GregC wrote:
your assumption is that the serial #'s are always perfectly sequential
Yes because:
a) By definition, serial numbers are a series of numbers.
b) We've tracked Hammonds, Steinways and many other instruments based on their SN.
c) When you compare purchase dates purchased to the serial numbers, they match up quite consistently.
d) We're dealing with numbers well within the range of believability. For example, Moog sold 14,000 Voyagers, a monophonic analog with a $3,500+ price tag. I've seen far more Kronos show up on stages and in sig lines on forums than Voyagers. The idea that Korg has sold 3 times as many Kronos is completely believable.
e) I've inquired with people "in the know" and have not been told anything to the contrary.
I understand companies can do what they want with the serial number and a few, e.g. Rhodes, have been shown to be inconsistent over years, but in the case of Rhodes, it covered three decades, many different internal changes as well as ownership changes. The Kronos is not an instrument that's had a history of minor hardware revisions where tweaks and corrections to the product happened in hardware. The improvements to the product happened in software/firmware and were applied across the board to all models.
I don't claim this exercise to be definitive but it makes more sense than pulling a number out of the air.
Busch.
Kronos 73, Nautilus 61, Vox Continental 73, Monologue, Yamaha Montage 8, Rhodes Suitcase, Yamaha VL-1, Roland V-Synth, Yamaha AvantGrand, Minimoog Model D, Studio Electronics Omega 8, CSS, Spitfire, VSL, LASS, Sample Modeling, Ivory, Komplete 12, Spectrasonics, Cubase, Pro Tools, etc.
http://www.purgatorycreek.com
and hope this helps. I will be posting a lot soon as have many questions and many observations regarding the Kronos.