Upgrade from Korg TR88 to Krome 88, Yay or Nay?

[ggm1960]

I recently joined a band that requires quite a bit more sound versatility than I can get from my Privia PX5, in fact I bought a three tier stand for the TR88, a Roland XP30 and topped with an M-Audio Venom. I'm even doubling each keyboards program/combi/patch/performance with an accompanying patch from a Fantom XR rackmount for some really fat and varied sounds to cover songs by the likes of Pink, Madonna, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Etc..

 

This group uses a sound company and in ear monitors which eliminates a lot of hassle, weight, cargo and other PA related problems so although I'm personally hauling a fair amount of stuff, it's mostly pretty lightweight. The heaviest item is the TR88 at 53lbs. I've seen that the Krome 88 comes in at 31lbs which would be a significant reduction. Instinct tells me the Krome unit would probably be a pretty good update in the full size keys department but I want to take this opportunity to hear from those who are more familiar with the units. Are the sounds comparable, how deep is the editor (I had to use a third party program from SoundTower for the TR), does the Krome unleash a MIDI tsunami like the TR?

[AnotherScott]

The Krome has a lot of nice enhancements over the TR... newer samples (esp. pianos/EPs), more simultaneous fx in your combis, nice touchscreen interface... but you also lose some nice things, like aftertouch, assignable outs, and the ability to load custom samples. So, it's a trade-off. But yeah, the TR88 was heavy. Other lightweight boards you could consider would be the Roland FA-08 or MOXF8.

[ggm1960]

you also lose some nice things' date=' like aftertouch, assignable outs, and the ability to load custom samples. So, it's a trade-off. But yeah, the TR88 was heavy. Other lightweight boards you could consider would be the Roland FA-08 or MOXF8.[/quote']

 

Hmmm....thanks for the knowledgeable response! It would be a shame to lose the aftertouch, I may actually use that a little bit but I could live without it if need be. I haven't used the assignable outs and although I did install the sampling board I haven't actually used that either preferring to use the Fantom XR unit for my user samples so far.

 

Honestly I would have preferred the FA-08 for my full size board and have a Korg for my 61 key but somewhere along the line I got switched around. What with the old XP-30 on my 2nd tier (I'm still not ready to give this one up) and the racked Fantom it would leave me too "Roland-centric". Someday I may explore the Yamaha models more perhaps but for now I'll stick to what I know.