Finally got my Kronos 88!!!

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:48 pm

Thanks for the kind words, people!

I couldn't wait till tomorrow so I picked up the instrument today. I even tried it out for half an hour.

Initial impressions:

I got to try out a Kronos 2 months ago, so I knew what to expect looks and sound wise.

The RH3-keybed had some uneven spaces, but I could live with that. The machine booted up normally and the OS and display seemed to work fine.

BUT: the fan makes a very weird noise. The low pitched hum (from the airflow) is ok but it makes this weird high pitched sound as well. I'm not even sure if the fan is the cause because it is less audible above the left side of the keyboard. It's really audible on the right side and from the point where I play. It's kind of modulating as well, and resembles of my laptop when it reached 2 years of age. I suspect this isn't normal?

AND another very big problem. I started playing the German Grand without a sustain pedal. I noticed very quickly, that the Kronos cuts off notes. Even with chords with only 5 notes. I've read that someone else had the same problem here?

I'm really disappointed at this stage. I think this thing is going back. The fan and the cut off notes are a deal breaker for me.

Any opinions about should I get this board repaired or just send it back?

qayqaywsx · Post by **qayqaywsx** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:12 pm

Hi Kim,
I post not very often here, but reading everyday.

The new OS will be there within the next days (hopefully)
Im a 61 owner without any trouble (ok the fan but i will replace it )

The sounds and posiibilities of this Workstation are so overwhelming that i would suggest you to do following :
kontact your dealer/korg and tell him the trouble you have.
As i have a bit of electriically understanding the note cut offs can be from the keyboard matrix system which (under circumstances) may be solved 100% by software.
In your case i would wait until 1.5 and if it is not solved demand an exchange or cancel the buy.

Im sorry to hear those problems because i know what it means to wait for such a thing and then problems .

Only my opinion

best luck
Max

sparkie · Post by **sparkie** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:40 pm

Return it!! Here is the link to the problems with the keybed. http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=65292

.. this isnt good.... Alesis Fusion is starting to come to mind!

outjet · Post by **outjet** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:05 pm

I counted at least 17 Kronos with this exact problem reported in the last month

sparkie · Post by **sparkie** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:29 am

outjet wrote:I counted at least 17 Kronos with this exact problem reported in the last month

And those are just the ones that are reported here. What about the others returned that dont read the forum? I bet the big retailers like Sweetwater know their is a problem..

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:09 am

Had a sleepless night. I was wondering, how Korg could let this one slip through their quality control.

What wonders me most is the low serial number of my Kronos: 00308. I would have expected to have a fresher model by now. And I was thinking: what happens to all those Kroni which get returned? Are they repaired somewhere and then put back on the market? Perhaps they don't even bother to repair some of them, if they think a loud fan and cut off notes isn't an issue in their book?

I'm mad at Korg now. Especially since they made me hunger for this machine for so long. The reality is, there is NO substitute in the market at the moment. Buying a Motif or Jupiter 80 is NOT an option for me, since none of the competition offer the same amount of features and open architecture. On paper, the Kronos is THE workstation to own. Shame, that off paper it seems like a game of luck if you get a working version or not.

I'll record some of the fan noise today just to give an example what it sounds like. Perhaps I'll even throw in a video of the cut note problem as well. Just to illustrate it and send a message to Korg that some of us DO care about quality.

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:13 am

qayqaywsx wrote:Hi Kim,
I post not very often here, but reading everyday.

The new OS will be there within the next days (hopefully)
Im a 61 owner without any trouble (ok the fan but i will replace it )

The sounds and posiibilities of this Workstation are so overwhelming that i would suggest you to do following :
kontact your dealer/korg and tell him the trouble you have.
As i have a bit of electriically understanding the note cut offs can be from the keyboard matrix system which (under circumstances) may be solved 100% by software.
In your case i would wait until 1.5 and if it is not solved demand an exchange or cancel the buy.

Im sorry to hear those problems because i know what it means to wait for such a thing and then problems .

Only my opinion

best luck
Max

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm leaning over to sending this one back. I've got 14 days to decide and I'm afraid the OS update may not appear before that. Besides, there is still this really distracting, high pitched sound coming from the fan (like an old laptop fan).

I'll keep reading the forums to see if the OS update has helped the keybed issues and that it hasn't made playing the keyboard harder (I could imagine a software fix may turn things even worse).

Other than that, the Kronos seems perfect. Love the sounds and I'm overwhelmed by the tweaking possibilities. I'm still optimistic, that there is a workin Kronos out there with my name on it

kron · Post by **kron** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:44 am

Kim wrote:I'm leaning over to sending this one back. I've got 14 days to decide and I'm afraid the OS update may not appear before that.

Leaning over? You would be mad not to send it back my friend!
:wacky:

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:44 am

kron wrote:
Kim wrote:I'm leaning over to sending this one back. I've got 14 days to decide and I'm afraid the OS update may not appear before that.
Leaning over? You would be mad not to send it back my friend!

Mad? At this point I can't say, to be honest! I called the store and they recommended I'd get it fixed. This wouldn't be a big problem since the repair center is only 5 km from where I live.

I'm strugling between two possibilities:

1. Getting it repaired (have to wait 2-3 weeks) and possibly get a well working keyboard to fit my needs.

2. Sending it back and wait for 1-2 months (no one can even estimate when new 88-versions come in) for a keyboard that HOPEFULLY has no issues.

MarPabl · Post by **MarPabl** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:42 pm

Kim wrote:AND another very big problem. I started playing the German Grand without a sustain pedal. I noticed very quickly, that the Kronos cuts off notes. Even with chords with only 5 notes. I've read that someone else had the same problem here?

Please post this issue to the thread about RH3 faulty keybed that has been posted here

Hedegaard · Post by **Hedegaard** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:31 pm

I'm surprised to hear about Korg (otherwise reputable) for making quality hardware, seem to have really made something so inferior.
A pity they didn't try to hire Steve Jobs, you know, to do something positive about the "user experience".

Anyway, the Kronos dosen't cost pennies, it costs quite a bit and you'd expect there wouldn't be these kind of apparent flaws.

What about quality control? How on earth can they ship these things when they can see with even a blind eye the keys are not straight!

Very surprising, especially in this day and age!