Korg Kross 2-61

After much research and a limited budget I decided on the Korg Kross. I looked at the Roland DS 61 which is OK but it was lacking in some features and sounds although the organs were terrific. The Kross has really great string and choir samples. The drums are good too. The only thing I will say is some of the keyboard sounds have these strange little pulsing sounds but only on certain notes? I may send it back to be swapped but otherwise it is very adequate with very acceptable piano sounds also. And a last note : The Roland DS looks very 80's (in a bad way) compared to the very sleek modern looking Kross.

OK UPDATE : Unbelievably there are some disturbing sound/patch problems with this keyboard. On some sounds there are strange ghosting sounds. On Reed Organ there is (but only on some notes???) a weird out of tune bass ghost that is quite loud and unacceptable. Upon making a Wav of this and sending it to Thomann they checked on their demo KROSS and the same problem was on theirs? How is this possible that KORG would assume this is acceptable quality??? I am extremely disappointed to an otherwise pretty good budget keyboard. Also the user friendly score would only be 4/10, there is a lot of non intuitive learning with the KROSS.

This synth was bought for working in cover band. About 3-4 times a week we perform at different events.

After transportating big 88-key full weighted stage piano, that has about 27 kg with case and cables, this synth is almost wonderfull.
Very light, but has looper, pad-sampler, very good synth sounds - very good choice for often job.

Pros:
- Light weight and small size
- Interesting design with luminous logo
- Friendly interface
- Very good synth, pads, drums, strings. And well enough brass and E.Piano.

Cons:
- Piano sound. In truth - it is not Kronos. But for that price do not wait for miracles.
- Non aleophobic front panel
- Very strange system of "Favorites" (shortcuts). When you choice one of favorite programm - you can not change it in realtime. Hope manufacturer will fix it in future updates of the OS.

I played yamaha PSRs, some old KORGs, Roland Juno Di/DS, Kurzweil synths. I can say, that this synth very good one in its class. With all modern features for modern music. Easy and comfortable keys for live performing.

for so long i wanted a backup keyboard and it was difficult for me to find being a long time yamaha user i didnt know much about korg other products other than kronos which is an amazing instrument so i tried roland which sounds most electronic than the yamaha then oneday browsed for the best workstations and i found korg kross2 leading the list so i thought which keyboard is this, very cheap and has good reviews, so i went and did more research about the keyboard then i fell in love with this amazing beauty
i wanted to use this as an backup for my yamaha and it creates an amazing combination espically in radio stations and concerts

Cons-its acoustic sounds are not upto level with the same level keybords like mx61&juno ds61
Pros-Light weight and good for quick gigs
My opinion is this keyboard is amazing for its price great durability and its edm sounds are next level because it sounds like sounds taken from FL studio and can be amazing controller
i am really happy and pleased with KORG

A very compact keyboard packed with lots of great stuffs. I use is for live music on stage along with a Yamaha MM6 or MX61. Is has great sounds on board and lots of configurations can be done even the screen is small and have to navigate with the buttons. I mainly use it for Brass, E.Piano ans Synth Lead sounds in user combination mode where I can skip the use of the ‘Favorites’, which does not fit my needs really.
Pros:
1. Keybed feel is better than the Kross 1.
2. Very lightweight
3. Sample pads are very useful for live to trigger samples.
4. Realtime controls very handy.
5. You can load your own samples.
Cons:
1. It is not handy to carry since there are not good handling points like the Kross 1.
2. Acoustic Piano sounds are not that great.

I fully recommend this keyboard to anyone with limited budget wanting KORG sounds and a compact lightweight keyboard with full of features similar to a full fledge workstation like the Kronos. KORG has also released new expansion libraries for the Kross 2 which makes it “future proof” in terms of sounds.