Korg Forums

loopman · Junior Member Joined: 13 Jun 2012 Posts: 71

I know this is a question that has been asked so many times before, but I need to renew it again today, yet again:
will there ever be a new successor to Kronos? maybe a Kronos 3? would anyone have any news about that?
I need to ask you because I am finally ready to buy a professional synty/workstation. Regarding the Kronos, I have always loved the acoustic piano and electric piano sounds, IMHO. I also loved the physical modeling synthesis engine, in my opinion one of the most powerful ever made.

Also, my real question is: should I spend more than 3,000 euros to buy a Kronos today? As powerful as it is, it is a product that was conceived and made many years ago ... the sounds, user interface and workflow perhaps should be updated

Mike Conway · Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2023 4:29 am Post subject: Re: Is there any hope?

voip · Platinum Member Joined: 27 Nov 2014 Posts: 3777

Life is too short. Just get the Kronos now. I doubt if you'll regret it. If/when a worthy successor appears, the time that will have been spent using the Kronos will help to hit the ground running with the new board, which will probably be buggy to start with.

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exsequor699 · Full Member Joined: 18 Apr 2016 Posts: 132

What do you need/like in an instrument? That will give you the answer. There is nothing like the Kronos (Nautilus almost the same), even if it came out in 2011.

ITguy54 · Full Member Joined: 22 Mar 2015 Posts: 248

average_male · Senior Member Joined: 07 Feb 2011 Posts: 278

There is always hope, if you are optimistic. However, don't put all your eggs in one basket. If there is keyboard that meets/exceeds your needs that is available today, jump on the deal. I am sure many people were in your shoes when the K2 was being sold and they waited and waited for something better then got the Nautilus--a fraction of what the Kronos offers.

Scott · Platinum Member Joined: 16 Oct 2009 Posts: 1015

If there were a Kronos 3 imminent, it is a near certainty that they would not have bothered adding aftertouch to the Nautilus.

drama1 · Platinum Member Joined: 04 Apr 2007 Posts: 663

KK · Platinum Member Joined: 13 Oct 2016 Posts: 1422

ITguy54 · Full Member Joined: 22 Mar 2015 Posts: 248

Derek Cook · Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2023 7:42 am Post subject:

The way I look at out it, my 2014 Kronos is still Korg's ultimate, so they are saving me money! Smile

I do not think I have exhausted what the Kronos can do, and I doubt anybody has?

So I am happy to wait and see what happens.
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ChrisDuncan · Senior Member Joined: 17 May 2018 Posts: 389

steveyoung29 · Joined: 20 May 2021 Posts: 30

I think the Kronos 3 is on it's way to us. Just a guess, of course. When it arrives it will be too expensive for me to buy - maybe!!

The reason for my positivity is what others say here - it does what it does very very well, and there is a lot it does. A few weeks ago I was in a local music gear shop and I overheard a sales guy speaking to a shopper and he said that the Kronos 3 will be released at some point. And he will have a bit more inside knowledge than just us consumers.

I think the new Keystage controller is the first major sign that the Kronos 3 is well in development. The Keystage's features will be a working test bed on how to impliment Midi 2.0 and Polyphonic and Channel Aftertouch into a studio and stage environment.

I think the biggest issue will be the position of visability and prestige that the Kronos brought Korg. Even now when you see gigging keyboard players with major Artists it's either the Kronos or a Nord, and often both that you'll see somewhere on stage. Thats the best advertising that any keyboard manufacturer can get. Other keyboard players look for what keyboardist are playing and take note. The Kronos 3, as long as it does deliver what it needs to, will continue to keep the Kronos on stages of major gigs across the globe. I'm certainly not seeing any of Korg's toys - Modwave, Wavestate, Opsix- on stage. The toys are fun and creative, but are not workhorses.

And we know what Kronos 3 needs to include, well at least for me - a sequencer that has well over 16 midi channels to fully take advantage of Midi 2.0, with piano roll editing. In fact, it's those features that would probably get me to take out some sort of finance and sell some gear to buy the Kronos 3. I really hope that will be sometime in 2024.

Steve

timg11 · Senior Member Joined: 04 Jun 2008 Posts: 459

I love the Kronos, and will continue to use it as long as possible.

I've got a slightly different take on "next generation". For my needs I no longer desire a fully integrated physical keyboard/workstation.

If I ever give Korg any more money, it will be for a plug-in version of the Kronos that I can run in a Windows or Linux environment.

Processor power has come so far in the 14 years since the Kronos was designed. It was underpowered from the start. Polyphony and program limits would be gone on a modern computer system and host OS.

For my uses, I find that SST is essential for live performance with the Kronos.
I thought plug-ins like Omnisphere could never be used for live performance because they don't have SST.

However it turns out to be a non-issue. I can have 10 instances of Omnisphere running together on separate tracks in a VST host, each with a different program. I can switch between them, layer, etc seamlessly to get the same result as SST with even more flexibility. I can layer as deep as I need without running into voice stealing issues.

I would definitely buy a Kronos (not Nautilus - I do use Karma) plug-in that would let me more easily transport my Kronos sound banks to my next-generation software environment.
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Kronos2 73, Presonus StudioLive, Cakewalk / Sonar Platinum, Windows 10

Koekepan · Platinum Member Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Posts: 617

I'll be the contrarian.

There is no hope. KORG have had lots of time to announce, present, or provide a Kronos 3, and have steadfastly failed to do so at every turn. Their closest approach has been the aftertouch version of the Nautilus, that does not even provide Karma.

If you want a full workstation, and you don't want to be at the mercy of whatever passes for the availability of repair parts for synth support shops, then you want a supported, credible device that is available today.

There are a few ways to do this.

One would be to throw up your hands, get a Nautilus, a brace of external controllers (including faders, pads, what-have-you) and a software Karma installation to provide what Nautilus doesn't. This is one option.

Another is to go for a different manufacturer only. If you like being tied to software for a workstation experience, Roland has your back (and a grip on your wallet) but then so do various more distant relatives such as Native Instruments and Ableton. If you want a hardware experience without an umbilical cord to a computer, then Kurzweil's K2700 is the king of the hill. On the other hand, if you're more in the beatmaking world, consider something in the MPC world or its cousin, the Force.

You could also lean harder into deep pattern creation with the world of arrangers (provided that they give you on-board pattern creation options, which so far, unless I missed a memo, seems to leave out the PA5X) and see what you can get there - but then the price rises a lot too. Arrangers aren't cheap.

Finally, you could go for the fully decomposed workstation, where you combine various items, each of which is good at one thing, and thus have a flexible (but less portable) layout.

But a Kronos 3? That's a bit like going to Beethoven's grave and demanding to know when he'll stop messing around and publish that twelfth symphony.