Korg Nautilus 73-Key Music Synthesizer Workstation
Korg Nautilus 73-Key Music Synthesizer Workstation
Korg Nautilus gives you all the dazzling sounds you need in a streamlined performance synth and workstation with a Kronos pedigree. With the power of nine engines to drive a new approach to sounds, plentiful sampling, audio recording, effects and ample processing power, there is simply no other synth that delivers more to explore sonically, with the workflow to get you there faster than ever. Korg Nautilus includes all the Grand and Upright pianos offered in KRONOS and Grandstage, plus exclusive new piano PCM; the most piano types featured in any KORG product. Korg 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.
Product Highlights:
- 9 onboard sound engines from KRONOS with expansions for PCM and Piano engines
- Updated SGX-2 and HD-1 engine for extensive new soundsets; 2,200 in all
- Dynamics knob makes delicate expression possible
- Make intuitive changes to sounds with the 6 real-time knobs
- TouchView interface and control panel with customizable mode buttons
- Korg’s Dynamic Polyphony Allocation ensures all your notes are voiced
- Convenient arpeggiator and drum track functions
- Set List mode that demonstrates its power in live performances
- Full-featured Open Sampling System and HD audio recording
- 16-track MIDI sequencer / 16-track audio recorder
- 16 onboard effect processors
- PCG file support lets you use tones created with Korg Kronos
- Up to 14 simultaneous effects and 32 simultaneous EQs for massive production power
- USB/MIDI Host Ports accommodate MIDI control surfaces
- Smooth Sound Transitions that eliminate dropouts when changing sounds, regardless of mode
- Sleek, lightweight, roadworthy chassis with Korg’s premium 73-note Light-Touch keybed
- Audio Recording: 16 Audio Tracks, 80 minute max recording time
- Audio Playback: 16-Track Playback
- Memory: 3GB
- Audio Inputs: 2 x 1/4"
- Audio Outputs: 2 x 1/4" (R, L/Mono), 4 x 1/4"
- Headphones: 1 x 1/4"\
- USB: 1 x Type A, 1 x Type B
- MIDI I/O: In/Out/Thru/USB
- Pedal Inputs: 3 x 1/4" (damper/switch/pedal)
- Power Source: Standard IEC AC power supply
- Dimensions (W x D x H): 48.31" × 15.2" × 4.5"
- Weight: 32.19 lbs.
- Quality crafted by Korg in Japan
The keyboard of your dreams
NAUTILUS is available with three different keybeds to suit a range of keyboardists’ preferences. NAUTILUS 88 features Korg’s acclaimed premium RH-3 (Real Hammer) action, which is evenly graded to feel heavier in the low register and lighter in the high range, like a real acoustic grand piano. For players who don’t want or need weighted hammer action, Korg has developed a new Light-Touch keyboard that facilitates smooth glissandos and lightning-fast synth solos. Organ and synth players at Sweetwater are raving about the Light-Touch keybed, which is available in NAUTILUS 61 and, by popular demand, NAUTILUS 73 — which gives you six full octaves, C to C.
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.
Rich sounds powered by added PCM
A diverse array of more than 1,000 preset sounds has been supplemented by additional PCM with 128 new programs that include piano and electric piano, and also fulfill your needs for cutting-edge EDM with synth and drum sounds plus 27 drum track patterns.
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
- Current sounds
- Standard sounds
Set list mode that demonstrates its power in live performances
NAUTILUS can organize all of the resources you need to get through a song—or a set—using the Set List mode. Using the Set List mode, the TouchView display can host 16 color-coded touchscreen buttons; each one can instantly call up the appropriate Preset, Combination or Sequence—regardless of mode.
USB/MIDI Host Ports Accommodate MIDI Control Surfaces
Any class-compliant USB-MIDI controller can be connected directly to the NAUTILUS. Assign functions to a KORG USB MIDI controller with pads (nanoPAD, nanoPAD2, padKONTROL) to play drum parts, and switch between chords with chord triggers or when you’re in chord mode.
SGX-2 (Premium Piano) sound generator
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.
Electric pianos, classic tonewheels, epic synths, and more
Korg’s renowned EP-1 electric piano sound generator reproduces seven classic electric piano sounds with stunning realism, while the CX-3 engine — the heart of Korg’s coveted CX-3 reissue — serves up the distinctive sound of legendary tonewheel organs. Add to that MOD-7 VPM/FM synthesis; the PolysixEX, MS-20EX, and AL-1 for analog modeling; and the STR-1 for physical modeling, and you have a dedicated engine for any type of sound you’re looking for. Deployed together in Program or Combination mode, these distinctive sound engines create entirely new timbres.
16 powerful onboard effects processors
NAUTILUS provides 16 onboard effects to add impact and finesse to your musical creations. Each of the 12 Insert Effects can be applied to individual or multiple timbres in a combination or to individual or multiple tracks of the sequencer. In addition, two Master Effects may be applied to sends 1 and 2, and two Total Effects can be applied to your full final mix. Plus, a separate 3-band EQ is available for every timbre, for every sequencer track, and for every audio track to adjust tonal balances or for creatively equalizing the overall sound.
Dynamics and real-time knobs for maximum expression
NAUTILUS’s Dynamics knob lets you control changes in volume and tone in response to the velocity with which you strike the keys, and you can even customize it in real time to match your playing feel for a particular song. The Dynamics knob is powerful — turning it to the left makes the keyboard respond more softly to your touch when delicate expressiveness is required in solo situations or quiet, small-ensemble settings. Turning it to the right yields a stronger, flatter dynamic response that’s more appropriate for overdubbing in a thick track or playing in a band. The six real-time knobs give you direct control over changes to Prog and Combi sounds. Freely assignable to a number of functions, real-time knobs are ideal for controlling a variety of functions such as filter cutoff, effect depth, gate time, tempo and swing of the arpeggiator or drum track, type of snare drum, and much more.
Intuitive color TouchView display
NAUTILUS’s nerve center is its expansive new 8-inch (800 x 480 pixel) WVGA color TouchView display, which lets you choose a sound with the touch of a finger and gives you deep, intuitive control over every parameter. The display’s Touch-Drag capability means you can, for instance, adjust the lid of a grand piano or connect a patch cable to a semi-modular synth model with just a simple finger swipe! The display also has a convenient Search function, which allows you to search for (and preview) sounds based on their titles. Korg’s TouchView display, together with the real-time knobs, not only integrates, streamlines, and simplifies the operations of a very sophisticated high-tech instrument, but it also puts your creativity front and center at all times. And that, friends, is what it’s all about.
STR-1 plucked strings physical model 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 takes advantage of cutting-edge technology. This 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.
MOD-7 waveshaping VPM/FM synthesis sound engine
This sound engine uses VPM synthesis based on the VPM (Variable Phase Modulation) technology that powered two classic instruments, Korg Prophecy which appeared in 1995 and 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 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.
AL-1 high-fidelity analog modeling sound engine
Feature-packed, AL-1 is the same premium analog modeling sound engine that was first featured on Korg OASYS 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 unobtainable on analog synthesizers of the past.
MS-20EX analog modeling sound engine
Packed with cutting-edge technology, Nautilus nonetheless has respect for the classics. 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), MS-20EX faithfully reproduces 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 realtime controllers. It's a tweaker's dream. And of course, the Nautilus version is now majorly polyphonic.
HD-1 high-definition synthesizer PCM sound engine
HD stands for 'high definition,' indicating HD-1's superior sound, starting with Korg's proprietary low-aliasing sample playback oscillators, full-bandwidth multimode resonant filters and extraordinarily fast and smooth envelopes and LFOs. 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 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 Nautilus. The amount of waveform memory alone might rival a PC-based sound engine.
CX-3 tonewheel organ sound engine
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 perfectly 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 and use Nautilus' joystick to control the speed. Even the instability, fold-back, leakage and noise of the tonewheels have been obsessively analyzed and recreated.
EP-1 electric piano sound generator
This dedicated electric piano sound generator realistically reproduces seven different famous 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 modelled engine features an astounding dynamic range that exceeds what one might expect from digital sound generation. For each of the seven different models, different amps, cabinets, speakers and standard vintage effects are realistically simulated. From the samples to the touch and the effects, all aspects affecting the sound are coordinated into a single package, making this the ultimate electric piano.