Korg Karma

System is very easy to use. For a monochromatic LCD display, the Karma has about the best and its Amber LCD is very high contrast. There are piles of editing options, literally hundreds of screens, but one can get into them slowly.

I put in the MOSS and two ROM expansions (vintage synth one, and a drum module) and the system auto-detected them immediately.

I have performed various software updates over the years, and that also went without a hitch.

The key, I think, is if you want to dial in a sound, you can. You can use the menus, without reading a manual, to get pretty much any sound you're looking for. Also, there are enough creative accidental surprises that can take you into new creative directions.

Mine is fully expanded: 2 rom modules and the MOSS. I think if you have the Karma, you must get the MOSS.

You can create Combi sounds that mix the MOSS and the Karma programs. I find the one bank of MOSS sounds limiting tho.

It's got custom scales, and a large amount of actually useful performance control

I LOVE how the Karma function outputs midi, which can create very amazing results.

Well, it's a ROMPLER, but you can get amazingly creative with it.

Adding the MOSS is great as it adds a new dimension of synthesis to it. The waves in some of the EXB expansions are good. The effects are way above average -- very good indeed!

Keyboard action is ok, but not super. Aftertouch is a bit on/off really.

I think its Karma implementation is better than other Korg's actually! Don't know why, maybe because more 'soul' was poured into this one. Other Karma implementations seem more 'way-out-there' where as this one plays along with you very well.


Again, the sounds are very wide-ranging and I use it a lot!

It is solid, been dropped a few times and still looks pretty new. I'd gig with it. I don't see Korg's other releases as better than it, so I don't know what I'd buy to replace it. It is really good value I think.

Korg is great. Best support I've ever had is from Korg. Not sure why, but it's true!

It's a funny looking great sounding keyboard just full of surprises.

Good use of a decent sized screen, and the OS is prety logical. Although the surface controls for the Karam GE's are fun to play with, the actual underlying functions require some serious devotion to minutea and detail...Not for the faint of heart, or those who are looking for quicker forms of gratification. Probably explains why so few musicians are aware of anyone really taking these boards into new and interesting territories...Pity that they are mostly known for generic trance and hip-hop beats. The MW software that came free with these boards sold in the US once version 2.0 was released is a great tool for getting below the surface of Karma.

The ROM cards I demoed were Vintage Keys and Dance Extreme. The dance card wasted alot of space on generically useless rap samples ("Kickit!") and snippets of gospel vocals, and the vintage keys were pale comparisons of what's already available as free samples, or even in modeled syths elswhere, but I suppose there's a convenience factor of having those extra PCM's built in. If the Karma were your only sound source, they would be welcome additions to the available PCM's but not worth searching for in place of outboard gear. I'm told the MOSS card is a very poor and pricey substitute for an actual Z1.

There's no reason why the Karma algorythms couldn't control a good outboard synth/sampler just as well as the onboard expansions (which further reduces their questionable). The score is raised only by the Karma functions, because otherwise this is a pretty mediocre/thin synth, with a good sequencer, and great built in effects.

As a synthesizer goes, this is basically a ROMpler with rather unimpressive filters. It will produce some interesting tones from it's good PCMs, but the quantising limits movement to the tone, and the zipper effect limits realtime control. The excellent effects section does wonders for the thin sounding sources.

The build quality is abit better than it looks, but not by much. I've seen several Karma's that have switches and encoder dials that are either pooched, or on their way out...not a good sign in general...although admittedly these were on boards that looked as though they had negligent owners to begin with. Still those dinky little knobs and cheap plastic ends do little to inspire confidence.

The keyboard itself is just awfull...even by low the low standard of a fatar style keyboard. The keys are way too light even for someone who likes a light keyboard (myself), and wiggle around sideways like they're ready to fall off. The aftertouch is thick, squishy, and CREAKS (audible and tactile) through it's wide range of travel (even though it is simply turning AT on/off without any value range through all that motion) until you finally get solid positive feedback at the very end of the travel. Like trying to dance with very cheap shoes, on a light plasticky carpet layed over a thick spongey pad that doesn't offer enough resistance before you hit a solid concrete floor....Not pleasant, nor very musical.

Korg has a great Distributor in Canada (as far as Tech Support goes)

This rather expensive synth is just a well layed out subtractive ROMpler with mediocre filters, and great sounding FX/routing,...and of course one HELL of a neat bag of tricks up it's sleeve with the very challenging KARA functions!

But...Unless Stephen Kay's technology get's locked up in patent courts (or something equally nuts) and there are only ever a handfull of Korg models that offer this Kay functionality to musicians, the Karma board (as the first incarnation of KARMA) is not destined to greatness in its own right, nor is it a particuarly impressive synth or controller either....So this model is obviously not going to hold it's original inflated value...and it hasn't.

Once the distinctive Karma edge get's offered (fingers crossed)inside of more desirable hardware...and more importantly in SOFTWARE form (if legally possible while rights are presumably held by KORG), the price will certainly bottom on this particualr peice of hardware, and it'll likely be a $4-500 peice of plasticky history.

One that apperantly still hasn't inspired enough people to develop the fascinating Karma side of things to it's full potential (IMO)....not YET anyhow!

I see the Korg Karma (and Oasys) as simply over-priced barriers to wider adoption of Stephen Kays wonderfull KARMA technology...KARMA will surely prevail and reach a wider audience despite this ;-)
(fingers crossed)

S/W version 2.0

Presets sounds FANTASTIC. Some needs to be modified by tweaking with effects.

Patch editing is very easy

No need to consult the manual if one handles the KARMA frequently.

The main feature is the KARMA function, it helps in music making within a few minutes & can capture all the thoughts of a human brain & then transforms it in a music. Thats Really great.

64 polyphony. Keyboard is good for fast playing.

Inbuilt effects are easy to use but needs some practice to apply them with appropriate tones.

Yes expandable with 2 EXB_PCM cards.

Onboard sequencer is easy to use.

Majority of sounds are FANTASTIC, both in Programs & Combis.

Yes, it is reliable.

I can use it in a gig without a backup.

Never dealt with them

I hv been playing KARMA for about 3 years. KARMA helps to make music in second. I wish , if KARMA would have USB port (instead of Floppies) for saving sounds.

Version 2.0
The output quality is good. The preset sounds thin.
Korg's interface has always been good.

Keyboard is nowhere as good as wavestation or 01w. but miles better than alesis qs series. Effects are good and easy to use.I haven't touch its sequencer yet.

I have not learn anything yet about Karma technology. again, the key action is 'acceptable'. It is not as disgusting as alesis. certainly playable!

Sounds. Now, the bad part :
Strings are so bad, I find it suprising in a korg.
The Pianos are worst than lower end Korg N5.
Well, with heavy effects, I could certainly make it sounds ok in a mix.No thick epianos. Organs are so weak.32MB ROM of what? there are sounds that M1, wavestation, sy85 and 01w that can do better! Where are the good flutes/woodwinds like 15 year olds yamahas and rolands? Did i mention the mediocre choirs? N5's choirs beat karma's hands down. But pads and leads are excellent.

regret 50%.

I'm hoping to get the orchestral expansion soon.

overall disappointing sounds, more playable than alesis.

Wavestation - bad LCD. N5 - bad (1) key. 01w - no problem. Overall Korgs has been reliable

not very friendly in my country (korg's distributor)

I read positive reviews about this board, even from owners of wavestation, o1w. I hope maybe there's something wrong with my speakers. anyhow, still having much to learn about karma technology, I certainly am putting high hopes on this board. I don't think i can last long with this board without getting the expansion boards,(exb pcm & moss) because im tired of the cheesy onboard sounds.


get it for the karma technology, not the sounds :-(

Version 2.0, Almost all the preset sounds are excellent sounding. Editing the patches initially takes a bit of time, but then you can get really expressive and realistic sound. The manual is quiet straight forward, the only input is your time with the maroon monster.

although the feel of keyboard action is not very good, although things like after touch and the velocity is quiet appreciable (ofcourse you cannot expect an 88 weighted key action in a 61 notes!!!). polyphony is good. There are 89 insert effects and 5 master effects which you can use for your program sounds in a live situation or in combination or sequnecer mode. You can expand using Korg EXB expansion boards, upto two expansion slots are avaliable. You can also incorporate MOSS board(Multi oscillator Synthesis System). Karmalab (www.karma-lab.com) is a very dedicated site for Karma owners, you can get more sounds. The Karma community is really helpfull and would help you sort any problems that you encounter in your Karmafied world... Karma software is an interesting software, with which you can create your own GE's (generated effects)which is the heart of karma. The onboard sequencer is quiet friendly to use, I would say that almost all features of sequencer is similar to Triton. Cue list feature is a very intuitive and powerfull song making technology.

Sounds are very realistic right from piano,organs, guitars, brass, strings, synth sounds, pads, drums etc etc.. I very much object to people who complain especially the piano sounds!!! You have to tweak and add more effects like a mixture of stereo compressor with some chorus and rev room etc... Any sounds is possible to be formulated. Although the board has all the sounds for any kinds of genre, I personally think its more geared towards hip-hop, techno, house kind of stuffs. The after touch and velocity comes to live especially in orchestral kind of stuffs..

I had mine for more than a year, I never experienced any problems yet. The body doesn't appear to be very strong though.

I don't know!! I heard from my friends who had bit difficulty when approaching Korg.

I hate to think about that. I would love to have Korg Oasys if I have funds if not I would go for Karma, as Oasys features second generation Karma technology.

Understanding the Karma function is not easy at first, i've had it for some time now and i'm still struggeling with it. Digging through the manuals is a must if you want to get to know this beast, problem is there's 3 of them, and they're huge! 1 "basic" manual, 1 "GE"(Karma) manual and 1 "Parameter guide". Don't expect to do miracles with it at first but with some practice you truly have a lot of power lying in your hands. The presets are great, there is(as far as i remember) about 350 single presets and 350 combi(combined singles) presets to choose from.

The only time i might have polyphony problems is when running a very big combi, but it's barely noticeable. The keys feel a little cheap and plasticy, but i don't mind, i just play faster this way! Karma has a ton of built-in effects to choose from, even a few i haven't seen before as the "Auto-Reverser". I you have the chance, try it out on a acoustic piano, sounds fantastic! There is several expansion boards with more sounds for Karma, it is built on the Triton sampler engine which means almost everything that works in Triton, works in Karma! Isn't it great? If you do not desire to use the built-in sound module you can send the Karma patterns as MIDI to another synth/device. You can also enable "Sequencer mode" which gives you up to 16 sounds to play with(although not live, you must use an external sequencer to trigger and play the sounds, as the name opposes), my only down here is that your amount of insert effects is still limited to 5. 5 effects for 16 seperate sounds isn't alot...

As probably also spoken of the Triton, the Karma piano is know to be a little "thin" and "unrealistic". I've found that can be changed with the right set of effects. There is many good presets, most of them are very melodic(not so many "hardcore" techno sounds, which is kind of nice) and quite a few SE's(sound effects) too! The etnic instruments(sitar, gamelan drums, pan flute, ect.) sounds very nice and pretty realistic to me. Karma is good for most kinds of electronic genres, and Stephen Kay(the genious inventor of the Karma technoligy) did a few progressive rock presets too, these don't sound too convincing to me, but pretty fun to play around with.

Usually Karma goes as it's supposed to. I have rarely had problems with it, though it can be a bit of a pickle syncronizing it to a live band, even to the computer it can be annoying to sync if you don't have the proper knowledge. I wouldn't depend too strongly on the Karma function itself live, but defanetly the sound module, strong as a rock.

Incredible support! Check out their forums at www.rar-lab.com! I've asked several questions in there and most of them are answered by Stephen Kay HIMSELF! Now that's what i call customer support!

I'm a synth junkie, although i've only been playing for 6-7 years now. If it was stolen, i would probably replace it, although i always feel like getting new gear, but i need to learn to exploit my gear fully, as i haven't used the Karma function nearly enough than i should've. But there's work in doing it, consider it a fine art of sound designing. Tough job, but when it's done, you'll be stunned. If you want something new and innovative, you should defanetly consider Karma. I use it as my little inspiration machine, i jam it, and tweak the Karma controls a little and there we go, all new cool song!

Soft. 2.0
Sound: You ave to hear it !
Ease Editing the sounds. and with KARMA-MW its brillant !
The Manual is as big as the functions.
To understand the Multirecording with a external Sequencer only by the Manual isn?t reachable !

Didn?t find the end of polyphony in my Jobs.
The Effekt section is also cool with over 100 Fx?s
The capapilities are great not cheap but great PCM-EXB or MOSS Board
The Midi capapilities are very great hear it !
Easy to use Seqencer. And Multirecordable !

Sound are big big big great !

Because the KARMA architecture is so deep and comprehensive, it does take time and dedication to get the most out of it. But once you get into it, the Karma is amazing.

The KARMA Technology built into the GEs(Generated Effects, ARPs on steroids) is the heart of the Maroon Monster. This has to be one of the best real time compositional tools there is. In addition, its synthesis/sound system, sequencer, IFX and MFX is identical to the Korg Triton. What separates the Karma from the Triton is the KARMA functions and their Real Time Controllers (way beyond Triton).

The sounds coming out of this thing are just awesome, especially the Karma-fied combinations which can be considered to be mini compositions that you can manipulate in real time. Don't get me wrong; this is not an arranger keyboard. It is eons beyond that.

The keybed and the joysticks have experienced some malfunctioning. However, the operating system is great.

With the various Korg centres around the world, with all the online support groups that are available, technical issues can be resolved.

"The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts." Oh yes, this certainly applies to the Karma.

2.0 Software. Presets: Uses the TRITON Sound Engine so you know this thing is great! Editing patches is easy enough. 3 manuals (SHEEEESH!!!!).

62 Poly. Light keyboard action (Good). Uses 3.5" Floppys. Haven't used the sequencer yet, but looks easy enough.

Most instruments sound very realistic. Karma is geared for Dance/Techno. Very nice onboard effects.

I've only had it a couple of months but seams to be pretty solid. I use multiple keyboards when playing live (5).

Never dealt with customer support and I still opwn a KORG X3.

If it were stolen I would get another KARMA.

Hi there. This question is hard to answer. You can start playing right away and have great results, but in order to understand the full system you need time . The manual is OK (4 of them) On Steven kayes website there are plenty of other manuals. Some of the presets are awesome.

Of course the Karma is the mother of all Arpegiattors. It is a system that helps Pro`s and Hobbyists produce music.The effects are like on the Korg Triton. Many choices. It is a good Workstation.

Piano`s and Organ`s sound good. Ihe Karma is a system with very good sounds although some virtual analog Keyboards can sound very good too. Again the reason to get a Korg Karma is the Karma System itself which is a great production tool.

Mine works very well . Software 2.0 I am mainly a guitarist songwriter who plays modestly Keys .I only used it in the Studio.

The local Music Store in Saarbrucken Germany `Musikhaus Knopp is very knowledgeable and Knows about support. Everything else can be found on the website

I am a huge Fan of it. After trying everything from Roland Grooveboxes to Samplers etc. i finally found the right Production tool . It's fun it kicks ass and is very musical.I'd like more people to understand what the Korg Karma is.Most of them think it is another Chord recognition Keyboard or Arpegiattor which is not true.

My KARMA is version 2.0 by default.
Preset sound are amazing. Most of them are usable.
Patch editing is convenient enough, but I'm using SoundDiver, it's more convenient.
Manual is good.
The thing is not easy to use for me is KARMA technology. :)

Polyphony is 62-voice (68-voice if EXB-MOSS installed). Keyboard action is good enough, but not the best.
It has a good built-in effects (5 Insert effects + 2 Master effects + Master EQ). Effects are very good quality for built-in. They are not easy to use for me. And I don't like that all programs and combis use them by default.
It can be expanded by EXB-PCM boards and EXB-MOSS (Z1 like 6-voice synthesizer).
It has a good MIDI capabilities: channel, aftertouch, controllers, all parameters can be changed by MIDI.
It has a very good (if not the best) onboard sequencer.
But the main feature of this synth is a KARMA function!!

Almost all sounds are usable. Sounds are great, I like it.
I think this synth is good for any type of electronic music.
Onboard effects are great.
KARMA function does not allow to sound static. It change many many parameters (some of them in random order) and every note you play will sound different then previous!
The kayboard has velocity and channel aftertouch. It doesn't react to release velocity.

I dodn't gig it. But I don't think it's "built like a tank".

Didn't need it yet.

If it were lost or stolen. Maybe I would buy it again. Maybe I would buy a Triton or Kurzweil K2500. But I like this keyboard!

Version 2.0.0

La informacion contenida en los manuales es de buena calidad, suficiente. Sin embargo, hay muchas cosas en las que los manuales no son de mucha ayuda.

La polifonia es buena, aunque preferiria que fuese de 128 voces.
El procesador de efectos es de muy buena calidad. Es una pena que solo tengas 5 efectos de incercion y 2 efectos maestros. Lo ideal es que cada track tuviese al menos un efecto, por ejemplo, un ecualizador parametrico de cuatro bandas. Sin embargo, sabiendo optimizar los recursos adecuadamente, puedes hacer mezclas extraordinarias.

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 son muy buenos pero no tanto como se espera de KORG.
Los efectos son excelentes.
Las teclas son agradables al tacto. En mi opinion, la curva ideal de respuesta deberia ser 4.5.

Ojala KORG dise?ara una nueva version del KARMA con las siguientes caracteristicas:

-160 Mb PCM ROM
-Sampler 16 bit, 48 kHz stereo/mono
-Resampleo
-Banda Ribbon
-Mayor cantidad de knobs y sliders para contolar las modulaciones dinamicas.
-16 efectos de insercion simultaneos.
-5 efectos maestros
-Master EQ Parametrico de 7 bandas.
-Touch View (no es indispensable)

En resumen, habria que crear el KARMA Music Workstation/Sampler, fusionando las caracteristicas del Triton Extreme con los algoritmos de la funcion KARMA.

Jose Manuel Sandoval Martinez

I've upgraded my Karma to version 2.0. In general,it's not too difficult a synth to get around on - at least for basic functions. You can get pretty deep with it, though. I've had a lot of experience on synths going back to pre-midi era. However, if this were my first synth, I'd probably find it to be a major undertaking to learn.
The manuals are not the best, but I don't find them as problematic as some users have written about.

The features have been well documented in other reviews, so I won't go into all the details. For me, the feature that absolutely makes this keyboard the dream machine that it is, is the Karma function. I've seen this misrepresented by some as being glorified auto-accompaniment. This, in my opinion is very far from the truth. As someone with an avid interest in synthesis, I see the concept of the Karma as a quantum leap forward in the evolution of synthesizer technology and one of the most original devlopments to come along in years. Major kudos to it's developer Stephen Kay!

Other features I find very useful are the chord triggers, latch function, scene function, and the wealth of real time controllers. The only thing I wish it had is a sampling option like the Triton, so one point off for that.

The Karma has a huge range of sounds available. For the kind of music I do, which is ambient, electronic, New Age, soundscape-type stuff, it is astounding. I have an extensive collection of some of the best synths and modules available for this kind of music, including Korg Wavestation SR, Prophecy, micrKorg, Roland JD800, Yamaha FS1R, EMu Morpheus, Kurzweil K2000RS, and others. However, I'd have to say that the Karma is the crown jewel in my collection. It's become the one I start most of my composing on, and then use the others for overdubs and icing on the cake.

Since I use it mainly for atmospheric and textural music, I'm probably not the best one to comment on realistic sounds like piano, organ, brass, etc., as I never use them.

As far as some users describing the sounds as "thin" - maybe they are talking about sounds that I don't use, but that is the last adjective I would use to describe the Karma. In many cases, the depth and detail of some of the sounds is beyond belief. I've played some music I created on the Karma for professional musicians, engineers, and producers here in San Francisco and they were extremely impressed by the quality of the sounds. Words like "rich" and "lush" come up often. Once again, perhaps I'm just not using the sounds that some people refer to as "thin", but that's definitely not how I would describe the sound of the Karma.

I had the Karma for almost a year before got under the hood and started editing the sounds. And once I did, my appreciation for it increased even more. I found that certain combi's that I thought I'd never use, could be tweaked into something totally unexpected. Especially some of the busy,intense techno patches. I found that by getting in there and pulling out the bass, drums, and certain other elements, and bringing the tempo down, some really lovely atmospheric, evoloving pads emerged out of the chaos.
Not being a "computer person", all my editing has been done from the front panel. However, I do look forward to eventually checking out the software editing program that is available.

In addition to presets and edited sounds, I've also used some of the sounds from Karma Lab's "Chemistry Vol 1" which were excellent. I'm interested in checking out more in this series.

I've had mine for about two and half years and have never had any problems whatsoever. However, it's been used primarily in my studio and not on the road. But, in my experience, Korg products are well made and I wouldn't anticipate any difficulties.

I haven't dealt with Korg for this product. With support available from Karma Lab, I probably won't need to. However, Korg has been helpful to me in the past in answering my questions.

I have to say that Stephen Kay's hand's on support for Karma users is extraordinary. Karma Lab is as complete a resource as you could want, and he often answers questions personally.
So my rating for customer support from Korg is "no opinion", but a "10" for Karma Lab.

I would definitely replace the Karma with another one if I needed to. Although I'm very curious to see if they come out with the inevitable updated model in the future. This is without a doubt my favorite synth I've owned including all the ones listed above as well as earlier classics like Oberheim OBX-A, Roland Juno 106, D-50, etc. I actually sold an awesome synth that I really loved - the Kawai K5000S - to be able to buy the Karma. At the time I couldn't afford to keep both, and the Karma had such amazing features that I had to have it. And as much as I hated parting with the K5000, I don't, for one second, regret getting the Karma. No other instrument I've owned has had such an impact on my playing and creativity. It has opened new doors and allowed me to go in new directions of soundscape design.

The only thing I was disappointed with, at least in the begining, was the color. After having the K5000 with it;s sleek silver brushed aluminum top, the burgandy color of the Karma stuck out like a sore thumb in my studio where everything else was black, gray, or silver. I remember wishing they had made it like the Triton or at least in black, but over time, it has grown on me and I'm more ok with it now.
But this is a miniscule point in comparison to all the incredible features of this keyboard and the impact it has had on my music. I'm just now completing a new album with special guest, New Age keyboardist Steven Halpern (who also has a Karma), and I have to say that the Karma was used extensively on practically every track.
(Samples can be heard at www.songpeddler.com/MichaelDiamond)

Another fun application with the Karma has been to trigger it from my midi guitar and Roland GR33 rig. It opens up whole new avenues of creative expression.

I don't give out "10" ratings that easily, but in my book, the Karma definitely deserves it. Perhaps if I were a pianist and keyboard action were important to me, or if I was looking for "realistic" sounds, I might not rate it as highly. But for ambient music and for my particular needs it's the best. If I could only keep one of the synths in my collection, this would definitely be the one. The only other synth that's come along in the last few years that has aroused my interest is the Roland V-Synth. But that is pretty much an amalgamation of various existing technologies, rather than something groundbreaking like the Karma.

As much as I've used the Karma in the past couple years, I feel like I've just scratched the surface of it's capabilities. I look forward to delving much deeper into it and highly recommend it to other sonic explorers.

This comment first. no one should critique this keyboard unless they have had it for 6 months +. At first, I thought it sucked. As I began to learn over time that the people that made this unit are 1000's times smarter and more intelligent then all of us combined. I began to realize this was quite an accomplishment. I dare anyone (ok maybe one ) of us reading and writing these respnses to design to completion just one function on this unit. Forget it. It is a marvelous keyboard to play. Yesssss the keyboard itself is on the week side, then again, MOST keyboards on units today are on the weak side, only SOME are very special. Regards to the manual, Come on, all manuals suck to all of us, who the frig wants to read the manual anyway? It is either suffer figuring it out yourself or suffer reading the manual...! You can literaly turn thgis keyboard on and it makes wonderful sounds.

Stephen Kay,,,,,,thankyou ever so much. I knocked you and Korg in the beginning,,,I was very wrong. I am a so-so player. Because of Mr. Kay's work playing along side me, I have nailed being in a great band beacuse of this unit,,,,,,period. If you are a great keyboard player, you will love this unit for the thousands of sounds and , over a thousand Karma arpeggiator settings....If you are a really shit player,,,this thing will make you sound great. know triad chords....?,,,your in.
Everything works great, MIDI, onboard sounds, literally well over a thousand. Expansion capabilities are there and second to none to perform.

I included have knocked KORG for its' weak/meak sounds in the past. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit...! What they are doing is giving us raw sounds to work with. Manipulate thses sounds only slightly and Voila..
!. Big big strings, powerful over the top Brass. Vocals,,,ahhh, needs a little work and additions from Korg. Pinaos need some building, copying, pasteing, but work non the less to fool many audience's.
Oh, just discovered the drums on this thing the other night, never had a need for them, they're outa control, they're really cool.

I bang this friggin thing around so much moving from practice to playing and back again. Throw in the truck. Korg should sign me up as the guerilla in the cage in the commercial throwing the suitcases's around. Only in this case the Korg Karma. I am half kidding here but this unit does take a licking and keeps on ticking. Static shocks and all. I have used it solo at times without worry. Knock on wood.

Never needed,,,,,,,,yet.

If it were stolen, I would have to replace this thing. Every major sound that I have built upon is on the Karma. It truly can and is a stand alone piece. I do have other keyboards that perform separate functions wonderfully, but they are not the topic here. All together now, we all bitch about something or other on keyboards, especially the nose in the air bla bla, I know it all, pain in the ass keyboard players who have to have their way or they stamp their little feet.
The Korg Karma has some of the best trade offs on the market.
Thanks again Stephen,,,because of me, Korg, and your great/fabulous work and dedication, I, am once again, after many years, playing again.
I gave Stephen Kay and Korg a hard time about a year ago on this product, but was too stupid to realize the genious put into the Karma along side of Korg's work. Like I said no one should rate anything on these reviews without having them for at least six months to a year.
One last thing, I have 5 other keyboards/synths to work with,,,if someone said, "You need to bring one keyboard" out of all my, my, not anyone elses' my,,, keyboards to a job,,,,,hands down the Karma would be first choice without reservation.

Unfortunately, the manual is poorly written. As with many synths, the manual would be much more useful if explanations were writtne with better grammar and followed by demonstrative examples. The Karma manual seems almost like it is trying to be a comprehensive flow chart of sorts but for what its worth, I find it tedious and at times lacks clarity.

The features are good considering the Karma function. I have been using this as a controller for some time. I use some of the bass sounds, sometimes some of the drum sounds and a few of the lead and pad sounds but mostly the controller and Karma functions. These are easy to use and quite useful.

The so unds are not really that bad as others would have us believe. I have never considered this instrument one to go to for realistic sounds. For that I used an Emu hardware sampler until I got Kontakt and Garritan PO. Those provide my realistic sounds. Korg has not advanced their soundset like Yamaha has done and I suspect that they are simply banking on old techonology cause it still sells and does not require much investment. I would imagine that Korg reasons the synth market is going software and eventually will go nearly completely software so investment into defeloping hardwaye synths is not wise. In fact, Korg has just released some software versions of some of thier classic pieces with a cool scaled down M-20 (is that the model number?). Anyway, my hardware sunths are about how they work as controllers. I like the Karma for the Karma function since the keyboard makes a good controller as do many dedicated controllers but gives a bit more by including Karma, some useful internal sounds, decent effects and expandabliity.

No problems.

Stephen Kaye is remarkable in this respect. The s upport network for t his instrument makes it even more interesting depending on how deep you want to go.

If the sounds were better, this wo uld be an 8 or 9 but I would add that there are some very usable sounds. I suspect that the sounds could be improved by the user if you want to invest the time and effort. For some of us though, programming synths takes time a way from other production and compositional tasks.

Korgs have been easy for me. Easier than roland, yamaha, alesis etc... The preset/combi is OK, Korg-ish, highly commercial perhaps. Combination Not as breathtaking as my old Yamaha SY85.Overall this is easy to use, the Korg's advantage over others. Alesis has the worst (really) interface ever created in synth history.

Keyboard, hmmmmmmmm light. My favourite feel is Korg Wavestation.I get better keys with early 90's products.But Features are all well built-in.

Sounds are all uninspiring.Thin. Like Triton-thin. (Better than N-Series). even PSR9000(!!!) sounded better.

Not a pleasure to play.

Effects are fine. Yamaha's better.

Korgs are pretty much dependable

I have been playing 7 years. I own SY77, SY85, Wavestation, QS7, S4, N5, XP80, RD600, 05R/W, AKAI SG01k, P50M, FS1R. I think i know what I'm talking about when it comes to sounds.Karma does not have that special sound quality.

But for those who can accept the sounds, its a good buy with all the features/optional boards, sequencer, GEs etc.....

I'm using the 2.0 software and have found this keyboard to be incredibly playable. After learning a few basics about the different ways in which the nontraditional buttons affect the sound, it was cake to play. I love the tempo knob because it allows you to craft a preset that doesn't sounds great into a smooth beat in about two minutes. Patches take a little reading to edit, but this board really isn't meant for static sound design. It's more of a performance synthesizer that allows you to easily manipulate loops by playing multiple parts simultaneously, all in real-time. The manual is incredibly thorough and aside from reading the 20 page getting started section, should be used on an as needed basis.

The most important 5 features I've found are: 1. The Karma Function, 2. The Chord Triggers, 3. The Latch Button, 4. The Key's Velocity & Aftertouch, and 5. The Tempo Knob.

1. The Karma function turns single notes into playable sequences of sounds that affect one another.
2. The Chord Triggers allow you to program the chord progressions for your songs into 5 buttons -- making it possible to play full chord progressions with one hand while using the other to control the realtime effects.
3. The Latch button allows you to press a button and let go with the button behaving as if you were still holding it --- very convenient.
4. The keys play different related patches based on how fast they're pressed, how long they're held, and where they are located on the keyboard.
5. The tempo knob allows you to easily change loop tempo to find a groove that fits your song needs in under a minute.

This board is best for people with electro-acoustic needs that want new sounds with organic roots. The effects work fine and the key-response is excellent. Warning: this is not an electric piano, and the keys do not feel like those on a piano -- thus, piano abilities are not rewarded.

As far as sound quality, the bass has more punch on some pads than my PA can comfortably handle without some adjustments -- nice.

Of course, it's a professional keyboard, feels incredibly solid.

Any questions can be answered easily by "user experts" at karma-labs.com. The synth's designer, Stephen Kay will often respond to questions personally -- very cool.

I've been playing for two years and would replace it immediately if stolen. I shopped for a set of keys for months and honestly feel this is the best performance synth for playing live loops on stage with ease. It makes the songwriting process incredibly accessible and new again -- it's not a synth for programming enthusiasts or sound purists, it's a board for those wanting something new, fresh and most importantly, fun.

i think the karma isn't made for nerds. its so complex as a studiosynth. when im in the studio i always use the effects from the karma.
with live playing it is a great board 2, the factory programs are a bit dry, but once u really know where u can find everything and start to create own programs. WOW thats great. and the chord buttons are easy 2, during a solo. it takes a little time, but its great.

its a bit difficult 2 edit paches, but once uve done it, u cant 4get it.
the manual is great 2, because uve got 2 manuals: one easy and one for further studying. so when ure a experimental person (like me) u readthe easy one

the action of the keyboard feels a bit slow, but when ure used 2 it its no problem anymore
of course u have expansion capabilities, but i dont use them, because i arrange by my self a lot
i also use it as a master-midiboard, which is easy 2 do. all the latest capabilities are there
the sequencer, i dont use it a lot, isgreat

i use the karma with my metalband, and its very great. the sounds are realistic (a violin is a ciolin, not a cello for example), and they become more realistic whith shifting keypressure.

i can really depend on it. once it fell from my stars (its a really heavy board)and: not even a scratch. i use it without a backup.

the service is great. i dont need a upgrade and it doesnt need repairs

if it gets stolen, i buy it again, its that great.
i play 12 yeards now and i own a roland jv 90 and an d70, but the korg rules. i love everyting on it.

This keyboard is not for novices!!! The features on this monster are so overwhelming that someone new to music technology would have no idea what to do with them. Once you learn how to use them, all of the features are very consistent and easy to access. The presets sound very dry and thin, but with the right effects mixes added, they sound incredible. The process for updating the operating system is simple but somewhat lengthy. Editing patches is fairly straight forward, and no computer software is required, but navigating through the many pages can be confusing and cumbersome. The synthesis system is so complex that just tweaking one patch could take hours if you don't know EXACTLY what you're doing. The manuals (there's like three of them) provided are very detailed, and cover everything you need to know.

The KARMA has a unique 62-voice polyphony (I would love to know what happened to those other 2 voices)...The keyboard action is much improved from the 01/W and the Trinity, since the keys don't strike with as much excessive force. The effects section is WICKED! Probably one of the biggest perks in the whole unit. You can use up to 2 master effects and 5 insert effects, plus a master parametric EQ. In essence you could have up to 4 effects processers altering a single instrument, and still have effects buses to spare for other channels. The effects are very easy to use and route to channels/timbres, and can be sync'd to the a sequencer or the KARMA-function metronome. The KARMA has two card slots for PCM-ROM expansion cards, or even the MOSS synth expansion. There is, however no sampling capability on the instrument. The keyboard has pressure sensitive keys, two assignable switch buttons, 4 assignable knobs, MIDI IN/OUT/THRU, a pedal jack, a footswitch jack, a disk drive, a very POWERFUL 17-track sequencer, a X/Y-joystick, and a ton of sequencer, program, and combination memory. If there's anything you don't like on the unit, EVERYTHING IS PROGRAMMABLE...just reprogram it.

Some of the instruments are even more life-like than the real thing. The drums are punchy and very life-like. The saxes are very versatile, and are programmed to emulate breath-noises and growls when triggered by certain controllers. Most of the presets have little surprises in them that can be brought out by controllers such as velocity, aftertouch, the joystick, and the assignable knobs. The brass sounds are probably the nicest i've heard on any synth. The strings are very thin and buzzy, but can be tweaked by editing the programs, and adding effects. I reprogrammed a string patch with the parameters from the 01/Wfd program "TheStrings" and i found a huge improvement. The piano presets are terrible, but once you add some reverb and a Parametric EQ, boost the lower freqs and attenuate the higher freqs, they sound very realistic and are very versatile to fit any style of playing. The woodwind sounds don't really have much life in them, and the samples really are not very good. I found there really isn't a whole lot you can do with any of the oboe, clarinet, or flute sounds in sequencing. Even the effects built in don't seem do do anything for them. The timpani sample is a very plain sample, and does not offer a lot of versatility. What can I say, it's just really not a good sample.

I also purchased the Triton/Karma Orchestra EXB-PCM06/07 cards, and I must say that these cards really make up for what the original PCM ROM lacks in. The string samples are exquisite, and very classy sounding. The set comes with 16 MB of just string samples alone, and the other card is dedicated to wind and perussion instruments. The flute sound is one of the most realistic I've heard, and the oboe and clarinet sounds can hold their own. The brass ensemble sounds on the cards aren't as good as the original ones, but the solo instrument sounds are very realistic, versatile, and respond very well to playing. The timpani sound provided is still a bit sticky and bright, but again, you can just throw in a ParaEQ effect to give it some life. All of the other multisamples fill in the gaps the KARMA originally left.

Just like the other KORG instruments, you could probably throw this thing off a 5-story building and it could still get you through a gig.

Stephen Kay, the inventor of the KARMA has created a very comprehensive support forum dedicated to this instrument. Any help you need can be found there.

This instrument is irreplaceable to me, and I need it for everything I do. I have two choirs at a school, and this instrument is offering me a lot of abilities I never had before. My only real complaint is that Korg would stop making keyboards in different colors. What's wrong with black? Black is neutral. They only make the KARMA in this ugly maroon-color, and it makes it look all tacky. At least it's not that nasty silver on the Triton and the Trinity.

If you're interested in any of the newer KORG synthesizers, understand this: Many of the presets on the KARMA and Triton are not very good at all, but KORG makes their instruments so programmable that you can very easily change EVERY aspect of any preset to suit your needs. And if the multisample just ain't good enough, throw in some effects. I promise you you will not be disappointed. This instrument takes months of using to reap all of its benefits. And if you think the piano is too bright and pinchy, you need to throw in those effects to make it sound right.

I'm using version 2.0. If you are familiar with other workstations then it will be fairly easy to pick up on the Karma. However, there are a few functions that can get involved and take some time to master.

It has many features that allow you to create music that you normally wouldn't create. The sequencer is okay--could be better. The keys are cheap! The sounds could be much 80% better--they are too thin!

It sounds good when playing the combinations and programs. When you turn off the effects and try to record you see how thin the sounds really are.

It seems dependable as long as you don't drop it too much. It doesn't seem like it can take a beating.

I never received a response to any of my e-mails.

The sounds are thin, the keys are cheap, the color is awful...A keyboard can have all the features in the world but if the sounds aren't good then you don't have a good keyboard. I sold mine...

seems very straight forward and logical.Soundiver helps !...ts actaully essential for sorting or organising patches.

i wont go into this.....

its sound is fine but thin in comparison to the Z1 or old wavestation of even the larger tritons....yes they all have the same algorithmns..( triton series) but i'm not convinced they have the same a/d convertors.The karma takes some work to not sound harsh alot of the time but can sound awesome and lush.Mine has the Z1 board ,
i own a z1 also...the z1 board i'm afraid doesnt do the z1 justice....my z1 is large , organic and very analogue...the z1 board in the korg karma sounds thin...but again , is a nice addon and can sound fine ina mix.The main issue with the karma for me is the arps / ge's etc....thats what i bought it for...and sfx...weird loops and moving sounds....buy the karma for this alone....dont judge it on its sound engine...its fine but not suitable for doing a whole mix from unless you like the sound of softsynths and being boxed in .

seems solid

?????

overall is an amazing machine with the ge's...can do lush triton like sounds but can often sound harsh or thin unless you work the sound.Its main potential is as a very create sketchpad and arpeggiator.Its chord buttons are fantastic and a simply yet handy idea.Dont get me wrong , it cna sound fantastic , but can sound thin and cold in nota nice way .Good for sfx and ethnic sounds , for special arps and lush moving waves....sits well in a mix.....on its own a mix sounds somehow lacking....the z1 card is cool but doesnt have the unique edge of the z1.It can do the same sounds , but doesnt have its prescence.Its a classic synth for sure.Steven kays a clever guy....

I've owned my Karma for at least 2 years (forgot the exact time I bought it, but it was shortly after release). This workstation has a really long and gradual learning curve. For the first year or so, I was only using the preset patches and combis, and tweaking the realtime knobs to modify ge's a bit. The Karma is very easy to operate in that level, so even complete techno-newbies can start using the Karma right away. The sequencer is very handy for putting down ideas FAST. Especially with OS 2.0, hit 3 buttons and you've got your sound ready (with effects too if you want) in a sequencer track.. then press Record, press Start, and you're recording! If you mess up, hit 2 buttons and you can redo the recording or dub over it. I like Karma better than the Triton because of this button method of going through menus, which is faster & easier than the triton's touchscreen, so you can get your ideas down lightning fast. The note editor takes a bit of getting used to, and is meant more for touching up and fixing your mistakes instead of writing songs in. It isn't awful though, and once you figure out how it works, it comes in pretty handy for editing. If you want to _write_ songs on a graphical display -- use a computer. All in all, this isn't the easiest synth to use.. but it's no DX7. If you spend time with it, you'll reap the rewards. You can get some amazing sounds out of this beast (more on that in the next section) and once you master it you'll be surprised with how much this 'ROMpler' can really do! And I haven't even touched on the Karma function yet! So, concluding this paragraph, you've basically got a Triton with a faster processor, no sampling (bah, use a computer for that!), and a smaller screen (which is actually more intuitive & faster than Triton IMO).


KARMA - Kay Algorithmic Realtime Music Architecture
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You can kiss all your other wimpy little arpeggiators goodbye. KARMA is the mother of all arpeggiators. Period. This thing can truly inspire you! Whatever you use it for, jamming, inspiration, or using it in your music, KARMA works. I recently had a situation where I needed to pump out an interesting DnB+Techno track in a short amount of time. I had some great drums down (made with the Karma's excellent RPPR function), a good pumping bass, and some other padding inside the track. I was running out of time and needed an interesting lead to finish the track, but whatever I tried was too simple and I didn't have much time, so i turned to the KARMA function. I browsed through the 1000+ KARMA Generated Effects, and picked a lead pattern I liked. I messed with the realtime knobs for 10 minutes, and sculpted the pattern into an original interesting lead sound that fit perfectly with the track! I recorded this into the sequencer and added some hand-made lead (for more uniqueness) in a few places (inspired by the GE lead), and ~VOILA~ my track was complete ahead of time and I was a happy camper.

A lot of you may now be wondering if KARMA will replace musicians and let inexperienced newbies create songs without any knowledge create music. You might also be thinking that I'm a fool and I shouldn't use some computer algorithm to make my music. That's not the way KARMA works. It provides you musical clay to work with, and you must mould it into something great. You have a lot of control over this moulding, so you can create something very unique. KARMA is also a refreshing creativity-generator for tired minds! You can not even use the KARMA function in your song, but let it inspire you to experiment playing different types of music. It has certainly opened my mind to a lot of possibilities!

The KARMA function is easy to use at the shallow level, but as many say, the deeper you explore it, the more exciting surprises and power you'll find.

In the last few months I've been starting to edit the presets on the Karma and programming new ones from scratch. It took a while for me to really get to that part, but now that I have, I discovered that the sound engine of the Karma/Triton, despite being a 'ROMpler' is quite flexible! You can make a lot of new and interesting sounds by combining and modulating the different waveforms. I've made a bank full of pads, leads, and basses for my techno music. What you've got is basically a 2-osc synth in one patch, and all the basic waveforms are right there in the ROM! You get all the goodies: Saw, Square, Pulse, Triangle, Sine, plus variants of these sampled off different analog synths. Then you have a nice filter for each osc, modulation up the ass, and EXCELLENT effects. If 2 oscs isn't enough, you can layer patches together as combis for 3, 4, 10 detuned oscs anyone? ;) People are complaining that the sounds are bad, but you've got a very capable synth right there, letting you make some great analog sounds right off the bat! And then you get the other ~400+ waveforms to mess with. So don't complain about crappy sounds. You've got a very capable subtractive synth with -tons- of interesting waveforms to choose from. You just have to program it well! And that comes with practice. Try messing around with the presets and modify those at first. Once you know how it all works, you can start creating sounds from scratch. One little issue that just came to mind with this synth is that there arent enough banks!! There are ==so many== sound possibilities with this thing that it's a shame there are only 5 editable banks. The thing is, I like to keep the factory presets intact so I can examine how they are programmed, and they are handy for some ready sounds.. so I only have bank C and D to put my stuff in. I find myself constantly switching banks on my floppy, which kind of sucks.. but oh well, I'll have to live with it ;P Maybe one day I'll have the courage to clear up banks A B and E. Theres an F bank for the expansion synth EXB-MOSS, but you can't use it without the expansion card, so it always sits there and taunts me :-o

Annnnyways ;)

MIDI is very nicely implemented. I use the Karma to control software synths all the time. The realtime knobs can all be mapped to midi CC numbers, and you have the double 4 knobs on the left, which adds up to 16 realtime knobs - plenty. Velocity (lol) and Aftertouch are all there, good stuff. The joystick is an interesting design, letting you modulate 4 different things at the same time (you can set it to modulate ANYTHING including KARMA function, and you have +X -X +Y -Y range of motion, pretty cool concept.

Mmmm, ridiculously fat basses, dreamy pads, fresh ethnic instruments or good old-fashioned traditional bread & butter, this thing has got it all!

Those complaining about crappy sounds are generally using premade presets and want more/different premade patches.. If you are one of those people, go get yourself an expansion card or get a Sample CD with the premade sounds you want. Otherwise, you can program quite an amount of sounds with this thing using just the ROM itself. I won't need an expansion card except maybe for new drum sounds.

The effects are of IMMACULATE quality! You have so many damn effects on here it isn't funny. GREAT eq and compressor included.

It seems little flimsy on this side. Hasn't broken on me yet, but here are some bad points:

* Keys seem very cheap and wiggle a little when you move them sideways.

* Knobs arent the worst I've seen but it looks like they'll break off with minor force.

* It generally feels cheap, unlike the excellent build of the Nord Lead or Virus, this one feels like it'll crack or something will fall off if you treat it roughly.


Saying all this, it has fallen once due to a keyboard stand being loose, and it came out working perfectly. I haven't gigged this though, and wouldn't feel like doing so. On the bright side, at least most of it is made of metal, and it's quite light.

Steve Knowles at Korg Canada is VERY helpful, this guy should be commended or something.. best tech support I've ever consulted! :)

If it were lost or stolen, I'd buy it again. It is a very helpful, innovative tool that really helps me make music and inspires me. The sounds and sound engine are great and nice to work with once you have it figured out. This is my only ROMpler, and I keep it right up beside my computer. I've owned many others before, but this one takes the cake, and is the only one I've kept. I use this as frequently for techno as my Virus, and it helps me bring new flavours into my music all the time. Good stuff.

This would make a good -second- or possibly -first- synth to buy for a beginner, after learning what analog synthesis is all about. It's quite hard to get started programming your own sounds not knowing about synthesis, but you have all the great presets and KARMA which make this synth worth it even if you never touch the program editor. I worry though about beginners buying this as their first synth, and being overwhelmed by the presets and KARMA, and forgetting all about programming. Either buy this as a first synth if you have a persistant personality, or if you are already skilled in the art of sound design this will open up a world of new things that you might have not believed were possible! For what it does, it deserves a 10!

Using version 2.0 - Downloadable from www.korg.com. It's fairly straightforward to program and use. The KARMA function is cool, but don't expect it to follow your every move. It's more of a super-Casio-auto-play than anything else.
The wall-wart power supply blows chunks, especially for a synth in this price range. Korg, are you listening?

Keyboard action is pretty good. I'm told Korg is still using Yamaha keyboards. Polyphony is adaquate. Expansion options are a great asset. But the expansions still sound "Korgy" - what did ya expect?

OK - here we go. As with all my Korgs, it's a love / hate relationship. I wouldn't take my Karma within a mile of a recording studio. BUT for live performance, the Korg sound cuts through the mix like gang-busters. Korg sound is definitely "plastic" and "synthy". If you want realism, opt for a Kurzweil. I got the KARMA cause I could get a phatt, synthy sound only using one keyboard, instead of my usual rack full of gear.
After using it for a while, al the organs sound kinda the same...... all the brass sounds kinda the same..... all the pianos sound kinda the same.... BTW did I mention there's not a whole lot of variety within the sound sets??

So far, no problems ; )
I bought it new cause I've been burned on E-bay more than once. The extra 200 bucks was money well spent.

No Opinion

If it were lost or stolen...... hmmmm. If I could only have ONE synth, it would definitely NOT be a Korg (any Korg). But I've got a few boards ;) and the KARMA is a nice ADDITION to the endless array of sample playback synths...... all touting the "triple strike ultimate Steinway piano sample" and "most realistic bowed strings".

There have been many reviews of the KARMA so I'm going to write this one purely from the perspective of how I respond to it as an improvisational musician. I'll start by telling you where I'm coming from. I'm fifty three and I've been playing keyboards and guitars for forty years. I play a variety of styles but I'm mainly interested in improvisational approaches to music. I don't gig. I play music around ten to twenty hours a week, typically by myself, and every once in a while with another musician. I'm not daunted by technology, but I'm not a techie. I'm less interested in sound design, composition, and recording,than I am in making on the spot music.....what I can best describe as Mandala sand paintings....get into a groove and mess around for an hour...and be grateful for the experience....no record of my"accomplishment." The KARMA is accessible, tweakable, deep, and complex. I haven't bothered with combi creation or the GE software. I'm sure it would be great fun to do so, and I have enormous respect for people who make music that way, but in the amount of time I have to play music, I'd rather just be at the keyboard. On that basis, the KARMA is a pleasure to use. Real time combi tweaking is instantly possible, as is basic mixing and program editing. This is definitely an instrument in which you can "learn by doing." Your understanding grows as you experiment and gain more experience. Not everything is transparent, but you can get your chops going pretty quickly.

Seven months ago, when I was contemplating buying a synth, I couldn't decide between the KARMA and the YAMAHA S90. As a long-time piano player, I knew I would want a great feeling 88 keys, with superb piano sounds. Yet I was much more intrigued by the KARMA concept. So I wound up buying both, finding a used KARMA at a great price. I haven't looked back, and I have absolutely no regrets. The KARMA is an improvisational dream machine, pure and simple. The KARMA function is waht makes this possible. It is all that it is cracked up to be. This is a feature-packed rig. Most amazing is that even though the synth market is so volatile, and so many new designs and innovations appear monthly, the KARMA function remains fresh, original, and creative. You discover something new everytime you play. After seven months of use, I've barely explored this feature rich instrument. I've hardly used the excellent sequencer. I find that just exploring the KARMA function on the pre-set combis is enough to keep me happy. The key to using the KARMA is to be patient. Many of the combis are deserving of many hours of exploration. I see each combi as an ecosystem of sound, filled with habitats (loops) and species (sounds) that interact in surpising ways, depending on how you interact with them. Moreover, there are so many of them!! Although I don't find all of them useful, the great majority are good,and many are outstanding. Coupled with the superb CHEMISTRY and REINCARNATION packages, there is no end of possibilities. The KARMA is a veritable encyclopedia of sound templates and improvisational possibilties. I essentially use the KARMA as an improvisational groove template and then I play over it with the S90.

The sound sets of the various synthesizers have been thoroughly compared. Of course, it comes down to taste. In my view, the KARMA has excellent pads, leads, percussion, and guitars. In general, it's a solid, clear, and flexible sound set. However, although the pianos are adequate (for use in KARMA combis), I greatly prefer the pianos in the YAMAHA S90. In general, the acoustic sound set in the S90 is superior. But it should be as that's the main feature of that instrument and it has much more ROM than the KARMA. The measure of the KARMA sounds ought to be how well they serve the instrument, not how they compare to other instruments. For the purposes of the KARMA function, they are excellent. In that regard, they are well designed for the instrument. I wouldn't buy the KARMA for solo pianos. It's not deisgned for that. I love playing solo acouistic and electric pianos, and I use the pianos on the S90 about 80% of the time. That frees up both the KARMA and the S90 to do what they do best. I also use an EMU Planet Earth to add more zest to the KARMA.

Absoultely no problems whatsoever.

Thousands of KUDOS to the absolutely remarkable and unprecedented support network. Stephen Kay's availability to answer all types of questions, the numerous helpful and experienced musicians who offer advice at the great KARMA labs website, and the production of after market combis, are all terrific. The manuals have been criticized, but i don't think that's warranted. They are not well written, but they are clearly laid out, comprehensive in coverage, and a great resource. What's incredibly helpful are all of the start-up guides, and other instructional aides. I've not dealt with KORG directly, so I'm not giving them a 10 as much as I am Stephen Kay and his entourage.

The bottom line is always....how has this instrument helped my music? And this is where I convey my unabashed enthusiasm. The KARMA has allowed me to explore styles of music and approaches to improvisation that I would not have otherwise explored. I am less daunted by the technological possibilities, than I am by the possibilities of expression. I've thought about putting together a musician's guide for how to use the KARMA as an improvisational learning tool (but I'm too busy playing the instrument). I was so overwhelmed by the extensive combis that I began taking notes in a field guide, organizing the combis in terms of styles, and making lists of personal favorites. Here's the interesting thing. I now find that I'll explore a combi that I passed over six months ago, because I was impatient or not fully appreciative of its possibilities. I've taken to randomly selecting a combi, and tweaking it until it's interesting to my ears, as a challenge to my ability to become comfortable in a range of musical styles. To my tastes, I'd rather see more world beat/jazz styles and fewer dance combis...but you know what....with some basic tweaking, and messing with a few GE's you can take just about any of the templates and make them serve your musical tastes. This is a flexible, eclectic, brilliant musical instrument, and it has been a great teacher.

This is an updated review on the Karma (I'm the 'Cheers' Anonymous guy). I've had the Karma for a little under a year, and like any relationship, after the lovey-dovey period weans, the flaws within are exposed. I still believe that the Karma is a solid board. It's certainly unique and an eye-catcher. The KARMA technology is still a step above anything else that has been brought to the hardware market lately, which certainly says something about other synth manufacturers. Stephen Kay is still faithfully supporting his product, and it seems like Korg's marketing and hype of the Karma has reached a standstill. Indeed, one can have a brand new Karma for ~$1200 at some stores. THIS IS A STEAL compared to shelling out your hard-earned bucks for a classic Triton. Still, the misunderstandings about what KARMA really is about still exists - and who can blame the people? My opinion on its preset sounds has changed slightly. Keep in mind that the Karma shares the same PCM waveform data as the Triton, so my opinion applies to both boards. The Hammond-like organs really are quite terrible and lack character - get an external organ module if you're serious about organ playing. The distortion guitars are usable to a certain extent, although envelopes are set so that you hear an annoying 'chiff' sound on keypress, making fast note runs sound incredibly sloppy. Strings are wonderfully expressive and tasteful - can you say film score material? The acoustic guitars, especially when layered together are very bright, and string plucking sounds dead on (I'm a guitarist so I -KNOW- how a guitar is supposed to sound). The EPs are lovely and velocity switched. I am especially fond of the Wurlitzer EP sound. Brass sounds are average, nothing noteworthy there, as well as reeds. The orchestral combis sound THICK as hell and are a joy to play with. Stock acoustic pianos still suck horribly - get the dirt-cheap piano expansion. You won't be disappointed. However, I was disappointed to not find any Farfisa organ samples - in the stock ROM or in any of the Korg EXB expansions. But where the Karma exceeds most is in its ease of use. Dialing in new combis and programs is easier than eating pancakes. I spend a lot of time coming up with new lead sounds and pads in the progressive and Floydian vein. Sherinian, Rudess, Kuprij, Wakeman, Wright? All possible. The robust effects section - over 100 quality effects (the leslie is AMAZING) makes it easy to fatten up sounds to your liking. However, a PC librarian and program editor would be appreciated. Hello, is anyone at Korg listening? Routing KARMA GEs can also be a serious pain to the inexperienced. Paul Osborn's combi creation tutorial helps, but it could be a bit more intricate and detailed. All in all, it's still a great board. It's a joy to play. I plan on complimenting it with the EXB-MOSS expansion, a Kurzweil ExpressionMate, and an 88 key controller in the near future. It's worth every cent I paid for it, and I would immediately rush out and get another one if it were lost or stolen. The keybed holds up to my rough mashing and glisses, despite the fact that it feels very fragile, it has yet to exhibit any flaws or breakage. Now, if only Korg made a Karma with sampling...

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).