Roland RD 2000 Vs Korg Kronos
Choosing for a new workstation or arranger keyboard can be stressful as there are plenty to choose out there with their own pros and cons but, it is indeed faster to stick with popular options such as the famous Roland RD 2000 Vs Korg Kronos. These workstations offer so many possibilities for you to create and to work on with an impressive price point as well but, do check which of them will fit you better here before making a decision.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- What are Workstation and Arranger Keyboard
- What to Look in a Workstation
- What are Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos
- What Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos Look Like
- How are the Sound Engines in Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos
- Are Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos Easy to Use
- Roland RD 2000 Vs Korg Kronos
Workstation and Arranger Keyboard
Electric instruments are just convenient and they open so many possibilities in terms of creativity because unlike the acoustic one we can create various different sounds with them, putting effects, and making a new one that fits your song. For those who play the piano, workstation and arranger keyboard are probably at the top of the pyramid as the most capable instruments but, not all people will benefit from them or you actually may suit either an arranger or workstation better.
They may look or appear the same and it is indeed quite difficult to call each one of them correctly without diving and paying attention to the function closely. Overall, the main difference between a workstation keyboard and an arranger keyboard is on the auto-accompaniment function which allows an arranger model to provide backing tracks that match your style of music automatically and conveniently with just a push of a few buttons. For a composer, this is an undeniably convenient feature to have.
| Roland RD 2000 | Korg Kronos | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
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| Product Dimensions | 55.6 x 14.5 x 5.6 inches | 63.1 x 19.3 x 11.3 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 47.1 pounds | 66 pounds |
| Shop now at Amazon | Check price | Check price |
This function is a unique tool for composers to produce their music quickly even in a style that they are not used to. It is also ideal for songwriters who are not familiar yet with programming drums or playing guitar because an arranger can play the accompaniment for you without the need to ask a real musician to help.
Workstation
If you are here then we assume you are currently looking for a workstation and just like any other electric instruments, there are so many options out there which can become very confusing. For workstation, it is probably wiser to consider a few factors such as the type of synthesis in the keyboard. Different models may have different methods of sound generation for example analog modeling for electronic music and sampling for realistic, acoustic sounds so if you want the most versatile, multiple synth engines are the better choice.
Another factor to consider is combination sound and this is exactly what’s very attractive about a workstation as they are able to generate multiple sounds simultaneously. For example, those who are composing for a movie, they can sequence strings, brass, woodwinds, grand piano, and percussion in order to create a cinematic orchestral score. If you are a songwriter then we can create a band of bass, organ, drums, guitar, etc. and depending on your workstation capabilities, we may even be able to add recorded audio into the mix too.
Sequencing and audio recording is important as well both for composers and performing artists because with just a push of few buttons we can record lots of accompaniment parts on the keyboard besides the one we are performing live while playing along with the sequenced backing track.
About Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos
In general all workstation will be very much more capable than just a regular digital piano so you can get all of those in the unit but, different players or users will have different preferences so it is best to just follow what you need from the instrument. We are sure all of us want the best keyboard or the most capable among what the market has to offer yet, it is often limited by the budget we have as the more advanced the machine the more expensive they have become.
If you also want to be convenient or want to save time then we highly recommend to stick with popular names or options as well since it saves you the fuss of going back and forth checking each one of the workstation’s models and manufacturer. When talking about a professional keyboard, especially workstation and an arranger, Roland and Korg are probably leading the market in this category with their powerful machines that are already famous among both beginner and professional users.
They have various workstations to offer but if you want those that can balance both freedom and reasonable price then Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos are probably what most ideal and we are sure many will agree that these two are also among the best in this price range. We have compared the RD 2000 to Yamaha in Roland RD 2000 Vs Yamaha CP88 previously but the former is actually more powerful hence we recommended it yet against Kronos, we do think these two are an equally amazing choices for different people.
However, as you can guess, between Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos the latter will be more capable and it is even displayed on the price point but, what makes this workstation the choice of many people is because it can gives much possibilities into your production or performance with a total of 9 sound engines for your freedom. It doesn’t make the RD 2000 a bad option because it is not the case yet, in comparison the latter will be more powerful.
Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos Design
Before checking what these workstations can offer, let’s first see the instrument and for Kronos, we are going to talk about the 88-key variant as this model is also available in both 61 and 73 keys. Starting with the RD 2000, this workstation is measured at 55.5 inches wide, 14.4 inches deep, and 5.5 inches tall. In a glance this model is probably the best in terms of controllability with neatly arranged controls and it is also prominent that it is built on the idea of hands-on control.
Side by side with RD 2000, Kronos is almost about the same in comparison but just a shy wider with a length of 56.42 inches for the 88 keys variant, 14.61 inches deep, and 5.8 inches tall. This workstation is very distinct among others with the wooden style side panels and a matte black finish which overall looks and feels pretty impressive. The screen is also larger and colored than what you can find in Roland’s but still flushed with the panel.
Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos Sound Engines
Moving further, as it has been mentioned above that one of the most important points in a workstation is their sound engine because it is what decides how far we can be creative with the machine and in this part both Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos are quite different. Starting with Roland, this workstation is featured with dual engine; the V-Piano engine and SuperNatural hybrid modeling technology. The V-piano is fully based on modelling so there is no sampling involved here.
This technology will give you many unique sounds such as hammer noise or sympathetic string resonance but when it comes to realistic sound, Roland seems to be very confident as they also made the first 10 of its acoustic piano presets using this engine. For SuperNatural, this engine is focusing on electric piano and is sampling tones like bass and strings. Ignoring all details, the difference between both technologies seem only its maximum polyphony in which V-piano has no limit.
Since Kronos have 9 engines, we are not going to talk about all of them but listing the technology, this workstation is packed with SGX-1 Premium Piano, EP-1 MDS Electric piano, HD-1 Synthesized High Definition just like the OASYS, Ambient Drum, MS-20EX Legacy Analog, AL-1 Analog, MOD-7 Synthesizer Waveshaping, Polysix EX Legacy Analog Collection, and STR-1 Synthesize Strings. Taking HD-1 as an example this engine has 30GB memory and is made of 1505 multisamples and 1388 drum samples while can be expanded into EXs1, EXs2, and EXs3.
Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos Ease of Use
The next part we want to talk about is their ease of use and we have mentioned that Kronos has a larger screen and this is acting as your assistant as well. In RD 2000 we are going to use the workstation with its fader, buttons, knobs, etc. but here in addition to those physical access we are mostly going to work on the screen because it is a touch-sensitive display and also colored to provide a better visualization on the processing part yet, not as powerful as your DAW.
As a professional workstation you will notice that Kronos is quite far more complicated to work with compared to RD 2000, not only because of the abundance of possibilities but the system itself requires a long learning process, especially if this is your first workstation.
Roland RD 2000 Vs Korg Kronos
These are professional workstations but Roland RD 2000 and Korg Kronos are on different levels because the latter is more for those who are looking for unlimited possibilities and are willing to both invest the money and time to get to learn all its bells and whistles. On the other hand the RD 2000 is a great choice for budget shoppers or beginners who also need a simpler machine.
Conclusion
Overall there is no bad option between the two so we should go for what seems to fit our application or preference the most. Personally we will recommend RD 2000 for your first workstation but if you are willing to spend the budget, Kronos offers more.
