Korg Forums

[Akos Janca]

[Oboemd]

here's my take
Sometimes the initial attack may be too fast, even before the key reaches the end of its travel, or too late. Sometimes a slow key press may produce a sound with an unrealistic loud attack, or the wrong volume. On a piano you can press a key so softly as to get no sound, slightly brushing a key should make no sound. With an organ-like response, a key hit softly, or brushed speaks just like a key pressed hard intentionally.
There are many variables in getting the feel/playability right. For me, the Oasys did not have the optimum piano feel when playing its piano sounds. The Yamaha motif xs8 was better, as are many dedicated piano keyboards. My hope is that the Kronos keys will connect well with its piano sounds.
Gosh if it beats the Roland V-piano and Yamaha cp1 in this area along with its great sounds and the most user friendly workstation interface. It will do extremely well.

[Randelph]

[Hal2001]

It looks like the first of the 73/88 are going to start shipping in the next week. Mine is on pre-order since April until Aug/Sep. If anyone gets their hands on the 73/88 keybed, kindly report on the keybed issues already discussed. This will be my first Korg and I'm quite concerned about getting a quality keybed, not just the action, but having no undexpected side effect sounds or even irregular spacing between the keys. I played the Kronos 61 and it was excellent. When I saw irregular key spacing in a low end Yammy, I called Y and they said the irregular spacing between B and C (up and down a 61 keys) could be due to the way they drop in the keyboard octave segments, and they said I could exchange it if I wanted. It looked cheap but did not affect performance, so I kept it, but it WAS a cheap board, and I knew it. I don't even know if Yammy's explanation for the spacing was legitimate. When I sat down at a Motif XF8 (my main consideration before pre-ordering Kronos 88, the XF spacing was perfect like a Swiss watch. It was like my Fantom X8. You could measure it with a caliper and get the same result across 88 keys. So yes, at this price level I tend to expect more and look closer. So, if the keybed on Kronos is irregular in spacing or if there are superfluous sounds emitted, it's going to tick me off. I already swallowed the Kronos cooling fan sound pill and convinced myself that the features/benefits of the total board will be worth it and I'll have to make an effort to ignore it, even if I need to wear headphones to forget about it. I heard it on the 61 and would rather it not be there at all. Remember, part of what makes music is the space between the notes, and that's silence. Without silence, there would be no music. So, if I take a break from heavy rock and want to do my meditative spacey ethereal kind of music (which is a big reason what I want the Kronos for, the unbelievable Oasys type pads etc), and if I can't enjoy the silence too, it's a little less than a pure Zen of playing keyboard experience IMHO. But, I know I can't always have it all. So, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and hope that they got it completely right with the new 88 keybed and await your reports. I don't think I'm asking for too much. Thanks much.
_________________
My Music: www.youtube.com/Halunlimited
Kronos 88 and Genos, Logic Pro, Omnisphere

[fclef]

Received my Kronos 73 from American Music Supply on Tuesday. After a few days of experimentation, I can attest that it is a joy to play and will take much time to investigate all its features.
That said, the keybed appears to be rock-solid. As stated in earlier posts, the fundamental differences between weighted and non-weighted claviers should be self-evident. Compared to my Triton 76, there's much less chance for triggering clams and I prefer the weighted action for much of my work.
On another topic, I'm not understanding all the flap about fan noise. The fan in my Kronos is only evident if I place my ear directly above the keybed which I rarely do.
And off-topic, it took me a while to get Sonar X1 to recognize the USB audio for input. Discovered that you have to use the MME driver mode. After changing that setting, the audio recording works perfectly.
(If anyone is looking for an instrument definition for Sonar, I've created a partial one that includes all the factory programs and controllers.)
Before I received my Kronos, I read with interest many commens on this new board from many sources. The one set of comments that puzzled me came from people dissing the quality of Korg instruments. Over the years I've owned a DS-8, an M1, a T3, an O1/W, a Trinity, a Triton Studio and two Extremes. Not one of these has ever failed me.

[rwp42]

I picked up my Kronos-88 last night. For reference, I am coming from Roland Fantom-G8, whose action I really like a lot. I did not like the RH2 action in previous Korgs (one reason I went with Fantom at the time).

My K88 does not have any unusual key clicky noises, the fan is quiet, and while there are very slightly larger gaps between some of the keys, I have to really examine the keyboard to see them.

It feels fantastic to me -- esp. when coupled with the new piano samples.

Of course, keybeds are like chairs. There is no one chair that is comfortable to everyone. They are highly subjective objects. Best advise is to actually play one before you purchase.

RwP

[Mystic38]

The RD700GX and NX have an excellent weighted key action... I mean, like a real JOY to caress...The RH3 IMO is just "nice", like the S70XS... so if you consider the RH3 the "best you have played" then its just likely you have not played the RD700NX

[Chriskk]

Fatar keybeds are a hit or miss in terms of reliability. Some last for a long time. Others fail prematurely.

[Bruce Lychee]

[madbeatzyo111]

As has been mentioned many times already, weighted hammer action feel is totally subjective. What you like I may not like, etc. It really depends on what your history is with weighted hammer actions. Did you start out playing acoustics? If so, was it Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, Baldwin? Was it an upright or grand? Your history will determine what your preference is. I guarantee you that two people who share the same history will have the same preference.

But consider this scenario. If someone gave you a Steinway or Bosendorfer concert grand and you happened not to prefer its key action, what would you do? Would you turn your nose down at it? Of course not, you'd damn well get used to it!

In my opinion, Korg/Roland/Yamaha all know how to make hammer actions that simulate that of acoustic pianos very well. If you don't happen to like a keyboard's hammer action but like everything else about the keyboard, chances are you'll get used to it eventually and may even come to prefer it in the future.

Edit: Personally I find the RH3 acceptable, but I prefer Roland's. Yamaha's I find are generally too heavy (except for the ones on the MOX8/XF8). It's strange because Yammie's acoustic grands are not as heavy as their digital pianos.

[EXer]

[Bruce Lychee]

[theescapist]

Has anyone directly compared the RH3 actions in the SV-1 and the Kronos? I've only had the chance to play with the 61-key Kronos (and now I really want one ) but from my limited experience the RH3 keybed on the SV-1 feels like a step down from my Roland 700NX...

(Yeah, they're both RH3, but the 700NX and V-Piano share the same action on paper too, and I could tell the difference between them..)

[madbeatzyo111]

[madbeatzyo111]