KRONOS -- what it (probably) is...
12 Jan 2011, 04:24There was a time during the late 1980s/early 1990s when people were all abuzz about various MIDI products. Those included some of the earliest MIDI wireless systems (orignially produced by Aquila) and some of the earliest VA synths.
There was another type of MIDI product that slipped WAY under the radar. It was a product whose name escapes me -- anyone with information is invited to print it here -- but whose function I remember clearly.
The product that I'm talking about let you feed direct audio input -- and then converted that input into MIDI clock data. You could use this to drive sequencers -- which, at the time, was about the only thing that accepted said data -- thus letting you play your sequencer WITH YOUR DRUMMER -- WITHOUT forcing the guy to wear headphones.
This was probably a super-big deal for the likes of Janet Jackson, Scritti Politti, et al. (Not making fun of these acts, by the way.) And seriously -- I had considered buying one at one time, literally about 20 years ago.
So -- why go through all of this to explain what I think KRONOS is?
Because I am almost 100% certain that this device will do exactly what I just wrote about. Whether it is part of a workstation, I couldn't tell you. But I'm utterly convinced that, after watching the YouTube video about three times in a row, that this is what it is.
But there's more!
I believe that Kronos will "listen" to the any audio source and will attempt to generate useful MIDI AND PITCH data from it. For all we know, it might even accept several different kinds of audio at once -- say, letting you sing into it with a mic while letting your drummer beat on his kit, a guitarist and bassist jamming along into their respective channels.
The result could be mind-blowing -- and depending on what it does -- say, generating waveforms of its own or even merely outputting the data to outside devices, like FX units and computers -- you might have a lot of fun generating new and innovative stuff every time you play live.
But I'm getting WAY ahead of myself here. At least, they claim that we should be prepared to be "amazed." If this KRONOS thing does half of what their Oasys did six years ago, I might be amazed alright -- amazed, stunned, and generally flummoxed -- at how much money I will not possess to buy whatever product they are selling.
- Sammy
There was another type of MIDI product that slipped WAY under the radar. It was a product whose name escapes me -- anyone with information is invited to print it here -- but whose function I remember clearly.
The product that I'm talking about let you feed direct audio input -- and then converted that input into MIDI clock data. You could use this to drive sequencers -- which, at the time, was about the only thing that accepted said data -- thus letting you play your sequencer WITH YOUR DRUMMER -- WITHOUT forcing the guy to wear headphones.
This was probably a super-big deal for the likes of Janet Jackson, Scritti Politti, et al. (Not making fun of these acts, by the way.) And seriously -- I had considered buying one at one time, literally about 20 years ago.
So -- why go through all of this to explain what I think KRONOS is?
Because I am almost 100% certain that this device will do exactly what I just wrote about. Whether it is part of a workstation, I couldn't tell you. But I'm utterly convinced that, after watching the YouTube video about three times in a row, that this is what it is.
But there's more!
I believe that Kronos will "listen" to the any audio source and will attempt to generate useful MIDI AND PITCH data from it. For all we know, it might even accept several different kinds of audio at once -- say, letting you sing into it with a mic while letting your drummer beat on his kit, a guitarist and bassist jamming along into their respective channels.
The result could be mind-blowing -- and depending on what it does -- say, generating waveforms of its own or even merely outputting the data to outside devices, like FX units and computers -- you might have a lot of fun generating new and innovative stuff every time you play live.
But I'm getting WAY ahead of myself here. At least, they claim that we should be prepared to be "amazed." If this KRONOS thing does half of what their Oasys did six years ago, I might be amazed alright -- amazed, stunned, and generally flummoxed -- at how much money I will not possess to buy whatever product they are selling.
- Sammy
Yes we did.
