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Synthoid
Platinum Member
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
Posts: 3300
Location: PA, USA
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 Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 2:06 pm Post subject: Reflections on the Kronos |
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Finally got to play the Kronos yesterday, although just about everyone has had a chance to put it through its paces... guess I'm the last to the party, but these puppies are hard to find around here! 
So I drove down to one of the last "mom and pop" stores in the area and gave it an audition (61-key model BTW). Like most people, I lost track of time trying out the various synth engines along with the "Karmafied" combis. Barely scratched the surface though. I really was impressed with it... the build quality is better than some have reported and the screen was much easier to read than I expected. There is a lot of information there though, and some of that type is definitely tiny.
The Kronos was (unfortunately) hooked up to an amp sitting on the floor so I couldn't fully appreciate the new pianos, EP's and organ sounds people are raving about. Also, they just turned me loose without any introduction or demo. Obviously the "keyboard guy" was out that morning. Good thing I'm familiar with Korg workstations.
Conclusion: Hearing the Kronos through that cheap amp was a shame to be sure. I should have brought headphones along... just wasn't thinking I guess. I'd love to have one but I gotta say I'm still happy with my M3. Maybe if the price drops later this year I'll pick one up.
What do other M3 owners think about the Kronos?
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M3, Triton Classic, Radias, Motif XS, Alesis Ion |
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michelkeijzers
Approved Merchant
Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 9113
Location: Netherlands
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| Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 3:17 pm Post subject: |
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I have an M50 which sound wise is equally to the Kronos.
For me it was clear that I wanted to have a Kronos; not only because the sound is much better (which is in your case probably the main 'question'), but I also missed aftertouch and number or programs/combis.
Even without hearing them next to each other I clearly could hear the better sound quality of the Kronos, not only in the new engines, but in samples too.
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Developer of the free PCG file managing application for most Korg workstations: PCG Tools, see https://www.kronoshaven.com/pcgtools/ |
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CfNorENa
Senior Member
Joined: 19 Aug 2008
Posts: 437
Location: SF Bay Area
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| Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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| michelkeijzers wrote: | | I have an M50 which sound wise is equally to the Kronos. |
I think you mean the M50 is equal to the M3, right?
I'm still on the fence btw used M3 and new Kronos. No doubt that K. is superior (except sequencer!), but I think a used M3 might be significantly better value...
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Korg gear: Kronos 73.
Other gear: Oberheim SEM | SCI Prophet 5 | Roland MKS-70 | Waldorf Microwave XTk |
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michelkeijzers
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Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 9113
Location: Netherlands
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| Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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| CfNorENa wrote: | | michelkeijzers wrote: | | I have an M50 which sound wise is equally to the Kronos. |
I think you mean the M50 is equal to the M3, right?
I'm still on the fence btw used M3 and new Kronos. No doubt that K. is superior (except sequencer!), but I think a used M3 might be significantly better value... |
The M50 and M3 have the same engines and AFAIK the same sample set, it does have less storage (for programs, combis), has no builtin Karma, no aftertouch and less controllers, less good keybed, no sampling but M3 programs/combis can be read (and work except for Karma features).
You have to decide for yourself if the cost against the differences between the M3 and Kronos would justify your buy.
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Developer of the free PCG file managing application for most Korg workstations: PCG Tools, see https://www.kronoshaven.com/pcgtools/ |
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CfNorENa
Senior Member
Joined: 19 Aug 2008
Posts: 437
Location: SF Bay Area
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| Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 6:01 pm Post subject: |
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Yup, former M50 owner, so I have a pretty good idea what I'd be getting with the M3.
For me, the main attractions of the Kronos are the MOD-7 engine and the 16 tracks of audio recording (I'm running a computer-free setup, and currently record onto a Korg D3200: another 16 tracks at 24 bit would be attractive). I've got my analog bases covered, so the virtual analog engines of the Kronos are less crucial for me (and I think Radias could more or less cover AL-1). I also think some nice piano samples (like k-sounds) could get me 90% of the Kronos acoustic pianos (but I could be wrong about that).
Decisions, decisions...
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Korg gear: Kronos 73.
Other gear: Oberheim SEM | SCI Prophet 5 | Roland MKS-70 | Waldorf Microwave XTk |
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michelkeijzers
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Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 9113
Location: Netherlands
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| Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 6:22 pm Post subject: |
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Personally I would not consider an M3 unless you really don't have (or want to spend) the money, since for sounds it will not matter much if you have an M50 or M3 (except for samples).
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Developer of the free PCG file managing application for most Korg workstations: PCG Tools, see https://www.kronoshaven.com/pcgtools/ |
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countrycreek
Full Member
Joined: 23 Nov 2008
Posts: 195
Location: franklin ky
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| Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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I have the kronos 61 and the m3 61 I like them both the kronos is a upgrade but the m3 holds it's own.I really love the kronos because of the ability to use the drawbars for the organ and the leslie effect is great. I can utilize the organ while in sequencer mode so I sold my b3 clone.The sequencer is about double note capacity not counting audio tracks.I haven't nearly touched what it can do yet. I will keep my m3 as there are so many things I like about it also and they sound great togather in 2 keyboard set up.
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Kronos 2 61,triton studio 88,roland fantom x 7, Krome ex73, roland Fantom xr, ,roland jv 1010 and gem ws 2 mod
km 200 Hartke (2) |
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JuneauUnderground
Senior Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2011
Posts: 269
Location: Gilbert , Arizona
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| Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 2:10 am Post subject: |
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I too have the Kronos 61 and a loaded M3-88. The K is in Arizona and the M3 in Alaska. After purchasing the the K and playing it exclusively along with a JP-80 for about 3 months, I realized how good the M3 really was and still is once I got back to it. The M3 is a superb piece of kit. The RH3-88 keybed for the M3 is the best I have ever played. ( don't know what happened in the RH3 translation to the Kronos). I believe the stock combis in the M3 are better then the Kronos. The M3 also has those wonderful pads of which one has to buy separately via a Nanopad for the Kronos. There Is some very very outstanding third party stuff available for the M3. I know that much is on the way for the Kronos.
Bottom line, Kronos + M3-88 + JP80 = best of all worlds. If you are on a limited budget, for about $1500 the M3 is hard to beat fom a bang for buck standpoint.
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Too much gear to list. |
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gnbutt
Senior Member
Joined: 14 Dec 2005
Posts: 259
Location: Thunder Bay, Ont. Canada
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| Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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my son took/borrowed my Roland X8, I miss an 88 key keyboard with natural touch. I am gonna wait a bit longer, I almost bought an OASYS 88 at the time they came out. Love my M3, it's light and easy to carry around. Can wait for the next generation of Kronos in an 88 version, which I will probably buy. GNB
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M3-73, Roland Fantom X8, Motif ES7, OMNISPHERE VST and my baby, an old Fender Rhodes 73. Hammond SK2 with Neo Mini-Vent for Organ, Korg Krome 61 with Vintage Synth collection + DSKrome, Killer Organ Package
Roland FA-06 |
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jazlover
Platinum Member
Joined: 09 Jan 2002
Posts: 1657
Location: Tampa, Fla USA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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I have both... The M3 keys sit under my Kronos. The Kronos is amazing. I find I used mainly Radias sounds on the M3 with Kronos. M3 is great but sonically and the number of engines makes Kronos so worth getting. I have had no troubles with my Kronos 88. It has been more stable than my M3 (which I had to put a new voltage regulator in). Kronos has been my best instrument I ever owned.
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John Coltrane |
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kimu
Platinum Member
Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 1133
Location: Italy,Milan
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| Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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| For now I will stay with m3.mainly two reasons: not enough money to buy kronos even selling m3 and not really seeing more value than m3 as for the analogue stuff i go modular. |
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iluvchiclets
Full Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2010
Posts: 187
Location: Ontario
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| Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:03 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | What do other M3 owners think about the Kronos? |
I know I won't be popular posting this...
I own an M50, which is kind of like an M3? I would love to get an M3 eventually as I love the Karma technology, the Xpanded pianos, and I love those touch pads!
I was very excited to try the Kronos but, after playing it for a while, I found it sounded similar to my M50.
I think the best way to put it is the two keyboards are very Korg-Like.
Sure, the electric pianos had a bit more "thunk" and "clunk" detail to them. Yes, the pianos sounded nice. I thought the organ sounded just like my M50! A strange frequency/width to the C/V effect. Different compared to a Nord, which I think is the most accurate synth out there.
For the money, I was expecting to be blown away. But I felt it was too similar to the M50 and M3. I went with a Yamaha Motif instead, and that is a very different sounding keyboard compared to the Korg.
In summary, considering price, my personal wants would be a Korg M3 first, the M50 second, and the Kronos last. I feel it is too expensive for my needs.
I hope I'm not attacked for writing this!
I appreciate all the opinions in this forum, and love reading through the different posts. |
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michelkeijzers
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Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 9113
Location: Netherlands
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| Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 1:39 am Post subject: |
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| iluvchiclets wrote: | | Quote: | | What do other M3 owners think about the Kronos? |
I know I won't be popular posting this...
I own an M50, which is kind of like an M3? I would love to get an M3 eventually as I love the Karma technology, the Xpanded pianos, and I love those touch pads!
I was very excited to try the Kronos but, after playing it for a while, I found it sounded similar to my M50.
I think the best way to put it is the two keyboards are very Korg-Like.
Sure, the electric pianos had a bit more "thunk" and "clunk" detail to them. Yes, the pianos sounded nice. I thought the organ sounded just like my M50! A strange frequency/width to the C/V effect. Different compared to a Nord, which I think is the most accurate synth out there.
For the money, I was expecting to be blown away. But I felt it was too similar to the M50 and M3. I went with a Yamaha Motif instead, and that is a very different sounding keyboard compared to the Korg.
In summary, considering price, my personal wants would be a Korg M3 first, the M50 second, and the Kronos last. I feel it is too expensive for my needs.
I hope I'm not attacked for writing this!
I appreciate all the opinions in this forum, and love reading through the different posts. |
I will not attack you for it. I had the same dilemma as you, meaning I had an M50 and wanted (maybe) to have a Kronos. However, I must say it's a very big positive difference. I didn't dislike the piano of the M50 but the Kronos one is better.
However, the organ of the Kronos is a huge improvement over the M50. Since you have another opinion about this, it shows that sound is very subjective which maybe is good, otherwise we would all end up having the same instrument/brand.
But as with almost any new keyboard, it takes some time to get used to the 'different sounds', maybe more with the Kronos since it sounds more different than other Korgs (like M50/M3/Triton series).
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Developer of the free PCG file managing application for most Korg workstations: PCG Tools, see https://www.kronoshaven.com/pcgtools/ |
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iluvchiclets
Full Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2010
Posts: 187
Location: Ontario
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| Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:40 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | However, the organ of the Kronos is a huge improvement over the M50. |
That's very interesting to hear - you know, I will have to have another play on the Kronos and pay particular attention to the CX-3. When I initially tried the K out, I simply went through the factory-presets and fooled around with the Chorus/Vibrato presets and custom parameters.
It would really change my mind if I found some super Hammond Organ sounds on the Kronos. I was the proud owner of an A100 with a 122 Leslie for over 10 years, and it's one sound I am very particular about.
The M50's Hammond organ sounds are, well..., passable, and they sound pretty good in a band setting. But when I am playing at home, there is a lot missing. Does the Kronos have a "leakage" setting? |
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apex
Platinum Member
Joined: 23 Feb 2010
Posts: 2340
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