Kronos 88 and RH3 keyboard faulty

PianoManChuck · Post by **PianoManChuck** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:15 am

Ten2One wrote:Well, it took about 30 seconds for the note cut off to manifest!

That's T H R E E I've played that have this defect. To be fair it happens on soft passages or when the damper is used and it is random as to when and where it happens. If I play everything firmly it reduces the frequency but even then I get an unexpected "beerrrttt".

I'll be making the 120 mile trip again on Thursday to return it and be done with it. I've played a Kurzweil 88 key for several years and never had one double trigger.

For those who have a Kronos that doesn't have this defect I envy you. But, having seen 3 there's no way I believe its a 1% problem.

I appreciate all the feedback I have received from this forum and want to thank the moderators for their time and expertiese. I'm sure Korg will get this sorted out but sometimes silence isn't golden.

Ten2One

+1

I've had the same exact experience with 3 (count 'em) K88's as well! I'm beyond the "return for refund" point, but if no solution in the next couple of weeks (already overdue since the "mid-December" announcement by Korg), my K88 will be going up for sale. I think dealing with this for 6 months has been more than a fair trial.

KorgKeymaster · Post by **KorgKeymaster** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:08 am

Ten2one... that's crazy. I just picked up my second one today and it only took a second for the cut off's to start. So that's a total of 4 K-88's I've played that have this issue. 2 of them being mine!!

jick · Post by **jick** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:39 am

I'll throw in my frustrations once more as well. I am disappointed in the way Korg handles this problem. They told there would come a fix (software/hardware?) available mid/end december. We still do not know anything, and the cut off problem is a deal breaker for me to use the kronos in gigs. Since I had planned to use my Kronos mostly for live performances with my band, I barely use it right now. That's also because it's no use to program all my band's patches and combi's when I can't use them at all because of 1) double triggering and 2) that resulting in an unreliable synthesizer.

Frankly, I am quite upset about the way Korg communicates about this problem (or better, the way they don't) and about the duration of it.

And just a small rant to the ones who keep thinking it's a 1-2% failure. I do not believe you anymore for a long time. This is way to serious and way too much reported.

theo73 · Post by **theo73** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 10:08 am

Hi everybody.

This is my first post, though I've been reading the forum for awhile. I went ahead and ordered a Kronos 73 hoping not to be in the reported 1 percent. Took a month for my dealer to get it in.

Got my Kronos 73 last Friday. Serial 002004. RH3 Keyboard from Japan sticker on top note.

Unfortunately within minutes of playing I noticed notes cutting off mostly in the low end, but also sometimes in the mid and upper range. What a sinking feeling in the gut. Updated to system 1.5 which was of no help of course. Over the last few days it's remained about the same as far as I can tell. If I play slowly and very determined the problem is lessened but not completely solved. I still get notes cutting off. And besides, I can't play that way all night.

I play live 4 to 5 nights a week. That's all I do for a living. No day job, no recordings, no big bucks, just a live local musician playing covers and standards for the peanuts we get paid. It took me quite some time to save up for this thing. I sold my Motif XF6 at quite a loss to help fund it.

I was really looking forward to using this board, but now it looks like I'll be using my RD-700 SX which is good (and reliable) but very limited. No more Motif to help with sounds past acoustic piano and to run sequences.

I can't take this thing on a gig the way it is.

Jeez, I feel sick.

billysynth1 · Post by **billysynth1** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:10 am

Sorry to read what's happened to you Theo especially since you are fulltime working muso and need the K for money

In that survey conducted i forgot to mention that the keys on my K88 can be pulled forward and when released spring back into place. Sometimes when playing fast the keys come forward making a banging noise.

Regards
Billy

KorgKeymaster · Post by **KorgKeymaster** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:15 pm

Theo I am in the same boat somewhat.. I am also a professional musician who ONLY does live performance and studio work for a living. I Purchased one of these as my main board for personal use. Unfortunately....this is also supposed to be my main master keyboard for my rig on tour. I have to totally revise what I'm doing now...managers and band are not happy either. I can't deal with this any longer. In a couple more days Korg will have just lost another faithful customer. This could have largely been avoided with just a simple update!!!

Are they trying to totally lose out on their loyal customers? Where is the consumer confidence!??

Korg wiggle your toes if you can hear us!!!
Korg blink twice if you can feel this!!!

PianoManChuck · Post by **PianoManChuck** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:17 pm

Not to start trouble here... but if this keeps up much longer, there could be serious legal issues for Korg. It could end up costing them a LOT more than they ever could have imagined in the event a class action lawsuit should emerge over this.

KorgKeymaster · Post by **KorgKeymaster** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:20 pm

PianoManChuck wrote:Not to start trouble here... but if this keeps up much longer, there could be serious legal issues for Korg. It could end up costing them a LOT more than they ever could have imagined in the event a class action lawsuit should emerge over this.

I've been thinking the same for the past week.

cello · Post by **cello** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:29 pm

PianoManChuck wrote:Not to start trouble here... but if this keeps up much longer, there could be serious legal issues for Korg. It could end up costing them a LOT more than they ever could have imagined in the event a class action lawsuit should emerge over this.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that

This whole situation is very sad. Users paid good money and deserve to have what they expected to get (editor as well as working keybed). Korg must hate this situation and I can imagine that Dan and Rich feel awful about it - they're not the kind of people who like letting folks down.

As a general observation, Korg 'direction' and 'communication' seems to have gone awry over the last few years. They discontinued the O without completing the promises made. This made customers unhappy. Korg also said that they wouldn't be more development of the OASYS. Then the Kronos appears (in basic terms, an expanded OASYS - thus there was development of the OASYS) - that annoyed even more customers. Communication regarding customer complaints - little or none.

And now it comes to pass that the same kind of response approach to real customer issues is being applied to Kronos users.

Dan and Rich - if there's any pressure you can bring to bear on Korg Inc to issue updates, this would be a good time! Apart from the potential financial 'hit' of repairing x number of Kronos (along with the returned ones), the possible bigger hit will be the long lasting damage done to reputation and respect, and ultimately future sales.

How many early adopters is Korg going to get for their next 'game-changer' given how the last two flagship customers bases have been treated?!

Don't take the risk of silence, Korg - please help these guys out and restore some confidence!

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:37 pm

PianoManChuck wrote:Not to start trouble here... but if this keeps up much longer, there could be serious legal issues for Korg. It could end up costing them a LOT more than they ever could have imagined in the event a class action lawsuit should emerge over this.

since you brought it up, wiki what is required by claimants

Chriskk · Post by **Chriskk** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:53 pm

The FTC route would be more efficient and more immediate than a class action law suit for those in the US.

The situation surrounding the K73/88 is sad. Companies do make mistakes. How to deal with customers after a failure is what separates good ones from bad ones.

Ten2One · Post by **Ten2One** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:15 pm

I want to report that my Kronos 88 with defective keybed is whisper quite! The gap between the keys and the case was perfectly uniform! The spaces between the keys is not perfect but better than the last one.

The noteoff doesn't seem to be as bad on this unit as on the previous one but it is still there.

I'm sure Korg is working on all the "k" issues and possible wanting to address several at one time but a simple announcement as to where they are at in that process would go a long way in cooling things down. I know "saving face" is important but I'd be worried about another part of the anatomy if I were Korg!

Ten2One

keyplayer14 · Post by **keyplayer14** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:32 pm

PianoManChuck wrote:Not to start trouble here... but if this keeps up much longer, there could be serious legal issues for Korg. It could end up costing them a LOT more than they ever could have imagined in the event a class action lawsuit should emerge over this.

My big worry over this whole issue has for some time been not over the technical aspects of the problem - because I'm pretty sure that Korg will have had a handle on both the cause of the problem and the best fix for a while now - but the potential size of the issue for Korg as a company.
Even the most fervent Korg supporters seem to be realising that a 1% failure rate is innaccurate - and may well turn out to be wildly so given the reports of people's experience with multiple boards. As we all know, these are difficult times for business worldwide, and a major recall or replacement could cause huge problems. Deciding on the best strategy to deal with them could be the cause of the current delay.
Speaking as someone who's used a lot of Korg gear over the years, I find the whole thing desperately sad. The Kronos is a fantastic and inspiring instrument, and I really hope Korg manage to find a solution soon, but the continued silence doesn't inspire confidence.

cello · Post by **cello** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:44 pm

Exactly right keyplayer14!

I am a long time Korg user too and I don't want to see Korg struggle. But as noted, Korg is very small compared to Roland or Yamaha who could survive a major recall (in fact I think they both have done!) but Korg could really suffer.

That's not in their interest and certainly not in ours!

The weapon Korg has (apart from an examplary record in producing world-leading keyboards) is how they communicate with their customers.

Saying nothing is much worse than delivering bad news (ie further delay to editor or the such like). Korg Inc needs to get a grip of this situation and the first step in doing that is letting Kronos users know what is happening at the moment.

jeff777 · Post by **jeff777** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:32 pm

EVERYONE WRITE YOUR SERIAL NUMBER WHEN YOU POST PLEASE!!

just talked to Korg Canada--they're back at work today! so Order manager said he heard the Product managers talking about it and that its been fixed and I should get mine at the end of the month. Expecting a call back from the product manager who I left a message with. I asked if they are using new keys/new sensors he didn't know

Any SPECIFIC questions anyone in canada/usa want me to ask him??

jeff
serial numbers 320(or 326 can't remember) and 2115 currently until I get a new one