Cloneboy Studio said:
It seems that any synthesizer connected to a PC sequencer with a HUI could duplicate the Karma's 'arpeggiators'. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Quasimidi products, but not built as sturdily.
Not sure why you dislike the KARMA, Cloneboy, especially since your posts make it clear that you've spent little or no time with it. I can't tell if you think you have some legitimate beef with it or if you're just baiting those of us who feel passionately about it. Either way, let me just make a few points regarding the KARMA.
First, I was looking online at the Quasimidi product line. I've never used them, but they appear to be pretty cool. The obvious differences between them and the KARMA are 1) The Quasimidi products are all oriented towards creating dance and techno. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but the KARMA has a much wider palette. 2) All of the products are primarily based on analog modeling for their sound creation. Again, that's fine, but being essentially a Triton, the KARMA can do a lot more, but it can do the analog modeling thing too with the optional MOSS board.
Second, I can't speak to Quasimidi's build quality since I've never used their instruments. However, I have never had any trouble with my KARMA in over 2 years. I'll admit that the keyboard doesn't have a very sturdy feel to it, but I play pretty hard and it's held up fine. The knobs and buttons seem sturdy enough to me. I'm not aware of any major problems user's are experiencing.
I was trying to find a description of a GE or two online because I don't think you understand how complex some of them can be. The best I could do was this excerpt from the SOS review in 2001. Keep in mind that this was based on the original OS which has been upgraded and has many new features. Also, this was pre MW software which effectively doubles the KARMA function to 8 modules when connected to a computer! Also, the MW software allows access to ALL the parameters of a GE, not just the 16 that Korg originally chose and that you can program your own GEs as well.
SOS said:
"The many parameters that underlie each GE have been pre-programmed by Korg to shape the particular generative choices of that GE. However, for each GE you are given access to up to 16 of those parameters — though the choice of which 16 is preset by Korg. However, you do get to assign up to all 16 of those parameters to the eight knobs and two buttons of KARMA's front-panel Real-time Controls section (or KRTC, as Korg call it). You can also assign the parameters to four Dynamic MIDI controllers, which include the joystick, velocity, aftertouch, the sustain pedal and the assignable footswitch and footpedal. You can control more than one parameter at a time from a controller, and set the polarity of each parameter.
This controller assignability enables you to store edited values for the 16 parameters as part of a Program, or manipulate the parameters on the fly to create real-time changes in the way that note and CC (Continuous Controller) data is generated from the keyboard or MIDI source notes, and hence create changes in the results of those generative processes.
There are four types of Generated Effect: Real-Time, Drum, Gated, and Riff, and they merit closer inspection.
• Real-Time GEs take the notes played and apply time-based effects to them such as Melodic Repeat (a sophisticated 'MIDI delay') and Auto-Bending.
• Drum GEs use patterns of preset pitches as the basis of their processing. These patterns can be used to trigger drum and percussion sounds to generate rhythms, or to create pitched instrumental textures. Up to three Drum or Melodic Patterns can be looped together or played and looped consecutively, and each Drum Pattern can consist of up to seven Drum sounds or notes. The Patterns can be of different lengths, can loop independently, and various parameters can be applied to shape them. Perhaps most significantly, you can introduce and give various weightings to randomness factors which affect durations and choice of drum sounds or notes. The effect of this is to generate rhythm tracks which have something of the rhythmic flexibility and spontaneity of a real musician playing.
• Gated GEs apply rhythmic gated effects to the actual notes played, using MIDI CCs to create the effects. So, for instance, expression or volume CCs with values alternating between 0 and 127 can be used to 'chop up' a sustained sound; another option would be to use a CC to control filter cutoff frequency. This particular technique can be very effective when applied to rhythm patterns.
• Generated Riff GEs are perhaps the most powerful and flexible of the four GE types. Basically, a processed Note Series is generated from the notes that you play on the keyboard (or via the MIDI In) in accordance with various parameters which 'twist' the notes and the note order, shift chords, or filter notes. The GE then works on various attributes of the resulting note series, such as rhythm, duration and velocity, applying parameters to them which shape how these attributes affect the Note Series.
A Generated Effect also has two Phases, which are basically two different collections of values for the parameters belonging to some of the Parameter Groups (eg. Rhythm, Duration, Velocity), and these Phases are in turn organised into Phase Patterns of up to 16 steps, with one or other Phase assigned to each step. This Phase Pattern can loop, and there are various options for determining when a Phase Change (ie. movement from one step to the next) will occur, including Time Signature, which can be assigned independently to each Phase (as can a Transpose value).
Finally, you can of course record a KARMA performance, complete with all the generated note and CC data into the onboard sequencer, or into an external MIDI sequencer, playing Programs or Combinations. The latter option, allowing you to have up to four GEs running at once, opens up all sorts of textural and multi-instrument possibilities which go beyond using single Programs."
Perhaps this gives a better idea of the depth of possibilities available that go far beyond simply breaking up chords in various ways.
The KARMA took Stephen Kay 7 years of work and it shows in the depth of the product.
Also, as I mentioned earlier, you can literally have direct contact with the designer and creator of this amazing technology. How cool is that? You have a question, a suggestion, an idea or simply want to say "hello" and "thank you", he's available and VERY responsive. That alone puts this instrument over the top in my book.
Sorry for the long post, but the KARMA has never gotten the respect it deserves and comments like Cloneboy's just show how misunderstood this instrument is.
Ted
I mean, it only took Stephen Kay 7 years of work to develop. I'm sure I could do it in a weekend or two and after I get home in the evenings. The KARMA generates a massive amount of MIDI data. It goes way beyond a few controller messages.