Nautilus is a workstation keyboard that’s very similar to Kronos, Korg’s Flagship Workstation keyboard, but priced about a third less. In this video, I take a look at what was improved and what was removed, what its workflow is like, and overall pros and cons:
TIMELINE:
0:00 Intro
0:40 vs Kronos
6:30 Connectivity
7:30 Workflow
10:10 Knobs
11:35 AL-1 (Virtual Analog)
12:15 Polysix
12:55 MS-20
14:20 STR-1
14:35 MOD-7
15:15 SGX-2 Piano
15:30 EP-1
15:45 CX-3 Organ
16:00 HD-1 Sampler
18:40 Program mode
20:15 Combi mode
21:40 Setlist mode
22:45 Scenes
24:20 Arpeggiator
25:45 Drums seq
27:55 Custom arp
30:10 Sequencer
33:55 Sampling
35:05 Effects
37:30 Pros, cons
Thank you for this review and comparison. How do you like the semi-weighted keybed? Also, how is the Nautilus build quality? Is it solid and rugged, or does it look/feel cheaper than a Kronos?
My pleasure. The keybed is OK and the build quality seems excellent. I don’t have a Kronos to compare.
As a Kronos user, I can say half the reason I purchased the Kronos is for Karma. I’ve been using my Kronos for over 6 years now, and still use Karma frequently. I just finally got all my outboard synths connected to a dedicated midi interface and use the Kronos to send midi messages to them all. So, now I can use Karma, not just with Kronos, but with my other synths as well, and it is fantastic.
Two things that are a bummer about Kronos and Karma. First, Karma is no longer being supported, by Korg or the original designer of Karma, Stephen Kay. Second, as far as I can tell, the software programmer for Kronos (on the Mac anyway) no longer works and Korg hasn’t been supporting it for a couple of years.