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Originally Posted by
musicguy 
I don't know what to think... I wasn't impressed with many of the sounds (or do you call them samples?).
The HD-1 uses ROM based samples and the sampler portion of course uses RAM based samples. The analogue emulations, electric pianos, and plucked strings use models. I believe the grand piano uses a combination of samples and physical modelling (eg simulating sustain pedal resonances, etc.)
Yeah, some of the HD-1 sounds weren't exactly mind-blowing, and the electric piano emulations couldn't interest me less.
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The piano sounds don't seem so good either. I've haven't tried the Kronos, but when I was looking for a grand piano replacement, the best I could find were the Yamaha CP series. Those were much better than any digital piano I've tried, especially with regards to replicating the sensitivity of a real grand piano.
I wonder if the fact that the CP has built-in speakers (undoubtedly eq'd for optimal piano tone) rather than being played by flat studio monitors- positioned nowhere near where the body of the piano would be- is influencing your judgement. That is, if you made a recording of ther CP piano and the Kronos and listened to them on the same pair of speakers, would you still feel the same way?
But I agree the Kronos piano has weaknesses, particularly in the mid/low-mid range. Compare the demos on the Kronos page:
http://www.korg.com/kronos
To this demo of Synthogy Ivory:
http://www.synthogy.com/demo/v2/Chop...25%20no.11.mp3
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What's the industry standard for all in one machines like these? I doubt the top professionals use machines like these but prefer to use separate machines for each function. Maybe when you're on the road these are good, but in the studio I doubt it.
The standard in what industry, exactly? Of course a workstation like this is meant to have something for everyone, and isn't targeted to niche users. People who want a virtual analogue synth (the entire dance music production crowd) are probably going to gravitate towards something with a more tactile interface, and people who demand the absolute best piano sounds (assuming they can't get their hands on an
actual piano) will probably go with Synthogy Ivory, although I think the Kronos piano would be more than sufficient for the vast majority. There are obvious advantages to having everything integrated into one machine as well.
If you think most top-40 records are produced using anything more sophisticated/expensive than the bread'n'butter Yammy/Roland/Korg worstations (nevermind Akai MPCs, which are still de rigeur for rap), you're mistaken. It's not like the '70 or '80s when there was a clear separation between the pro users (the guys who could afford huge analogue modular systems or Synclaviers/Fairlights) and everyone else.
From what I read, Broadway productions still use 15-year old Kurzweil K2xxxs. There's still some concerns about how reliable the direct-from-disk audio streaming in the Kronos would be in live applications.
But I was a detroit techno / minimal techno producer and dj for 15 years.
