I saw the Kronos today being demo’d by the Korg rep. First class demonstration by an enthusiastic player from the Korg team.

I’m not much of a technophile, I’m more interested in what it sounds like. Sure enough, it was the Oasys sound reincarnated. All the instruments sounded “pure,” and played correctly with a rhythm keyboard, sound absolutely realistic. The piano was superb, strings were rich, brass was punchy, and if that weren’t enough, he said everything could be “tweaked” and saved to your liking.

The LED screen was bright and rich in color. Large enough to see everything you’re doing in your editing without having to hook it up to a computer screen.

It has audio inputs also. You can sing into it and play the vocal line back to sing a duet with yourself.

He explained the 9 sound engines as each one has its specialties (one is used for piano replication, one for DX7 type sounds, etc.)

Surprise: you can load your DX7 sounds (if you still have them, I do) into this unit for playback of all those great electric piano sounds.

The drums were also very real. My understanding is you can run your MIDI out on your arranger and let it trigger the internal drums on the Kronos by mapping it. So if you’re happy with your arranger styles but not your drum sounds, there’s a possibility right there.

Of course, it can be used as a controller keyboard. The 61 note had plastic keys but the larger keyboards, he said had weighted keys.

The look of the keyboard is very pleasing and sleek. They designed it well. That goes a long way in making me want to play one.

The many features on this machine were overwhelming. One after another, he kept explaining them to us. I couldn’t keep up with him after a while. Just when you think you’ve heard it all, he points out another really useful (feature).

The best part was the price. I was shocked. I thought they started out at appx $3800, but it seems that’s where they end. The 61 note I was told was (manufacturers pricing) $2900. Incredible price for such a versatile instrument.

Of course, they’re still not on the market yet. The store was supposed to be selling them “right after the show.” I knew that wasn’t going to happen. The rep said because of the problems in Japan, no one is sure at this point. I also questioned about the PA3X Pro. Again no one knows, though the PA3X is coming from Europe.

I then went over to play the Casio 7500, but unfortunately after listening to and playing the Kronos, it felt like a toy. I should have played that first!

I inquired about the BK7M. They had one unopened box in stock. He said some fellow from the Louisiana area by the name of Don L, or N, or, I think it was, M. Yes….the name was Don M. ….ordered it as a backup unit without even hearing it first. Something about he wanted two so he could also use them as bookends.

I think with that kind of pricing, I'm going to go for one if they ever come in. There are enough good stock sounds in there that you probably don't have to do a lot of editing. I learned to program sounds on my DX7, but I don't think I want to go through that again!

LOL...Thats probably the only use Don would have for that keyboard during golf season.
Thanks for the report on the Kronos. With that quality at that price, I think I will take a closer look at it.

KORG are going to sell truck loads of these.
An OASYS mark II for less than half the price.

Regards
James

To be Honest, Lionstracs instruments can do everything the Kronos can do, however what Korg have done, is got rid of the Open part of it, and are selling it a much lower price, and because of this as you say they will be selling truckloads of them.

The upside for Lionstracs is that it shows the market that they should be targeting with their keyboards.

Bill

And well they should sell a pile of them, James...the instrument is astonishing. Roland and Yamaha will no doubt have to follow Korg's lead in this case. Certainly, the instrument is a bargain.

BTW, I like your sparkly hair.

Ian

I wander how a setup with a Kronos & BK7M would be???

Betcha it would sound great...especially if you mapped the BK-7m's acc. tracks to the Kronos sounds.

Ian

My Module may well be on the way back if I can't get the USB problem resolved otherwise. No telling how long I'll have to wait if this one has to be replaced.
DonM

Yet oddly enough I find that as an OASYS and Lionstracs user having both, that gives me pretty much the ultimate setup for my needs. I don't feel there's any overlap.



Keep an eye on the rack unit. With a price of only 2 grand, that's the one to watch.

Regards
James.

I totally agree with you, PRICE! is a big factor is sales but let's not forget company reputation.

Let us not forget CONTENT either... An empty (or essentially empty) keyboard means YOU have to do all the same work that a team of VERY highly talented voicing and programming engineers do for you at Korg. Do you have those skills?

Maybe you do, and then again, maybe you don't. Want to spend a lot of money on an MS to find out?

Hi Diki

If the Kronos was an arranger I would agree, however it is a workstation which basically has 9 VST on board linked together by a host, therefore apart from the fact that you can’t add more, (As far as I am aware) it is no different to an MS. (All VSTi come with pre-set content, and the VST Host integrates them together)

Bill

Kronos's soundset will be extensively integrated. Also, it will have an extensive library of good, USABLE arpeggios and loops.

CONTENT isn't just styles. Content is the sounds, and how well ALL of them work together. In the case of modern WS's, the included arps are directly equivalent to the styles that come with arrangers as well.

CONTENT basically means, you open the box, and you start playing. Can you make great music straight away, or do you have to run off to the VSTi store, purchase several different products from different manufacturers, and then spend days, months, maybe YEARS trying to integrate them all so they work well with each other..?

As I tried to point out, balancing and integrating an entire soundset from disparate sources is an art form. VERY highly talented people at the majors do all this for you. You aren't constantly grabbing volume sliders, EQ shelves, dynamics adjustments and MIDI velocity and aftertouch curves to get them all to 'sit' well together in a mix. That work is already done. What's that worth to you?

Me, I'd rather spend weeks (months, years!) MAKING MUSIC, than preparing a keyboard so that it can (if I'm even talented enough to succeed)...

Yes, you can ADD more to a well set up, integrated keyboard (either arranger or WS) at your discretion. But no major makes you go through this step BEFORE you can make good music. And dominate the market because of it. Few keyboards are sold to sound designers. They are sold to MUSICIANS. And trust me, those are NOT the same skill sets..!