Kronos 88 and RH3 keyboard faulty

Bertotti · Post by **Bertotti** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 2:55 am

I get a kick out of what people will argue about in this forum. I am more excited to see someone actually got their board repaired and it seems to be working!

I wonder how many other people will get this work done? And find it works! About that bowed metal piece causing the problem, is it something that can be replaced for a stiffer more robust piece?

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 3:12 am

aron wrote:OK fine, but who is "someone" and until we know that, I would still regard this as a rumor until proven true...

If Dan Phillips (and he surely regularly reads especially this thread) will not react to this post and explicitly deny the rumor (spread by Dave Ferris), that TECHNICS had originally developed the RH3 design and that KORG afterwards bought the rights to the RH3 design, when TECHNICS went out of business, then we can assume that this rumor is very probably the truth, because Dan Phillips of course wouldn't be allowed to talk about KORG's internal business affairs...

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aron · Post by **aron** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 3:18 am

Whatever it is, it needs to be fixed.

Dave Ferris · Post by **Dave Ferris** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 4:41 am

Dany wrote:If Dan Phillips (and he surely regularly reads especially this thread) will not react to this post and explicitly deny the rumor (spread by Dave Ferris), that TECHNICS had originally developed the RH3 design and that KORG afterwards bought the rights to the RH3 design, when TECHNICS went out of business, -

I'm not into "spreading rumors"..I was simply passing on what was told to me by a very reputable acoustic piano dealer who also has been selling Roland, Kurzweil, Kawai, Korg and Technics home DPs for close to 20 years.

Not being in the biz myself, I have no way of knowing (and at this point, really caring) whether this is the truth. Again just passing it on......

I remember subbing on a gig maybe 10 years ago where the "house pianist" had a Technics DP. At that time it was one of the best feeling actions I'd played. Shortly after I remember considering the Technics (whatever model that was) but instead settled on the popular Yamaha P120--which I kept for 10 years and probably made easily over 150K, gigging, on my $950 investment.

At about the 8 year mark on the P120 a few keys started sticking. I contacted Yamaha, gave them my serial # and they said I was eligible for a free replacement keybed. For an $80 tech installation fee I basically had a new DP which I then used for another 2 years.

I wonder if any Kronos owners will have a similar story in 2021...

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:00 am

Dave Ferris wrote:
Dany wrote:If Dan Phillips (and he surely regularly reads especially this thread) will not react to this post and explicitly deny the rumor (spread by Dave Ferris), that TECHNICS had originally developed the RH3 design and that KORG afterwards bought the rights to the RH3 design, when TECHNICS went out of business, -
I'm not into "spreading rumors"..I was simply passing on what was told to me by a very reputable acoustic piano dealer who also has been selling Roland, Kurzweil, Kawai, Korg and Technics home DPs for close to 20 years.

Not being in the biz myself, I have no way of knowing (and at this point, really caring) whether this is the truth. Again just passing it on......

Thanks for the clarification Dave. So this "someone", who gave you the information, is obviously a reputable and trustworthy person, with a long time experience.

...and sorry for my formulation "...the rumor (spread by Dave Ferris)". It wasn't meant offensive. Instead I should have written "...the information (posted by Dave Ferris)".

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MartinHines · Post by **MartinHines** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:21 am

Dany wrote: Thanks for the clarification Dave. So this "someone", who gave you the information, is obviously a reputable and trustworthy person, with a long time experience.

...and sorry for my formulation "...the rumor (spread by Dave Ferris)". It wasn't meant offensive. Instead I should have written "...the information (posted by Dave Ferris)".

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A person may be "reputable and trustworthy" but still be misinformed.

Dany · Post by **Dany** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:38 am

MartinHines wrote:...A person may be "reputable and trustworthy" but still be misinformed.

Yes, and a person may also be disreputable and suspicious but still be well-informed....or whatever combination you prefer.....so what's your point?

Let's stop the distraction of this thread and leave the space to people with solutions for the unfortunate musicians involved with RH3 issues...

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Ten2One · Post by **Ten2One** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:47 am

I called Korg support today and inquired about the note cutoff problem and was told that, "Korg will take care of their customers". He also said there wasn't any information concerning this issue yet, but that they had announced that by mid December there would be a solution posted on the forum. While he was reassuring, the problem is that we're past the mid December mark and still no word.

I really, really, like my 88 key but I contacted GC today and told them if I Korg hasn't addressed this by Thursday I will be returning it. I realize one keyboard returned would be a drop in the ocean but I refuse to wait around till after the return period expires and be struck with a stuttering piano.

I hope they do something to meet this need very soon.

Ten2One

PianoManChuck · Post by **PianoManChuck** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 6:49 am

I'm sure Korg will come up with a solution... in the meantime, its very frustrating to have a workstation that does so much so well, yet its unplayable. Especially for me as I'm mostly piano, and very dynamic, from loud to very soft piano passages. The soft passages are impossible to play without notes cutting off, and sometimes they cut off even at normal levels (although not as much as with softer playing). It really puts a damper on the entire creative process... to go from feeling the music inside of you, to destroying the entire feeling due to this problem.

I'm now using my Nord Stage 2 exclusively, at least until Korg comes out with a fix. I don't care if its a software or hardware fix, as long as it fixes the problem! The Nord is an absolute pleasure to play anyway, but its a completely different beast - its the world's finest stage piano (and much more), whereas the Kronos is the world's finest workstation.

Its very sad to have to look at the Kronos, knowing its not playable. Sort of like looking at the world's most beautiful woman, yet she's in a vegetative state. Very sad.

Ten2One · Post by **Ten2One** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 7:24 am

The note issue makes it difficult for tracking at this time, BUT, I've been replacing instruments that I had recorded with midi and the Kronos shines on these tracks.

I've used the Pianos and EP's because they produce such a rich tone and not one note cut off! My Kurzweil PC2X has some very nice sounds (very usable too) but the Kronos is certainly a step above (IMO).

At least I've found a use for it to some degree.

Ten2One

Jeff Gibbs · Post by **Jeff Gibbs** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 3:06 pm

I propose we start a thread on the main Kronos page urging Korg to upgrade their customer service and communication by emailing Kronos owners directly with updates and information. We register online so they already have our email. Its really not appropriate and very inconvenient to force us to keep checking a third party forum for information, or getting it via the circuitous route of waiting for our seller to contact us after being contacted by Korg. EVen their own website has not been kept up to date for other concerns like the OS update, editor release, etc.
Cutting corners to the point when owners of your flagship keyboard are kept guessing and are not communicated with directly is not a wise move. Korg initiating a plan to email Kronos owners with updates, fixes for problems, contact information for questions or concerns, would go a long way to demonstrate Korg's resolve to improving how they deal with issues and customers. This cut off note issue is huge for me--I use my Kronos for soundtrack work where there can be no errors. Knowing Korg will notify and communicate immediately and forthrightly would help. Keeping customers happy and communicated with will help loyalty and profits in the long run a lot more than damage control and mum is the word. If there is a problem with the Kronos--tell us via email. If there is a fix send us a note. If the OS has been delayed--tell us.

PianoManChuck · Post by **PianoManChuck** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 3:18 pm

Jeff Gibbs wrote:I propose we start a thread on the main Kronos page urging Korg to upgrade their customer service and communication by emailing Kronos owners directly with updates and information. We register online so they already have our email. Its really not appropriate and very inconvenient to force us to keep checking a third party forum for information, or getting it via the circuitous route of waiting for our seller to contact us after being contacted by Korg. EVen their own website has not been kept up to date for other concerns like the OS update, editor release, etc.
Cutting corners to the point when owners of your flagship keyboard are kept guessing and are not communicated with directly is not a wise move. Korg initiating a plan to email Kronos owners with updates, fixes for problems, contact information for questions or concerns, would go a long way to demonstrate Korg's resolve to improving how they deal with issues and customers. This cut off note issue is huge for me--I use my Kronos for soundtrack work where there can be no errors. Knowing Korg will notify and communicate immediately and forthrightly would help. Keeping customers happy and communicated with will help loyalty and profits in the long run a lot more than damage control and mum is the word. If there is a problem with the Kronos--tell us via email. If there is a fix send us a note. If the OS has been delayed--tell us.

That all sounds wonderful, but in reality it wouldn't be so simple. What you're suggesting sounds more like a newsletter being emailed to Kronos owners. However, since not everyone seems to have the keybed problem (or at least not yet), it would give the company a bad public image to mention this problem in a newsletter (from the company's marketing perspective... which is what keeps any company in business).

What you're suggesting is that Korg collect the email addresses of those WITH the keybed problem. This entails assigning someone at Korg to the task of doing this, assigning a liaison to communicate with the technical staff and users in such a way that everyone can understand, writing, editing and compiling the newsletter, maintaining the mailing list, etc, etc, etc. A newsletter might go out with miscommunicated intormation between technical staff and writer... a fix might be released an hour after the newsletter went out, and people may not check their emails every day, missing a fix due to an old newsletter. Sounds like a lot of unnecessary work for the company when it could better be spent working on - and fixing - the problem.

Most of the users of this forum are on here regularly anyway, so I don't think its like "forcing" people to check for updates.

It would be nice if Korg would give us a progress report on the forum... that would be something that I think would be welcomed by everyone, and not very difficult or time-consuming for Korg. And perhaps a timeline with a more realistic ETA for a fix as well.

rmvieira · Post by **rmvieira** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 4:01 pm

Just to summarize and be clear. By fixing the slightly bent metal by the keybed my "RH3 problems" went away. The keybed was not replaced. The metal bowing may or may not be visible to others with the same problem as the spacing is quite small.

Dave Ferris · Post by **Dave Ferris** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:27 pm

Dany wrote:
Dave Ferris wrote:
Dany wrote:If Dan Phillips (and he surely regularly reads especially this thread) will not react to this post and explicitly deny the rumor (spread by Dave Ferris), that TECHNICS had originally developed the RH3 design and that KORG afterwards bought the rights to the RH3 design, when TECHNICS went out of business, -
I'm not into "spreading rumors"..I was simply passing on what was told to me by a very reputable acoustic piano dealer who also has been selling Roland, Kurzweil, Kawai, Korg and Technics home DPs for close to 20 years.

Not being in the biz myself, I have no way of knowing (and at this point, really caring) whether this is the truth. Again just passing it on......
Thanks for the clarification Dave. So this "someone", who gave you the information, is obviously a reputable and trustworthy person, with a long time experience.

...and sorry for my formulation "...the rumor (spread by Dave Ferris)". It wasn't meant offensive. Instead I should have written "...the information (posted by Dave Ferris)".

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Hey no problem Dany- all's cool. For the record, I just wanted to clarify that.

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:42 pm

PianoManChuck wrote:I'm sure Korg will come up with a solution... in the meantime, its very frustrating to have a workstation that does so much so well, yet its unplayable. Especially for me as I'm mostly piano, and very dynamic, from loud to very soft piano passages. The soft passages are impossible to play without notes cutting off, and sometimes they cut off even at normal levels (although not as much as with softer playing). It really puts a damper on the entire creative process... to go from feeling the music inside of you, to destroying the entire feeling due to this problem.

I'm now using my Nord Stage 2 exclusively, at least until Korg comes out with a fix. I don't care if its a software or hardware fix, as long as it fixes the problem! The Nord is an absolute pleasure to play anyway, but its a completely different beast - its the world's finest stage piano (and much more), whereas the Kronos is the world's finest workstation.

Its very sad to have to look at the Kronos, knowing its not playable. Sort of like looking at the world's most beautiful woman, yet she's in a vegetative state. Very sad.

This is exactly how I feel as well! Unfortunately, I traded my previous Yamaha stage piano fir the Kronos, so I don't have a controller at all! And my Kronos is in the repair shop, so I can't do anything at all at the moment.

But didn't you have a wirking Kronos at the beginning? If so, this is troublesome if the problem would manifest as time goes by. It means no one is safe from this problem.

The silence of Korg is deafening. Look at Apple, Microsoft or Nokia: when they screw up, they tell about it ASAP and have a solution ready within days. Korg really should take notice, because this is harming customer relatiinship in a serious way. How things are now, I doubt I ever will be an early adopter for Korg ever again. Please prove me wrong, Korg!

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