Korg Kronos2-61

Korg is one of the world's leading manufacturers of keyboard instruments. Its products are of excellent quality and feature rich. Kronos 2-61 is the second generation of the junior model of the Korg workstation line, which has won recognition from true connoisseurs of high-quality sound.

Less is not worse

The Kronos2-61 features a 61-key semi-weighted Natural Touch keyboard. It has the same feel as an acoustic piano, but it's lighter in pressure. The series also includes the Kronos2-71 and Kronos2-88 with hammer action keyboards that mimic those of a real piano. This is the only functional difference between the models, otherwise they are identical.

Despite its compactness, and the length of Kronos 2-61 is only a metre, due to the wooden side panels of the body and metal inserts, the station weighs almost 14.5 kg. This complicates the possibility of its transportation and, in fact, turns it into a stationary studio instrument.

Justified complexity

Yes, and playing Kronos2-61 "out of the box" for someone who was not familiar with it before, will not work. The model has complex controls, a lot of software functions and presets, which will take more than one hour to deal with. Fortunately, the kit includes a detailed manual for several dozen pages.

Limitless Possibilities

The musical possibilities of the station are endless. Of the key features, we note 9 professional sound modules, including an analogue synthesizer, allowing you to recreate the sound of acoustic and electric pianos, organ, live drums in high detail.

The 16-channel audio/midi sequencer allows you to record up to 200 songs on a 64 GB SSD. However 21 GB on it is already occupied by pre-installed software and banks of timbres and effects. But, if there is not enough space, you can connect an external drive.

In addition to conventional controllers and joysticks, the station can be controlled via a touch screen display that supports the "Set List" option, which displays a list of user settings.

Separately, it is necessary to highlight the presence of the functions Smooth Sound Transition, which provides a soft crossfade transition when switching timbres or modes, and Drum Track — for simultaneous performance with drum grooves. With it, you can create any drum part, from a simple beat to a full-fledged track.

In terms of switching, Kronos 2-61 received maximum capabilities. You can connect a computer, mixer, guitar, microphone, digital recorder, external drives, headphones, three controller pedals to it.

The cost of the instrument in the region of 4000 USD makes it the best offer in this price category for professional musicians who prefer rich functionality and wide possibilities for working on sound.