Juno DS88 v Korg Krome 88

[floydiusmaximus]

I'm looking to purchase either a Korg Krome 88 or a Juno DS 88. The pricing is similar.

This would be used primarily for live performance with a rock/pop band and solo performances. I would like to get into producing music (very computer-literate but just haven't had the time/procrastination!).

I've also looked into getting a MIDI controller/DAW/VST but concerned that the setup is not more reliable for live performance, easy to use as a regular synth.

I appreciate your feedback!

 

[happyrat1]

You really can't go wrong with either of them.

They're both standard workhorses in their class.

I owned a DS88 for years and the 88 keybed has a lovely feel. The ivory touch is a little weird at first but you adapt within a week. Eventually with a couple years use it wears down to smoother surfaces.

@CowboyNQ uses a Krome with a very popular PF Tribute band, so if he sees this he can comment on the nuts and bolts. I believe he plays the 76 key model though.

 

[floydiusmaximus]

You really can't go wrong with either of them.

They're both standard workhorses in their class.

I owned a DS88 for years and the 88 keybed has a lovely feel. The ivory touch is a little weird at first but you adapt within a week. Eventually with a couple years use it wears down to smoother surfaces.

@CowboyNQ uses a Krome with a very popular PF Tribute band, so if he sees this he can comment on the nuts and bolts. I believe he plays the 76 key model though.

Thanks for your feedback. It sounds like the differences between the 2 keyboards are minimal. Is there anything between the two that's a big difference? Thanks again!

 

[happyrat1]

Personally I prefer the Roland way of doing things as opposed to Korg's way.

Roland's manuals are written in plain English while Korg's are apparently Translated into Urdu from the Original Klingon then run thru Google's translate app for good measure

 

[Biggles]

I’m a Korg guy but at the present time buying a Roland would be the wiser buy.

 

[anotherscott]

Some Krome advantages: touchscreen (e.g. for editing and patch selection), I'd say better pianos and EPs, better ability to integrate internal and external sounds, much more capable sequencer functions, more simultaneously available effects, support for a third pedal, more slots for storing your own customized sounds. Roland advantages include trigger pads, user sample memory, mic and line audio inputs, simpler for 2-part splits/layers, pretty good ability to do seamless transitions between patches (where an old sound doesn't have to immediately cut out when you switch to a new sound).

 

[floydiusmaximus]

Some Krome advantages: touchscreen (e.g. for editing and patch selection), I'd say better pianos and EPs, better ability to integrate internal and external sounds, much more capable sequencer functions, more simultaneously available effects, support for a third pedal, more slots for storing your own customized sounds. Roland advantages include trigger pads, user sample memory, mic and line audio inputs, simpler for 2-part splits/layers, pretty good ability to do seamless transitions between patches (where an old sound doesn't have to immediately cut out when you switch to a new sound).

Thanks for your reply. It sounds like the Roland is a little better suited for live performance (transition between patches, trigger pads, etc.)?

 

[Wackienne]

I'm looking to purchase either a Korg Krome 88 or a Juno DS 88. The pricing is similar.

This would be used primarily for live performance with a rock/pop band and solo performances. I would like to get into producing music (very computer-literate but just haven't had the time/procrastination!).

I've also looked into getting a MIDI controller/DAW/VST but concerned that the setup is not more reliable for live performance, easy to use as a regular synth.

I appreciate your feedback!

I used the similar DS61 for performances much like yours for several years, and I was very happy with it. The ten banks of patches were easily customizable, as were the onboard sounds, and two or three quick buttons pressed (literally a second to do, like "Bank-3-1" or similar) got me where I needed to be in a hurry for a sax solo break or something like that.

I didn't get into Midi -- haven't for years -- so I can't comment on that, nor on the full 88-key features.. But I had no complaints at all using the Juno in performance. There are easily loaded expansion packs available from Roland as well, and as Happyrat mentions, the manual is very intuitive . Hope this helps!

 

[happyrat1]

The Midi on the DS works well enough.

My only gripe was that it would not output midi from the step sequencer during performance.

The workaround was to save the loops to MID files on the thumb drive and importing them to a DAW.

 

[Biggles]

I’ll throw in my penneth!

Some Korg keybeds suck, and all the 88 key units I have tried were all vastly inferior in feel to equivalent and below (in cost terms) keyboards by Roland, Yamaha and even Casio.

Do try, before you buy

 

[CowboyNQ]

The Krome 88’s keybed isn’t the nicest weighted action I’ve played, which is one of its biggest drawbacks.

I have no experience with the Roland DS but having used the Krome 61 since 2013 I can say that the one you’re looking at is light (for an 88), versatile, sounds great, easy to program, very easy to split and layer and lighting fast to use from a UI perspective.

 

[Biggles]

Do check upon the Krome, you may find it difficult to find.

I am suspicious of its current pricing as there is not the differential between a Krome EX and a Kross 2 in fact a Kross 2 88 is more expensive.

Sweetwater are showing the Krome Ex 88 as no longer available.

I did have a Kross 2 and setting up Splits was vastly quicker to set up than on the Juno that I tried, plus setting a split up for a fast recall via a Pad when they are in favourites mode was also easier in a Kross 2.

I have no reason to believe a Krome EX is vastly different.

That said I actually would not choose either simply on the fact that both are very old models, I would up the budget for a Fantom 08 @ $1800.

 

[floydiusmaximus]

Thanks for the reply. A hypothetical: if I was able to get either the DS88 or Krome88 for $500, would it be worth having first for several years as primarily a gig keyboard and as a stepping stone to reduce the learning curve and learn how to fully use the capabilities of the latest keyboards?

 

[Biggles]

Going back a few years I was interested in a Kross 2 or a Juno DS so spent quite a time looking at tutorials for both and also through the manuals of both.

Then I went into a couple of Music Stores and swapped over from one to the other, the prior research enabled me to know where to look in the Menu systems and How To for other features.

Roll on a couple of years and I was then looking at a Roland FA, what I had learned for the DS was a bit different in the FA, the big downside of the FA was that the layered sounds were not easy to adjust without menu diving.

So perhaps you can easier transfer within the brand it depends what happens a few years down the line.

As it is I would not consider any Korg, the company is in turmoil restructuring, here in the UK the top two sales guys have moved on away from Korg. Korg Italy has been decimated, and goodness knows what is happening at Korg HQ in Japan. The top Korg keyboard is their $5-6000 Pa5X which has been out for 18 months and only last month has an update to the stripped down OS (compared to prior model) been released.

So if you do buy a Korg do set low expectations if you need help from the company.

 

[anotherscott]

Thanks for your reply. It sounds like the Roland is a little better suited for live performance (transition between patches, trigger pads, etc.)?

Maybe... depends on your priorities. Having the touchscreen for patch selection is a nice Krome advantage for live performance, too.

The Midi on the DS works well enough.

My only gripe was that it would not output midi from the step sequencer during performance.

On the Krome, you can easily set any of the 16 parts to either an internal or external sound... and for an external sound, you can specify any MIDI channel, any Program Change number, and (crucially for some applications) any MSB/LSB bank change numbers. I did not find a way to do that on the Juno DS.

Some Korg keybeds suck, and all the 88 key units I have tried were all vastly inferior in feel to equivalent and below (in cost terms) keyboards by Roland, Yamaha and even Casio.

I have played some 88 Kross and Krome that have felt better than others. On paper, they're all the same, but IRL, there seems to be variation. But regardless, I'm not a fan of the Ivory-Feel G that Roland uses in the Juno DS88 (it seems slow to fully return).

I did have a Kross 2 and setting up Splits was vastly quicker to set up than on the Juno that I tried, plus setting a split up for a fast recall via a Pad when they are in favourites mode was also easier in a Kross 2.

I have no reason to believe a Krome EX is vastly different.

It is different... Kross 2 has a dedicated Split button to quickly set up a split, Krome does not.

As for split on Kross 2 vs. Juno DS, I'm surprised to see you say Kross was "vastly quicker." On Juno DS, it's literally one button to engage a split (vs. two on the Kross 2); and from there I think the Juno DS is actually quicker in terms of letting you then alter which sound you want on top, what you want the relative volumes to be, any octave shift you may want for one sound or the other... and importantly, these things can easily even be changed in real-time as you play. So for example, if you're playing LH bass, and in the middle of the song, you decide you want to try a different RH sound, or change its level or octave, that's much more do-able on the Roland. (Also, if you tend to work a lot with splits, and don't necessarily want the bigger/heavier 88, it's nice that the DS is available in a 76.)

But maybe you meant splitting more than two sounds? In that case, both get a bit more complicated than their quick split functions, and I'm not sure which is easier/faster.