Just picked up my Kronos 61!

Gargamel314 · Post by **Gargamel314** » Sun May 22, 2011 5:20 pm

To boot the M3, it takes about 2 1/2 minutes to boot, load the ROM, load the EXs, and then I have to load my own sample data, which takes another 2 minutes. Just being able to walk away while it boots and loads everything for me is a HUGE improvement. Condsidering it's loadinga bout 4 times that much data in half the time... still huge. color me satisfied.

gjvti · Post by **gjvti** » Mon May 23, 2011 6:30 am

jahrome wrote:
Akos Janca wrote:
donjuancarlos wrote:Does it really take over 2 minutes to boot?
For me it was about 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
I get the same results. I turned off autoload for the PRELOAD.KSC files and Kronos boots up approx 15 seconds faster.

Kronos has 1GB RAM and if we take average SSD read speed 100MB/s than it should take 10-15 seconds to completely fill Kronos RAM. Obviously those two minutes are spent testing all systems and devices and loading and configuring OS. Maybe in next workstation Korg should consider windows? Just kidding

My win7 laptop is far more efficient in this and completely boots itself in 40s + another 20-30s for Ableton and Omisphere+RMX. My M3 without EX libraries boots in ~1:30. Considering that Kronos is essentially an optimized PC its boot time theoretically could be less than 2 minutes. I think 2 minutes is too much to just play piano but it is acceptable to wait for those other synth engines.

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Mon May 23, 2011 6:38 am

gjvti wrote:Kronos has 1GB RAM and if we take average SSD read speed 100MB/s than it should take 10-15 seconds to completely fill Kronos RAM.

Kronos has 2 GB of RAM, and today's SSDs are reading well above 200 MB/s...

ScoobyDoo555 · Post by **ScoobyDoo555** » Mon May 23, 2011 9:03 am

so by my calculations (although math is not my strong point!), it's the same answer!

jahrome · Post by **jahrome** » Mon May 23, 2011 9:40 am

This thread is hilarious. Some of you might want to consider working for Korg with all the knowledge you bring to the table on how fast the Kronos should or shouldn't boot up.

ScoobyDoo555 · Post by **ScoobyDoo555** » Mon May 23, 2011 9:51 am

LOL!!!

jahrome · Post by **jahrome** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:20 am

I have Kronos connected to my iMac.

"About this Mac" gives the following details regarding Kronos:

KRONOS:

Product ID: 0x0203
Vendor ID: 0x0944
Version: 1.00
Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: KORG INC.
Location ID: 0xfa200000
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): 0

Also of note in the Global Menu, there is an Options Tab where it lists Installed Options and a button to [Authorize Selected]. So it appears that there could very well be more Instruments offered in the future.

I have one negative so far about the Kronos. It's data wheel is not robust. I am a sample guy so I do a lot of onboard sample editing. With very little use, the data wheel popped out on me. It's easy to insert back in...but you can pop it back out with very little effort. This is the worst data wheel of any workstation I have owned (Fantom X/G, Motif ES, MPC 2000/2500/3000/4000/5000).

gjvti · Post by **gjvti** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:21 am

... yeah that's it

... In a rush grabbed memory allocated for PCM as on Kronos specs sheet. I never thought about loading times before doing laptop upgrade - the difference was pretty obvious so I just paid attention to this in a context.

billysynth1 · Post by **billysynth1** » Mon May 23, 2011 10:49 am

Are you for real Jahrome???

You're the first guy on the planet to own a Kronos, and in just two days, there is a hardware problem....sheesh. I thought that shuttle wheel looked flimsy from the photos.

I hope this isnt the begining of bad things to come. I dont like to be pesimistic...but its the first unit and already there is an issue

Billy

RC-IA · Post by **RC-IA** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:00 am

billysynth1 wrote:Are you for real Jahrome???

You're the first guy on the planet to own a Kronos, and in just two days, there is a hardware problem....sheesh. I thought that shuttle wheel looked flimsy from the photos.

I hope this isnt the begining of bad things to come. I dont like to be pesimistic...but its the first unit and already there is an issue

Billy

it does not seem jahrome is telling that he has a hardware problem, he just saying that it seems from his point of view that the data wheel is not a long term lasting material.

ix studio · Post by **ix studio** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:08 am

It's data wheel is not robust.
quote]

i am afraid this is common now , the newer things get the more crap the build quality unless its a small company with some high build quality angle

I thought the same about the roland vsynth gt and the way roland have gone , even motifs look and feel tackier by the week .Cant these companies source good parts ?Why are they fixated on thin cheap shite plastic encoders and dials and very cheap nasty looking screens now ?

Akai did the same with all their samplers , each one was cheaper and less workable.

I think the current quality of build of many synths is appalling given the depth of their menus.

Why would you use such cheap parts when a good encoder wheel costs like £2 maybe at most per unit = a synth thats £2000 + .

Build quality is not good on most new synths i feel when you look at the build quality of older synths , its night and day now.

What a pointless thing to do when you design such deep and powerfull devices - wrap them in a load of shite recycled plastic from taiwan and the most import thing ? the main encoder wheel - yeah make that the cheapest you can.

are these companies run by w.....kers or something ?

We must accept quality and build issues and design has slowly been going down on many synths , this and a rather lurid and almost vegas like design ethic ( vsynth gt ? ) has resulted in some really nasty looking machines and they always have this cheap thin and tacky looking encoder wheel now.

I think the design teams are on probably to blame wanting this thin and futuristic looking designs that they just dont make well or thick enough.

Look at the encoders on some old analogues , whats up with using good ones ? heavy duty ?

Sorry but this is one thing that really bugs me as its not right to pay so much for something thats badly designed and built .I didnt buy the roland vsynth gt on the basis that when i tried to use it in the shop it was like using a toy , terrible quality and feel .If the synth were £500 no problem but for £2000 + you dont expect these cheap and nasty parts to be used .

DaveBoulden · Post by **DaveBoulden** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:26 am

ix studio wrote:are these companies run by w.....kers or something ?

Nope, but Financial Directors will set budgets and Production Directors will instruct design teams to extract the maximum profit from the given sales price-point... so to improve the profit, cheaper parts are sourced and a trade-off between cost and durability is made. The directors of any company are beholding to the owners (possibly themselves) or to the shareholders who expect a return on their investments in the company. When scaled up, the costs difference between a cheaper encoder wheel and a more robist one still affects the bottom line.

orpheus2006 · Post by **orpheus2006** » Mon May 23, 2011 11:57 am

This is the worst data wheel of any workstation I have owned

I also noticed this when I tested a Kronos at Musikmesse back in April. Why save 20 cents on a 3k$ keyboard?
I'm curious to know if the data wheel can easily be replaced with sth more valuable?

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Mon May 23, 2011 12:14 pm

[quote="ix studio"] It's data wheel is not robust.
quote]

the problem is you: you are mishandling it.

You have fat fingers.

Try holding it with your fingernails.

Try not cutting your fingernails

Instead of complaining, you should be thankful: a hammond b3 wouldn't even had a joystick, and it would weigh a ton.

in 1941, only alternative was a fiddle

Roland joysticks are even worse.

Did I forget anything?

Am I ready for becoming a hoover salesman?... oh, sorry, I meant "a kronos endorser"?

jahrome · Post by **jahrome** » Mon May 23, 2011 1:33 pm

RC-IA wrote:
billysynth1 wrote:Are you for real Jahrome???

You're the first guy on the planet to own a Kronos, and in just two days, there is a hardware problem....sheesh. I thought that shuttle wheel looked flimsy from the photos.

I hope this isnt the begining of bad things to come. I dont like to be pesimistic...but its the first unit and already there is an issue

Billy
it does not seem jahrome is telling that he has a hardware problem, he just saying that it seems from his point of view that the data wheel is not a long term lasting material.

Yes. The data wheel works fine but doesn't seem built to last. Should have seen my face when it popped out...priceless. My wife was like WTF!

As far as the comments about Akai (I am an MPC dude), the cheaper designs did allow them to sell more MPCs at a lower price. But the typical MPC, even the newer models, are built to hold up. Even the MPC 1000 has a better data wheel than the Kronos.

If I CEO of Korg for a day when they were deciding on the hardware specs, I would have went with:
1. More robust data wheel
2. 8 x 360 degree knobs
3. Traditional transport

The things I really like in Kronos:
1. SOUNDS! I can see commercial musicians abusing the presets
2. GUI. Really nice. Almost on par with Roland
3. Can use the same sample in multiple indexes but have different loop parameters
4. Onboard Manual
5. Track Play Loop
6. EQ per track