Korg Forums

[wma]

Hello, I'd like to ask if there someone know if there will be any new korg rack or desktop module announced in the near future that features SGX-2 & HD-1 engines and an SSD so we can add EXs packs .. is it possible to ask korg for this?

[billbaker]

Ask away... There is a small korg corp presence here at KF so there's a chance they'll see it.

Believe me though when I say that people have been asking about a Kronos modlule since the first announcement of the "classic" three or four years back. What you've described is essentially that.

I have to think that there's no way that will happen, for a couple of reasons.

You have to compare what you get with what you could have at a comparable price. Let's put that at an arbitrary $2.5K price tag like Roland's last module. For that I'd expect you'd get the guts and some control surfaces from the Kronos. Of necessity that would mean a desktop only. For that I'd expect it would be a full version Kronos, not a dumbed down version with optional EXi's at an extra cost.

If you left off the control surface and made a rack you might be able to bring down the price into the $1700 range as with the motif racks but a lot of Kronos' controls are necessary for things like KARMA. Would you want to navigate the Kronos without the touchscreen? Not me.

So leave off karma, leave of control surfaces, leave off the touchscreen (there's no room in the rack face and access is a bitch) dumb down or make optional several of the 9 engines of the original and you might get a base model in the 1200-1500 range. But Id have to wonder who'd buy the "starter" model when there are other alternatives. (So does Korg)

You have to make it so attractive that there is no alternative -- and, unfortunately, at this price point there definitely is: $2K would get you a Mac book pro with main stage which has all the sounds from logic including ROMpler, sampling, several really nice VA and digital synth modules, and whatever else you have lying around (vast instruments) interfaced and hey let's throw in Korg legacy collection; $2K would get you a pretty decent PC with NI Komplete which gets you nearly identical capabilities to the Kronos. Either of those alternatives compete very strongly, are upgradable at fairly low cost for both hardware and software, let you choose your configuration and accessories and are flexible enough to include other synth types and allow you to log into the forum...and everything else computers do.

I could see a piano module or modular versions of some of Kronos' other engines. Piano would need only a few controls.

My suggestion? Make a piano black box 1/2 rack or mini module with a small selection of jazz and rock tones, with 5 good acoustic/electric basses optionally layered in at the low end and the drum track and its 700 or so patterns and you could sell those to everyone who's doing a one man band on the cheap or who has midi and wants their home keyboard to actually sound like a piano.

There are already modular versions of most of the others. Hd1 is m3 or even triton rack. MS20 has a small hardware version. FM is covered by Yamaha 10 different ways so leave that alone.


BB
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billbaker

Triton Extreme 88, Triton Classic Pro, Trinity V3 Pro
+E-mu, Alesis, Korg, Kawai, Yamaha, Line-6, TC Elecronics, Behringer, Lexicon...

[wma]

i agree with you .. i think it's better for me to look at alternatives for the kronos - actually i don't need all the stuff the kronos - just the acoustic pianos & synth leads/pads & some winds/brass & strings sounds - however i'd like to get a korg as never played a korg in my life just touched a turned off M1 about a decade ago, lol - i'll wait sometime till the krome's successor comes out / expecting it comes out within months as now there's a 100$ rebate - from demos i've listened to i'm not well satisfied with the factory sounds of the krome while i just love korg's & would like to try one of their mid or high-end keyboards someday - i prefer the interface & layout & functionality they provide which permits to perform - i with the next krome supports some sampling so i can make it sound as i like - i though if there will be ever any kronos rack/module it wouldn't exceed half it's current price 3k usd which i can't afford and wouldn't get it even if i ccan afford it someday because practically i would not use half of its sounds system & the intigrated audio interface

[billbaker]

As a low cost alternative and only if you're the kind of player who'd rather have a boatload of presets to use, you might want to look at the Arturia Lab which has a half a dozen classic synth models and some 5000 pre-set sounds for between $150 and $350 depending on which included USB controller you chose to purchase it with.

Cheaper still is MainStage-3 from Apple, at about $30 if you have a mac, there are several hundred presets including pianos and a dozen or so engines, with the capability to build and save pretty complex performances and set-ups.

The Korg Legacy Collection gives you M1, Wavestation, MS20, and more.

There are low-cost free-ware and share-ware synths that model Moog, Arp, Roland, DX/FM and other classic analog and early digital synths.

Many of those were the flagship synths of their day. Their signature sounds can still be heard in recordings. For example, many EDM producers swear by 4-op FM synths for their bass lines -- you probably wouldn't want to have to purchase a 30 year old DX-100 for that.

In many ways building yourself a computer-based synth collection, with its ability to add signal processing that was missing form the "dry-only" classic synths, its relatively simple integration with DAW software for recording and performance gives you the best of everything that's ever been available and saves you thousands over collecting maintaining and refurbishing old gear.

Unless you're Moby. Then you can be a collector. For the rest of us there's software.

Yep. I'll do that.


BB
_________________
billbaker

Triton Extreme 88, Triton Classic Pro, Trinity V3 Pro
+E-mu, Alesis, Korg, Kawai, Yamaha, Line-6, TC Elecronics, Behringer, Lexicon...

[wma]

yes, an ipad is just a greate solution, i liked alot of apps from korg yamaha and some others like the IK sample tank .. korg krome successor besides an ipad mini wifi is what i'll consider & will be happy with