Korg Forums

[bobbyrobert]

Here in New Zealand its starting to feel like the Kronos will never arrive I still can't get a price or possible shipping date! all I am told is "it could be a long time"
I am now considering the new Kurzweil PC3K88 as an alternative and just wondered what people thought. Even with the Kurzweil I have been quoted NZ$5000 to NZ$5500 and two to three months delivery.

The other option is the M3
I can get a 88 for around NZ$5000
or the 73 for NZ$4300

What am I to do!!!
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Present Gear
Korg Kronos 73, Nord Lead 2X, Wharfedale EZ-m mini mixer, Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 Pro Active Monitors

[billysynth1]

Hello
Can you buy from Australia? MusicLink is the distributor. Awave is a retailer in melbourne. Perhaps you can email Lou at Awave and get a price and delivery price. www.awave.com.au

In my opinion there are no other options....the rest are archaic in comparison. Dont waste your time. Kurz is a 20th century synth. Kronos is 21st century technology.

Billy
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Yamaha C1 Grand Piano.
Korg Oasys 88, Jupiter 80
Kronos 88, V Synth GT
I am a student of classical piano...I am not a classical pianist.

[theshinenz]

import from us...the only way to do it....half what you'll pay in nz, esp if you know someone willing to under value it, when i was in nz the thing that sucked was the $400 customs threshold, here in aust its $1000 so more realistic to get a "ex demo" synth in for under that price if you know what i mean.

[EXer]

Maybe I'll get killed if I say the Kurz sounds are not so good according to 2011 standards, maybe not. After all, this a Korg forum

The ROM of the PC3K is still the same as the old ROM and the old expansion boards ('ROM blocks') of the K2000/2500/2600.

Have you noticed the ROM size is mentioned nowhere on the Kurz website? According to my calculations, the ROM size of the PC3K should be around 44 Mb (original ROM: 4 Mb grand piano + 8 Mb non piano samples; add 4 x 8Mb ROM blocks). Some may say that size doesn't matter. Sure, 15 years ago, when 8 Mb or 16Mb ROMs were common among romplers, the (expanded) K2xxx were above the crowd in some aspects thanks to the excellent job the Kurz programmers had done to bring out the best sounds out of this limited ROM. Btw, the Roland programmers did an excellent job too with their 8 Mb SR-JV80 Orchestral card, which is still usable today when you need orchestral sounds for your pop tunes...

Let's talk about VAST; the possibilities are vast (!), but the programming is tedious and imho beyond common logic (yet I'm not afraid to program my FS1R on the fly from its panel). Of course, some Kurz fans may think otherwise.

VA-1, the so called 'Virtual Analog Synthesizer' is not really a synth engine of its own; it just brings new VAST components in the form of modelled analogue oscillators and modelled analogue filters, but the architecture remains that of VAST, i.e. without the immediacy of a real virtual analogue synth engine.

And how could you compare the Kurz user interface with a Korg touch screen?

Someone has said on this forum that a Kronos is 'only a rehash of an Oasys', but let's not forget the Oasys is a f¤cking good keyboard of the 21st century

The PC3K is a rehash of the K2600 which is a rehash of the K2500 which is a rehash of the K2000 which was designed more than 20 years ago, when Ray Kurzweil sold his company to a Corean piano manufacturer. 5 years later, he left the company and it was the beginning of the decline of the Kurz synths. All that Young Chang have been doing for 20 years is upgrading the K2000...

Of course, you can buy a PC3K, but I would strongly advise you *not* to try a Kronos out after you have bought the Kurz...

[theshinenz]

I must admit if I had to choose I would go for the Kronos, however luckily I don't as I have a pc3 aswell. I will say this though, I have owned motifs, fantoms and also an m3, and regardless of rom size the pc3 is still more inspiring without all the bells and whistles they all bring to the table. I don't know oe care how kurzweil do it only that is sounds damn good to my ears!

[EvilDragon]

PC3 has 64 MB of ROM. It's nowhere stated, but if you ask the guys from Kurzweil kindly they'll tell you There are some new samples inside that were not on K2xxx, like the orchestral bank, for example.


Kurzweil's interface is really fast to edit. And yes, I will dare to say in a lot of cases faster than Korg's touchscreen.

[jemkeys25]

kurzweil does it by whats called V.A.S.T., the best and deepest sound controlling and editing in the business, no one else even comes close.

[keego]

I would say wait for Kronos but if you can't go for the Kurz. As ED has mentioned it is infinitly more programable than anything out there you just need to know what is what when programming it.
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Current Arsenal:
Kronos 61, Kurzweil PC3K6, Nord Stage 3, Yamaha MOXF8, Muse Receptor 2+, Mainstage


Previous:
Korg:X5D,Wavestation, N364, Trinity,Triton Classic,Triton Studio, Korg M3 61 w/ EXB-Radias
Ensoniq:TS12, SD1, ASR10
Roland:XP10, JD-800, Roland XV88, A90ex
Kurzweil:K2500RS, K2661, PC3
Nord: Electro 3

[BillW]

Chapter 1 of the PC3 manual:

"The PC3 comes loaded with 64 MB of ROM sounds, powered by Kurzweil’s newest custom chip set – cutting edge technology that nobody else has."

That said, it sounds remarkably good for 64MB. For my needs, I don't think there's anything out there that can beat the Kronos in terms of sheer sonic power and immediacy though. If I had to choose one, I would take a Kronos over the PC3 any day. I already have a PC361 and I have a Kronos on pre-order and will likely keep & use both keyboards for a long time.
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Korg Kronos 61 (2); Kurzweil PC4; Casio Privia PX-350m; Macbook Pro

[Kevin Nolan]

[EvilDragon]

Kurzweil is definitely not a waste of money, though. You sound too judgmental, Kevin. PC3 is leaps above K2500 in terms of synthesis, save for the sampling part.

BillW is extremely smart in combining his PC361 along with Kronos on preorder. It's simply the best of both worlds. Kurzweil is not to be taken lightly, and mark my words.

[Akos Janca]

Hi Bobby, the answer is simple: it depends on your needs and taste. Unfortunately, we can't help much I guess.

IF 1) it's extremely urgent and 2) you don't have another keyboard and 3) you like it and it serves your needs then, ONLY then, buy that M3 - try to negotiate a good price - and don't look back. Make music.

In any other cases you should wait then compare the Kronos 88 and the PC3K88 - features, usability, price - using your own aspects.

PS. For ME? The K.
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AkosJanca.com | Facebook | YouTube | SoundCloud | FuturePlant || OASYS-demos | nanoROCK demo | Korg Band in the Garage demo | Kronos Demo 1 | Kronos Demo 2

[Kevin Nolan]

Bobby -

With respect to the other posters - wait! It's a no brainer.

Kevin.

[Rocness]

That PC3K8 is starting to look real good right about now .

[Chriskk]