Korg Karma

[mc_reni]

Hey whats going on people, I aint been on for a while I've been kinda busy. I just wanted to know if anyone has used or heard a Korg Karma and how does it compare to the Triton. A teacher at my college is selling a Karma for cheap and I was looking into getting it.

 

[bigdmakintrax]

Karma is dope, it has about the same soundset as the triton and triton extreme, the main feature about the sounds are the multiple arpeggiators on sounds....I would tell you to go check it out for yourself, at one point when the Karma came out I considered buying one, also there are some pgm files that are available to give you the exact sounds on the triton and extreme...if you can get the board cheap I would go for it.

 

[Mastertunes]

Karma is dope, it has about the same soundset as the triton and triton extreme, the main feature about the sounds are the multiple arpeggiators on sounds....I would tell you to go check it out for yourself, at one point when the Karma came out I considered buying one, also there are some pgm files that are available to give you the exact sounds on the triton and extreme...if you can get the board cheap I would go for it.

Huh, the Karma does not come with about the same soundset as the Extreme. The Extreme itself has 160 mb (!) more sounds than the Triton (all the best sounds from all the expansions). I understand what you're saying but it's gonna cost you a couple hundred bucks extra in order to come close to the Extreme. I believe the Karma system was made to assist you in playing hard to play pieces of music. I think it's a nice board, I suggest you check out some reviews.

http://www.harmony-central.com/Synth/Data/Korg/Karma-1.html

 

[mc_reni]

would you say that its worth swapping the triton for a karma? I have the triton rack at the mo but i dont sample on it, I just use it for sounds.

 

[bigdmakintrax]

I bought the Extreme the first week it came out though and kept it for about 2 years(regretfully after getting rid of my motif classic, I am back on the motif ES thankfully).....LOL.....I played on a karma and many of the sounds are the same....there are lot of the same sounds that might be slightly different in wave composition algorithms etc..., a lot have to do with the complex arpeggiator like I said.......they incorporated a lot of the legacy triton and karma sounds into the extreme and then added more......there are pcg files (programs that you can buy that will alter many of the waveforms, but they have a karma add on that works thru software that you can use with the extreme anyhow I wasn't just putting out information that I dont know about but good you came with your info, if you play a Korg....(Triton, Karma and Extreme) trust me they all start to sound the same though....

 

[Mastertunes]

I bought the Extreme the first week it came out though and kept it for about 2 years(regretfully after getting rid of my motif classic, I am back on the motif ES thankfully).....LOL.....I played on a karma and many of the sounds are the same....there are lot of the same sounds that might be slightly different in wave composition algorithms etc..., a lot have to do with the complex arpeggiator like I said.......they incorporated a lot of the legacy triton and karma sounds into the extreme and then added more......there are pcg files (programs that you can buy that will alter many of the waveforms, but they have a karma add on that works thru software that you can use with the extreme anyhow I wasn't just putting out information that I dont know about but good you came with your info, if you play a Korg....(Triton, Karma and Extreme) trust me they all start to sound the same though....

Right, I know Korg has a certain signature sound, and I must confess I haven't played neither (but looking at the reviews of the Karma, I think it's a good product) but I highly doubt that Korg would implement the same basic sounds in a product (the Extreme, that was released 3 years after the Karma) that they used in a product 3 years before too. I mean, the Karma is a totally different machine then the Triton and just looking at specs, the Extreme has 160 MB of PCM Expansion sounds which you have to buy seperately to get the Karma soundwise just even close to the Extreme.

would you say that its worth swapping the triton for a karma? I have the triton rack at the mo but i dont sample on it, I just use it for sounds.

Me personally, I have no idea, you should try contacting some Triton and Karma users for an answer to that question. It also depends on which Triton you have, if you have the classic Triton (which was released somewhere in the nineties) I would definetly swap them (since the Karma is a newer machine then the classic and all). And isn't the Triton rack only capable of using 2 expansion cards at the same time? I don't know about the Karma but if that machine allows you to use all the cards you have, at the same time, it would be another reason to get rid of the Triton rack, and get the Karma.

 

[bigdmakintrax]

Like I said I owned the Triton LE and the Triton Extreme so I am not just speaking of what I read LOL....MAny of the old classic sounds are absorbed into the extreme....the karma because of the arpeggiators had some different sounds but there are many sounds that are the exact waveforms found on both and that statement is coming from going thru the sounds and playing them....so sounds are named differently but the output to your ears is hey this is the same sound...LOL anyhow while I had the extreme I used to go to irish acts and get pcg's and there is a program if you have either an extreme or classic you can use this software to have THE exact sounds (every single sound) on the Karma....the difference like i said before are the arpeggiators and how they use them to make different sounds......but Karma itself if a patented technology.....this could be akin the the differences in synthesis also.....additive and subtractive....I used also owned a kawai K5000(subtractive synthesis), but to the average ear you cannot tell that the sound is subtractive or additive synthesis though if someone played it....but anyhow good info

http://www.karma-lab.com/kt/karma-triton.html

 

[Mastertunes]

Like I said I owned the Triton LE and the Triton Extreme so I am not just speaking of what I read LOL....MAny of the old classic sounds are absorbed into the extreme....the karma because of the arpeggiators had some different sounds but there are many sounds that are the exact waveforms found on both and that statement is coming from going thru the sounds and playing them....so sounds are named differently but the output to your ears is hey this is the same sound...LOL anyhow while I had the extreme I used to go to irish acts and get pcg's and there is a program if you have either an extreme or classic you can use this software to have THE exact sounds (every single sound) on the Karma....the difference like i said before are the arpeggiators and how they use them to make different sounds......but Karma itself if a patented technology.....this could be akin the the differences in synthesis also.....additive and subtractive....I used also owned a kawai K5000(subtractive synthesis), but to the average ear you cannot tell that the sound is subtractive or additive synthesis though if someone played it....but anyhow good info

http://www.karma-lab.com/kt/karma-triton.html

Ok dude, this discussion is pointless really They're both hot machines, let's keep it at that.

 

[Formant024]

that K5000 is underestimated though lol.

Like all modern korgs, starting from the prophecy, the oasys engine is the basis thus all sound the same and even have the potential to create the same presets. It's all up to the sound designers but the bar is set at the amount of cpu, if you'd boost a karma with a few extra dsp's then you'll get more performance, probably the same as a triton. A karma doesnt need the extra dsp power because it's purpose was not aimed towards a full workstation outfit. Go figure hehe