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Dannyboy
Joined: 28 Feb 2011 Posts: 21
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:42 pm Post subject: Kronos first hand impressions |
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Ok, so on Sat I was in a music store near Verona (Italy) and assisted to the demo of the Kronos.
The version demoed was the 61 keys, that was connected to a pair of Focal (Twin 6). After the demo I got my chance to try it for myself though the headphones were not really unforgettable plus Mirabella was demoing the PA3 and one of the Focal was right on my back (not exactly the best way of testing a key, and by far not THIS key).
Anyway these are my impressions.
The first impression I got when I SAW the keyboard was to stand in front of a M1 on steroids (and this is not bad in principle). I still remember when I first sought the OASYS though: the impression of staying in front on something outstanding. Did not receive the same vibrations here, but that might be me. In any case I think it will also be evident to everybody that it is in the Kronos physical UI that most of the budget cut was concentrated: the UI looks in general thinner when compared to the one of the OASYS, and sliders and knobs do not look the same quality, though they look and feel quite fit to the purpose.
On the other hand I doubt that in dim light conditions you can see all the sliders and knobs, that's where the LEDs in the OASYS were really outstanding.
Though the touch screen is gorgeous I have to admit that the resolution is probably too high, and some of the tabs look really pretty small. I have no problem whatsoever in using it (I have small fingers and I am typing this post from my iPhone so...) but one guy trying the Kronos before me did not succeeded three times in a row in selecting a particular tab. Now I know that you need calibration etc. but this might turn out to be a problem for more than a few users.
In addition, however, it looks also like that only people with an excellent stereoscopic vision can own a Kronos, for the writings under the buttons are in a very very small font as well. Again not a problem for me, just pointing this out...
Last but not least the end caps in shiny black plastic, look aesthetically horrible and very fragile as well; though that is not my problem, since my Kronos will seat in my studio never to be moved, for many of you this might become a serious issue (if not a deal breaker).
Things however starts to feel right when you HEAR the different engines under the Kronos hood. There the Kronos becomes really the monster machine it is supposed to be. Sound quality is the one of the OASYS: forget the rest including obviously the M3.
The grands are excellent: both the German (probably an Hamburg Steenway) and the Japanese (probably a Kaway).
EPs are also spectacular, very very accurate and the tweaking depth seem inexhaustible.
Cx3 sounds very good as well. We started from a bare sinusoidal wave and constructed a dark rock organ in a couple of minutes in what seemed a very intuitive workflow.
Was blown away by the analog engines: the three of them are complementary and each has its own character. The filters were impressive with no granularity audible, and unison mode allowed some very thick sounds with 6 osc stacked.
STR1 is a little gem. It was the first time I had the chance to hear it and was really impressed by the sounds you can get out of it (the harpsichord I have heard was much better than any sampled one I heard before, IMHO)
Mod 7 was only touched upon; looked powerful but I cannot say anything more than that.
Finally HD1: I liked this since the time of the OASYS though also there the quality of the samples varied between "very good" and "barely acceptable". As already said quality is OASYS like and not M3 though two times Mirabella explicitly said that the Kronos 'has an M3 inside' not sure still what he meant by that, and thanks God whatever he meant does not imply that the sound quality of the HD1 engine is similar to the M3.
I was a bit disappointed by the number of preset combis: there were only 5 banks though I am not sure what was the reason for that. In particular I missed some of the excellent OASYS combis and in particular a combi called "At the gates of Mordor" though even if they are finally not shipped with the Kronos you can always load them directly from the OASYS (read below).
Bottom line: the Kronos rocks and IMHO there is nothing in the market at the moment that can compete. It is not perfect and construction wise I find it a bit cheap (but IS NOT Roland if you know what I mean).
Let me end with a weird bit: there was a question about user samples. First of all full compatibility OASYS ---> Kronos ha been confirmed; second full compatibility with sf2 format is also there though not Mirabella said has not been thoroughly tested.
And now the grand finale: he said that there are two ways of working with user samples, namely to load them in RAM or to use the VMT technology and stream them... He repeated this twice so to tell you the truth I don't know what to think now about this issue anymore.
Ah finally: price between 3 and 4 thousand (I have almost killed the guy when he said the KORG is trying hard to build an EU price policy) and shipping is late April early May so 50 days more of speculations on this forum...
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Dan |
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McHale Platinum Member
Joined: 10 Feb 2009 Posts: 2487 Location: B.F.E.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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You wrote that whole thing on your iPhone? You probably need a nap after writing all that!
Thanks for the quick review... _________________ Current Korg Gear: KRONOS 88 (4GB), M50-73 (PS mod), RADIAS-73, Electribe MX, Triton Pro (MOSS, SCSI, CF, 64MB RAM), SQ-64, DVP-1, MEX-8000, MR-1, KAOSSilator, nanoKey, nanoKontrol, 3x nanoPad 2, 3x DS1H, 7x PS1, FC7 (yes Korg, NOT Yamaha). |
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ozy Guest
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:08 pm Post subject: Re: Kronos first hand impressions |
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Dannyboy wrote: | Ok, so on Sat I was in a music store near Verona (Italy) and assisted to the demo of the Kronos.The version demoed was the 61 keys, |
Dannyboy wrote: | a M1 on steroids (and this is not bad in principle). I still remember when I first sought the OASYS though: the impression of staying in front on something outstanding. Did not receive the same vibrations here, but that might be me. In any case I think it will also be evident to everybody that it is in the Kronos physical UI that most of the budget cut was concentrated: the UI looks in general thinner when compared to the one of the OASYS, and sliders and knobs do not look the same quality, though they look and feel quite fit to the purpose. |
Dannyboy wrote: | Though the touch screen is gorgeous I have to admit that the resolution is probably too high, and some of the tabs look really pretty small. I have no problem whatsoever in using it (I have small fingers and I am typing this post from my iPhone so...) but one guy trying the Kronos before me did not succeeded three times in a row in selecting a particular tab. Now I know that you need calibration etc. but this might turn out to be a problem for more than a few users.
Last but not least the end caps in shiny black plastic, look aesthetically horrible and very fragile as well; though that is not my problem, since my Kronos will seat in my studio never to be moved, for many of you this might become a serious issue (if not a deal breaker).
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Dannyboy wrote: | EPs are also spectacular, very very accurate and the tweaking depth seem inexhaustible.
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Dannyboy wrote: | the quality of the samples varied between "very good" and "barely acceptable". As already said quality is OASYS like and not M3 though two times Mirabella explicitly said that the Kronos 'has an M3 inside' not sure still what he meant by that, and thanks God whatever he meant does not imply that the sound quality of the HD1 engine is similar to the M3. |
Dannyboy wrote: | Ah finally: price between 3 and 4 thousand (I have almost killed the guy when he said the KORG is trying hard to build an EU price policy) |
being under oath, albeit not totally sound of mind,
I hereby declare the following:
“Dannyboy” is NOT, repeat NOT, a nickname I use for posting my reviews twice. |
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McHale Platinum Member
Joined: 10 Feb 2009 Posts: 2487 Location: B.F.E.
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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he doth protest too much... _________________ Current Korg Gear: KRONOS 88 (4GB), M50-73 (PS mod), RADIAS-73, Electribe MX, Triton Pro (MOSS, SCSI, CF, 64MB RAM), SQ-64, DVP-1, MEX-8000, MR-1, KAOSSilator, nanoKey, nanoKontrol, 3x nanoPad 2, 3x DS1H, 7x PS1, FC7 (yes Korg, NOT Yamaha). |
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EvilDragon Platinum Member
Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 1992 Location: Croatia
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:17 pm Post subject: Re: Kronos first hand impressions |
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Dannyboy wrote: | And now the grand finale: he said that there are two ways of working with user samples, namely to load them in RAM or to use the VMT technology and stream them... He repeated this twice so to tell you the truth I don't know what to think now about this issue anymore. |
This is directly contradictory to what danatkorg said a couple of times on this board already... |
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danatkorg Product Manager, Korg R&D
Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 4204 Location: California, USA
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:49 pm Post subject: Re: Kronos first hand impressions |
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EvilDragon wrote: | Dannyboy wrote: | And now the grand finale: he said that there are two ways of working with user samples, namely to load them in RAM or to use the VMT technology and stream them... He repeated this twice so to tell you the truth I don't know what to think now about this issue anymore. |
This is directly contradictory to what danatkorg said a couple of times on this board already... |
Something was miscommunicated here, apparently. VMT is not supported with user samples.
Best regards,
Dan _________________ Dan Phillips
Manager of Product Development, Korg R&D
Personal website: www.danphillips.com
For technical support, please contact your Korg Distributor: http://www.korg.co.jp/English/Distributors/
Regretfully, I cannot offer technical support directly.
If you need to contact me for purposes other than technical support, please do not send PMs; instead, send email to dan@korgrd.com |
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danatkorg Product Manager, Korg R&D
Joined: 21 Jan 2005 Posts: 4204 Location: California, USA
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:02 pm Post subject: Re: Kronos first hand impressions |
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Dannyboy wrote: |
I was a bit disappointed by the number of preset combis: there were only 5 banks though I am not sure what was the reason for that. In particular I missed some of the excellent OASYS combis and in particular a combi called "At the gates of Mordor" though even if they are finally not shipped with the Kronos you can always load them directly from the OASYS (read below).
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The OASYS shipped with three banks of Combis; the KRONOS ships with almost four (bank D has 96 Combis). All of the OASYS Combis should be there, though not in the same order; "The Gates of Mordor" is at D007.
Best regards,
Dan _________________ Dan Phillips
Manager of Product Development, Korg R&D
Personal website: www.danphillips.com
For technical support, please contact your Korg Distributor: http://www.korg.co.jp/English/Distributors/
Regretfully, I cannot offer technical support directly.
If you need to contact me for purposes other than technical support, please do not send PMs; instead, send email to dan@korgrd.com |
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Rosen Sound Approved Merchant
Joined: 06 Jan 2010 Posts: 1056 Location: Los Angeles, California
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:16 pm Post subject: |
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Im gonna assume "gates of mordor" is probably the most epic, mind-blowing preset ever created? _________________
Current gear: Korg Kronos 61, Oberheim OB-8, Alesis Vortex
Past Gear: Triton Extreme w/moss & ram, Korg Radias, Kurzweil Micropiano, Triton classic, & Karma
Come visit my Burbank California repair shop/recording studio! Rosensound.com
And my band: Sirion.us.com |
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Mike Conway Approved Merchant
Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 2433 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:42 pm Post subject: |
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robbinhood wrote: | Im gonna assume "gates of mordor" is probably the most epic, mind-blowing preset ever created? |
You can hear it at the :52 second mark of this promo video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9iWT03W-ZI |
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Synthoid Platinum Member
Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 3300 Location: PA, USA
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:52 pm Post subject: |
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So this means the Kronos has hit stores there?
Oops....never mind. I didn't read the whole post. _________________ M3, Triton Classic, Radias, Motif XS, Alesis Ion |
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Unicorn
Joined: 18 Jan 2011 Posts: 46
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:05 am Post subject: |
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Thank you for confirming the issues with the quality of HD1. When Rich repeatedly said 'The game has been changed' and kept on referring to the 12GB samples (and that "Megabytes" are now the history), that created a doubt in my mind. From that perspective even a size in "Gigabytes" doesn't necessarily assure the quality of sounds if you guys know that M1 libraries as big as 20GB are being sold on eBay.
KORG, please hear me - you guys still have an opportunity of building up a game changer if you get the Third Party partnerships right. Think of KARO, NI, OWD and so many good firms around who know how to record and program sample based instruments. _________________ Cheers,
Unicorn |
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Citizen Klaus Full Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 171 Location: Bloomington, IN
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:09 am Post subject: |
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Unicorn wrote: | KORG, please hear me - you guys still have an opportunity of building up a game changer if you get the Third Party partnerships right. Think of KARO, NI, OWD and so many good firms around who know how to record and program sample based instruments. |
KARO already has some nice OASYS sample packs that should work just fine in the Kronos. I don't see how their not being included for free makes the Kronos any less of a game-changer.
I mean, with the Kronos you're already getting pretty much all the red meat from the OASYS banquet, but with sample streaming, smooth sound transitions, and better acoustic and electric pianos. Don't those things essentially address most of the major complaints about keyboard workstations? And they're bringing it in at a price substantially less than half the cost of an OASYS, and competitive with pricing for the other manufacturers' flagship workstations.
And most of the bitching so far has been about things that people wish Korg would have added on top of what's already in the Kronos -- and that nobody else is currently bundling into a workstation, either. I'd say the game has still been changed.
Last edited by Citizen Klaus on Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Unicorn
Joined: 18 Jan 2011 Posts: 46
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:13 am Post subject: |
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Unicorn wrote: | Thank you for confirming the issues with the quality of HD1. When Rich repeatedly said 'The game has been changed' and kept on referring to the 12GB samples (and that "Megabytes" are now the history), that created a doubt in my mind. From that perspective even a size in "Gigabytes" doesn't necessarily assure the quality of sounds if you guys know that M1 libraries as big as 20GB are being sold on eBay.
KORG, please hear me - you guys still have an opportunity of building up a game changer if you get the Third Party partnerships right. Think of KARO, NI, OWD and so many good firms around who know how to record and program sample based instruments. |
And please please dump that 2GB EXS2? I don't recall anymore since I trashed it in a few seconds I played it) Oasys piano which completely lacks the character. We don't need useless stuff in there to populate higher number of Gigabytes (what's the point in including that when you guys have already included fantastic 4.7GB pianos apart from bloating up the on paper specs?). So, with that the number of "usable Gigabytes" is less by 2. Can we get a split of the remaining 5.3GB? _________________ Cheers,
Unicorn |
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Unicorn
Joined: 18 Jan 2011 Posts: 46
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:16 am Post subject: |
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Citizen Klaus wrote: | Unicorn wrote: | KORG, please hear me - you guys still have an opportunity of building up a game changer if you get the Third Party partnerships right. Think of KARO, NI, OWD and so many good firms around who know how to record and program sample based instruments. |
KARO already has some nice OASYS sample packs that should work just fine in the Kronos. I don't see how their not being included for free makes the Kronos any less of a game-changer. |
You are right on the quality of KARO libraries. I never touched stock Oasys sounds for which I had the KARO option. Just being realistic... The game changer thing is the sample streaming technology. If they want to make good use of that, they need to include proper sample sets to leverage the technology, IMO. I'm also coming from a fact that purchasing KARO libraries will cost half of the Kronos price
Sounds like KARO and "Rich" (not the KORG one.. haha) has a correlation Sorry for a poor joke but couldn't resist _________________ Cheers,
Unicorn |
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Citizen Klaus Full Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 171 Location: Bloomington, IN
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:23 am Post subject: |
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Unicorn wrote: | I'm also coming from a fact that purchasing KARO libraries will cost half of the Kronos price |
Only if you buy the whole lot.
And with high-quality modeled pianos and EPs already in the Kronos, plus four different pure-synthesis engines, at least half of KARO's library is arguably redundant, unless you're hell-bent on having genuine Prophet 5 samples.
Last edited by Citizen Klaus on Mon Mar 07, 2011 1:15 am; edited 1 time in total |
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