Korg Triton

Presets sound ok, you can tweak it and make it better. Patch editing is easy, and thanks to chicken systems software, and touch screen, its very easy to work with, compared to a yamaha motif. Manual is decent.

Nice dual poly arpeggiators really rock! polyphony is limited compared to say the new motif es yamaha (128 notes+polyphony of expansion board)....where as in triton its only 60 notes + additional 60 for expansion boards. Sometimes when you play piano sequences, the poly phony may seem to lack. Effects are nice 4 inserts. The onboard sequencer is only 192 ppq, compared to yamaha sequencers like rs7000 or rm1x with 480 ppq. I would use a korg triton with a yamaha rm1x.

Great pads, fx, and some synth sounds, crappy acoustic sounds though.
For best acoustic sounds, get motif es with mega voice technology. Filters on the triton are quite weak again compared to yamaha filters.
(I have korg triton and yamaha es, so i am comparing the two).

Very reliable unit for the most part, though the disk drive was quirky at times... I wish korg would put a smart media card like Yamaha does.

Never had to use it.

If it was lost or stolen, I would buy an access virus c instead for analog sounds. I have plenty of superb drum and acoustic sounds from yamaha motif es, that beats the pants out of the triton. Plus I like yamaha's smart media cards. Triton is great for dance songs, but if I get a access virus C desktop module to go with motif es, i wouldn't need the triton. However, triton is indeed better than roland synthesizers I have used, except the roland jv 5080 which is 32-multi-timbral and 128 note polyphony.

software version 2.5 as easy as it should be.

playing with this keyboard action feels good!effects are good .
sequencer is good but could be better by having sequencing diagram on the main page to see what you have done and what are you doing now like Fantom .polyphony is not impressing but does the trick .there is no room for storing programs i dont know why they put 4 sluts for sample memory and expansion boards when you dont have enough room to store the programs!

i think this machine fits nicely in dance music.it seems all the sounds are created for dance music. strings are good . guitars are crap.there is no applicable saxiphone and solo violin ...what should i say ... no impressing piano ...there are only pads this machine has only pads and bases....enjoy it !!

in my country customer does not mean so much!!!(and God created Iran!)

if it were lost or stolen i would buy Fantom and spend my money on ex. boards for Fantom . i ve been playing for 15 years and i play acoustic guitar(aria elecord pure like the name guitar!) , electric guitar( peavy with zoom ps-02 ) , drums(roland V-drums) and keyboard
(korg triton and yamaha dx-27 ). i like triton for its beautiful!but i think if you compare triton and fantom without expansion board triton will win but if you spend mony to expand both of them Fantom will kill triton . i like this tuch screen i love the ribbon controller i love some of the sounds i wish it had more space to store programs and a diagram in sequencer for monitoring the tracks and before these things a built in piano sound!!

Quiete straight forward and simple. Editing features are well laid out. Software Version 2.5.

In patch mode it uses only 2 voices which I dont like. Onboard FX are top notch. I hate the sequencer and I prefer to use Sonar, I think Korg could have did a better job. Now the thing I hate most is the stupid stiffy drive they put in. Korg did a good job overall with this machine but skimped on storage for the sampler. Why could they not have put a USB port at the back it would have made newer technologies possible, like pen drives etc. Instead we have to buy a SCSI interface which loads at approx. 150kB/s.

Most of the sounds are very good. except for the acoustic pianos. I bought the MOSS board also. It is a worthy addon IMHO. Some of the sound on it are very expressive like the nylon acoustic guitar, which does a cool fretboard-like pitch bend. Fat synths as well.

This thing is built like a tank. I havent dropped it yet to test it, and dont wish to! It has never frozen up or dropped notes etc. on me yet. I use it live regularly.

Never had to contact Korg yet.

If it were stolen I might consider the Roland Fantom-S. Ive been playing for 16 years now.

I'm using v2.5 which has an up-dated sampling and quantizing function. The latter lets you swing the rhythm to greater effect than previous versions.

The presets?. I think many of them sound great and it would take some really un-imaginative monkeys not to be able to put them to good musical use. Knocking up a library music track on one of these takes next to no time if you're strapped for time.

Thanks to the touch screen it remains the easiest of all the synths I own to program. The two supplied manuals mean that it doesn't take long to figure it out but I have to say its software is incredibly well designed and I've sussed out most of it without having to open the manuals.

Actually now is a good time to point out that editing samples in the Triton could not be easier (as easy as doing it in Kontakt, and easier than Gigastudio). If you're an avid sample maker like me you'll love this feature.

Its got 62 voices on an ok keyboard. The action is quite nice although I use my Synclavier's ORK keyboard and my SY99 as controllers so I don't tend to do too much playing on it. The aftertouch is pretty stiff and less effective than some synths I've played on, but the wealth of other controllers makes up for it.

The built in FX are the best and most flexible on any workstation. The are not just of high quality (and quantity) but it really is like having a few good grade FX units inside the machine. There's some really unusual ones such as the piano sympathetic strings preset which works well with sampled pianos. I've created a LITE version of my EASTWEST Steinway B sample CD and created a program that loads into the Triton and the result is fantastic. There's barely any difference between it and the Gigastudio version and the good quality reverbs have put the icing on the cake. Great stuff!.

It accepts a MOSS board which I haven't yet done, but intend to soon. You can also insert a SCSI board - which I have done and is essential for those who intend to use the sample option - and two korg cards such as the PIANO or ORCHESTRAL series. The sampler takes up to 64mb.

Thanks to the ribbon controller, 2 assignable switches, value slider, 4 assignable knobs and the X-Y joystick, the Triton makes a good controller keyboard if its your main synth. It also has 3 knobs for its very powerful dual arpeggiator and sequencer and makes controlling these features on the fly very enjoyable and easy. No data entry buttons needed :-))

The sequencer is suprisingly powerful (workstation seqs are often a bit of a let-down and take ages to program compared to software ones). I'm used to programming my Synclavier's sequencer so by comparison this is very easy and quick to learn and use!. It can handle 200 events and has a really good cue list feature that lets you assemble pieces in different sections then type in the order at the end to create your final track. Also, there's a cracking pattern feature that lets you create loops of any length, from the usual 4/4 4 bar to a Boulezian 11/32, and assign the finished loop to any key on the keyboard. You can then trigger the loops anywhere anytime in your track and save on using up all your events. R&B, Pop etc are all going to like this feature. I use Cubase SX for a lot of my sequencing work, but often, when I'm up to just sitting back with a beer and writing what the mood takes me, I just use the onboard sequencer for inspiration.

Oh, and it has a GM soundset onboard which can be used with the sequencer to playback standard midifiles. The result is like a high quality version of an SW1000XG doing karaoke (which is meant as a compliment!).

Well, its a sampler, and one with a clear, rich sound. If you don't like what's on offer,put in what you'd prefer to hear. The Chicken Translator will help convert if you don't mind using your computer, or you can import WAVS and akai/EMU format disks directly. It is only limited by the imagination. I happen to really like a lot of the core wavs and some of the presets are really fantastic. The arpeggiator plays an important part in a lot of the COMBIS (combinations of up to 8 basic presets simultaneously, each preset consisting of 2 oscillators/wavs) and helps create some incredibly complicated and evolving sounds.

The Triton works well in any style. I can't think of an area where it couldn't excel. I use it mainly for contemporary classical session work and tv/library music so I can vouch for its effectiveness here. Several times I've had really complicated percussion tracks bursting out of this thing (think "Percussive Adventures" sample CD) to great effect.

I don't use the actual keyboard a great deal so am not best placed to comment on how effective it is, but it seems to work just fine,bar the aftertouch which, as I mentioned, seems a little un-responsive. Of course, that may just be my model, or because I haven't needed to program in a response curve.

The actual side cheeks are thick plastic, but seem pretty strong. Its quite heavy and the touchscreen and joystick need protecting if you carry it around but its been durable nough thus far.

I have gigged with it several times without a backup so no probs there.

Not had any dealings with Korg yet as it hasn't broken down.

I wonder what sort of brain dead monkeys bought it and are seemingly incapable of getting good things out of it, judging by the disparaging amateur reviews I've seen posted from time to time. Its an amazing piece of equipment and I would certainly buy it again. I'm not too bothered about the studio version as it doesn't really have much extra I'd need considering the price difference. I chose the Triton because its such a friendly, great sounding instrument. I can't think of anything I dislike about it except I would quite like to be able to re-sample the internal sounds for use in the sequencer.

Its one of the best designed bits of hardware I've ever used. It helps me make music just the way I like it and has yet to throw up a feature that disappoints me.

(If you want to know my background and other equipment see my review of the Yamaha SY99)

It was the great debate. I was in the market for a new keyboard after 7 years of using my Roland XP 60. Since I thought the new Roland stuff was below average, I was told the KorgTriton or Yamaha Motif were the best choices. I rented them both for a weekend to determine which one was best. I loved the interface and creativity of the Korg sounds. I thought the accoustical sounds were horrible. The action on the Triton is average and felt the Triton wasn't to useable for anything accoustical; since those sounds were so bad. I use a piano sound regularly and Korg has never gotten that sound right. The sampled piano sounds like it was taken from a reconditioned casio digital piano. I see the triton being useable for somethings but I needed a complete keybaord and found the Triton to be lacking in many areas.

My overall rating is based upon my comments above

The triton is one of the easiest to use keyboards when it comes to live editing. All of the money sunk into that touch screen is well worth it. I play live most of the time and switching between patches and stuff is cool.

THe action on the triton classic is way better then the Karma or LE. I have never run out of polyphony live. It's sufficient. The effects really make the keyboard, though. I have played the LE and honestly I dont know how people can live on 3 or 4 effects per preset. It excepts 2 expansion cards and a MOSS board and SCSI. THe sequencer is pretty good.

It has some pretty good organs (Gospel stuff, annoying techno house organ...)THe guitars are sufficient. The piano is thin, THe drums are pretty good, and the synths are great as are the strings.

THis thing has never broken down in the 3 and a half years ive used it. It's been smacked around a little, but it's well built.

Never dealt with them

If this were stolen I'd be pretty ticked. I'd probably get the Studio version though, since its about the price I payed for this one new. If you listen to closely to a lot of rap tracks out you can hear a lot of the samples from the drums. ON Moby's new cd you hear them a lot. A lot of people use this and its very versatile.

is my first workstation that i have full unterstand without the manual!

since os v 2.0 you have a full featured sampler and since 2.5 the triton studio sounds are combatible. the triton is now very long on the market and have all (nearly) what i want.

sounds full triton-studio kombatible (with piano board). very good effects. lots of different sounds

very stable os. no problems.

very good help on phone and in user forums.

now i have the triton since 5 years an i love it for all the time.

I think the preset sounds are good (not great)

KOrg is known to have good built in effects, and ease to use
the action is "normal" overall is good.

I'll give some suggestions to my Pro's in here.
Piano playes users: for realistic feel: For Ambient sounds:
*Kurzweil *Yamaha *Korg
*Roland *Roland(Hammond souds) *Clavia
*Yamaha *Korg (sax) *Nord Lead

Allways use keyboard with backup.

never deal with them yet

I might buy a Roland xv88 this is a very good synth.
specially good Pianos.

If we compare this Beast with Motif!
Triton is peace of cake.
If we compare it with Kurzweil, kORG is peace of cake too. :-)

Sequencer is very good and ease once u get used to it. Korg is known for building good sequencers. Still the king of synths.

Here is where your eternal rival KILLS u Korg. (YAMAHA MOTIF)
Korg u need to work harder to get better samples of a more
realistic acoustic sounds as your eternal rival does. jeje.

Yea, you can depend on this synth for live performances and
studio too. techno, pads, organs are goodie sounds.

N/A

If it were stolen, i would probably get in great depression.
And if i find out who the *%$#@!@# idiot was? I Might cut him in
pieces, and eat him with bacon and egg every morning till he desapears from earth. LOL. (JK) after that, i might buy it again.

OS 2.5 is the latest softare version. The touch screen is great for ease of use and makes it relatively simple to edit samples & patches. Although it looks daunting at first, the Triton is a fairly easy keyboard to get to grips with if you give it some time. The only function I still have problems with is the confusing Sequencer, although you can load MIDI files into it which makes life easier. The manuals are total shit. The 'Basic' manual only tells you how to switch the thing on, but you need to be Mr Korg himself to understand the 'Parameters Guide'- there is no middle ground.

I was pretty excited when I upgraded from my X-5 to this in 2001, but my feelings about it are bitter-sweet. So far as the basics are concerned, they're all what you'd expect from a mid range pro keyboard. The ribbon, 4-way joystick/pitchbend and control knobs are very useful.

The value of this keyboard depends entirely on what you want to use it for. I don't normally write these things, but I'm doing it now to warn you that if you're planning on buying a Triton for it's onboard sounds- forget it. I've recently installed a bunch of software synths & progs on my PC, so the Triton has been relegated to the status of a MIDI controller in most respects. The Piano sound is passable with a ton of reverb, as are the strings, the single ARP synth & the Jazz kit. Other than that, Korg seems to put most of their efforts into creating pisspoor gimmicky rythmic patterns and Combis that will really stamp '1999' into any music you create with them. It is possible to rescue some of the sounds through careful use of FX- the graphic EQ in particular (all the FX are very good, though limited in MIDI sequencer mode). You can also do cool things to all the sounds, including samples with the instantly accessible filters.

Where this keyboard really comes into its own is with it's sampling section. For live use, this is invaluable. It's amazingly easy to reconstruct live instruments and to mix and match sampled sounds as programs and combinations. You'll also find it pretty hard to run out of memory even without an upgrade. For live stuff I've sampled in sounds from several knackered analogue keyboards & other instruments which I wouldn't trust on stage. Incorporating them all into the Triton has saved a lot of backache and stress. I don't know why Korg even bothered with the floppy disk drive- it's a complete waste of space. You'll need a SCSI card with a Zip or CD-R drive which'll set you back a few more dollars. The sample time slice function is great for cutting up breaks/loops & automatically assigning them to keys.

My beautiful silver Triton became covered in a thick layer of grey/brown crap within months (a problem that seems to plague all Triton owners) apparently you can clean it, but I'm sure it offers some sort of protection against the elements. It's a heavy bastard and dents easily, which means that if you're taking it out live it's far more liable to get beaten up, even if you're careful. Technically the Triton hasn't failed me yet. My X-5 took a direct hit from a pint of beer once and survived, so I have faith in all Korgs in this respect. You can back up pretty much everything onto disc, so if you can get your hands on a spare, it's no problem loading in all your customised settings.

Never bothered, but the website has OS downloads etc, so I suppose they're not the worst in the world.

As far as sampling features for live use go, I couldn't do without this keyboard. If you take some time to get to know it, you can pull off some fairly impressive tricks with it. In the studio it's just an attractive MIDI controller. To be fair, I haven't seen a keyboard yet with a full set of decent orchestral and synth sounds, so my Triton will probably stay where it is for a while.