Korg Karma

I would like to reply to that Idiot "Suminona." Dude, what do you think the Karma is ?? It's a sample based synthesizer and one of the best I've seen. Just check what it can get outta the 32 MBs of Sample Rom.
If you want a Piano that sounds like a Piano get Steinberg's Grand. One can always say there are better Brass samples than the Karma ones or the Roland ones or the Yamaha ones!! I have sample CDs who are 100% accurate and perfect, so if you use them in conjunction with the Karma your done. Why critize the sounds ? They sound good to my ears and if you're not satisfied, get some solid sample CDs. You've misunterstood everything!

I don't wanna really give a review at this point, I just wanna comment on some things. I've owned it for almost a year and still haven't learned ANYTHING! But it's surely is easy to use

Features ? Are you kidding, this has WAY MORE capabilities than any other synth!
Did you forget what KARMA Stands for ? - Definitly 10

I don't know what's up with you people, using wrong speakers, soundcards whatever. In those 32MB of samples ly the best sounds I've ever heard. I didn't really buy the Karma for the technology itself but for those PERFECT sounds!

NO PROB at all. I've gigged with it twice.

No Idea!

I don't know why you gave the Karma so few points. I've owned it for almost a year and have only scratched the surface on it. Most people rate it badly because they've only played it for a couple of hours. If your not into learning this thing FORGET IT! It's not only a performance keyboard it's -EVERYTHING.
Work on it and you'll be surprised by the results. At first I was very sceptic and I played with the idea of bringing it back and getting a Triton or Fantom or Motif. But this baby really is EVERYTHING. If you need better sounds then get a S2000 for 100 Dollars on Ebay or use HALion -PERIOD.
The only workstation comparable is the Triton which is too similar, and believe me, get an AKAI Sampler and you've passed the Trition by miles hehe. The Ribbon on the Triton is cool though, and the keys a nicer, but anyway. Karma + AKAI Sampler + Good PC/Soundcard = The best you can get.
I play in a metal band and it's suits that perfectly. I do Drum n Bass and it plays wonderfully. I have studied Piano at ABRSM in London for 10 years and I can do AMAZING classical compositions.
I love it, and I think there is no better Keyboard in this universe, trust me!

Ease of use with the Karma is very very good. I have owned one for about a month now. I use 2.0 OS at this point. The manual made a great fire starter for my wood stove and have not missed it since. Useless, useless, useless manual. Everything and I mean everything I have needed help with did not come from the most stupid, out of range manual I have ever read. Most musicians do not want the severly technical/in depth jargon, they just want to know how to make sounds and get on with there life.

Ease of putting together patches and Layers are very easy and quite intuitive, no manual needed and with some patience can be done on your own in a matter of 1-2 hours. The effects are ok,,,,,ok, thats it.....ok. Nothing more. The Midi is a very strong part of this keyboard and quite impressive. Karma is Karma at this point and something a little better than a new technology that has yet to evolve. Very difficult to adjust and get used to. The technology of Karma is quite cool. Maybe more time with the unit will prove it to be "awesome". The keyboard sucks big time.

The instrument that shines the most on this unit is the brass, vocals are nice, not impressive, strings are ok, THIN, THIN, THIN on all sounds. I could not believe my ears. My Ten year old Ensoniq ASR-10 puts this thing to shame thickness wise. Velocity and touch react like they are supposed to. Did I mention the keyboard sucks bigtime? Its' touch is almost embarresing to show people. Very mushy, no spring back, lackluster touch.

Seems to be very reliable at this time. I would trust its; reliablity solo.

If it were stolen I would collect the insurance and invest in visiting many music stores and try a keyboard I was interested in for more than 1/2 hour. I did not do this with this unit and am beginning to feel the regret. It is by far no "Hunk of Junk". But,,,their sales ad did move me in a "grab-ya" position and I do not want to be there again. Any advise I can give is make sure you try many keyboards for the genre of what you are trying to accomplish. I have been playing about 6 years on and off. Have had many vintage keyboards to play with and am not talking out my ass, (last time i looked back anyway). It makes music fine and can put some quite good presets (combi's)together. Just not happy with the Thiiiiiiin sound, Uuuuseless manual, piss poor keyboard bed.

Very easy to use, but can get complicated if you want to go deep with Karma.

Overall pretty good, in my opinion. Check other reviews or Korg`s website for details.

This is the fun part. You can make some nice synth-sounds with the Karma, surprisingly vintage, low down and dirty(which is why I like it), but you can also make a lot of pretty un-cool stuff with it, if that`s your thing(Phil Collins being a well-known Karma-user..)
Presets are good as starting points for programming, not very useable without tweaking. Overall, the Karma is a good synth for black music, funk, hip hop and soul etc., probably for other types of music to, but about that I do not care.

No problems there.

Dunno.

I love my Korg, buy one you too, if you not already have done so. If you don`t own a sampler, buy a Triton, but if you do, buy a Karma, it`s more fun.

Karma editing functions have a steep learning curve but the overall keyboard is fairly easy to get a handle on. You can plug the thing in and play one note and blow people away.

It has great effects, Karma, and routing options for the oscillators and effects. It would be nice if it had sampling, USB, and digital outs.

Amazing! I have the MOSS board and some EXB ROMs and this thing is great. With the MOSS board I can get classic analog (Moog, Arp. Oberheim) and plucked instruments (physical models). The standard piano sounds are a bit tame so invest in the EXB Board. The Karma function takes everything to a new world. It is like having the Korg Wavestation and Prophet VS with better definable synth sequencing. The Karma MW Software is awesome but again not easy to understand if your a beginner. Effects are first rate and with 5 insert effects and two additional global effects you can get a lot of great sounds out of this synth.

In summary, you could spend months with this keyboard using one patch and the Karma function and only scratch the surface with regard to the possibilities. It is that deep! Using the Karma function with other gear will breath new life into stale programs. Bottom line- people generally get slam the Karma because many of the presets just sound like a keyboard player "trying" to sound like a one man band. Karma can be used this way quite effectively. However, if your interested in creating unique and compelling sounds, coming up with riffs that raise the hair on the back of your neck, or tweaking loops (in real time) that explore realms unknown, there is no better product on the market right now!

Fairly stable, although I broke the EXB door within the first two weeks.

Great! They really on this keyboard to do well. Stephen Kay is way cool. Met him at NAMM and he was just as nice in person.

I would buy this thing again if it were stolen. I use it and the KARMA function to drive other hardware and software synths in the studio. The realtime controller knobs work incredibly well with Reason! I can not emphasize enough how orignal sounding this synth be when the Karma function is engaged. For example, you can have a minor third tracking your lead below middle c and a perfect fith kick in above middle c. Meanwhile, everytime you hit the X/Y controller a glissando occurs in the key your playing. Amazing! That is just a very small example of what I mean. You could easily set the Karma to trigger a riff by another piece of gear in the above example by hitting B flat as well.

OS 2.0.0. It is as compicated as anything that one does not have any experince in. So far without using the manual, I have been able to load midi files, and modify them. I am a technical so to speak person...

Pretty good... Keyboard action could be better... I really like the E-mu and Yamaha Motif keyboard action. Lots of features, kind of easy to use. Yes to expansion capabilities, yea... GOT KARMA!!! yes and it is pretty easy...

I am speachless... so is my brother in-law, and everyone else that I have showed this keyboard to.

This one gets a low one... when I opened up the box, A#3 did not work right. but the store that sold it to me exchanged it out with no problem. maybe I would take it to a show...

good. at the place I bought it at.

I would definitely buy it again, and I plan on maxing this thing out. I am totally sold on Korg for now, and would most likely get the EM series stuff. I have only been playing for a real short time, like a month, but I did take piano lessons when I was 5 years old. I like the fact that it shows you the notes when you playback the sequencer. The KARMA feature is hands down the only thing like it on the market for now, so don't expect to see it on anything else for now. I have had this thing for only a week, and have put some tracks down effortlessly. Is that a word... Anyways, give it shot at your local shop, and compare it to the Triton Studio, and the Yamaha Motif... The only thing is the keyboard action... however now I am getting used to it.

Software version 2.0

Editing patches is fantastic and easy, Preset "Karma" combinations are great, but are harder to manipulate or create, you even need software (KARMA MW) to do this right.
Manual sucks, but Korg has fantastic support, even Stephen Kay, the creator answers questions personally in the karma yahoo group.

Build in effects are awesome. Patch editing is fantastic and easy as hell. Karma notes can be recorded onto a sequencer such as cubase, which is fantastic. Midi controls are somewhat mystic, but midi was never easy if you own more then one keyboard/synth

Pianos & Guitars are terrible, Organs, Synths and Drums are great.

Everyone knows great sounds do not make a great composer or a great record, Karma's strenght is within it's synth capabilities and ofcourse the Karma function, which is quite revolutionairy, it lets you create entire songs in minutess, and you still feel you did it all by yourself.

Sequencer data is not stored in memory, but unlike the much more expensive Yamaha Motiv, it comes with a diskdrive out of the box.

Great, the inventor Stephen Kay does his best to keep in touch with Karma users all over the world on his website and in newsgroups.

Karma is a great and fantastic keyboard for a relatively low price.
Even without the Karma function, the keyboard makes a fine addition to my Roland JV1080, with it's build in sequencer. The Karma function is fantastic, but only if you're into creating your own music or production, I don't find to much use for it playing in a cover band to be honest. Still, even without the karma function you have a great Korg keyboard with sequencer, synth, all the works.

On the negate side,
Although the keyboard is often mistaken for an arpegiattor, it's everything except that, it's the one thing I miss, if you want to create your own dynamic arpegios you have to buy additional software, which I find a bit awkward (or commercial). Although you can change the preset Arpegios created by the karma beyond recogniction, you can not create them from scratch.

But I have no regrets whatsoever buying it, and looking back I'm glad I didn't buy a Yamaha Motiv.

OS 2.0

I've heard many times that Korg instruments blow you away in stores, but after you've had them for few months,you find out, they are not so good as you first thought.

I worked with Triton for two years and finally bought my own Karma nine months ago.

Triton had great touch screen, but after all, using Karma is faster, because triton screen lagged a little. Triton is surely easier and more informative, but when you get used to it, karma is faster.

My opinion is that Korg interface is very logical and intuitive and presets are cool. Especially with Karma. When you try this out for the first time with "Voice of Karma" combi, It's like.. vow!

Then, after half a year or so, you think you can use this synth, but it gives nothing new and great anymore. (I had this feeling with Triton)

But, then you really learn, how this synth work, and after that you can make almost whatever sound with it. Believe me.. :) So, editing those patches isn't very easy. But I don't believe this kind of deep editing can be. Editing other synths, like Yamaha Motif, is actucally quite identical.

Manuals.. Well, they are quite informative but really boring.. Not used them very much, but they are still useful, sometimes..

Keyboard action is *light*. Not for pianists.. Really.. Triton had much better action. Polyphony 62 is enough, I think. I had some lag when used triton, but had no problems with karma.

Five Insert effects and two masters are enough indeed. Additional outputs and flexible routing are cool if you use external effects.

Anyway, KARMA is the reason to have this keyboard. Many ppl have told about basics of KARMA, so I only add some opinions. It's really hard to configure and master KARMA. I can't do it very well, and I've had 9 months time just to learn that (I could use other features quite well already when I bought this, because of two years experience with Triton). So I use KARMA more to just zone out with combis than creating music. Using it live is also hard as with any arpeggiator (and KARMA is definitely more!) because sync problems. Still, it's really useful with drum loops, guitar riffs etc. I hope I could use it well some day..

I don't have much experience about those expansion cards. I had moss board with triton, but I never really used it. But still, I really believe in physical modeling, and I'm sure you could get really great sounds with moss.

Karma has great sounds, in general. Acoustic piano isn't very good. I hate organs. (though EXB01 has some great organ patches) Sound set is similar to Triton's with few new preset patches. KARMA takes some sound alive. (Try B115 Harmonica for instance)

Generally I think Yamaha Motif sounds better. Emu Proteus2000 also beats Karma in some sounds. I don't have much experience of Roland (except stage pianos) so I can't compare to them.

I've done many styles of music with karma. Classical, rock, new age, pop, etc. I think this is best suited for techno etc, but I'm not great technofreak so don't know.

Onboard effects are quite great. Using EQ with other effects can bring your sound to another level, try it out. Again, Motif has better amp simulations and distortion. I use POD for that so I have no complaints.. :) (try it out in store, you'll be impressed)

Keyboard aftertouch is crappy. I recommend using other keys as controller anyway. You can get expression with those sounds, but it needs tweeking. Playing out with that keyboard is quite hard.

I've had no problems, but then, I've had this keyboard just for 9 months.

I haven't dealt with Korg,(and hopefully won't need to) but I haven't seen better support than I see in korgkarma yahoogroup. You can get answers to your questions in no time from the creator of KARMA and that is really great support!

I would definitely bought it again if were lost of stolen. It's worth the price.

I'm not professional pianist. I've played piano for about 7 years. I really can't play classical piano. Violin is actucally my main instrument and I've been playing for 13 years or so. So I use my karma mostly to compose music. I can get almost every sound out of it. And for piano touch (and to control karma, often) and sound I use Roland RD-600 which has great action but little oldish sound.. Then I have that Line6 PODxt, which gives me variety of great effects and not just for guitar sounds. It's completely differend thing to play organs throught pod's leslie simulation than karma's rotary effect.

I love in karma that I can do everything with it. If I needed to play koto or kalimba sound in a band, no problem (I've done that ;), if I need to make music of any style, no problem. And it's lightweight.. :D

I choose Karma because of KARMA and the fact I already knew how to use Triton.

I would love, if Karma told me it's time to go sleep, when I play "voice of karma" 3am, but maybe that is too much to hope. More sound ROM would definitely be great addition.

Operating System v1.0.4 (have not bothered to upgrade to the latest 2.0 OS yet). Shares the same PCM sound data as the Triton, but with modified Programs and Combis tweaked to take advantage of the KARMA technology. Presets are a mixed bag, but for the most part very lush and warm sounding. Navigating through the Karma is simple for anyone with basic computer skills or experience with any other synths. Includes 3 manuals, with the Parameter Guide alone filling up nearly 300 pages. This is a serious instrument, not a toy.

62 polyphony. The Karma features the same HI synthesis system which is present in the Triton Classic, but with CPUs 3x faster than the Triton Classic. Includes all of the standard HI synthesis effects and filters. If you're reading this you're probably already familiar with all of its capabilities. When loaded with the same Program or Combi (without arps/GEs), the Karma and the Triton sound identical.
It has room for 2 EXB-PCM expansion boards, as well as a dedicated slot for EXB-MOSS (a DSP tone generator/physical modeling board) which is located under the workstation. The on-board sequencer is the same sequencer found in the Triton series. I am familiar with PC-based sequencers, so this only took me a few minutes to get acquainted with. There is no sampler or sampling option - at its core, this is basically a Triton with updated, faster CPUs, and without some expansion options - namely the sampler, internal hard drive, and CD-ROM. It also lacks an arpeggiator (not missed, because in its place is KARMA) digital outs and a ribbon controller. Standard MIDI in/out/thru options are present. A floppy drive is present for loading MIDIs, tone data, etc.

And of course, it includes the breakthrough KARMA technology created by Stephen Kay. For those not in the know (or who may be ignorant), this is not a simple 'advanced arpeggiator' or auto-accompanyment feature, but rather an advanced algorithm which generates complex musical phrases in MIDI, all in real-time based on user input of notes and chord patterns, etc. If you want to view a really long description on what KARMA is, then see the Karma Lab page at http://www.karma-lab.com/KARMA/What_Is_KARMA.html

Without the KARMA technology, the rating for this category would be a 7.

This is a 61 key Fatar (Studiologic) keyboard with velocity sensitivity and aftertouch. Throughout my search for a solid 'all-in-one' workstation solution (I am a minimalist by nature), I came across the Karma and found that it fits my needs very well. There are a lot of great Programs to be found here - very full, convincing strings, reeds, and pads, realistic B3 organs, striking orchestral hits and basses, as well as some classic analog sounds that you may be familiar with (Poly Sixual, anyone?). Programs and Combis respond very well to velocity and aftertouch with many variations - vibrato, tremolo, pronounced drum strikes, etc. There also lays a good foundation to create very strong lead sounds (for those of you here who may be into progressive rock-style music) by editing Programs Combis. Pianos are sub-par as with ANY stock synth (yes, even YAMAHA and KURZWEIL) and I recommend getting the EXB-PCM08 Concert Grand Piano expansion board ($99) to use with this if you want a collection of good piano Programs and Combis.

The KARMA technology itself is quite impressive and does what it advertises to do - you can create complex arpeggiation movements and generate realistic harp glisses and guitar strumming, all controllable via 8 knobs to the left of the main LCD.

Here is a snippet from karma-lab.com which discusses KARMA GEs (Generated Effects) and how they are used:

A KARMA GE has over 400 internal parameters, many of which may not actually be used depending on the particular effect that is being generated. KORG and Stephen Kay (KARMA?s creator) wisely chose not to burden users with screen after screen after screen of arcane parameters (in a hardware product) that only an engineer could love, and instead designed a system where up to 16 of the most important and useful parameters are provided for editing in each GE. You can edit those 16 parameters and create many variations and new effects that may sound completely unlike the original GE. That means that in a combi, there may be up to 64 GE parameters available to be edited, and also available to be assigned to the 8 KARMA realtime control knobs and 2 switches. This is in addition to the numerous other parameters on the ?modular? level that are completely programmable on the KARMA keyboard, such as the key zones that KARMA GEs are in, the means/modes of triggering them, quantization, Dynamic MIDI effects (i.e. sweeping notes with a Joystick), etc. So there is quite a lot of editability built into them.

As of OS version 2.0 you can create your own Karma GEs from the ground-up using the KARMA MW software, sold seperately.

I am primarily into very progressive music, such as early Genesis, Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd, Planet X, Dream Theater, and Ayreon, just to name a few. For those who have said that the Karma can only fit in well with dance or techno-like music, they obviously have not explored the library of sounds beyond the first dozen Combis in Bank A. I can see the Karma fitting into any genre of music.

I have not gigged with it and have no plans to in the near future.

Stephen Kay, the creator of KARMA, maintains his own website and user group at www.karma-lab.com and atttempts to answer each question personally. His enthusiasm for the Karma is infectious and he has been incredibly helpful with every query I've passed on to him. As far as Korg USA support itself, I have not dealt with them and don't plan to unless I am experiencing hardware problems.

This is my first serious music workstation, and as such I came into the world of synthesizers from an unbiased perspective - there appears to be a lot of anti-Korg zealots floating around on the Internet, but from what I gather there will always be a group out there who is anti-something/anything no matter what, whether it be Yamaha, Roland, and even Kurzweil. Everyone complains about companies (and Korg in particular, for some strange reason) reusing, and repackaging old technology as new synths. Hello. From what I understand, Kurzweil has done the same thing with VAST for the past 11 years. It appears to be a trend in this industry, along with complacency. I hope that KARMA will shake the foundations some and get people, and corporations in particular, to open their eyes. There appears to be a great controversey going on regarding KARMA and its supposed ability to turn anyone into an 'instant musician'. To those people, I say this - get a clue. As I mentioned before, many people dismiss KARMA as a simple arpeggiator or auto-accompany device without actually reading about the technology in depth. It is much, much more than that. What is a music workstation if not a tool for creativity? Create your own combis, your own GEs, and you will eventually find your own voice that speaks over those who cheese out the presets all of the time. I can understand some people's point of view - some people just can't abide change, or are 'old-fashioned'. That's fine. It takes an open mind to understand and apply KARMA to whatever it is that you wish to create, but in the end the results are more than worth the trouble. Your choice for a music workstation, IMO, reflects who you are and what you want to do. The Karma may or may not be what is best for your needs, and I encourage every reader to explore the websites of every synth company out there. Go to stores and try various boards out for yourself. Research thoroughly online so you won't be disappointed with what you get, and most importantly, follow your heart.

Cheers.

Karma is a very user friendly keyboard and for me that's the main pro...Is an adequate keyboard for beginners/starters.Like most of Korg keyboards.

Well, good polyphony, effects are somewhat verstaile, expansion capabilities are limited...Excellent techno/electronic sounds,also good ambient/fat sounds. Didn't like the keyboard.

Like I said in the last issue, the pro of this machine is techno and ambient sounds, don't expect good results for other sound or music fields...Buy a Kurzweil or an Ensoniq if u want to go further into another levels (like I did, well...I konw a Kurzweil is almost 4 times de price of Karma but, it depends on your requirements)

Never tried it live (I use a k2500X) but I am planning to use both. Looking to the keyboard controllers, combinations and thinking in its edit capabilities I guess this is a good live gear

Korg support is good and nice.

Well, I bought this machine just because of the great opportunity I had (1500$). Since I have a Kurzweil 2500X my use of Karma is not that often, but is a funny keyboard with interesting sounds...Ideal for beginners and for initiate keyboard students...Also good for techno freaks and loop maniacs.

Version 2.0

Los sonidos son realmente excelentes. Actualmente en mi KARMA tengo todos los programas del TRITON CLASSIC, el TRITON LE y el TRION STUDIO, asi que tengo una extensa libreria de donde escoger.

Las teclas no son excelentes (se sienten mejor las del TRITON) pero funcionan muy bien.
El secuenciador es fantastico, sin embargo creo que es algo tedioso "navegar" por la interfce del KARMA.
Algo QUE DETESTO es que el KARMA no tenga bateria interna para almacenar en la memoria los datos de las secuencias.

Lo uso para todo tipo de musica.
Las guitarras son extraordinarias,
los metales y las maderas son fantasticos,
las campanas son algo pobres,
los pianos nos muy buenos pero no tanto como se espera de KORG.
Los efectos son excelentes.

La curva 4 de aftertouch no responde muy bien, creo que la curva "ideal" seria la "4.5" pero no existe.

Odio la pantalla color naranja porque despues de un buen rato de utilizar el KARMA te lastima la vista.
En general es un extraordinario teclado aunque sea un poco complicado utilizar los menus. Definitivamente KORG es la mejor marca de workstations en todo el mundo!!

Its very easy to go through the programs and combinations through the various banks. The real trick is in the menu system to do any editing, that where it gets difficult.

Ok polyphony (62), it can go quickly when using all 4 karma modules and holding down complex chords. AWESOME EFFECTS! The best I have seen/heard in a workstation. 5 inserts with chaining, 2 masters, and three band eq. Lots of room for onboard sounds. 8 banks of 128 combinations and programs. Can have up to 8 programs per combination.

I think it is very expressive. For example, a program can have 2 multisounds assosciated with it. Each has a low sample and high sample that you set crossfades for. So it does sample switching on the fly as you play. It has lots of controller features as well. 4 assignable knobs for what ever CC you want. 8 Karma control knobs for whatever karma module functions you want to assign to them. Also has a tempe control knob for realtime control. A data slider, joystick with +-X and +=Y assignable functions, multiple scenes, assignable buttons. Just check it out. Some say the multisounds are thin, I thought that in the store as well, but once you get the effects going and start mixing lots of sounds, the multisounds play well together, dont get muddy, output is relatively flat where you want it. Once you mix down and eq your music, you will be very satisfied. This thing was made for production.

It doesnt seem to be as reliable as the 01w or others from years gone by. Its constuction is very cost reduced. Hasnt failed me yet, but get a hardshell case if you are going to gig with it.

Let me say that Karma-Labs has awesome customer support. I dont like Korgs customer support though. I havent had to use it on the Karma, but I did make some attempts in the past on other products and did not get satisfied.

Its definately worth what I paid. I tried some other synths out at the time of my purchase and found this had the most revolutionary features. It was enough for me to sell my O1W/fd and buy this one. I always believed that dedicated samplers were the way to go if you needed that functionality anyway, so i dont miss having one on the karma. Motif sounded good, and was competitively priced, but I was looking for someting more. If you want to push the envelope on your music, you can definately do it with this synth. The ability for Karma to generate CC messages allows it to do some very interesting things with your rack mount gear as well as the internal sounds. The presets are R&B, Hip-Hip, etc like most synths today so if you are into that you should like the presets. The key for me is to use this as a spring board into evolving pads, backing tracks for my music. If you liked the Wavestation, you should like this board.

I have owned a Karma now for a little over a year. It is very easy to use once you get use to it. I would highly recommend joining the users group at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/korgkarma

also check out the Frequently Asked Questions at

http://www.karma-lab.com

The Korg manuals that come with the keyboard are not well written but the response you get from the user group is very good. I might add that Stephen Kay, the creator of the Karma software, generally response personally, so you don't have to deal with support people that are not as familiar with the product as they should be.
Be prepared to spend some time learning this board. Your not going to sit down for a couple of hours, or days and be able to use all the functionality of it. If your not willing to invest the time in it stay away as you will be frustrated trying to just "play" with it.

Polyphony is 62 voice. Not available with weighted keys. The keyboard is good for gigging. It's light and easy to haul around.
The keyboard is capable of adding 2 expansion and 1 Moss DSP synthesizer board. So far I have only added the MOSS. The MOSS has a very realistic flute sound, both single program and combinations. Also it gives you some very nice "analog" sounding synths.
Has Midi:in, out, thru. 2 master effects, 5 insert effects, 1 master EQ (3 band stereo). Sequencer.

The piano sounds are just ok. You can adjust the effects on the presets and dial them in better but they still are just average. I will probably buy the PCM08 expansion card (Concert Grand Piano). From what I heard of the demo off Korgs web site I think this will satisfy the issue here. The strings, pads are excellent. I belief the guitars are pretty good too. There is a very good patch for leads and some good acoustic sounds too. Organs are good. Drums are excellent in my opinion. For a portable keyboard it does very well.

When it first came out there were a few bugs in the operating system. Since then there have been 2 upgrades that fixed the problems I experienced. I have never had a problem performing with it.

I have never used Korg support. As I stated in the "ease of use" section, I get my support thru the users group and from Stephen Kay's Karma web site. I have always gotten the answers I needed.

If your into performing live the Karma is a great keyboard. I have heard several people say that the Korg sounds are "thin". I would agree that if you just play the pre-sets and don't tweak them that is the case, however my experience is that you can get most of the timbres to sound better if your willing to play with them. Also you can spend extra $$$$ and upgrade the keyboard. (I do wish Korg would include the Concert Grand Piano expansion board standard on the Karma). Compared to other gigging/portable keyboards I would rate the Karma 1st or 2nd. The Yamaha Motif (61 keys, you have to compare apples to apples)is a very good keyboard too. If it had been out when I bought my Karma that would have been a very difficult decision. Yamaha makes a very good keyboard too. I think with either one you can't go wrong.
There is a new operation system coming out for the Karma (2.0) very soon. If you upgrade to that you can also get software to run on your PC so you can create your own Karma GE's (generated effects). This is primarly the reason I went with the Karma. The software system make it possible to grow and expand, and this is a good direction for Korg to be going in.

Well I don't actually own a Karma, nor would I want to. So, if you are reading this review hoping to find another owner who loves thier Karma board, stop reading here <--. Although I will admit the ease of use is up there, as is most Korg gear nowadays.

Well, it does have a lot of features, including the famous/infamous Karma feature. I've heard many say things like "Wow! It has a mind of it's own." or "Cool! It plays itself." That's about all the Karma will do for you. The underlying technology is a great idea and will prolly lead to better gear, but it's a huge gimmick for now. Midi capability is standard. The sequencer is good actually, I wish more boards were like it. There are a lot of toys here to distract you from the fact that this board is not all that.

Damn! These sounds suck, to put it plainly. I remember the vintage Korg gear sounding great. What happened to all of those great synths like the MS200 and PolySix. Those were great sounding boards. This Karma, including the Trinity/Triton line, are awful sounding. So very thin and uninspiring. If I were buying a Korg it would be a MS2000, but there are still better boards out there like the Motif, or a real synth, like the Nord Lead 2 (o my god...). This board is a marketing extension of the Triton. It is most definitely aimed at commercially viable hiphop and dance musicians, so you can guess at the originality you would have using this (for those who don't get it, it don't sound original.) This board would make a better sampler than a synth, and there are better samplers on the market as well.

I'm sure you can rely on it. Seems to be built OK as most Korg gear is, but nothing special. Again, I don't own one.

I've never dealt with Korg. I use an EA-1 and PolySix extensivley and not had any problems. Hopefully you won't either.

I have to restate that I don't own this board. I have seen it plenty in my local music stores. It reached right out and grabbed my attention the first time I saw it. Definitely stands out from the crowd. Many people are always gathered around it, playing with the presets and such. My limited experience with it was all I needed to be able to tell that this unit is not for a musician with a serious interest in creating original music, you just can't impart enough creativity into this thing. It was made with cookie cutter dance and hiphop musicians in mind. At least Korg knows what will sell.

I had been looking to get a synth for a while now and every time I went out looking the Karma was there. Compared to a Waldorf Q, Nord Lead 2, Yamaha Motif, Emu MK-7, the Karma pales in comparison, seriously so. I hate the presets, and almost every other sound in it as well.

So if you got this far into my posting you obviously are taking real consideration into the Karma. I figured most people would see that I don't like this board and skip it looking for some posting telling them how great this unit is and to buy one today. This isn't that posting. Buy something else, I did.

Easy if you learn to use it......or take the time

has a new form of sequencing that WILL open up new boundary's in music....but as the last idiot he ranted on says..it will mean you approaching music from a different direction.It good be seen as a gimmick but its capabilities beyond most stuff in some respects.Its
does offer something new in the ge's.

AGAin after reading the last idiots opinions i have to say i do degree in some respects ..nameley that i little verb or external fx unit is nice.I think saying theat korg stuff sounds crap and thin is
true in some respects also(to my ears!) but i also think there are some sounds the trinity/triton and karma stuff can do that i don't find elsewhere.I think all in all the last reviewer is a bit of a wanker nad i think it stands out a mile away......i have used over 40 analogue synths nad digital synths and loads of expensiove outboard here nad there and personally i cant see whats motivating him....the business about capitalismand korg just on the make etc is relative....much like musicians whol just make Fashion music.....

For the record if korg were selling crap then why do so many people buy it? and i don;t know any musician ( and i know loads ) who don't use korg gear ...triton/z1 prohecy/karma etc somewhere in a mix.....
and just to set the record straight......all my mates atre signed on dance and chilled and 'contempory' labels and sell electronic based music......whats the big deal with the last guy....

cool

shite as are all manufactureres...last guy is dead right about this!

A definate new concept....and without a doubt capableof somecreative stuff that can't be done elsewhere unless you want to programin logic etc for hours.Triton/kyma soundset is fine ....but like on all synths..the best stuff needs some clever programming.Karma i would say is one of 2 ultimate controller synths that will give good sounds
and control rack stuff well.....the other is a the triton.

I need to agree with those (esp. the 40 yr old+ guy ;) who have berated the Korg sound. I am completely mystifed as to what people like about the Triton/Karma patches.

Have any of you actually PLAYED an XV5080 or a Yamaha Motif? Korg doesn't even come CLOSE to the Yamaha or ROland sound. Every time I go into GC there are the usual thugs hunched over the Triton playing these ridiculously thin patches. I have to laugh. But here's the deal, the reason the Triton has caught on is really simple: R&B and HipHop producers like it's drums (somebody finally got a clue and put good rim shots, etc in a board - took 'em only 10 years to figure it out) and the fact the the Triton OS (with its touch screen)is BY FAR the most intuitive workstation in existence.

COmplete idiots can navigate the Triton's OS so it only stands to reason that every wanna-be on this side of the galaxy thinks the Triton can transform him into a superstar. Same phenomena with e MPC drum machines. Korg has struck gold and should be applauded for "breaking on through to the other side.."

But make no mistake, the Triton/Karma patches, for the most part, suck. They are thin, they are poorly sampled and on top of everything else, the converters Korg use BLOW like Julie Ashton. The electronic sounds are cold and uninspiring, the acoustic samples are the same ones Korg has been using since the M1 and the drums, though "modern" in sound, suck for everything but HipHop.

Add to all of this that 95% of Korg's patches have virtually no velocity switching whatsoever. When I had a Triton, I had no idea what I was missing out on.. until I played a Motif. Play a Motif... "expressiveness" will take on a whole new meaning.

There is CLEARLY an indication that Korg was pursuing a very specific audience when they designed the Triton and then partnered with Dexter Propellerhead to launch the Karma. For the Triton is was all about rap and hiphop and american dance (because I have not yet noted any stand up europeans, who have the cornermarket on dance music) using a Triton. The guys in the UK use Yamaha products (CS6x, A4000, etc), Akai samplers, Viruses, Nords, Waldorfs, etc not to mention all of the software based stuff. You don't see them with Tritons.

Granted, there are plenty of pros using Tritons, but don't think for a minute that Korg preset sounds are being pumped into commercial music songs. After the sequences are laid down, those Triton tracks are dipped in just about every top shelf effect in existence by highly paid professionals who exist solely to make things sound BETTER, BIGGER, BRIGHTER, SWEETER and SEXIER to your ears.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, it's just that I can see through Korg's smoke and mirrors. The Triton/Karma boards are not going to make you SOUND good. They are nothing but propagandized garbage with tons of bells and whistles to wow you at the music store. Think about it.. dual arps? SO f'g what!! Seen what Cakewalk Sonar can do with a MIDI track lately? I do things in Cubase a Triton couldn't even FANTASIZE about doing.

Listen, if you want good analog sound, get a Virus, a Waldorf, Reaktor or comparable and learn it. You will smoke everything your Triton/Karma owning peers are trying to do. If you want acoustic, either buy a new Akai sampler (Z series kick azz) and get some REAL GOOD stuff, or get a few boards like a Motif and a Roland XV5050 to complement it. And if you just want to make slammin' beats, buy Propellerhead's Reason and leave the competition in your wake.

Sorry for the rant, fellas, I'm just sick and tired of the Korg marketing machine dictating what is "hot" and what is not.

The Karma IS a gimmick, no matter how hard these guys who have invested $2,000 try to convince you otherwise. They key here, and it has been noted in several reviews, is that with the Karma it has a "mind of it's own." One guy even said you better have the recorder going for that right take if it ha

Assholes... just like the good folks at Roland and Steinberg. Only industry in the entire world where a company can $hit all over their customers and suffer no negative publicity. Unf'g real.

Korg is a marketing machine. They couldn't care less about THE MUSIC. If they did, they would update their patches and converters and everything else to ensure their customers were getting studio ready sound. As it stands, they cracnk out Casio grade patches.. and get away with it. For this reason, I couldn't care less about their products.

For the very deep machine it is I can get around the user interface pretty good. It is a menu system which is layed out consistently in all different modes. It still is not as good as a dedicated computer editor, it lacks the big display of the triton. but it works.

The manuals (3 guides) are good as a reference guide, but not as a tutorial. The very many facilities on offer makes very big manuals.

Mucho features, most from the Triton range of keyboards, PLUS the Karma function. The karma function is one-of-a-kind, and very good.
For me this was the major reason to buy the machine.

Overall good sounds, based on the 32mb internal samples. Very good and flexible effects. Can be used on a broad varity of styles.
Most amazing is again the Karma fucnction and what it can do to the sound and musicflow.
At first it looks like just a auto-arranger or arpeggiator function, but some delving shows it goes miles further and can be used in a vast number of applications.
And it is completely midi-based, so can be used with all other midi-gear.

It is a rather light-weight keyboard, good to carry around, it won't break your back. Needs a good flight-case, like all synths.
The keyboard action is not very high-quality, but playable.

There is a new OS coming out, and all kind of third-party sounds comes available.
There is a mailinglist on yahoo where the inventor of Karma gives support, never seen this before and it *is* very decent support.

I've got it a year and it is still surprising me with what it can do.
I should buy it again if it was stolen or something.

Operating System 1.06
Very easy to use. Patches (Programs) can be selected by category. The presets sound great -- the Karma uses the same base sound WAVs of the Triton -- but modified to take advantage of the Karma's capabilities.
There are multiple manuals -- easy to read and understand. The first manual, the "Basic Guide", should be read to gain an overview. Take a look for yourself -- all Karma manuals are available for download at Korg's website (see "Overall Rating" section below).

The Karma has all of the "normal" features you will find in a music workstation today: goods sounds, sound board expansion, sequencer, effects. One additional feature that is nice are the four "chord trigger" buttons. These are quick ways to play and store 4 different chords relating to each program or combination.

The Karma name can be confusing. Karma is the name of the keyboard, AND it is the name of the specific functionality in the keyboard. The Karma function is THE REASON for buying this keyboard. There is nothing else like it on this planet. In simple terms, the Karma function is a MIDI generator, which can be turned on and off. Think of the Karma function as a module, which uses midi data as input (playing the keyboard or any external source sending the Karma midi data), and generates additional midi data as output. This midi output can be directed to the Karma's internal sound module, or sent out of the machine to an external source. If this sounds like an arpeggiator to you, you are partially correct. If current arpeggiators in the market (including the Triton) are first generation, the Karma is 10 generations in the future. Trust me, it is 100x as sophisticated as any arpegiator on the market. The Karma function has paramters that can be controlled during playing with a number of switches and knobs. Forget the comments you read about the Karma being for non-musicians; the Karma functionality is very complex. Also, software is coming out in May 2002 (for both PC and Mac) that will provide even more flexibility with the Karma function.

If you want to gain an excellent understanding of the Karma's capabilities, print out the "Getting Started Guide" (link follows), and take it to your local music store. Ask the clerk for some headphones (or take your own), and plan on spending about 20 minutes demoing the Karma, following the Guide

Karma Guide Link: http://www.karma-lab.com/Files/KARMAGetStarted.pdf

Also of note: the Karma is a Keyboard magazine "Best Buy", and it won Electronic Musician's Magazine 2002 Editor?s Choice Award for ?Best Synthesizer - Keyboard/Digital"

Very expressive given the Karma function, and the Korg sounds.

I have had my Karma for 4 months, no problems. Since Korg products are sold everywhere, they have a good service network in the U.S.

Fantastic keyboard.

For excellent information about the Karma, see the following three sources:
1. Karma Labs (run by the inventor of the Karma, Stephen Kay)
http://www.karma-lab.com/
2. Korg's website
http://www.korg.com/gear/info.asp?A_PROD_NO=KARMA
3. KorgKarma User Group on Yahoo! Stephen Kay, inventor of the Karma is the moderator, and he answers questions daily.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/korgkarma/

For magazine reviews of the Karma, see the following two articles;
1. Keyboard Magazine
http://www.keyboardmag.com/demos/korgkarma/index.shtml
2. Electronic Musician Magazine (Aug. 2001)
http://industryclick.com/magazinearticle.asp?releaseid=6908&magazinearticleid=115538&siteid=15&magazineid=33

Easy but not all that clear at times. Editing sounds is easy but may put off people with little time. The manual is massive for no good reason. The easy start guide is great. Honesty, you could just play with the synth for a few weeks then read the manuals.

Great features for anyone who has uses a triton. If this is your first keyboard, take some time with the manuals. The keyboard is the same as tritron and some yamaha. I wish it has the semi-weighted action of some newer synths. With 61 voices, polyphony is not an issue. Midi is solid. The option for expasion boards and the MOSS synth is great. 5 insert effects and 2 global are quiet and much better then the older korg effect units. They blow away the effect units on some of the yamaha synths. I can't comment on the seq because I never used it since I use logic.

The Karma is in it's own in the area really. The GE effect is hard to put a pin on. Some people seem to think it's a SUPER PSR type keyboard but it's not. It's not anything that has come before. The complexty of what the GE's can do is amazing and a little hard to get a grip on the first few times you use it. But once you find out how to make your own and your start to mix and match, the power of what this thing can do is shocking. More so since it is all sent over midi. You can cook up some wicked grooves very fast with this keyboard and a computer. SOME of the GE's are aimed at the baby boomer set, way too many ROCK things for my taste. The newage/trance sounds are really amazing. The harps are simply the best I have ever heard on a keyboard. No one does it better.

Hangs once in a while but only if you leave it on for more than a hour with nothing going on. Strange but a keypress wakes it up.

Kids who want a groove box to do everything for them should stay away. If you have a tritron, stay away since the software that drives the karma will be out shortly. This is a amazing keyboard that will either wake up new ideas in you or scare you with how complex the ideas can be. The karma is great for inspration. I used it a week after I got it to score a play with just the karma and Logic audio. The director was so happy he hired me for another project on the spot. The idea here is a new one and not for everyone.

Korg Karma has an abillity to update the operating system. The latest update of the operating system is now 1.0.6. The preset sounds can provide 'nervous' fingers to make excellent music in different areas; from classic to trance music. Editing patches is not required, and one can change combi-setting just by selecting on other program with another drum pattern or bass pattern easily (you have to know the Korg principle). The manuals are like all manuals a little bit too slow. It would be nice by Korg to provide an step to step manual which explains the required steps to make for instance a combi which is already available using different sounds combi's to hear the results step by step. If the manual is not sufficient enough, Stephen Kay has on his website (www.karma-lab.com) a FAQ manual with tips and tricks to use the Karma. Also a discussion/user group via his site is available in which the developer of the Karma himself provide answers to questions the users have. I don't see this by other syntheziser products...

The features of this workstation is very wide. The Karma workstation is a keyboard in which all the sounds can be changed to the user's requirements (synthesizer) and all the accompaning drums and bass's can also be changed, before and even when playing 'online' using the eight knobs to change for instance the drum pattern, complexicity etc.
For me, this instrument make it possible to make music with drums and accompaning bass more relaxing. If the styles or programs are not sufficient, it is possible to buy expansion boards with different styles. The MIDI capabilities are enormous and very complex. The on-board sequence is easy to use. However, one must check for overlapping midi-channels with the 16 channels (has to be switched off) to prevent memory overflow. No indication when the memory tends to be full, is available at the moment. With the compare function, one can change to a previous recording easily.

The instruments provided with the Karma a very realistic and work well for all types of music. The onboard effects are very good, but should be good to be a syntheziser at all. Playing the Karma is very nice, although the keys could be better balanced.

The Karma has not failed me yet. All songs can be saved on a diskette and even changed combi's and programs can be saved via Midi on a PC. Backup is therefore available (but for me not necessary).

Customer Support is not really necessary. The instrument as hardware device is very good. For help of software or editing/using combi's etc. the usergroup (Yahoo-group) is very usefull.

I would buy a new if something did happen to my Karma, and I'm still exploring the possibilities of this instrument. I'm playing the karma for already 9 months and I'm still improvising new sounds/music. It's really worth the money I've spend. I've started using the Korg X5 synthesizer (it was cheap and has very good sounds). But changing parameters for getting new sounds was not easy. To make sounds, I've bought also a Roland JP-8000 with also the RPPR functions. Using the karma, it makes me more easy to use drum and bass patterns to make new music, with dynamic changes if required by selecting different drumpatters etc. Setphen Kay will also present in the near future a computer program to edit the drum patterns and bass patterns with all the setting one can think of and download it to the Korg Karma. I'm waiting for it....

1.0.4.
The presets are some what O.K, compare to the Triton that I currently owned. Since I know the way around the Triton, it si easy to navigates with the Karma. Patches editing is as simple as the Triton. About the manual, it "SUCKS." You are rquired to go through many sections of the book just to understand how to do one simple thing. As far as the manual goes, I just tossed it aside and get busy with it myself.

All of the above are O.K.

The instruments samples do seems to have improved by far compares to the Triton. For me it's alot more compatible and works well for New Age and Classical due to the Karma functions of the preset combi.

So far it does not have any hickups, or taking a long trip to the junk yard yet.

I have never have to deal with them yet.

I would buy it again if it was lost. One thing that I like the most about this board is that its lightweight, compact enough for small studio,and all of the gizzmos are well laid out

Ease of use depends on what you want to do with the Karma. I'm using it in a live situation, where I'm merely using a lot of presets. However, when I first bought the Karma, I spent weeks messing with it. It was somewhat confusing (the manual sucked!), although I got the gist of it: You have more than 100 patterns (combis) to play with, and you can assign different instruments to those patterns. I wrote a few kooky trip-hop patches by putting string sounds onto drum combis, etc. Pretty cool.

As I said, I'm not using the Karma to make drum beats and stuff like that. So, for my purposes, I love the features. Everyone complains about the keyboard, but it feels okay to me. I'm not a concert pianist, and the Karma certainly doesn't feel like a real piano. But I'm not a piano player; I'm a synth player. And it feels just fine to me.

The effects are fine. I especially like the combi that acts as an octave delay. It's on a few of the strings patches, as well as a guitar patch. Really cool.

It sounds great. Incredible, in fact. Some of the sounds simply blew me away. The synth stuff is wonderful. Even the bread and butter sounds, like organ and clav, are great. And, I don't know what the big deal is about the piano sound. I have certainly heard better, but for my purposes, in a live band, it sounds just fine.

So far, so good. My Karma has been to one gig so far, and back and forth to band practice. It fires up every time I hit the power button.

n/a

If my Karma were lost or stolen, I would cry.

I've been playing in bands since 1985. Other gear includes a Roland JP8000; a Korg DW 8000; a Roland AX-1; Digitech Talker.

Some individual sounds are great, some are fine but the bulk are rather thin...

I would use a couple of the rhythms out of Karma but most of them are just plain unusable.
The synth is obviously meant to make everybody who knows just a chord or two sound like a musician... that's about it.
One most appropriate use for this thing would be to impress your girlfriend or entertain your friends at a party.

I have a few synths and samplers in my studio ranging from analogue to digital, from old to new, and I just can't see myself starting to use Karma instead... for its famous simplicity of coming up with supposedly "ready-to-use" pieces of music that the Karma engine generates... it's just not there!

Let's put it this way, if you still own a Yamaha PSR-series instrument then Karma is definitely for you... it's way better than that - that's for sure!

I'm using software version 1.0.4., and haven't run into any problems with it. The Karma is VERY easy to use. At a superficial level, just turn the thing on, pick a combi, and start banging on the chord buttons - can't get much easier than that.

At a deeper level, it is still much easier to use than some of the other keyboards I've owned, while giving you control over nearly everything. Still, like with any professional instrument, creating something new that sounds good takes work. The Karma doesn't do everything for you, that's for sure - it is NOT a groove-box or autoaccompaniment keyboard by any stretch of the imagination. So, while it's very easy to use, it still requires a fair amount of skill to take it beyond the factory programs.

Unfortunately, reading the manual is like reading the dictionary. All the words are there, but they aren't strung together in any kind of meaningful way. They are mostly just an explanation of each and every feature of the keyboard, one after another. They are NOT a tutorial at all. This seems to be one of Korg's problems in general, though, since my Triton manual is just as bad.

I haven't tried editing the patches themselves, although I've built a few combi's of my own. THAT was very easy to do. I imagine editing the patches is similar to how it's done on the Triton (minus the ease of using a touchscreen), so it's probably pretty simple. So far I haven't really felt the need to edit the patches because they're very good as they are. However, once I do decide to mess around with them, Korg has provided plenty of space to store them (so I don't have to decide which preset I have to "lose" when I hit save).

Polyphony is good. I've never had a situation where the sounds just cut out because I've hit the limits. Tons of effects are included, and routing the sounds to them is a piece of cake. You do only get five insert effects and two master effects to work with at any one time (same as the Triton), but that seems like plenty.

While the Karma has the same expansion capabilities as the Triton (two expansion slots plus room for a MOSS board), they've made it a LOT easier to add the boards than in the Triton. Open the drawer on the top of the machine and stick 'em in (on the Triton you have to turn the thing upside down - which is a real pain with the Pro and Pro-X because they are horribly heavy and unwieldy).

Keys are velocity sensitive, and have good aftertouch. However, I gotta admit I hate the keys themselves - compared to the Triton they are unbelievably cheap feeling. However, the cheap keys are probably part of the reason the board is relatively inexpensive, so I can't complain too loudly. Plus, my hatred of the keys didn't stop me from buying the thing.

It has an onboard sequencer, but I haven't used it yet. Again, I imagine it isn't too different from the Triton's, and I found the Triton's very easy to use.

The KARMA function is the main feature of this board. It just can't be beat. It's not an arpeggiator (although it can behave like one), and it isn't autoaccompaniment (although it can behave like that, too). It is something entirely new and different. Playing with one or two combi's won't give you a good enough idea of the possibilities of the KARMA function - you need to play on LOTS of combi's because they all use the function in a different way.

Some sounds suck. Some sounds are great. Most sounds lie somewhere in the middle (although most are quite good). However, here's something I didn't expect: most of the sounds which don't sound very good when I play them on the keyboard myself can sound fantastic when played by the right Generated Effect (using the KARMA function). Many of the GE's can play in ways that I can't, and are able to wring things from even the ugliest sounds on the board that I would never be able to do.

I can't think of a musical style you couldn't use the Karma with. Techno, Dance, Rock, Gregorian Chants, Balinese Gamelon, whatever. I just put together a Bluegrass combi (because the Korg engineers hadn't seen fit to do so themselves) and it turned out great.

Some GE's react well to my playing, but I've noticed an annoying lag on some of the others - which can have some pretty lousy sounding impacts). Overall, though, the KARMA function reacts pretty well. Still, I'm not convinced that this is a live performance board (though I'm sure plenty will use it as such). It seems more suited to studio work where sections of songs can be put together using the KARMA function and sequencer for the background and then human performances layered on afterwards. Just my opinion, though.

Hasn't died on me yet, so it's OK so far.

Never had to deal with Korg.

Since I bought the Karma, my Triton has sat in the corner collecting dust. I've been playing for 30 years now, and the Karma has to be the most fun keyboard I've ever owned. Even though the keys REALLY SUCK, I still play the thing every day - sometime for hours at a time. I've had it since Spring, 2001, and it still hasn't gotten old - I discover something new every time I play with it. For the price I paid, that makes it an excellent value.

Yes, I know the touchscreen isn't there, but for the size of the screen,
I think Korg designed a very useful readout. Lot's of info, especially concerning
the Karma functions. Just getting around the patches, however, was not as easy as
just sitting down and knowing where and what to click.

It's a synth-action keyboard (why do people complain about these?) and for
that, very good. Aftertouch is especially nice. Effects are excellent and the
expansion possibilities are a nice plus.

I'm including the Karma features and sound here. Frankly, I'm sure Korg has probably completely
resampled all their waveforms since the days of my lowly (and still used) 03R/W. Yet, there's
sucn a Korgness about them, that I'd swear some of them HAVE NOT changed. Obviously, it's supposed
to be the same sound engine (almost) as the Triton and that said, I wasn't that impressed with the
Triton either. The acoustic sounds are very bread and butter (no contra basson, alto flute, muted
French Horns or the like) that surely EVERYONE has by now. They're fine, but hardly earth-shattering
in the way the Z1 (also Korg) was. As for the synthy sounds, my Alesis QSR
and MR Rack do these MUCH better. Drum kits, basses, and some guitar sounds are, perhaps, above
the norm in quality.

Then there's the Karma function itself. I was ready to be wowed! I mean, that's the whole essence of this
board. But no. Glorified one-finger accompaning feature. Sure, it's more than just bass and chords and
drums in that it can be controlled and isn't static, but you're still dealing with samples and these samples ARE
static. The harmonic patch typifies this. They got the lick right, but a harmonic is virtually impossible to fake
so for all Karma's powers, it fails. And to my ears, it fails on a good too many patches. Some have said it
provides instant inspiation. No, it provides instant music that you had very little involvement in making. Inspiration
is a pretty girl, a sunset, a good cup of Joe. Then you make up the music -- all of it -- from the bass up, all by
yourself. Of course, I'm an old guy (40s) who wouldn't be caught dead buying any pre-chewed beat CDs where you just
pick what you like and chain it into a "song." I'm sure this offending someone out there. Good. It should. Karma may be the ultimate
arpeggiator/music-minus-one machine on steroids, but to me, it smacked of "home organ."

Unknown.

My past experiences with Korg have not been good.

If you own NO OTHER KEYBOARD, want a workstation (sequencer built in) and
room to expand, then despite my outright annoyance with the Karma function,
this is a good value overall. And if you do buy it and for the most part, agree
with my Karma-funcions assessment, you may still use the function from time to
time on a few things (the guitar strumming on some patches).