Korg Forums

[mgibian]

I gig rarely but haven't had a problem with my original k88 and a soft case with wheels. On the other hand, I DO worry about space-constrained venues not having enough room for the keyboard.

[mikeyd]

[quote="Mike777"]I would likely buy a K 88 except it would be too heavy for me to load in/out of my SUV. I tried to pick it up off the shelf at the store and could not. I think it's 53lbs? Then add the weight of a case. I have to load/unload it myself in my SUV.

Or does someone have a method that makes it easy to load somehow?[/quote]

For those of us who do gig, it is heavy but worth it in my opinion. No doubt heavier that most, but I hauled a Rhodes around for years, and remember what that was like. I think a good case on wheels helps and so does grabbing the guitar player or singer who usually sit at the bar drinking while your busting your butt.

[Gunnar]

I don't gig either, but I still got the 73 keys edition because I figured I might end up gigging one day and then the smaller size and reduced weight would be a plus. However, I do miss not having the full range 88 keys when playing piano and I quite easily run out of keys when doing splits, so if I were to choose again, I think I would have gone for the 88. It's only 3kg difference in the board itself, after all.
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Gear: Korg Kronos 2 73, Arturia Microbrute & MiniBrute 2, Moog Mother-32, Ibanez RG320DXFM Guitar, ESP Viper 254FM Bass, Blackstar HT-1
Software: Reaper, EZ Drummer
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/gunnarsletta

[GregC]

[laandodeman]

Nope, not too heavy. The trick is a flight case on wheels.
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www.silhouetteband.nl

[GregC]

[JPROBERTLA]

I started with the original K61 and an 88 controller. When the K2 came out I got an 88 and went back to a 1 keyboard stage rig. The physical effort is less using the single K2-88 than it was moving and setting up 2 keyboards. It is also much faster. A 73 would be ok, but the weight difference is not substantial once you include a hard case. Even though I move it myself, and it is heavy, I still prefer the 88 by comparison.
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JP
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Kronos2-88, Behringer XR18, Turbosound IP2000 (x2), dbx DriveRack 260, KRK Rokit 8s, Mackie CFX16, Mackie SRM450(x2), Mackie SRS1500 (x2), BBE processors (x4), Roland VSR 880 (x2), Alto TS210, Alto TX10 (x3) and SoundForge

[tdwctdwc]

[kbrkr]

It's getting to the point I find even the K276 as too heavy. I started using a Nord Stage 3 Compact for rehearsals and then started taking on gigs. I can carry the keyboard, backpack, and keyboard stand all in one trip.

Looks like i'm ready to get a Kronos 2 61
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Pa5x, Yamaha Genos, ForeScore

[danmusician]

I got a K73 back in 2011 because it is slightly lighter and the 88 would not fit in my sedan. I do miss the bottom end. I wish it went C-C like the M3-73 did instead of E-E. For a while a carried a 2 octave controller to help with the bottom end, but that didn’t work well.

Eventually, I got a K2-61 and a Casio PX-5S. Both still fit in my car (better than the K73 actually) and together are lighter than the K88. But, I really don’t like setting up 2 keyboards.

Last summer I tried the K-LS. I wanted to like it, kept it a week and returned it. Couldn’t get used to the touch. Didn’t want to get used to the touch, either. And truthfully, it wasn’t gonna fit in the car anyway.

Several weeks later, I got a minivan. Wasn’t planning on it, but bought it for family reasons.

In December, got a K2-88. Love it, but it BARELY fits in my minivan! Not sure how it would fit in an SUV.

To answer your question, Yes, it’s very heavy to gig with! I have the gator soft case on wheels.

I basically have three rigs to gig with now. So depending on the venue and the lengthy of the show, I pick between:

K2-88
K-73
K2-61/PX-5S
PX-5S

I also have backups if one of them fails. It would be great if Kord would create a lightweight body like the PX-5S. I have a gig I do every summer where I load up steep narrow steps. There's no way the K2-88 is going on that gig!
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Kronos 2 88, Kronos Classic 73, PX-5S, Kronos 2 61, Roli Seaboard Rise 49

[DeltaJockey]

I think we all go through the same reasoning depending on our changing circumstances, trying to find the best fit for how we feel. I do a little bit of informal gigging, so have always wrestled with what best config to cover all bases.
My KX88 never moves of it's stand, I've tried the K2-61 with PX5S, but after a while was still left wanting for a single keyboard to take with me.
i did recently decide to take the plunge and I bought a K2-73. (I'll probably look at trimming my gear down again in the future, and offload a few ).

Since having the K2-73, I think I've found something that fits me, with a set of compromises I can live with. After all, we all have a different set of compromises which we find acceptable. Being a piano player all my life, I've not been content with anything less than 88 keys, however, I made a little tweak to my 73, which has made all the difference. I'm finding myself using the K2-73 most of time, which is very telling on how successful the choice is.

My tweak?
Even though you can transpose the keys while playing...and obviously it's easier with a footswitch, the thing which has improved my keyboard management is to set the transpose control in the programs to be momentary rather than latching, so that the transpose is only active while the foot is on the pedal.
With a bit of practice it's becoming quite seamless to play the lower notes of an 88 with my 73. Just a left foot press in sync with my hand playing, just like my foot is an extension of my hands pressing keys. Depending on what I play I can set the transpose either way to give most choices, or use a second footswitch to do both ends. I know I lose the soft pedal function at times, but I tend not to be a great user of it anyway.

The other thing about the 73 is that even though it's only slightly lighter than the 88, the shorter length makes all the difference to handling it and where it will fit. Being able to put my arms to each end when picking it up, makes a difference....to me anyway.

So in the end, you just have to weigh up pros and cons related to your particular circumstances to decide which is best, and like me, that can even change, and have you feel differently down the track.
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The companions I can't live without: Kawai Acoustic Grand, Kawai MP11SE, Yamaha Montage8, Korg D1
Other important stuff: Kronos2-73, Studiologic NC2X, NI Komplete Ultimate 11, Sonuscore Elysion and Orchestra, Pianoteq, Experimenta Due.

[tatun2010]

Did anyone thought about to replace the wood bottom cover for lighter one? I've open a couple of times my k2 73 to check the ram setting, etc... And I noticed how heavy was the bottom cover. Maybe I can get a thiner metal cover, so lighter.
Any thoughts about this?
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Kronos 2 73 - Korg Krome - nanoPad2 - M-AUDIO Oxygen Pro 61 -
SampleRobot KORG Edition

[ronnfigg]

[GregC]

[drama1]

Tried the 73 weighted Kronos, sent it back. Between that and the case you're looking at close to 70 lbs. And that's with the lightweight cases. Moving that sucker at 3:00 in the morning after a gig --- ugh. Absolutely hate playing with only 61 keys, but I manage it. For the weekend warrior I was really hoping for a 76/73 semi-weighted, but not holding my breath. If I was 20 years younger I'd have stuck with the 73, but for the over 50 crowd, we have to settle for 61 using a single board or put up with the lugging a controller.