Vintage TRITON Really Sound Better Than Modern KORG KROSS?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Some viewers claim that the little entry-level KORG KROSS 2 synthesizer doesn't sound as good as the legendary top-of-the-range KORG TRITON from 1999.
That seemed like a good topic for a video so I loaded the KROSS with some TRITON presets and went to town.
Let's compare the pianos, pads, bass, drums of each synth to see if we can settle this, once and for all.
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You really can’t go wrong with either to be honest they both sound amazing
I have a triton extreme 88. And an 01/W. I’m never letting them go! Ever
I love my Korg Triton Extreme 88
@@ben2josh r.
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I also have a Triton Extreme 88 but what is the 01/W? Is it something to do with the MOSS card virtual analogue feature?
@@paulbrocklehurst2346 the O1-W was the successor workstation to the M1 and T Series workstations.
I bought a 01/W Pro and a Prophecy when they came out, and I still have them. Damn, I love them so much!
In 2002 I bought a Triton Studio 88 over the internet. Hooked up with a guy who offered it on a triton forum/board. Sent him 2k in advance and had this Unit picked up by UPS shipped to Switzerland. Thanks Gary from Northumberland UK. Proved himself as trustworthy. In the following months I purchased almost every expansion Board including the MOSS, RAM upgrade. That Synth survived at least 6 international moves, was stored in a Ship Container for 3 years where almost all my other stuff (furniture, clothes) got destroyed by water/humidity and mold. Triton was just wrapped in a blanket. Still works perfect today. Only the dials, knobs and controls turned yellowish for some reason.
I used to own a Triton many moons ago. It's still so amazing after all these years. I've wanted another one for years, but just kept buying other synths. I miss the Triton. This video has made me not want to wait any longer to buy another one. I'm getting one tomorrow!
way to go, good luck finding one!
Saw one on sale in a music shop for $400 a few years ago. Na, did not like that color.
@@oupahens9219 Today one sold in a charity shop for £25. Korg Triton LE. I am not joking about that unbelievable price. Somebody literally bought it in front of my eyes. I have been visiting that charity shop for 5 consecutive days because for 4 days they didn't have it priced yet. Then they priced it and it was sold immediately, which I am not surprised. Unfortunately I was not the lucky one.
The Kross sounds like a compressed MP3-version of the Triton.
That's because it is compressed....how the hell do you think all of those sounds were spawned out of only 128MB of PCM data??
@@HighlandStudio91 It's not compressed the whole korg triton expansion set was barely 128mb it's more than likely that the triton has wayyyyyyyyyyy better effects routing internally on the combos and base set of sounds when you turn the keyboard on those effects on the kross aren't on par with the tritons.
@@Diddddu Interesting!
I really miss my Triton. It was the first true professional grade instrument I ever purchased. I sold it when I was laid off from a job around 8 years ago. Wish I'd been able to keep it.
Noah, look on eBay. I bought a good amount of synthesizers from there, for the fraction of the cost. I got a Triton le. Have all my stuff covered up for years. I never used anything yet. The reason is that I have a serious anxiety and depression disorder. I have lost all interest in everything. I always wanted to work with synthesizers. Now that I have them I sleep all day and night. I very much want to clean them up and start using them, but because of my problem, I have no willpower to do it. I keep pushing it off saying " maybe tomorrow if I feel better". After 20 years I am still in my state of a mess. I know exactly what you mean by the first true professional grade instrument. I spent many years playing around with kiddie keyboards. I never could afford an actual pro synthesizer. I can't read or play the keyboards. I have come up with some good ideas, and today you don't really need to know how to play with the technology. Some stuff I bought I might want to get rid of. I can list them if you are interested. Sorry for blabbering on so, but I always do that on utube posts.
@@sp-404hypnodiqsoundjunkie8 Thanks so much for your post. I am much like you according to your post. I started getting interested in mostly synthesizers in the 80s. Now I am 58 , finally have some, but never touched them. I have the inspiration to want to work with it all, but my body won't go along with it. I have a problem with hearing a tune in my head ,either while I am awake or during a dream. Problem is I don't know how to remember what I heard, or how to play it. That means all I hear in my head flies away in the wind. That is my frustration. Some music in dreams is so beautiful, I wake up crying, but the music is lost. Wish they had a brain recorder. It could record the music in my head. Thankfully unlike your financial situation, I received the entire amount of money from my Mom's and Dad's house when they died. I put all but about $60,000 in with a financial advisor. Thank God after about 10 years living in an apartment, most of that money is still close to when I started. The $60,000 is gone though. Speaking of drinking. I get the feeling for lyrics when I drink a few beers. I thought I would never feel the passion setting words to music. I sometimes cry hearing music and lyrics when drinking. They say, "some of the best music was made by people on drugs or drinking". I never got drunk though. And it is VERY EXPENSIVE !!! I also like trying to make up lyrics for songs already made that I'm not crazy about. One of the worst part is, I wanted to learn music back when I was 20. Now at 58, there is not really much more time in my life to do all that. I hope to get too it soon.
@@bobsloan8349 do it now. don’t let time slip away from you.
@@video285x39yes Thank you Kuke. I still have all the synthesizers covered with a big sheet. I would like to take them apart, blow out all the dirt and dust, then clean the top part so they all look new. I still have never even tried to play any of them. That's sad, I know. I still want to get to it someday. Now I'm 59.
@@bobsloan8349 I know how it is to a degree: I produce music. Back from 2015-2017, I was prolific (or maybe obsessed is a better word). 2017 was my breakout year, with several of my songs making it onto independent labels. I was learning a lot, making good connections via networking, and just having a great time.
Then I got a different job, went back to college at the same time, and everything changed. I would produce on some weekends and that was about it. I put together an EP for a label that I had a connection with-he rated my songs well until, out of nowhere, he decided to kill the release. A different label killed a different project of mine as well, relegating my best track to a various artist release rather than my own. On top of losing much of my time to produce, these rejections were crushing. There’s a certain vulnerability to putting your creative works out there, and so it hurts when they’re not received well.
Ever since then, I’ve been hesitant to really put my works out again. From 2019 to now, my activity has been sporadic; I’ll have a week or two where I get in the zone and everything is going well. Then, I’ll get busy with other things and music goes on the back burner again. But it’s a terrible way to go about it for me *because I still think about music a lot* .
Regardless of the mistakes or the rejections along the way, making music is still worth it. If you want to do it, you should. I’m learning how to get back into it all over again, so I’m with you.
Speaking of which, I’m going to practice what I preach and go produce right now. Best wishes to you.
Yes more on the Kross2 please :-)
Reminds me of when I did a comparison of the Integra-7 against a 1080 and a loaded 2080. The older units were significantly fuller sounding. Possibly different companding, effects etc. There is definitely more to these instruments than just their ROMs.
I was looking to getting a Integra-7, is it not worth it?
Triton has way more defined and focused sound along with the warmer lows. You've said it yourself: flaship vs budget synth. For its price tag Kross does his job pretty well though.
The Triton sounds richer and deeper to me. Especially after hearing Sweeper Strings & Time Machines. You could definitely hear the difference in the filters between the two those patches for sure IMO
BEAUTIFUL.. One of the smoothest warm synths ever!!!! Wow..
My friend buy a korg.
You can really hear how the bass notes on the first choir patch are much more well defined on the Triton. On the Kross you'll notice the bass notes are becoming fuzzy/unclear/not cutting through as he plays the descending bass line. Is it minimal? Yes, but these nuances are extremely important sometimes in a production/performance.
This should surprise absolutely no one. Though the Kross 2 has a technology edge, the Triton was the flagship workstation released by Korg, adjust for inflation and it is like comparing a $300-400 keyboard to a $2000 one! Yes, the Triton came out in 1999 and the Kross 2 only a few years ago, but they are totally different classes of synths. The Triton was a better Trinity, which was a better version of the O1/W Pro. The Kross 2 is a great entry level synth with some awesome features and plenty of sounds. If you cannot make an awesome song with it, it is your fault, not the "low quality" samples. It sounds fine until you compare it to the likes of the Fantom, ModX, Krome EX, then it will sound a step back due to a lower quality effect section. You think Korg was going to give it the most powerful effects sections they make in their budget synth? Add a cheap external FX module and you can likely rival/surpass even more expensive keyboards!
The Kross 2 is not an "end game" synth, it is quite powerful and does a lot for it's price and I still feel it blows away the Yamaha MX and Roland DS series. I owned all 3 at the same time before and I found myself liking the Kross 2 the best for sounds and features. The Triton was indeed an end game synth at it's release, it was the baddest keyboard out when it was released. Synths have not really progressed that much over the years (as far as individual instrument sound quality), this is why older equipment can match or even beat modern keyboards with sound quality and such. But features, even budget synths are packed full of features and often exceed older boards. The DAC, one of the final arbiters of sound quality you hear, can be better and more modern, but not always the case, either.
Lastly, the Kross 2, on individual sounds, sounds good but you are not going to be blown away by it. Yet, when you make an actual song with it, the tones blend seamlessly and I made some cool-sounding songs with it I still have on my SoundCloud account (Archon on SoundCloud). My songs were recorded directly from the Kross 2, "Sleight Of Hand", "Hangman's Riddle", "The Last Stand", and "The Last Stand II: Redemption" were all made with the Kross 2 and recorded/mixed in Acoustica Mixcraft 8 DAW. I used only the Kross 2, no software sounds and they sound almost or on the same level as my more modern songs which use modern software sounds.
thanks for some thoughtful and well-made points!
@@WoodyPianoShack Thank you, Woody! Keep up the great work and your skills on the piano and keyboard are amazing. Been a fan for a while and I appreciate the time you take to make these videos.
Trinity had more balls. Fatter sound. Almost like it had already incorporated the Extreme's valve force tube long before it came out. 32 voices was a huge drawback of course, and piano would never cut it against any triton.
@@ericlilly1454 Agreed 1000%, think they used better converters in the Trinity than the Kross and Triton.
Surprisingly I prefer the Kross.
I have a Triton LE as my backup/spare and I'm thinking the Kross might be a good replacement if ever it stops working.
I would say that the Triton sounds better on some of these patches, but not so much on others. You're right that the difference seems to come down to having cheaper effects on the Kross, which definitely isn't a deal breaker, as you could always process the sound of the Kross with whatever effects you want. The actual oscillator sounds similar. The Kross happens to have been my first synthesizer (played piano for many years prior, though), and although I have quite a few more synths in my arsenal now, I still use the Kross often for both its synth engine and for its sequencer. The more I learn about synthesis, the more I understand how to use the Kross effectively, and it really is a great synthesizer for its price.
Yeah, on almost all of these it's the effects that make the Triton sound way better. But I bet if you had both sounds dry, you'd have trouble telling them apart.
A 90 dollar zoom MS70-CD-R pedal effect unit, with this Kross would be a powerhouse. Probably better reverbs in the MS70 pedal than in the triton.
@@rm2kmidi There's also some expressiveness in the aftertouch enabled controller. But yeah. The patches are the same before effects and expression.
I was listening on my computer speakers while I was doing something else. I couldn't tell what you were playing, and they sounded the same to me. On better speaker maybe bigger differences would show. BTW, here's my suggestion - do a similar video comparing the Kurzweil PC4 to earlier Kurzweils such as the K2600. Thanks, keep up the good work.
3:12 Was expecting you to sing “The higher you build your barriers” after that great intro. You should have, no matter how it sounded 👏👏👏
Remember that next time 😊
i sometimes burst out in song, disappointed myself that it didn't happen this time, sorry for letting you down :D
Triton is for sure better on every example. Kross is good enough for live performance. You'd want a Triton for recording, definitely
It´s Ford Focus 2019 vs Mclaren F1 1994
Good analogy
I think Mclaren will still win!
Dude! Thanks for telling me about the Triton Voice Name List! I found it online. Been needing that list. I will print it out and find sounds faster.🖒
They both sound good, but I give the edge to the Triton. There's definitely more going on with each sound on the Triton. I think you are correct in that it may be the effects. I could definitely hear the difference on the B3 sound. The rotary effect was significantly better on the Triton.
It seems the Kross supports a certain type of sound better than the Triton and vice versa. I was pretty impressed with the pads on the Kross but enjoyed the choir sound on the Triton more. Great comparison!
Kronos, Krome and Kross are the same thing, only the quality of the materials changes. They are the same technology with the same sound quality.
Thanks that was entertaining, especially the DX7 flashbacks.
The consensus seems to be that the quality of the hardware makes a bit of a difference, even if the new gear has the same samples in memory.
Could you put this theory to a blind test and let's find out if the consensus about this foundings stands?
I just scored the exact Triton Pro X that I used back in high school for free. I gotta say, the damn thing sounds just as good as I remembered it sixteen years ago. They still hold their own.
I always loved Korg Triton and it was my wish to have it when I was younger.
I had Trinity and now I bought Triton!
Your videos were my motivation to get it! :)
Great keyboard with the best key beds ever!
Back for another watch of this one. Woody rocks. The lack of aftertouch and the less extensive effects affects a lot of the Kross emulations. The triton may be old but it's aged like fine wine.
My first true synth was a Korg 01w. Loved that keyboard. Then it got old and flaky. So I bought the Korg Triton Extreme in 2004. It is still in use today. I love the A47 A Piano Moment patch, my go to piano sound. Especially on ambient stuff with tons of reverb. Love the triton. Always will.
Im lucky enough to have these two same workstations... The old Triton out lasted an M3 and a Kronos both... Now ive added the Kross2 and im loving it so far
These both sound great I've never owned a good hardware workstation type keyboards but by watching videos online it all sounds very professional.
OMG! around 6:48 playing Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds! Love it
The Triton just has more "presence" for lack of better words. Although I do think that if the synth part is hidden in a mix, one could use the Kross and people would be none the wiser.
Interesting. I started with the 01/W and I’ve been a Korg fanboy ever since. While the architecture is very much the same, it makes the interfaces easy to navigate through generations.
The Triton really shows it's magic with the pads and bass, the FX and filtering is just more vivid and the resolution is deeper
Its amazing that the triton sound engine is so much older ,yet so much better.
The Triton isn't a low budget instrument while the Kross2 is.
Quality of the samples used. Compressed or not. Same thing with Korg since 1988.
M1: few dirty uncompressed samples, jumps into face
X3: many cleaner compressed samples, sound like cardboard
LOL! You've gotten funnier Woody!! I lost it when you did the Seinfeld bass.
Taken directly from an un - modified stock factory patch from the otiginal M1 (the very first "sample (r) playback / ROMpler / digital synthesis workstation) - also by Korg and the one that the later ones would look to in order to improve.
Great comparison. I’m looking for a lighter gigging replacement for my twenty year old Triton Extreme 61.
The TEx is fantastic with no compromises but it’s a bit heavy to cart with the hard case. I use a Nord Stage 2 76
for lower board and also take PA equipment.
Kross looks ideal and good value.
I played the Kross in a music store and has fantastic sounds , but with the keybed I was disappointed, in particular the last years entry models are a bit untouchable. Hope next models they go for a better quality. The triton is a very nice option, or even the Trinity! Cheers Woody! :))
hey eagle, yeah, the kross keybed gets the job done, but no more, topic for a future video perhaps!
Good point. Most entry level keyboards seem to have pretty poor keybeds, even to someone like me who only plays a few minutes a day here and there after work. For example, I have a Juno DS 61, and the keybed has a shallow feel with a hard stop at the bottom which hurts my clumsy hands after a while, though I do like the panel layout, and the sounds are good.
Oddly, I have found Casio’s keyboards to be my favorite MIDI controllers (the onboard sounds have improved over the years, but the editing and effects are still rubbish, so I end up running the MIDI into a computerish device or a real synth)
Case in point: about a month ago I wanted to get an 88 key setup, after years of 61 key and mini key gear. I think I can largely blame Woody for that 😁, but anyway. Spoiler: I ended up getting a Casio CDP-S350, which integrates well enough with my existing gear, particularly if I want something portable should the world ever reopen. It’s not too heavy, but the keys feel good, and having battery power and usable speakers is nice for jamming on the patio after open mic night (hey, I can dream that the world will return to normal someday)
I tried the Juno DS 88 but the keys had a sluggish, floppy feel. I tried the Kross 88, as well as the SV2, which also felt “sloppy/floppy”. Yamaha, to their credit, has acceptable (to me) entry and mid tier 88 key models. However, an MX88 costs twice what I paid for the Casio, and isn’t different enough from the Juno to justify the expense. The MODX8 is almost 4 times what I bought. I want to stress that the keys on the MX88 and MODX8 feel about like what I bought, rather than better.
I really like the feel of the Nord they have at the store, but that’s out of my price range for a hobby item.
I own both the Triton Extreme 88 and the KORG Krome 61, I still use both In a live performance looking to get the new Nautilus! I LOVE KORG.
Nice Menorah! I have the Triton Rack...time to connect it
The Triton sound better with more detail and a higher frequency range but for the price the Kross offer a good deal.
This sounds is very close of the original triton and it is a amazing synth for his price.
Another thanks for Woody Piano Shack for his fantastic Videos :)
hi frederic, well, a kross is not cheaper than a used triton these days, that's a nice dilemma!
If all you want is the sounds, then the Triton VSTi is far cheaper than the Kross
@@WoodyPianoShack yes you're right, find a triton in good state is my dream but my wife doesn't want to see one more synth in my house looool or I must find a bigger house :D
@@TheSnowLeopard The Vsti saved my marriage lool but you doesn't have the magie of the real instrument. It's psychological the vsti sound very great but touch a real Dx7, M1, Trinity, Triton ... it's a pleasure and a dream :)
Interesting video; my first synthesizer was a Triton LE. I sold it at some point and 'moved on' to VA's analogues etc. Recently I bought a used Korg Karma, which the Triton 'synth engine'. It still sounds great to my ears. As someone said, good sound never goes out of style.
The Battle of The Agesss ❤️❤️❤️❤️
KROSS VS TRITON💖💖
The Kross sounds fine to me, kind of similair but also some small differences. The difference I noticed mostly in the patches with the filter sweeps.
It’s crazy how much more hi quality the triton sounds. Maybe it’s the converters? Maybe the effects?
In a mix it wouldn't matter, but on their own there's a subtle but very noticeable difference.
The Triton sounds more organic, has a lot going on and therefore has the 'Korg "magic" ' that drew me to it in 1999.
Even on phone speakers the Triton clearly sounds better
Morning Woody, the Triton seems to have the edge over the Kross in most patches, as there is a depth and airiness with the voices. However, the Kross does win in some of the voices, with its newer technology, and show some refinement. All in all, you have to love the classic Triton sound, it is awesome. 🎹🔊👍
Triton wins all the way! I might be slightly biased, having owned four of the things over the past years, but it sounds much nicer and cleaner than the Kross. I noticed that even when listening to demos of the Kross when I was looking for a new main keyboard - even the Triton's older, tinier piano samples seemed more pleasing to listen to than the Kross, which was just... lifeless. There's a few nice patches in this video but overall it's still not as good as the Triton. Very happy with my LE88 I got for $500, more so than I would have been with a Kross 88, I think.
Great viewo. The Triton Extreme w Moss Expansion is Still a Beast To This day... Killer programmable sounds and multisampler... Might want to youtube "The Korg Triton: The Sound of '00s Radio Hits!" just the tip of the iceberg. And the Moss Expansion is incredible.
ESPECTACULAR KORG MY FAVORITE KEYBOARD HY FROM MÉXICO
HELLO KORG FAN FROM MEXICO!
the Triton Classic has a much higher preamp at the audio output than the Kross and this makes a lot of difference in a presentation on a stage with powerful speakers and in rehearsals or presentations with a band the sound of the Triton Classic will not disappear.
And it's got a professional keybed that is a joy to play. The spongy cheap plastic flex in the kross is a real turn off for keys players.
First song is Midnight ;) thank you. Great as always ;)
Melody is 'Something inside so strong' - Labi Siffre and thank you Woody for playing that!!
It really has been ages since I last heard someone play that, even the original on the radio.
Mark de Muze th-cam.com/video/YO_spdAYjPk/w-d-xo.html :)
My question is, where did you find a white Triton? where there other colors besides silver grey?
There's quite a few instances where newer models in a range didn't necessarily sound better than the originals. JD990 for instance, the wave roms were not lossily compressed like the JV1080 and later models. Although the JD990's filter did clip at high resonance, something they fixed later on.
Triton Classic! Only really because I've still got mine!
fair enough!
Thank you for making this video.
I have never owned a synth in my life but am a music lover thinking of learning keyboard in my middle age. For me night and day the Triton. It sounds like a lot more sonic complexity going on.
I have to admit the Triton is great, I acquired a 61 bed Triton Exteme a while ago and then very recently bought a 76 key variant (simply wanted a 'never to leave the studio' version and the other as gig instrument). Yes the tech is old but the quality and versatility of the sounds/patches are highly formidable. For any performer wanting a decent keyboard/rompler-PCM synth, a working Triton will deliver and some.
You're hilarious. I carried a Triton Ex 76 to school every day as a 15 year old girl. Carrying it 2 miles and a train ride. There's nothing 'studio' only about it. 61 isn't nearly enough keys. On every other point though yes, it's as valid now as then. Admittedly I use Kronos 2 and Fantom at this stage and look forward to its replacement but thats more work necessity than much else.
@@ErraticFaith as in to look after it and not subject it to potential damage. Well done for carrying it I guess... Odd
Hahaha what was that Seinfeld insert?? Woody has gone WILD
I still doubt if we are comparing apples to apples. Who says that the sample quality on the Triton sounds loaded into the Kross hasn't been compromised at least a bit to make the export possible? It is normal to hear some differences between the two but, beside the physical response (key-bed) of one or the other, I guess you should be happy to have (for free) cool sounds from the Triton back on the Kross!
The kross has really surprising sounds, but of course, this collection hasn't been programmed with such a great care as the sounds were made for the Triton. It's clearly hearable in some patches including multilayers. The fact is that the keybed expresiveness of the triton improves the sound on good players hands and it can make the difference in an exact copy of the same sound. I've owned both and I prefer the Kross because of its lower size & weight, but... my choice would be a MicroX if I could pick a different version of those Korg engines.
I wonder if a solution like MicroX exists with the newer Korg Engine, it'll be a great companion for my Electribe family.
I agree with keybed factor. It's often an underestimated factor but it is exactly like on guitars or any other instrument. Human-machine interface is always a key factor when playin any instrument including electronic instruments. There's another hidden factores like latency ( also underestimated).
War of the Worlds in the demo made my day, thanks
when you compare them alone that one thing. What I really like with old Korgs - who they sit in a mix.
I don't know what it is but for whatever reason I just get a corny feeling from the Korg romplers. Yet I don't feel that with Yamaha, Ensoniq or Roland synths of the same era. For example the D50 is still charming to me. Then you play the M1 and it's like an uncle who still dresses like MC Hammer in 2020. Maybe I had a bad experience with the Korg Krome and it soured me on them. But if people get enjoyment out of them then that's all that matters.
I do know what you mean about some Korg Romplers... but I have owned quite a few, sold them over the years and then come back to them, either as rack versions or VSTs. The M1, Wavestation, TR-Rack and N364 are all part of my arsenal and I would hate to see any of them go again.
Too funny!! 😂
Same, but they are good synths.
They have their own sound that I’ve appreciated more over time, but it does sound different from the more polished Roland sound for sure.
yeah... but i mean... that's good, right? right???? right B)
Thanks again, Woody, for another amazing video. Great comparison. I thought, for the most part, that they sounded fairly similar until you played the evolving sound at the end on the Triton. It blew away the Kross in my opinion. Sounded more nuanced and filled the audio spectrum more for me. Maybe I should say I liked the Kross better so I don't get into a bidding war on Ebay/Reverb for an old Triton! Now I'm wondering if any of those sounds are available on the iWaveStation app... looking now! Cheers from north of Boston, MA, US.
dunno about the ipad app, but the vst, yeah!
The intro melody is sooooooooooo deeply profound and beautiful. Does it have a title? Thanks for sharing
glad you liked it, loosely based on tune comeback kid by the midnight, check it out!
The Triton wipes the floor with the Kross for the Triton library, I can't believe I'm saying this as when the Triton came out the keyboard player of the band I was in at the time bought one and we all took the mick, asking him if he was side-gigging as a cabaret act, I look back on the Micky taking and don't get it now as the Triton is great, I think it is because the sound we had was based around Vox continental (real) and B3 on that dedicated module played on an M1
I really doubted there would be any difference, but the Triton has more "life," for lack of a better term. Or maybe "presence?"
Triton sounds more detailed, more airy; Kross sounds more "compact"/"compressed".
That said, the Kross (for a budget synth) does a very decent job to approximate the Triton sounds, and definitely usable.
Maybe DACs and/or other analog components in the Kross are just worse than in the Triton, for budget reasons. Because I think the sound itself is very similar.
@@mudi2000a The programming (OS coding and such), too, as the Kross2 is a significant step up in sound quality over the Kross1, and yet both share the same CPUs and converters and all that jazz.
Kross2 sounds compressed and lo-fi versus the M50, Krome EX, and Kronos. No surprise that the ol' Triton sounds better.
Would like to see you review the Korg Krome
you know i was tempted to buy one just this morning, but bit too long of a drive
@@WoodyPianoShack I got one a few months ago. Wanted something close to the Triton + tons of more pcm sounds. I think you'll be suprised how good this is, especially for its low price. Lots of good reviews on TH-cam. Would be interesting to hear ur opinion compared to the Triton
Normally, I'd say "whatever", but this time even I can hear the Triton wipes the floor with the Kross. There are tiny details that aren't just there on the budget synth (listen closely to the hammond organ), and overall it sounds clearer, less muddy. Now that could be because you played them manually and with slightly different velocity, so a really scientifically valid test would have required to play MIDI files. But that would have been a visually super boring vid. :-)
Even the keyboard action makes a huge difference. I own a Z1 and I play Karma via MIDI. It makes a huge difference in expression for some programs (i.e. brass, leads etc.)
To be fair the Kross's own organ programs are much better sounding in my opinion. Whether they are better than the Triton is another matter, but this is a case where comparing the same patch may be misleading.
What Floyd said. Normally in these comparisons there's no significant difference to my are, but the Triton is definitely better.
In this case Triton sounds, like real deal, from big records, while Kross as Casio from bedroom :-)
Peter Torda Oohhh! Don't underestimate those good ol' Casios! ;)
This video was playing in the background while I was working on something else. I was able to pick out which was which every time!
interesting! but not surprising!
The triton sounds better than the Korg kross compared Lomé this. The synth engine and fx are more developed on the Triton sound engine, kross series sounds like a Wav sample version of the actual Triton. It makes a big difference on some sounds - I can hear more details and ‘oomph’/sound body/fullness on the triton vs the kross. Some pad sounds the difference was less obvious. I also think these companies put better audio outputs on these older flagship keyboards - sounds like anything coming out of those output jacks is real lush and full. Also despite this, the ease of use of the kross is a factor and I also think in a band mix/studio mix the kross might ‘sit’ Bette is not the primary part of the song - live and in the studio I would use external fx on the kross vs the internal fx.
Thanks to this video - I have a Triton I am waiting for coming in the mail now..
Your English is impeccable. There isn't even a slight hint of the Swedish accent!
Actually, he's from the UK but moved to Sweden.
I'm wondering if there are additional variables to control when it comes to sound: you are using different keyboards in different playing positions and two different performances. Perhaps record the midi from one performance, and then play back the same midi through each keyboard?
2:09 an Atari ST spotted. Used to have one back in the early nineties...
Me too and used the midi with a Yamaha PSR as a controller.
It's always really useful to hear the same patches side by side, of course, but I agree with you that it's the way the tech has developed over the last 20 years that is more interesting; yes, you can compare the original Triton patches with the ones released for the Kross... but can you hear the later Kross patches on the Triton? :-)
The choir, sweep and evolving pad sounds to me do sound marginally better on the Triton - but similar enough that a bit of fine-tuning in the mix (or even on the board) would make it very difficult to tell the two apart in a group situation. The purists always claim that the old tech is warmer and better but, realistically, in the mix, with a few tweaks, I think it would be extremely difficult to tell the two apart. And they always mix us poor keyboardists down to the point where you can hardly hear the keys anyways!
And, for the purists, why would you care about the Hammond sound when, if you really want to get a great Hammond sound, you should invest in a Nord (or, at least, Korg's magnificent CX-3)?
Fully, get your drift. You should actually buy a Hammond, though. To get that sound. Nord is crap. The keys don't last more than 20 years.
So adding a couple of VST like EQ and the Tritonor Triton Extreme lives on.
Listening through studio monitors with no prior knowledge of either of these. The top keyboard was fuller sounding on the first piano patch. Same with the Hammond sound although that difference was more subtle. The bottom keyboard had a lot more character in the bass sound and the synth that followed it - it calls attention to itself whereas the top keyboard wound blend in a mix. Sweeper strings sound great on both with the bottom keyboard again having more modulation - a more 80s sound. I preferred the top keyboard overall - sounds that would mix well in a lot of styles of music. My two cents.
the keybed action is much better on the classic triton since it use the legendary FS1 keyboard...
with the expressive and superb keybed, playability and dynamic responds -- The triton will be a joy to play.. and the triton is a superb midi controller to make VSTi feels just Right..
yeah, 100% not just about the sound, topic for next vid perhaps!
Korg keybeds really started going downhill with the Karma (which is an otherwise amazing keyboard) which they carried on to the Triton Le and Tr series. The M50 probably had the jankiest keybed I ever touched. I owned it for half a decade and always felt like the keys were a compromise.
@@projectgoatse Korg Switch from Yamaha FS1 keybed that they use from M1 to Triton classic -- to Fatar keybed..
the FS1 use metal contacts (like mechanical PC keyboard) and Fatar use rubber contact..
the Yamaha FS1 is build to last and feel wonderful with expressive dynamic responds.. it is much costlier to produce and eventually discontinued due to environment issues..
i personally don't mind the Fatar Keybed on my old KORG X2 (76 keys semiweighted) and Triton Le 76 (not weighted.. the semi weighted one feel nicer), but the FS1 is a legend and by far my fav keybed... its is just so far appart. eventually i switch the action from the X2 to the Le76 (yes they are compatible and easy to do)
i have an Old KORG Trinity that i regularly use for MIDI Controller since the touch is top notch quality.
Usually the difference between higher and lower end models are the number of partials and layers it can generate in a patch. There's practically no difference between single patches, like the EPs and Organs cause they use the same PCMs. you'll notice the disparity when you go to the more textured synths or more nuanced patches cause of course the high end ones got more capabilities, that's why you can hear more movement and dynamics. I have a KARMA and the Triton VST sounds Identical when I played it side by side. It's amazing what they can do nowadays
here, however, there is not a case of the same PCM samples being used, not even the same synth engine, and patch modulation is more complex in the Triton, which is something that Kross & Krome excel at but the devs purposefully didn't bother with in the Kross/Krome patches to save time (you can probably complete them yourself if you can borrow a Triton to use as a reference for patch design), plus post-FX may not be as well coded in the Kross as the Triton
I own the Kross 2, and my only
disappoint was the all-plastic frame.
I've recently purchased a Kross. Whilst overall I think it has great sounds there is one thing I've noticed. On certain sounds there are these strange pulse glitches. They are not part of the sound because they only happen on certain notes for example one of the cello sounds. Have you noticed this or is mine *ucked?
@@Neil-Aspinall backup your keyboard if you have customized it, then do a factory reset, see if that helps
So if there is this much difference, do the studio, classic, le, pro x, extreme, and TR have any slight differences? As their components and hardware quality are slightly different?
I have both (Triton Extreme 88 and Kross2) and I love both. The sounds of the Triton in most cases are better (it has higher quality DACs, so it's not a surprise). However in the age of virtual instruments I mostly use it as a MIDI controller in my studio (it's too heavy to carry). But sometimes I still really like to get lost in it. I will keep it.
Kross2 also has usable sound (the new Oasys pianos on it are actually better than any piano sound available for Triton), and it can do a LOT more than the old guy. And it's 3,5 kg so it's a perfect secondary synth for my gigs.
I agree with the consensus here about the Triton. Seems to have more air... Must be better converters I guess.
I have kross 2, and korg triton Le. Kronos, Krome are the same thing, only the quality of the materials changes. They are the same technology with the same sound quality.
Honestly, it gives me the feeling of being an update of this old triton without delicate areas such as the touch screen of the trinty or triton studio.
Besides, it has the powerful advantage of having pads for different functions of arranging and composing different forms of sequence.
It doesn't fall short in sampling either, it's really great, it seems to have an ASR10 but with the advantage of having 16 multi parts which is a very good amount of tracks for doing very serious compositions.
The sounds are very good, I think the triton extreme version has these sounds from the korg kross 2, but the hardware adds another more pleasant color and more correct volume.
The finger drumming is super comfortable, the visualization of the midi notes in the sequencer is really great, that MPC 2000 sampler-style screen is a very generous sleeve, where there were good graphics and preferences that make navigation in the operating system easy and cozy.
It is an ultralight keyboard, it weighs almost nothing, it is made of 100% plastic but it has enough quality to give it good use.
It's a little expensive for my taste, but the buy is one of the best on the market, the sampler has a lot of power and makes this workstation very friendly with music styles like hiphop, house, reggae, downtempo.
Thanks for this video
Both are doing well.....
otra cosa, el Kross podrá poseer los filtros Pasa Banda y Anula Banda con resonancia, siendo 4 combinables entre sí y totalizando 8 combinaciones de filtros, a diferencia del Triton que posee sólo el Pasa Bajos con resonancia y Pasa Alto sin resonancia. Pero nuevamente el calor de los filtros del Triton es evidente. Obviamente hubiera sido genial que toda la gama Triton haya tenido los magníficos filtros del Trinity, le habrían dado un gran calor extra a las texturas analógicas y Pads
Thanks for posting this I have a Kross 2 61 key and Triton extreme 76 The cross is great because you can throw it in the case and carried around easy that’s not so easy with the Triton if it didn’t have a case with wheels on it I’d probably never be able to move it lol sure the triton is the Lamborghini of the Line of each time it’s a great studio piece. I have so much to learn on these but I love both of them and I feel Korg makes quality products. Actually Yamaha and Korg are part of the same company now a lot of people didn’t know that. My next unit may be a Yamaha somewhere in between the two I may add an old CS 6x I don’t know I was looking at a role in Phantom West night I was pretty impressed with that too my biggest problem is do I have a brain big enough to store all this knowledge lol you could spend years trying to figure out how to run all this stuff. But that’s where great videos and demonstrations like this come in, a lot of you guys are the greatest thanks for this video I would love to hear from guys what their favorite synth is i’m hoping to do some home studio work maybe play out for my friends at some parties junk like that. I would really like to make like some killer backing tracks for hi action adventurous sci-fi movies I just think there’s so much that can be done it seems like lots of fun
I own a old Triton. I use it for recording. The sounds are still very good and it's 20 years old. I only paid $250 US dollars for mine. After watching this video, I definitely will not be buying a new workstation anytime soon.
Phat bass I can definitely notice the attack on the highs, it's got a resonant sweep down on the classic, the war of the world's has more delay for sure. Holy shit on the pad after that, it blows away the kross 🤣 the warmth of the filters, stereo (sides) I'm so glad I own a classic triton!! I'm never selling it!! 😁😁
A better comparison might have been between the Triton vs. the Krome. I've done some quick A-B between my Krome Mk. 1 and my Triton, the main differences seemed to be in the effects stage, cut the effects and the two sounded more or less identical...
yeah, you might be right, i kind of enjoyed the angle and comparison of entry level to flagship for this video, and it happens to be what i have available!
@@WoodyPianoShack The funny thing is, as an "entry level" synth the Kross/2 is very capable, compared to what we were getting just a decade or so ago. Go back a bit more to the early 00's and the Kross would have been flagship level tech. Amazing how things have progressed.
some sounds you couldn't really hear much difference, but the pads its got to be the Triton, with the filters. I always think, that some of the old stuff is still better than the new gear that's out.
The Triton was my main synth for years, and the Kross 1 is my main synth now (so I’m actually an “expert” in these two synths if that means anything) I’m using both right now (our guitarist has a Triton) so I really get to compare. Of course the Triton does more (it has sampling) The real factor that makes the Kross my all-time fav synth has nothing to do with the sound- it’s the size, weight, and handle. It looks like a toy, and it doesn’t kill my back like the Triton.
But comparing the sounds alone....the Kross pianos are more realistic. The strings on both are amazing. I’ve learned how to get some pretty convincing Analog sounds on the Kross. When I first tried it out I was impressed with the Hammond Organ sounds, and how you can easily tweak the rotary effect to make it more realistic. I honestly can’t say which sounds are better, but the guys in the band seem to prefer the Triton.
The action of the keys seems to make a big difference in favor of the Triton. I adjusted the Kross to try and match it. I miss the Tritons ribbon and 4 knobs, but the Kross has the Favorites buttons.
The korg kross 2 Pcg tone can i take from which keyboard korg m3 or korg krome can help me please
Very nice. Perhaps that older unit has better circuitry after the digital processing (ie the analog conversion and pathway on the way out)
I laid down, closed my eyes, and listened with EarPods. I lost track of which synth was which and could not tell much of a difference at all. Then again what do I know? I’m not an audiophile. I do however love the sound quality on both of these keyboards. I’d probably buy a new Kross over an older Triton. I own vintage synths and things go bad and have to be repaired. Not to mention the software tech is more compatible with newer units. Not talking about the Triton. I’m having issues getting a Korg Radias to connect with the latest software editor for it, just as an example.
Both are very, very similar, but I think the Triton adds, for lack of better words, a bit more depth and sometimes a slightly more refined top brilliance that the Kross seems to lack or struggle somewhat with. Maybe even that Triton is somewhat more refined is a good way to describe the difference? But it's not a lot of difference, and hidden in a mix with other instruments I would be hard pressed to tell a difference unless it's used a in very prominent role in the song where you might spot the difference again. So if you don't already own a Triton I would say that a Kross is a very good alternative, and reversely - If you already have a Triton you may not need a Kross other than the new combis in the Kross that seems to be more modern and updated.
That said, I wonder how hard it would be to replicate some of the updated combis in Kross over into a Triton... Should be possible? :-)
Krome EX is a much better alternative to the Kross2 overall if you don't need the sample pads, step-input drum machine, digital recorder, and battery-power capability of the Kross2.
There is so much more detail in the higher end, and the stereo image is night and day, you can hear so much more on the triton. The KROSS sounds like you're taking all that detail and squishing it down, the triton is all around you. I don't think its the effects, good verbs and delays are dime a dozen. Would be awesome to compare the Triton VST to the vintage triton, I don't have the keyboard but absolutely love the Triton and Triton Extreme VSTs.
Woody , thanks for your shares and effort , in this case of your synths comparisons , Korg Triton has bit less harmonic distortion and that results also in having bit deeper frequency range , cleaner articulation and dynamic range so touch is better feel for playing , however it doesnt really mean that every Korg Triton is better than every Korg Kross 2 , you could test another Korg Kross 2 with another Korg Triton and have better results in Kross 2 , every synth quality oscillates and resonates differently , there is no two same models with identical sound quality , but theres are some solutions , you could even improve sound quality of your Korg Kross 2 by finding better power supply and improving some other points in digital data , plus Triton data that you installed on Kross 2 has properties of its own which could affect sound quality for better or worse ., You are the passionate keyboard gear man Woody with a military science spirit i suppose you understand what i am talking about , electroacoustics is something i work and research last twenty years or more and am now into developing control of technology electrogenetics . Industry cannot anymore control and limit my frequency range and sound quality , and no salesman can give me advice , my every synth can sound better than other whenever i want and that goes even further into another technology dimensions . Theres are always some limitations but theres are also workarounds .By the way , its always cool to bump on your channel , keep having fun , and its nice to hear musicians opinion about different gear . I just recently tested Alesis Recital Pro piano and it works quite nice even its very simple piano , its sound quality seems good and fits in a mix , i think i like Recital Pro bit better than Yamaha P-125 that i use at my work .
some may disagree (me!) that different examples of same digital synth sound different, especially new models!
@@WoodyPianoShack ... i do expect people not to agree with me , thats a unescapable part of scientific life and journey ,..... but i share my information with the field enthusiasts and reserve all the scientific research wrongs & rights and copyrights ..... :) , .. with a respect to your musical opinion , and with a everyday experience of 40 years with keyboards on stage and in recording studios , i was there thinking just like you that it is all the same , but i detected some small random differences in certain areas of sound that made me curious and go deeper into research of what was going on and why , my observation of sound and resonance became at forensic examination micro level , it opened up a new world of invisible physics , i suddenly found a way to see and hear above and bellow the limits , and i can agree with you that new models are getting better , but according to my research its more like that quality of data as signal condition transmitted into new machines is getting better but new machines as receptor environments are still hanging around same electromagnetic space vacuum and industrial limits standard , in majority of products there is no much improvement into electroacoustic space domain capacity of relationship between space and energy , but luckily theres are always few well hidden products which do the job properly , in general its all still strategically limited . interrupted and controlled by industrial design and that results still into unstable dynamics , overcompressions , distorted harmonics and digital calculation errors (you could compare that to Lightbulb Conspiracy )... But as i mention earlier , through audiophile curiosity now i have developed some new alternative solutions and workarounds which will became foundation for future technology development . And all limits fell apart and things started to sound better and better and then there came that smile on face saying : .. oh man , that sounds like a unlimited space and freedom , that sounds like what i was looking for ..... :)
Kross2 sonic variance from unit to unit is nowhere near enough for what you speak of by lightyears.
M50 and Kronos could stand up to the ol' Triton, however.
You also wrongly assume that Kross and Triton are using the same samples and synth engine, which they are absolutely not at all. Kross2's OS is coded in an inferior fashion of sorts, and on purpose to save money. Triton is a former flagship, not a budget synth, it is made to be the ultimate rompler synth of its time, very unlike Kross.
You're right about the PSU, I know this well from tinkering experience, but that alone will not bring Kross on par with any kind of flagship synth. Clean power is a cornerstone of great sound, this is understated throughout pro audio, but it is only a piece of the puzzle.
@@Jason75913 hei , i am actually still using M50 from time to time in my setup and with properly configured settings it sounds very decent . You are right about power supply being only a one piece of puzzle which can make things better or worse and there is also other things which should be altered in some form to bring it to have better signal quality , i am not asuming that Kross and Triton are using same engine or not because for me that even doesnt matter but however they do have compatibility to read same sounds and output them in similar way . For me , whatever engine it is , what matters is something else , a kind of condition of electroacoustic space around the sound energy and having control over that , and i learned how to make it better and better , so sound quality , dynamic range and frequency range in my keyboards are not limited and static as factory provided , i can make it better and how i want that to feel and sound , but it took long time research to understand industrial strategy and its design of limitations and then to be able to take control over that and do quality improvements. Generally , there is lot of good interface thought machines but its also always mostly elephant in the matchbox , there is on sales lot of conflict between energy and space and that means unstable dynamics and harmonic distortion by industrial default design . Electronic industry is somehow more and more shifting upwards into higher electroacoustic resonance vacuum which causes global sound environment climate distortion and actually it should be opposite of that . Luckily , there are also some not so mainstream advertised good quality design engineers which provide few new products which satisfy professional standards and competitive demands .