Korg Triton

Very good specs (on the paper) huge waveform memory and sampler, touch screen etc..

In this area this is very disappointing. I've got a korg m1 and a wavestation SR. Before hearing the triton i thought it was -the monster-, so i was planning to sell all to get this one. This is not true ! I only heard preset at the store, but all samples are rather thin and flat, all sounding in the same way :-(.
Even my m1 sounds are fuller !. I don't know if there are dac problems but for sure, this is NOT professional gear. Kurzweil and roland boards destroys this one.
Good hammond sounds anyway.

Very good customer support (i own wavestation and m1). I called them twice and they have been very helpful

Shit

Im using the newest o.s right now this was simple to master the presets arent what there all cracked up to be i think my alesis qs 7.1 has the tritonbeat in that area. i dont feel like bothering with patch editing if they wanted to have a good sounding patch it whould have been on the board. i never used the manual

the polyphony is fine where it is the keyboard action is strait with the price of a triton then with the prices of the expansions their trippin at korg the can suck a fat one on those prices

the sounds to me are the wackest ive ever heard in my life of using synths people say the tritons the best it really isnt to me any synth you need to buy expansions for to get the best sounds out of it is crappy

i wouldnt take this thing on any kind of gig

korg support is shitty ill never call or email them again its a waste of time

if it were lost or stolen id buy a fantom its not worth the price thats why im selling it on ebay basicaly crap

I don't have my own Triton! Still, I've worked in 2 studios which used this keyboard. I love it!
Gotta get one of these soon! Maybe a used one! If you guys are bored with your Triton, let me know!

Using 2.01. great combi patches, good program patches - but brass is far from the truth. Touch display is a great help in live & studio.

I had some troubles using MIDI - why do I have to go in the sequencer mode? otherwise as most korgs, has cool effects 7 arpegiator. Again, the touch display - big & visible makes all the money. It moves reallly slow in sequencer mode if not added ram.

I got the Dance extreme PCm card - new funky patches.

You have to use this keyboard with a foot pedal - it's a different world! Maybe not the best aftertouch, but... you can't have them all, right?

Always excellent. I never had to open it - excluding the day I added SCSI & PCM cards.
I would take it on a tour without a second thought!

As you can see above (Reliability), no problems inquired.

I work on Triton since 2000. At the time it was the best. Unbeatable!

Well, there are 2 years now, and I'd still love to buy a used one, just for myself, so I don't have to deal with studio owners and other kinds of authority.

used it very well for commercials - writing a jingle with Triton is a matter of minutes!

If you guys have a good deal on this - just let me know! Thanx!

Just got a slightly used unit, sys. vs. 2.1.1
Simple. If you've ever used Korg products since the M1, you're in.

62 voices. Action feels very close to original DX7. If you're a strong player, you will love it. Haven't tried sampling on it yet, but understand it is a breeze. Looking forward to adding more RAM, sound boards and MOSS board. SCSI interface will make life easier too.

Wonderful. EPs, Organs, Strings, Pads, Leads, Drums, Basses, Brass sections, all tremendous. Weaker are the woodwinds, solo strings, guitars, mallet percussion. Wurlitzer EPs are close to perfect. Rhodes pianos sound great, and are fun to play. Typical Korg strengths here.

Only had it a couple days, but I've used and owned Korg products since the late '70s. Never had problems with Korgs, except for my T3 I bought new in 1991. It was a solder problem on the R output. Was fixed and never had a problem after that.

Well, it depends on who you talk to. And on what day. I'm leaving this blank as I know many time poor customer support comes from overworked, underpayed folks who have to deal with klutzes calling up all day saying, "This @#$%*$ thing doesn't work!!" when in reality they have the volume turned down, or it's not plugged in.

I owned a T3 and Trinity TR Rack before getting a Triton Le last February, thinking it would be the same as a regular Triton. Wrong. Triton Le is inferior sounding, has a lame keybed (springy, mushy, and oh-so Casio), and the user interface is twisted. After getting this just 48 hours ago, what a difference. Simply put, the Triton classic is a pro piece of gear, and the Triton Le is not. This feels like a real instrument to me, as my T3 did for so long. The Le always felt like crap. Anyway, this will be my main controller for synth stuff for a long time. Everyone knows by now, the acoustic piano sounds onboard are pretty useless. That's not why you buy a 61-key synth, anyway. Get a good 88-note controller with good pianos, and you won't care. The Triton is still the best all around workstation on the market. Oh, by the way, did I mention that the Le ISN'T??!! ;-)

Im using V.2.1.1 of the OS. This version mostly updates the sampling capabilities to include time stretching etc.....The presets range from average to outstanding. Some of the leads, pads and organs are good. Some drum maps are good also. Built in appregiator is very tight and can render some excellent riffs but the create your own is a tad tedious, but works however. Editing patches is a doddle. Combi mode can create some stunning sounds that you'd try hard to re-create with other synths in this class. The manual....I've rarely needed to look at it except for some sysex info.

Keyboard action on the Triton I think is pretty crap. Dont get me wrong, aftertouch and like is very responsive and realistic but those keys....awwwww ! They are far too 'springy'. No sooner than you've pressed them they are really springing back up at you. Expansion wise its easy to expand and there are endless possibilities.....standard PC100 ram I've installed works a treat bringing the sampling ram up to 96MB. SCSI can be installed to use CDROM/CDR or HD for that matter.
The onboard sequncer is OK, not for total prduction use but its excellent for getting down tracks in a hurry which can then be passed to Cubase or whatever.

Sounds wise, its in a class of its own. The pads are lush and can swirl and sweep whatever way you want. I use it mainly for ambient, chilled out stuff and progressive/funky house. Some sounds can take a bit of tweaking in the effects section in order to sit in some mixes but maybe this is due to the style of music in doing.

I had my Triton for 2 months when the outputs started giving me trouble. I would only get sound coming from the left channel. I resorted to using the headphone out which is naff. Rather than part with my bitch by sending it to Korg in the UK (from N.Ireland) I resorted to opening it up to suss it out. There seemed to be a small component around the amp circuit close to the main L/R out that was completely off the PCB. After removing various circuit boards I managed to resolder it back to the board. It worked for 10 minutes then a slight buzzing sound came from all channels with NO sound when keys were pressed. Next day I turned it on and it worked a treat. It hasnt happened since, even through a house move and being in transit for a while. For a gig I would depend on it due to this problem, although I may have just had bad luck in getting a triton with this problem.

Never dealt with customer support. Korg web site has updates for the OS though.

Lost or stolen.yes I would buy it again but not at the price I paid for it. It is a tad expensive. Dont think it was worth what I paid....would have liked to paid around IR#1500 for it. Love the screen, the UI, sounds, looks. I hate the weight...its damn heavy and difficult to lift. I hate editing the Appregiator. I was looking for other synths at the time I bought this. I played it once and decided to buy :-) I wish it had some more analogue(ish) sounds in it. Sometimes it can sound a bit digital, most likely due to the HI synthesis engine.

The software I am using is v2.1.1. The Triton looks pretty complicated when you first turn it on, but you'll adjust to it extremely quickly. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think the manual really is as awful as it is made out to be, but to be honest I hardly used the manual - I found exploration the best way to learn about its capabilities. It's very easy to create sounds using the HI synthesis at a basic level.

I'm sure you'll probably know the specs for the Triton. The keyboard is VERY nice to use, in my opinion, though admittedly I haven't had a huge amount of experience. The onboard sequencer isn't the best sequencer I've ever used, but I can still use it confidently to make professional sounding tracks - it does the job. The build in effects are nice, and pretty easy to use, and the fact that the Triton is expandable is excellent for those who would like to "choose their style", based on the original excellence of it.

Sounds should really be the most important factor about a synth, and the Triton excels in this area. Simply put, the sounds are beautiful. The best sounds are probably the pads, and the organs - the combination opportunities for pads are endless, really, and you can come out with some amazing sounds in a short time. The pianos have been criticised, though I think they are largely very realistic, and the bass sounds are also really good.

The Triton would probably work best for any type of electronic music. Personally, I use it for trance, and I've found it an indispensable piece of equipment, as it is so easy to find decent electronic sounds, and compositions. Due to the quality of the pads, and effects, I think it would work well for ambience.

The reaction to my playing is amazing - the keys respond so well, and the aftertouch is very accurate.

I haven't used it for a gig as of yet, though it has been up and down the stairs a lot, for recording. I'd strongly recommend getting a bag for it, or if you're travelling further, a hard case.

I haven't needed to call on the customer support much, so I won't grade it - though I must say I was unimpressed at having to sign up three times for the latest Korg magazine, and then getting my hands on it three months after its release.

If it were lost, I'd cry and wish I'd taken out insurance. If it were stolen I'd take up a worldwide search to find it, and imprison and torture the person that stole it. I'd start by-- okay, enough of that. I haven't been playing for that many years, but it has definitely helped me improve musically, and I've found a whole range of new and advanced compositions while using it. The best thing about it is simply how everything is compiled together in a nice way. Sure, there are probably better options in the sampling area, the sequencing area, etc. if you want specific equipment. But nothing, NOTHING beats the Triton on value-for-money. It's my most prized posession.

There is nothing so damn easy in the world! It's the best keyboard for rookies, period. And it has everything in it, really everything. Maybe not everything is excellent - but as all in one board it's just perfect. Presets are very good, though you may like to have some pretty basic sounds, like straight pads etc... The only thing I don't like is that screen lies in spme kind of pit. So you really have to LOOK inside of it. Trinity is much more comfortable - the screen is a bit bigger and more easy to read from far. But that's not a problem, just get use to...

Sounds are massive. There is no other way to describe it. It's so massive that it makes really hard to put something else in the arrangement. It easily absorbs other sounds. You will really need to mix carefully, if you want to put some, say, Roland sounds in. I don't like el.guitars, but everything else is really good (even a piano - I'm into New Age, I like that kind of pianos). Pads are state of the art. Really rolling and punchy el. basses. Check this: www.ampcast.com/georgeicefield - you'll hear lots of Triton sounds in there...

As I've said earlier, this is the board for those rookies who look for a quick find to learn programming technique. If you have a wish - it won't impede you to perfect your skills. If it had a nice filters (like Trinity)... Oh well, you never get anything perfect...

A good user interface with the touch screen. It is sometimes more practical to use the touchview interface instead of the SoundDiver editor.

Ok polyphony, quite nice built-in effects considering the Roland JV/XP line. But Roland XV5080 has much cooler and pro-quality effects. No sys-ex on sequencer mode!

This is the point I really like to write about... Triton is good for R&B, hiphop or such kind of styles that require solid sounds. And I think it is very unsuitable for genres who seek for warm, soft, edgy, organic or experimental stuff.

The synthetic resources are very weak considering Roland synths. The filter is very tricky. It offers only a lowpass filter with resonance. No resonance with highpass filter and no band or notch filters! The character of the filter seem to sound good to me in the shop on reso-bass kind of sounds though when I experimented with it at home its sounded very artifical. Almost sounds the same on any waveform as if the resonance sound is not real but an additional sine oscilator does the trick.

The is no exciting sound-manipulating resources it offers. No cross-modulation, no real ring modulation, the filter section is very inflexible and how Korg still goes with only two partials for a program amazes me! The sounds are always thin because of this!

Especially when you turn off the onboard effects, the sounds are really very thin, very unexciting and rough!

I should note that the standart acoustic stuff sounds good on this synth, like the brasses and guitars, as well as the drums and epianos. But Korg seem to offer good sounds only for standard pop stuff. Roland JV series were not pretty good on solid sounds but they feel much more like a real synthesizer with sound manipulation possibilities they offer.

I guess Korg sounded better than JV/XPs only because of its flexible internal effects and having a larger internal waveform memory. But XV series Rolands definitly sounds much cooler than Triton in every aspect.

MOSS board is the only option for Triton to offer some real synthesis. And it sounds really cool but the polyphony (only 6) and its inflexible EFX routings make it not so valuable.

Good built, I think.

I won't buy it definitely and go for a Roland XV5080 which feels much more like a real synth!

Using Software Version 2.0.1
Presets sound great! Even better with minor tweaking from the knobs.
Editing patches is pretty simple but getting used to the Sequencer took awhile, but getting used to anything new is a given.
The Basic Manual is pretty easy to follow but the more advanced manual is something that has to be read about 5 times before it clicks.

Keyboard action on this board feels good. I like the after touch effects on some of the programs/combi's.
The built in effects are excellent. Plenty of knobs for adjusting both the keyboard sound and arpeggiator sounds. The joystick and ribbon and a nice touch for special effects.
The Triton has plenty of expansion capabilites: it has like 6 or 7 pcm boards and the AWESOME MOSS board also.
This workstation is FULL of excellent features.

I use my workstation for goth/industrial type music and all of the sounds and features work well for this style of music. I could also see that any musicians that would use it for Techno/Dance music would find great use out of this workstation as well.

This workstation is pretty solid (Just pick it up and you will see). I have hauled it between my home and my recording/rehearsal area several times and it hasn't taken a scratch. The O/S seems stable and has never crashed on me either. This board is the most reliable that I own.

Never had to use this yet. But Korg is a good name in synths and workstations and I wouldn't think they would destroy their name by having horrible customer support.

I have just one word for the Triton. EXCELLENT!

Version: 2.0.1
I've had this synth for more than 6 months now...think I know it enough to come up with a balanced review. This was my first real synth...and need I say the first few days I was in a state of trance!
Triton is very powerful..and the user interface makes everything so simple. From editing patches to routing the effects and to just purely capture the burst of inspiration, Triton is H-E-A-V-EN.
I've been making music lately....just trying to put into reality
my musical thoughts..and I think no other workstation would
have done it all for me. Remember that I just started off and dont have a lot of $$$ to invest. You can find my songs at: http://www.mp3.com/jkz
Its what I came up with during the past 6 months that I had the synth.
Everything done on Triton..coz thats my "Studio".
Manual is a lil bit too technical if you are new to all the LFO's and Filters. But eventually you'll appreciate it. The basics are explained clear enough...although I think it could be improved. But once you get the hang of it everything becomes easy.

When the effects and the sequencing come together you can really create some magic with this board. The effect routing is very well implemented. If you are going in for a Triton make sure you get a MOSS expansion...Its awesome. It adds the Z1 based tone generator.
The sequencer is very easy to learn and use...and also powerful enough to do a whole song. There's one thing that bugs me on this...There is only one level of "Undo" in the sequencer. You gotta be very careful!

No limit for expressiveness on this board! I got used to the ribbon controller
so much that I cannot imagine playing a board without it.
There are 4 real time knobs that you can program to change
any parameter of the sound you're playing.
The sounds I love the most on this are Strings and Pads.
The preset Pads are very useable. There's a huge selection of
drum patches on board. There has been a lot of buss about Triton being a dance intrument..but It also has a lot of real world intruments that sounds "real".

Cant comment on this area much...I dont do much gigging.

If I loose it and I win a lottery for $2500...I'd run to the nearest
GC and get one! Triton has given me a good start into the world on electronic music..It has helped me put my ideas into reality.
Jay

http://www.mp3.com/jkz