Korg Nautilus Music Workstation, 73 Key

The KORG NAUTILUS gives players the sound quality and capability of the Kronos, with even more sounds, in a streamlined, high-quality, and more affordable Japanese-made performance synth. It includes all the Grand and Upright pianos offered in Kronos and Grandstage, plus exclusive new piano PCM; the most piano types featured in any product. KORG took sampling creativity to new levels with Nautilus; introducing sounds such as “Nails Piano,” a piano combined with the sound of nails being dropped on the floor tuned chromatically – and many more.

With NAUTILUS’ sound architecture, you can have a two-part split along with a drum track in a single Program –that’s before you even get into the 16-part Combination Mode.

NAUTILUS 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, plentiful sampling, audio recording, effects and processing power, delivers more to explore sonically, with the workflow to get you there fast. KORG spent years refining all their digital, analog, processing and hardware technologies and delivering them in a way that helps the musician connect with their instrument. The result is the incredibly powerful, one-of-a-kind NAUTILUS.

Nine different sound engines offer massive expressive power
The NAUTILUS features nine dedicated sound engines to realistically reproduce sounds such as pianos, electric pianos, organs and more.

To start, the enhanced SGX-2 piano sound generator offers delicate expressiveness to capture all the nuances of the acoustic piano, and NAUTILUS features the most piano libraries ever put into one product; with 12-step velocity-switched sound, string resonance and more. The EP-1 electric piano sound generator realistically reproduces seven different famous electric piano sounds. The CX-3 engine – the heart of Korg's sought-after CX-3 reissue – covers the distinct sound of classic tonewheel organs. Add to that MOD-7 VPM/FM synthesis, the PolysixEX and MS-20EX for analog modeling, and the STR-1 for physical modeling, and you have essentially an engine for any type of sound you’re looking to get. Used together in Program or Combination mode, these distinctive engines create completely new timbres. 

New sounds offered over three broad categories
The approach to the included sound on NAUTILUS, started with Korg setting aside preconceptions of what sound should be like on a conventional music workstation, and instead focused on pushing the boundaries of sampling and programming to create brand-new classifications of programs divided into three groups:

“Unique” sounds
The NAUTILUS brings you distinctive sounds, including phrase loops, prepared pianos, found percussion and more. Many seldom heard-of musical instruments found in different regions around the world can be difficult to play, but distinctive phrases played on these instruments are featured on the NAUTILUS. Use these phrases as-is in your songs—let your imagination be your guide. The NAUTILUS features sounds that were sampled for the first time just for this instrument, including prepared piano sounds created by placing different objects between piano strings and recording samples, or found percussion sounds made by turning ordinary items into instruments to be struck. Not only do these novel and mysterious sounds provide an unexpected flavor to your songs, they offer broad possibilities for sound effects used in film and TV music as well.

“Current” sounds
The NAUTILUS also offers the freshest sounds that blend in well with today's music scene, including synths, drum kits, special effects and more. For synths, be sure to check out the EDM, electro and chiptune sounds for starters. Also, the NAUTILUS features more than 50 kinds of drum kits—sounds that most strongly reflect the changes in music over time. The special effect sounds offer useful material like drums added to dance music to create beats—sounds that you can put to use right away.

Standard sounds
Korg brought together all of the most important sounds a workstation needs, including piano, electric piano, guitar, bass guitar and more, covering all genres. For the newly sampled piano sound, they’ve also recorded the lovely sonic ambience of the studio, and you can mix the piano and ambience sound as you like with the new ambience sound. A new electric piano model with a characteristic thick sound has been added, which works great for funky playing styles. They’ve also added many phrases that let you play back actual performances of guitar and bass parts that keyboardists will find useful.

DYNAMICS knob makes delicate expression possible
With the DYNAMICS knob, you can instantly control the changes in volume and tone in response to how hard you play the keyboard (velocity); and you can customize this knob in real time to match the keyboard playing feel required for each style and song. Even when playing the same sound, you can turn this knob to get the feeling of playing a completely different sound. By finding just the right setting for your playing style, you'll uncover even more of the possibilities that the NAUTILUS offers.

When you activate the DYNAMICS knob and turn it to the left, the keyboard responds more softly to your playing, giving you a wide range of dynamics. This allows for delicate, expressive playing when accompanying a piano solo or vocals, which directly reflects the dynamics of your performance. On the other hand, turning the knob to the right gives a stronger, more flat dynamic response. This brings out the sound when you’re playing in a band or ensemble, which works best when performing with a more even feel. 

Make intuitive changes to sounds with the Realtime knobs
The six RT (real-time) knobs at the top left of the panel give you direct control over changes to the PROG and COMBI sounds. A variety of functions are assigned to each knob that lets you enjoy making changes to sounds, such as the filter cutoff and effect depth, the gate time, tempo and swing of the arpeggiator or drum track, the type of snare drum and more. In COMBI mode, you can group timbres and control their levels with the knobs. Further, you can press these knobs into the panel to lock them in place, preventing them from being accidentally changed while you’re playing. For instance, you could use this to enable only the knobs you often use onstage and push the ones in that you do not need.

Features

• The flexibility and power of Kronos’ nine sound engines with expansions for the PCM and Piano engines as well
• New, lightweight, rugged design, with Korg's best RH3 action
• New “Essential” and “Future” sound sets join the Kronos original and cover-focused sounds with 2,200 sounds in all
• Over $1,000  in EXS piano libraries include
• Nine sound engines from Kronos with updated SGX2 and HD1 engine for extensive new sound sets
• Streamlined Touchview interface and control panel with customizable mode buttons
• Full-featured sampling and HD audio recording
• Korg’s Dynamic Polyphony Allocation and Smooth Sound Transition for uninterrupted playing and sound switching
• Up to 14 simultaneous effects and 32 simultaneous EQs for massive production power