I try to play the Wavedrum frequently. I mainly use the finger tips for playing rather than the palm (or even sticks). Unfortunately I did not pay attention to my finger nails, which scratched the original head quite heavily.

As a consequence, I needed to replace the head. As advertised by Korg, I’ve chosen the Remo Ambassador Fiberskyn3 10“ (model FA-0510-00). Replacement is simple. Just remove the 5 screws, turn the rim to the right (gently, so that the cable between the rim and the body does not get damaged), replace the head, put the rim in place and insert the five screws. The manual describes how to tighten them and how to calibrate the sensors.

While calibrating the rim sensitivity, one may be tempted to set the low value to 0 instead of something like 7. This leads to some hiss coming out of the Wavedrum though.

The next couple of days will show whether the Remo is more resistent than the original head :) .

I wonder why Korg didn’t name the instrument Kavedrum, since this would better fit other Korg products like Kronos and KingKorg :) .

I had the occasion to play the instrument this weekend. Frankly, I was completely impressed by the sensitivity of its membrane and rim. The built in sounds include really special stuff, and the device invites to play stuff never heard before.

It was designed as a standalone musical instrument. As a consequence, it does not provide interfaces such as MIDI or USB. It cannot be used as a controller to trigger sounds of other instruments. The user cannot upload custom samples, and the device cannot be played by external sequencers. Obviously the product managers had a clear vision in mind.

I also played the Wavedrum Mini. The pad is not a membrane, but a rubber pad. Instead of a rim, it features a clip which can be used external surfaces (tabletops, books etc.) to trigger sounds.

I was impressed how well it responds to user input. However, I perceived the overall sounds less innovative the the one of the Wavedrum (WDX, Oriental, the new Wavedrum Global was not on stock yet).

The third device I tried was the Roland Handsonic, which is available with 10 and 15 Pads. It’s less innovative than the Wavedrum, but it provides external connectivity via MIDI, and responds to user input very nicely.

So which one am I going to buy? None of them. Since I’m a keyboarder and not a percussionist, I’m still content with the m-audio Trigger Finger connected to the Kronos or the computer:

The Kronos cannot cope with it when connected via USB. The first couple of notes will be played, but then the Kronos stops to play further notes. Plugging the TriggerFinger out and in again fixes the issue, but only for a couple of notes. As a workaround, don’t use a USB but a MIDI cable.

Edit: Also see the Mandala.

I had the occasion to hear a Hang being played one summer eve of 2012 in Wissembourg. It’s a very interesting musical instrument as it appears to be a combination of a percussion and a pitched instrument, similar to a Steelpan.

Dmitry Yeryomin (aka SynthKeyWizard, SKW) shared samples of the instrument for the Korg Kronos. Don’t miss the video where he plays the samples. It is available at the bottom of the download page. Additionally he shared samples of a Duduk. Don’t miss the excellent video.

Another enthusiast maintains the hangblog.

Korg Kronos X 88

After excessively testing the Kronos, I’m completely overwhelmed. I didn’t expect it being that great. Though the grand and electric piano, the organ and string modelling engines already provide a more than pleasing playground, I’m especially impressed by the AL-1 analog modeling and MOD-7 FM engines.

Reliability

Despite the complexity the device runs relatively stable. Some weird behaviour, requiring a reboot, may happen after hours of programming work, which IMO is not a major issue. I got the device to crash, though, when importing and playing some organ soundfonts like Jeux 1.4 from hammersound.com.

Fan noise

The fan was very noisy and audible from a distance of at least 15 feet. Obviously its vibrations have been amplified by the base panel made of hard masonite. My dealer first tried to decouple it from the chassis using some foam, but to no avail. He finally replaced it by a model with similar specs. It’s still audible, but I barely notice it when sitting in front and programming the machine. I’m very grateful for the great work they did.

Kronos Original Fan (RDM6025S)

Stand

I replaced my DIY-welted stand by the K&M 18810, which is rather solid and provides enough room for the legs and pedals. IMO its assembly classifies it as a stand for stationary use, not being made for stage nomads.

Foot controllers

I’m using a Roland DP-10 sustain pedal and an additional Yamaha FC 5 connected to the Kronos’ assignable switch input.

Roland DP-10 with rubber plate

I’m still after a pedal block compatible with the Kronos with two (or three) integrated (half-damper) switches similar to the ones of Roland and Nord shown below. If possible, an integrated swell respectively expression pedal would be great. In case someone can share some pointer, I’d be interested.

Roland Pedalblock

Nord Pedalblock with plate

The factory CX-3 organ presets use the joystick to switch the rotary speaker’s speed. In case you want to optionally use the footswitch, assign one of the AMS mixers to the speed parameter, and provide both the joystick’s Y-axis and the footswitch to this mixer’s inputs.

Conclusion

The Kronos, son of the OASYS and kind of grand son of the Z1, IMO is an unrivaled digital piano, organ, and synthesizer. I already spent hours playing the outstanding grand piano emulations and programming the AL-1 and MOD-7 engines.