Guide.

MIDI THRU connector

MIDIdatareceivedattheMIDIINconnectorisre‐

transmittedwithoutchangefromtheMIDITHRU

connector.

YoucanusethistochainmultipleMIDIdevices

together.

MIDI OUT connector

ThisconnectortransmitsMIDIdata.Usethistocontrol

externalMIDIdevices,ortorecordintoanexternal

sequencer.

MIDI IN connector

ThisconnectorreceivesMIDIdata.Usethistoplaythe

KRONOSfromanotherMIDIdevice,orfroman

externalsequencer.

7. S/P DIF IN & OUT

Thesejacksprovide24‐bit,48kHzopticalS/P DIFinput

andoutput,forconnectingtocomputeraudiosystems,

digitalmixers,etc.

OpticalS/P DIFissometimescalledTOSLINK,and

formallynamed(holdyourbreath!)IEC60958,EIAJ

CP‐1201.Makesuretouseopticalcablesdesignedfor

digitalaudio.

Wheneveryouusedigitalaudioconnections,make

su

re

thatallconnectedsystemsaresetsothatthereis

oneandonlyonewordclockmaster.Youcansetthe

wordclockfortheKRONOSusingtheGlobalpage

SystemClockparameter.Formoreinformation,see

“SystemClock”onpage 756oftheParameterGuide.

OUT(MAIN) jack

ThisopticalS/P DIFoutputcarriesadigitalversionof

themainL/Routputs.

NotethattheMAINVOLUMEknobdoesnotadjust

theS/P DIFoutputlevel.

IN jack

YoucanusethisopticalS/P DIFinputforrecording,

sampling,andreal‐timemixingthroughthebuilt‐in

effects.

ItcanbeusedsimultaneouslywiththeanalogandUSB

audioinputs,ifyoulike.

8. Pedals

DAMPER jack

Forthedamper–alsoknownasthesustainpedal–you

canconnecteitherastandardfootswitch,orKorg’s

specialhalf‐damperpedal,theoptionalDS‐1H.

TheDS‐1Hisacontinuouspedaldesignedspecifically

forpiano‐styledampercontrol,withthelookandfeel

ofanacousticpiano’ssustainpedal.Itallowsmore

su

btl

econtrolofthedamperthanasimpleswitch;the

furtherdownyoupressthepedal,themorethatthe

Introduction to KRONOS

10

soundsustains.Formoreinformation,see“Half‐

DamperPedalandReleaseTime”onpage 40ofthe

ParameterGuide.

Youcanalsoconnectasimplefootswitch,whichwill

workasastandardon/offdamperpedal.

Inordertoensurethatthepedalfunctionscorrectly,

pleaseadjusttheswitchpolarity(see“Damper

Polarity”onpage

778oftheParameterGuide)andthe

half‐dampersensitivity(see“HalfDamper

Calibration”onpage 803oftheParameterGuide).

ASSIGNABLE SWITCH jack

Thisletsyouconnectasimpleon/offfootswitch,such

astheoptionalKorgPS‐1.Thefootswitchcanperform

awidevarietyoffunctions,suchasmodulatingsounds

andeffects,taptempo,sequencerstart/stop,etc.

Theswitch’sfunctionissetinGlobalmode(onthe

ControllerstaboftheControllers/Scalespage),sothat

italwa

ysworksthesameregardlessofthecurrent

Program,Combi,orSong.Formoreinformation,

pleasesee“SettinguptheAssignableSwitchand

Pedal”onpage 159.

ASSIGNABLE PEDAL jack

Thisletsyouconnectacontinuouscontrollerpedal,

suchastheKorgEXP‐2footcontrollerorKorgXVP‐10

EXP/VOLpedal,touseasanassignablemodulation

source.

LiketheASSIGNABLESWITCH,thepedal’sfunction

issetinGlobalmode.Formoreinformation,pleasesee

“SettinguptheAssignableSwitchandPe

dal”on

page 159.

TouchView user interface

TheKRONOSusesKorg’sTouchViewgraphicaluser

interface.BytouchingobjectsdisplayedintheLCD

screen,youcanselectpages,setparametervalues,

entertext,connectvirtualpatchcables,andmore.

a: Current page

Fromtheleft,thetopofthedisplayshowsthecurrent

mode,thenumberandnameofthepagegroup,and

finallythenameoftheindividualpage.

d: b: Category button

Whenyoupressthisbutton,atabbedpopupmenuwill

appear,allowingyoutoselectPrograms,

Combinations,orGEsorganizedbycategory.

c: Popup button & menu

Whenthisbuttonispressed,apopupmenuwill

appear,showingthealistofoptions.Insomecases,

thesewillbeparametervalues.Inothers,theymaybe

listsofitems,suchasMultisamplesorFXPresets.

Toenteraparametervalue,touchthedesiredvalue.

Manypopupmenushavea“Pin”inthe

upperleft.Thiscontrolswhathappens

afteryouselectavalue.Touchthepin

graphictoswitchbetweenopen

(unlocked)andclosed(locked).

Whenlocked(pinclosed),thepopupmenuwillremain

displayedevenafteryouselectaparametervalue.To

closethepopup,eit

herunl

ockthepin,orpressEXIT.

h: Page group Tab

e: Knob

f: Slider

g: Page tab

a: Current page

d: Edit cell

b: Category popup button

c: Popup button

i: Check box j: Page menu buttonMode name Page namePage group number and name

Press here and slide to left or right to

scroll to the desired location.

Press here to scroll to left or right.

Press here to scroll to the

corresponding location.

Front and rear panels TouchView user interface

11

Whenunlocked(pinopen),thepopupmenuwillclose

immediatelywhenyoupressaparametervalue,or

whenyoutouchthescreenoutsidethemenu.

Tabbed popup menus

Somepopupshavealargenumberofitemsdivided

intogroups.Thegroupsarerepresentedbytabsonthe

left‐handsideofthescreen.Theseinclude:

• Bank/ProgramSelectandBank/CombinationSelect:

SelectProgramsorCombinationsbybank

•MultisampleSelect:SelectaMultisamplefora

Programoscillatorbycategory

• WaveSequenceSelectandDrumKitSe

lec

t:Selecta

WaveSequencesorDrumKitforaProgram

oscillatorsbybank

• EffectSelect:Selectaneffectbycategory

•SelectauserSampleforauserMultisample

•SelectaKARMAGE

Tocloseatabbedpopupmenu,presstheOKbuttonor

Cancelbutton.

Scroll bar

Usethiswhenyouwishtoseeparametervaluesthat

extendbeyondwhatcanbedisplayedinthescreenat

onetime.

d: Edit cell

WhenyoutouchaparameterintheLCDscreen,the

parameterorparametervaluewillusuallybe

highlighted(displayedininversevideo).Thisiscalled

theeditcell,andthehighlighteditemisnowselected

forediting.

Theparametervalueoftheeditcellcanbemodified

usingtheVALUEcontrollers.Insomec

ases,youmay

alsouseapopupmenu,asdescribedbelow.

Forparametersthatacceptanotenumberoravelocity

value,youcanalsoholddowntheENTERswitchand

playanoteonthekeyboardtoenterthenotenumber

orvelocityvalue.

e & f: On-screen sliders and knobs

Tomodifythevalueofanon‐screensliderorknob,first

touchtheobject,andthenusetheVALUEcontrollers

tomodifythevalue.

f: g & h: Page group tabs and Page tabs

Pressthelowerrowoftabstoselectthepagegroup,

andthenpresstheupperrowoftabstoselectthepage.

Thetopofthescreenshowsthenameofthecurrent

pageandgroup,asdescribedunder“a:Currentpage”

onpage 10.

i: Page menu button

Whenthisbuttonispressed,alistofmenucommands

willappear.Theavailablecommandswillvary

dependingonthecurrentpage.Toselectacommand,

justtouchit.

ThepagemenuwillclosewhenyoupresstheLCD

screenatalocationotherthanthepagemenu,orwhen

youpr

esstheEXITswitch.

Eventhougheachpagemayhaveitsownunique

menucommands,themenusarestandardizedasmuch

aspossible.Forinstance,WRITEisalmostalwaysthe

firstmenuiteminProgram,Combination,SetList,and

Globalmodes.

Menu shortcut: ENTER + numeric keypad

Youcanuseashortcuttoaccessanyofthefirstten

menuitems:

1. HolddowntheENTERkey.

2. Pressanumber(0‐9)onthenumerickeypadto

selectthedesiredmenucommand,startingwith0.

Forinstance,press0forthefirstmenucommand,1for

thesecond,andsoon.

Ifthemenuco

mmandjusttogglesanoptiononandoff

(suchasExclusiveSolo),thenyou’redone.Ifthe

commandcallsupadialogbox,thedialogwillappear

ontheLCD,andyoucanproceedjustasifyou’d

selectedthecommandfromthetouch‐screen.

Dialog box

Manymenucommandsusedialogboxestomake

additionalsettings.Thedialogboxthatappearswill

dependonthecurrentlyselectedmenucommand.

Toconfirmsettingsinadialogbox,presstheOK

button.Toexitwithoutmakingchanges,pressthe

Cancelbutton.AfterpressingeitherOKorCancel,the

dialogboxw

illclose.

Text edit button

Pressingthisbuttonbringsupanon‐screenkeyboard,

forchangingthenameofPrograms,Combis,Songs,

WaveSequences,DrumKits,etc.Formore

information,see“Editingnames”onpage 180.

j:

Press here and slide to left or right to

scroll to the desired location.

Press here to scroll to left or right.

Press here to scroll to the

corresponding location.

Cancel button OK button

Text edit button

Introduction to KRONOS

12

Other objects

Check box

Eachtimeyoupressacheckbox,italternatesbetween

thechecked(red)anduncheckedstates.

Theparameterwillbeactiveifitischecked,and

inactiveifitisunchecked.

Radio buttons

Pressaradiobuttontoselectonevaluefromtwoor

morechoices.

Patch panels

TheMS‐20EXandMOD‐7useon‐screenpatchpanels

torouteaudioandcontrolsignals.Tomakea

connectionbetweentwopatchpoints:

1. Touchoneofthetwojacks(eitherinputoroutput).

Ayellowsquarewillappeararoundtheselectedjack.

2. Touchthesamejackagain.

Theyellowsquarewillbegintoblink,sh

owingthat

you’reabouttomakeaconnection.Tocancelthisand

returntothenormalselectedstate,justtouchthesame

jackathirdtime.

3. Touchtheotherjack.

Thetwojackswillnowbeconnected.

Todeleteaconnectionbetweentwopatchpoints:

1. Touchtheinputjack.

Note:yo

ucanalsoselec

ttheoutputjack.However,if

theoutputisconnectedtomorethanoneinput,allof

theconnectionsfromthatoutputwillbeaffected.

2. PresstheDisconnectbutton.

Theselectedconnectionwillbedeleted.

Program Play page Overview/Jump graphics

ThemainP0PlaypageinProgramModefeaturesan

interactiveoverviewofthemostimportantparameters,

suchasoscillators,filters,envelopes,LFOs,andsoon.

Justtouchanyoftheseoverviewareas,andyou’lljump

tothecorrespondingeditpage.

Toggle buttons

Thistypeofbuttonwillchangeitsfunctionorswitch

on/offeachtimeitispressed.

Play/Rec/MutebuttonsinSequencermode:

SoloOn/OffbuttonsinSequencermode:

EffectsOn/Offbuttons:

j: Radio buttons

f: Check box

j: Radio buttons

f: Check box

Basic information About the KRONOS’ modes

13

Basic information

About the KRONOS’ modes

TheKRONOShasalargenumberoffeaturesthatlet

youplayandeditprogramsandcombinations,record

andplaysequencedata,recordandplaybacksamples,

andmanagedataondisk.Thelargestunitusedto

organizethesefeaturesiscalledamode.

TheKRONOShassevenmodes.

Set List mode

SetListsmakeitsimpletoplayandorganizeanyofthe

soundsloadedintotheKRONOS,withoutregardfor

whatbankthey’restoredinorwhetherthey’re

Programs,Combinations,orevenSongs.

Largeon‐screenbuttonsmakesoundselectionfastand

foolproof,andtheProgramUporDownfootswitch

assignmentscanbeus

edfo

rhands‐freesound

changes.Cut,copy,paste,andinserttoolsmakere‐

orderingasnap.

SmoothSoundTransitions(SST)lettheprevioussound

anditseffectsringoutnaturally,makingiteasyto

changesoundsduringaliveperformance.SSTisactive

inalloftheKRONOSmodes,bu

tSetListsgiveyou

greatercontroloverthetransitions.Youcanfine‐tune

thering‐outtimeforeachsound,sothat(forinstance)

onesoundfadesoutveryquickly,whileanother

sound’sdelayscontinuetorepeatfortenortwenty

seconds.

SetListsaregreatforliveperformance,butthey’

realso

handyfororganizingsoundsingeneral.Forexample,

youcouldcreateaSetListwithallofyourfavorite

Stringsounds,includingbothProgramsand

Combinations.

Program mode

ProgramsarethebasicsoundsofKRONOS.In

Programmode,youcan:

•SelectandplayPrograms

•EditPrograms

Makedetailedsettingsforoscillators,filters,amps,

EGs,LFOs,effects,KARMA,vectorsynthesis,etc.

Thespecificparameterswillvarydependingonthe

synthesistype:HD‐1,AL‐1,CX‐3,STR‐1,MS‐20EX,

PolysixEX,MO

D‐

7,EP‐1,orSGX‐1.

• Createdrumprogramsusingdrumkits(ascreated

inGlobalmode)

•PlayandcontroloneKARMAmodule

•Sampleandresample

Forexample,youcansampleanexternalaudio

sourcewhilelisteningtoaperformancegenerated

byKARMA,oryoucanplayaProgramand

resampleyo

urperfor

mance.

Combination mode

Combinationsaresetsofupto16Programsthatcanbe

playedsimultaneously,lettingyoucreatesoundsmore

complexthanasingleProgram.InCombinationmode,

youcan:

•SelectandplayCombinations

•UseKRONOSasa16‐trackmultitimbraltone

generator

•EditCombinations

AssignProgramstoeachofthe16Timbres,each

withse

paratevolume,pan,EQ,andkeyboardand

velocityzones;makesettingsforeffects,vector

synthesis,DrumTrack,andKARMA.

• ControlandplayuptofourKARMAmodules

• Sampleorresample

Forexampleyoucansampleanexternalaudio

sourcewhilelisteningtotheperformanceofthe

KARMA,orresampleaperformanceyouplayus

ing

acombination.

Sequencer mode

Sequencermodeletsyourecord,playback,andedit

MIDItracksandaudiotracks.Youcan:

•SelectandplaySongs

•EditSongs

AssignProgramstoeachofthe16MIDITracks,

withseparatevolume,pan,EQ,andkeyboardand

velocityzones;makesettingsforeffects,vector

synthesis,DrumTrack,andKARMA

•Recorduptosi

xteenMI

DItrackssimultaneously

•Recorduptofourofthesixteenaudiotracks

simultaneously,mixusingautomation,andimport

WAVEfiles.

• ControlandplayuptofourKARMAmodules

• Sampleorresample

Youcansampleanexternalaudioinputsource

whileplayingasong,anduseIn‐TrackSamplingto

automaticallycreateanoteev

e

ntthattriggersthe

sampleatthesametimeasitwasrecorded.

Youcanalsoresampleanentiresong,andthenuse

DiskmodetocreateanaudioCD.

•UseKRONOSasa16‐trackmultitimbraltone

generator

•Recordpatternsandassignthemtoindividual

keys,usingRPPR(RealtimePattern

Play/Recor

ding)

• CreateyourownDrumTrackPatterns

Introduction to KRONOS

14

Sampling mode

Samplingmodeletsyourecordandeditusersamples

andmultisamples.Forexample,youcan:

• Sampleexternalaudiosources(i.e.,record

samples),includingsamplingthrougheffects

•Editwaveformdatayousampledorloadedinfrom

media,andsetlooppointsetc.

• Createandeditmultisamples,whichconsistofone

ormoresamplesspreadoutacrossth

ekeyboard

•Q

uicklyconvertmultisamplesintoPrograms

•WithaUSBCD‐Rdrive(notincluded),sample

directlyfromaudioCDs

Global mode

Globalmodeletsyoumakeoverallsettingsforthe

entireKRONOS,andeditwavesequencesanddrum

kits.Forinstance,youcan:

• MakesettingsthataffecttheentireKRONOS,such

asmastertuneandglobalMIDIchannel

•Setupsampleauto‐loadingatstartup

• Managecurrentlyloadedsamples

• Createuserscales

• CreateuserDrumKi

tsandWa

veSequencesusing

ROM,EXs,orRAMdrumsamples

• Renameprogram,combination,andKARMAGE

Korg KRONOS (2011) Operating instructions

Korg KRONOS (2011) Operating instructions

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