Just when you thought the music workstation was dead, Korg has announce the Nautilus (Great name! —Ed.). This new entry pushes the boundaries of what a performance synth and workstation is capable of…with the power of nine engines to drive a new approach to sounds, lots of sampling capacity, audio recording, effects, and processing power.
Korg has been on a tear of late, a far departure to just trotting out Electribe retreads, (Check out the latest Korg rumors. —Ed.) – and they have gone BIG with the Nautilus. At the heart of the Nautilus is nine distinct synthesizer/sound engines combined into a single, integrated musical instrument. Dynamic voice allocation and new technologies reportedly allow all sound engines to share a stable, enhanced hardware platform without being hampered by processing resources.
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Korg Nautilus
The Nine Synth Engines In the Korg Nautilus Workstation
SGX-2 Premium Piano
This sound generator lets you perform with the sounds of famed grand pianos such as the German piano, on which the ambience sounds can be freely modified; or the Italian grand piano, whose sound is growing rapidly in popularity over recent years. These pianos offers delicate expressiveness to capture every last nuance of the acoustic piano, with 12-step velocity-switched sound, string resonance and more.
EP-1 – MDS Electric Piano
This dedicated electric piano sound generator claims to realistically reproduce seven different electric piano sounds, with the addition of an earlier model featuring a characteristic distortion. The MDS (Multi-Dimensional Synthesis) technology eliminates the transitions between velocity-switched samples, and does away with the unnatural behavior of looped samples. Smoothly responding to the nuances of the player’s touch, yet allowing your performance to reach an energetic climax, this modeled engine features an astounding dynamic range that exceeds what one might expect from digital sound generation.
CX-3 – Tonewheel Organ
The original Korg CX-3 combo organ went on sale in 1980. Loved by musicians around the world, this classic organ reappeared in 2000 as a new product with the same name, but using the latest technology. In Nautilus, the CX-3 engine precisely models this classic tonewheel instrument. Proprietary Korg technology has been used to reproduce the vacuum tube amp, and effects such as Vibrato/Chorus. Special attention was given to the rotary speaker effect, which lets you choose from seven types, as well as use the Nautilus’ joystick in the X-axis to control the speed. Even the instability, fold-back, leakage, and noise of the tonewheels have been obsessively analyzed and recreated. The organ sounds heard in legendary performances—some recreated here by the original artists—are now yours for the playing. Experience these classic organ sounds, reborn for the present day.
HD-1 – High Definition Synthesizer with PCM sound engine
Starting with Korg’s proprietary low-aliasing sample playback oscillators, full-bandwidth multimode resonant filters, and extraordinarily fast & smooth envelopes and LFOs. The HD-1 is the most powerful PCM sound engine in Korg’s history, into which Korg has poured all the PCM know-how accumulated since the M1. All of Korg’s acclaimed PCM sounds are painstakingly created by specialized technicians. Data that was reluctantly omitted from previous models due to limited memory has now been called back into service on the Nautilus. The amount of waveform memory alone might rival a PC-based sound engine. Yet the real difference is in the completely different level of quality and finish that is obvious when you play these sounds as instruments on the Nautilus. The finest technicians, working on the finest platform, and aiming at the finest quality: that’s the HD-1.
MS-20EX – Analog Modeling Sound Engine
Packed with cutting-edge technology, Nautilus nonetheless has respect for the classics. The Korg MS-20 first appeared in 1978 and quickly captivated many synth fans with its rich personality marked by thick and solid sound, aggressive filters, and patching capability that provided nearly infinite possibilities for creating sound. Using Korg’s CMT (Component Modeling Technology) the MS-20EX faithfully reproduces the MS-20 while dramatically expanding its patch panel functionality. Modulate filters with audio-rate oscillators; turn audio inputs into control signals; control all of the original knobs with mod sources including additional envelopes, LFOs, and real-time controllers. It’s a tweaker’s dream. And of course, the Nautilus version is now majorly polyphonic.
PolysixEX – Analog Modeling Sound Engine
The Polysix first appeared in 1981, offering six-voice polyphony and program memory, and a surprisingly competitive price tag. With its self-oscillating four-pole filter, smooth analog oscillator and sub-oscillator, plus a lush Chorus/Ensemble effect, the PolysixEX extends the abilities of the original in many creative ways. The strings and pads that were such a major feature of the Polysix will be invaluable when you need the sounds of the early ’80s. The classic arpeggiator built into the original Polysix is also provided. As a bonus, it’s also capable of extremely high polyphony.
AL-1 – Virtual Analog Synthesizer
Tthe AL-1 is the same analog modeling sound engine that was first featured on the Korg Oasys, the Open Architecture Synthesis Studio back in 2005. Completely eliminating aliasing noise, and delivering the supple and fascinating sound of analog synthesis, this sound engine uses oscillator waveforms and filter morphing to generate new sounds that were unobtainable for analog synthesizers of the past.
MOD-7 – Waveshaping VPM Synthesizer
This VPM/FM synthesis sound engine uses VPM synthesis based on the VPM (Variable Phase Modulation) technology that powered two classic instruments, the Prophecy which appeared in 1995 and the Z1 which appeared in 1997 as a further evolution, and adds PCM sample playback, multi-mode filters, and external input to create a freely patchable semi-modular synthesizer. Combine Variable Phase Modulation (VPM) from Korg’s classic Prohpecy and Z1, add in some wave-shaping, a little ring modulation, mix in a few samples, and add subtractive synthesis, plus a modular patch-panel system, and you have the MOD-7. Exceptionally versatile, it offers everything from classic FM keyboards, bells and basses (including the ability to import sounds from vintage DX synths) to rhythmic soundscapes and sparkling, epic pads.
STR-1 – Plucked Strings – Physical Modeling Sound Engine
Based on the physical modeling know-how Korg developed over the course of many years, this struck/plucked-string physical modeling sound engine shines at producing sounds whose tone responds to your touch in ways that are difficult for a PCM sound engine to reproduce: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harpsichord, clavinet, harp, bell, as well as ethnic instruments. It also goes much further, allowing you to synthesize and modify sounds that do not exist in reality. This is a sound engine of the future, one that allows the synthesizer programmer to construct truly new sounds.
Sampling & Recording:
Using Korg’s Open Sampling System, Nautilus can quickly sample an external audio source, regardless of whether Nautilus is in the Program, Combination, or Sequencer modes. The Open Sampling Mode can even resample the performance of the Nautilus itself. The user sample bank, which extends the convenience of the EXs sample library to user samples, allows custom samples to be loaded and played, taking advantage of the gigantic SSD capacity.
AIFF, WAV, SoundFont 2.0, and AKAI S1000/3000 format samples can be loaded into memory via USB memory. Additionally, you can use a USB Ethernet adapter to exchange large amounts of sample data with your computer at high speed. Instruments or samples that you’ve previously created on your PC can be used to construct a music production setup based on just the Nautilus itself.
Nautilus features a sequencer/recording section that offers both 16 MIDI tracks plus 16 audio tracks; a great resource for putting together a dazzling performance or a production. MIDI sequencing makes it easy to capture ideas, inspiration, and pro-quality phrases using the Drum Track, or RPPR (Realtime Pattern Play/Recording) functions.
The 16-track audio recorder simultaneously captures up to four tracks of 16-bit/24-bit uncompressed data at a sampling rate of 48 kHz. Play along with recorded tracks, add effects, and then resample the Nautilus itself and place the resampled WAV files directly in a track. When polishing your tracks, feel free to use mixer automation and editing functions such as copy, paste, and normalize to get the results you want.
