With the Nautilus 88 AT, Korg recasts the idea of what a modern synthesizer workstation should be able to do. The fact that most operations are performed on the large, colour 7" touch screen is quickly made clear by the clearly arranged control panel. Six knobs and buttons each can be configured by the user according to their own needs; depending on the mode, these are predefined and fulfill a fixed task such as eg. Setting the arpeggiator or the filter. The velocity-sensitive, weighted hammer action keyboard with 88 keys shines with aftertouch and conveys a good playing feel. Closely connected to this is the Dynamics control, which changes the keyboard's touch behaviour. The range of expressivity is so high that it is sometimes hard to believe that you are still playing the same selected sound. Besides numerous PCM sounds and Drum kits, nine different tone-generation models are among the highlights of the Korg Nautilus 61 AT. Here the musician is offered quite a few in-house classics such as eg. MS-20, CX-3, Polysix and Prophecy, but also high-quality Electric piano and grand piano sounds as well as string instruments and top modern synthesizer sounds at hand.
Extensive sound generation
The sound engine of the Nautilus contains nine different sound generation methods, covering pretty much everything from high-quality pianos to wacky synthesizer sounds, to select sounds for orchestral music, or the tried-and-true sound needs for rock and pop. Ex works the instrument is additionally equipped with about 760 MB of PCM sounds, this selection can be expanded by the user up to 2GB. A total of 2560 sounds and 104 drum kits are pre-installed.
SGX-2: high quality piano
EP-1: various electric piano models
CX-3: simulation of the CX-3 drawbar organ
HD-1: digital synthesizer with powerful, crystal-clear sounds
MS-20EX: simulation of the MS-20 synthesizer with extended possibilities
PolysixEX: reincarnation of the Polysix synthesizer from 1981
AL-1: good cross-section of analogue synthesizer sounds
MOD-7: handles the iconic Korg Prophecy / Z-1 sounds and even FM
STR-1: the physical modelling specialist for string instruments of all kinds
Effect power
As part of the sound creation you can definitely count the effects; in the Korg Nautilus 88 AT 16 effect processors are at work, with which you can give your sounds the final touch. In addition, each track has its own 3-band EQ. The twelve insert effects can be placed with a sound, a combination or even chained at a different place in the virtual mixer. Further final effects are available to refine the sum. The effects can even be used on the stereo audio input, which makes Nautilus a lush effects unit also a good figure.
Sampler!
With the Open Sampling System Korg has implemented an uncomplicated way to record samples from external audio sources and process them in the device, even resampling is possible. The maximum sampling time depends on the remaining amount of memory in the PCM Sounds memory respectively a maximum of 80 minutes in Stereo in disk mode. Various sample formats such as AIFF, WAV, SoundFont 2.0 and AKAI S1000/3000 can be loaded via a USB stick. By means of a USB-Ethernet-Adapter Nautilus can be connected to a computer network, so the data exchange between the instrument and a computer can be accelerated significantly.
Sequencer and live functions
Of course, a comprehensively equipped synthesizer workstation cannot be without a sequencer. 16 note and audio tracks each offer themselves to support the musician in all his actions and to capture ideas. In addition, a new mode for the input of drums has been implemented, which you might know from most drum machines and groove boxes. Like most functions, it can be accessed via the touch display. Also on board is an extensively adjustable Arpeggiator with 1500 presets, which can be applied to any note track. Some control elements can be adapted to your own needs so that you have e.g. a keystroke in the filter menu of a sound or the start/stop button always at hand. By the way, the touch Display can be set to an eye-friendly night mode. Musicians who work on several projects at the same time will appreciate the directly accessible set lists.
Free music software
For free with the Nautilus, Korg provides a comprehensive software package as a download. For changes and runability on Windows and Mac systems, please refer to the Korg homepage.
For iPad/iPhone:
Korg Gadget 2 Le
Korg Modules
For Mac/PC:
Korg Collection M1 Le
UVI Digital Synsations
AAS ultra analogue Session
AAS Strum Session
AAS Lounge Lizard Session
Reason Studios Reason lite
iZotope Ozone Elements
Skoove educational software
Korg NAUTILUS - All Playing, No Talking Sound Demo
Roland FANTOM 8 EX
Roland FANTOM 6 EX
UDO Audio Super Gemini White
Roland FANTOM 7 EX
Kurzweil K2700