How to Load Individual Programs, Combinations, and Setlist Slots on the Korg Kronos

If you’ve ever needed to load just one Program, a single Combi, or a specific Setlist slot from a PCG file on your Korg Kronos, this guide walks you through each step. Whether you’re combining sounds from multiple libraries, recovering overwritten patches, or building a custom Setlist, the Kronos makes it possible—if you know how.

Here’s the complete walkthrough.

Loading Individual Programs from a PCG File

This is especially useful if you want to:

• Load a single Program from a different bank or collection

• Restore specific sounds after overwriting a bank

• Mix and match sounds without replacing everything

Start by pressing the Disk button to enter Disk mode.

Use the Drive Select dropdown to choose the location of your PCG file. It can be on a USB drive (usually labeled RDD) or the internal hard drive (HD).

Navigate to the folder where your .PCG file is stored.

Highlight the file and press Open—not Load. This lets you browse its contents without loading the entire file.

Open the Program folder, then the bank that contains the Program you want. Select the Program, tap Load, and choose your destination bank and slot.

You can only load into a bank that matches the Program’s engine type—HD-1 or EXi. The opposite type will be greyed out. If the destination slot already has a Program, it will be overwritten.

If you don’t have any compatible banks available, go to Global mode, then Basic Setup, and select Set Program Bank Type to convert an unused bank to either HD-1 or EXi.

⚠️ This will erase all Programs in that bank, so back up first.

Important: If you’re working with existing Combinations, be careful—loading Programs into the wrong locations can break Combis that reference them. If you’ve loaded Programs and Combinations separately, and the Programs are not in their expected locations, you’ll need to manually update the timbres inside the Combi to point to the correct Program slots.

Loading Individual Combinations

Combinations (or Combis) can be loaded individually or as full banks.

To load a single Combi, open the PCG file, then go into the Combi folder. Navigate to the bank and select the Combi you want.

Tap Load, pick a destination bank and slot, then confirm.

Just like with Programs, loading into an existing slot will overwrite what’s already there.

You can place a Combi into any location—as long as the supporting Programs are already loaded and in the correct slots. If the Programs are missing or in different positions, the Combi may sound broken or incomplete.

Load individual Combis with Linked Data

Loading Setlists and Setlist Slots

Your Kronos Setlists are stored as part of a PCG file. To save one, just create a new PCG with the Setlist box checked. This ensures your Setlist structure is preserved and can be reloaded later.

To load a full Setlist, enter Disk mode, open the PCG, and go into the Setlist folder. You’ll see a list of numbered Setlists that correspond to your Kronos memory. Select the one you want and press Load.

You can also load just a single Setlist slot. To do this, open a Setlist number first, then highlight and load the individual slot.

This is useful if you’re building a custom Setlist from multiple sources and want to pull in only the entries you need—without disturbing the rest of your setup.

Just like with Combis, make sure the Programs and Combinations that a Setlist slot references are already loaded and in the correct positions. Otherwise, the slot may not sound as expected.

How to load Single Programs Combis and Setlists on the Kronos