Members doct_J001 Posted March 30, 2014 Members Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hi! I don't post very often but have regularly followed this forum and have learned loads! I recently bought a Korg Kronos 61. It will be the centrepiece of my rig but now I am lost as to the way to make the best of my gear. The Kronos will replace my previous centrepiece, a Korg M3 88 keys (so good for its piano action and full keys) that I possibly should use as my main input device for pianos and similar instruments. I also have a Roland Integra-7 to fit in. I have an older Axiom Pro 49 and an old Triton Studio 76 that could be used if necessary. I also have an older Korg arranger (is-40 I think) which I replaced a year ago with a Yamaha Tyros 4 (just before the 5 can out grrrrr! hehe) that I have only used on its own so far but if it can be used with the others in a predominantly composing rig I certainly would. I also have a Roland microstation and an assortment of those small midi keyboards ( i.e. Akai MPKmini, the Korg Nano keys and pads (older ones) that I wonder if can be used with the Kronos. I am a bit of a pack rat and keep everything I buy....so I also have a Roland Sh-101 with the modulation handle that I just recently discovered still works after I had thought I had fried it by leaving the batteries in too long! And for fun and cause it was really cheap I recently bought a Korg Lucina on an impulse! I have a Focusrite Scarlet 2i4 and an older Mackie U420d mixer/interface that I have used with my iMac (getting long in the tooth) and I have a ton of plug-ins including NI Komplete, Nexus RF, Sylenth, Omnisphere, East West symphony gold, Hollywood string, woods and brass silver I think, Symphobia 1, RealGuitar amongst others accumulated over the years. These I predominantly use on my 13 inch MacBook Pro from mid-2009. I started with hardware, tried to switch to software and then went back at the hardware again and never really mastered either! hehe I have Logic Pro on my MacBook and Logic X on my iMac (which is really showing its age and really needs to be replaced as does my iMac. Oh, and finally I have a Roland RD-64. Sooooo, sorry to be so long winded but now am kinda lost as to which I should use as my interface, keyboard controller, and just how to set this up! I only use my rig for composing so no worries about moving it. Also I am very lazy so rather than doing all the research myself I am hoping some of you geniuses can step up and give me some tips and guidelines! Thanks a lot for just reading this message and for your responses if I am lucky enough to get any! Thanks! Doct_J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members genesisfan Posted March 30, 2014 Members Share Posted March 30, 2014 Nice set-up of synths…get with Sweetwater & have them design a "patch bay",i'm having one designed by them to route all your connectionsi have 7 synths & controller, i'm also anticipating KORG to rerelaese ARP Odyssey to addi have run out of room on Alesis Multi-mix 8-line mixer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doct_J001 Posted March 31, 2014 Author Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 Thanks genesis I never even thought of that! Getting the pros help...is it very costly? Also, I live on an island on the far east of Canada and Long and Mcquade is really the only local music store but I assume that maybe such a project could be done remotely? I don't expect to be able to use everything though it would be fun to start using the SH 101 that I hadn't used since in a band in high school! I also have a Roland D-10 that I have lent out that I wouldn't mind getting back though I have those sounds I think through a U-110 rack unit but again though I can get all these things working by themselves trying to integrate them together has been the real challenge. I don't even know how my set-up with my M3, Axiom Pro and iMac even works anymore but it seems to so I am almost scared to take it apart hehehe. I really want to set it all up with the MacBook Pro and upgrade that though part of me still longs for the good old days when I did everything with one machine, the Triton Studio....from idea to recording to mixing and mastering and even then writing a CD on that silly little CD writer accessory! I never could get into just doing everything in the computer though with isotope Ozone 4 and then 5 I did get some decent albeit lazily acquired results heheh. Thanks again! Oh, and if anyone else has any ideas on what the best small rig setup might be or which is best to use as an interface (Integra 7 vs. Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 vs. Kronos (and M3)) it would be very appreciated! Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doct_J001 Posted March 31, 2014 Author Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 Oh, almost forgot I meant to ask what are your 7 synths? Have a fav? One you hate? And is any other Daw better for use with multiple external synths? I don't seem to fully get the Logic of it all yet heheh. What do you use? Also, I really have a gap where monitors should be. I currently very badly use Bose computer monitors. I just work in a medium size room so don't need huge ones but what do you and anyone else recommend? Just being nosy hehe Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockPianoman Posted March 31, 2014 Members Share Posted March 31, 2014 I have a MIDI interface with 6 in, 8 out but I still prefer the daisy chain method of connecting everything with the chain starting with your most used and ending with the least used gear....if a synth is missing MIDI THRU it needs to be first or last in the chain.....by making a chain like this (MIDI IN & MIDI THRU over and over) you only turn on what you are going to use....any MIDI information coming into a piece of gear to the MIDI IN jack gets routed to the MIDI THRU jack unchanged.....the keyboard you enjoy playing the most or else the best controller keyboard should be first in the chain.....the only bad thing about the daisy chain method is if you want to use the last piece in the chain, every piece of gear still needs to be on as MIDI will not pass through unless the gear is on....using the daisy chain method you just turn down the volume on gear that needs to be on that you don't want to hear....daisy chain lets you hear everything layered at once if you want also. If you do use a MIDI router, it's naturally best to get one that has a MIDI IN and MIDI OUT for every piece of gear and every piece of gear needs two MIDI cables running to it.....rack modules may not need two MIDI cables running to it unless you want to do bulk loads or bulk dumps with a computer or MIDI Data Filer (like the Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer) and in this case, the computer needs a USB to two MIDI cable patch cable running to it also ($5.00 on Ebay). Rack gear also needs two MIDI cables connecting it if it controls anything (like if it has a built in sequencer like the Yamaha EX5R). MIDI controllers also may not need two MIDI cables connecting them unless you want to save and load setups to it from the computer or MIDI data filer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doct_J001 Posted April 1, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 1, 2014 Thanks Pianoman sounds like daisy chaining was what I was probably going to try first. So far all I have done is use the Kronos and its 2 aux ins to connect either the Integra or controller keyboard. Then I end up with both the sound of the Kronos and the say Integra at the same time. I know that I can fix that with different midi channels and I need to learn more about Midi even though I have been using it since its invention (after my Sh 101 and using a friends Juno something I got a Roland D-10 and a Roland sequencer (which sadly the disc drive no longer seems to work in or I could have used it with the Integra grrrrr) but really just used very basic midi to do multi-timbral recordings. I am just too lazy to now learn midi! heheh Looking for shortcuts that probably don't exist I guess oh well! Thanks again and for your always worthwhile responses to threads here that I have benefitted from over the years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockPianoman Posted April 2, 2014 Members Share Posted April 2, 2014 Glad to help.....MIDI isn't too complicated....you may want to stick to everything on 1 MIDI channel so you can layer freely....just turn down stuff you don't want to hear...sequencers typically have different MIDI channels for each track though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doct_J001 Posted April 3, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 3, 2014 Will start with that. When I hooked up my Integra-7 out into my Kronos for some reason I couldn't seem to silence the tone of channel one in my mix while the Integra was playing though I could selectively record only the audio 1 feed. But it was annoying to have a piano sounding while recording the Integra Bass say....did the same thing when changed the midi channel to 2 to record channel 2 from the Integra...the default piano played as well....maybe something to do with Local control and all that jazz? hehe seems like something easy I am missing. Guess it is time to read the full manual! Oh no! heheh Thanks again so much for the advice! Can't wait to get this rig purring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RockPianoman Posted April 4, 2014 Members Share Posted April 4, 2014 An easy fix is to take a sound on the Integra-7 and turn the volume down all the way on it and store it to the user bank. Assign this sound to the channel that is causing trouble.....I had a Yamaha PLG board that did the same thing and that's what I did..... The Integra-7 is a killer unit.....I plan on getting one too..... You should buy a MIDI Moose and a MIDI Merge to select sounds on the Integra-7....if you have 2 MIDI IN's, you don't need a MIDI Merge.... http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/Keyboards/acapella-18/31108206-midi-moose-and-midi-mouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doct_J001 Posted April 9, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 9, 2014 I do love the Integra and I know it isn't too hard to set it all up but I do kinda wish it had a sequencer. I love the sounds and where I hadn't had a Roland instrument since the D-10 I have been lost in the large number of sounds and very impressed by even the older PCM sounds. Of course the SN Acoustic and Synth sounds really impress, even my wife who isn't into this stuff did comment on the sounds as being the best she has heard out of my gear (before I got the Kronos mind you and she wasn't much exposed to the M3). Thanks Rock for the advice and I have looked into the Moose and Merge but need to build up some energy now before going at it and I want first maybe to try it without buying anything new so that when I hit the block, thanks to you, I will have some idea what to do! And am still working on the manuals....hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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