Korg is making the upgrade from K to K2 impossible

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sat Dec 13, 2014 12:43 pm

I agree completely, I was replying to Francois who seems to be recommending licensing to a USB key but still tying it to the Kronos mobo. There would be literally no advantage to that, that I can see.

phly23 · Post by **phly23** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 9:23 am

Maybe I'm crazy, but who will spend. 199.00 for an EX library when they have already spent 3000 or more on the keyboard itself. Arguably the best current keyboard out there-and korg's flagship product.....I could understand this concept for ios apps and expansion software etc. But for hardware at such a premium price, it just feels wrong to charge so much to make the product sound "better"

Of course i m simplifying the issue. And I always look for the best sound......its just i might as well put that money down on well, something else just saying.:

Does anyone else feel this way?

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 2:06 pm

phly23 wrote:Maybe I'm crazy, but who will spend. 199.00 for an EX library when they have already spent 3000 or more on the keyboard itself. Arguably the best current keyboard out there. And korhs flagship product.....I could understand this concept for ios apps and expansion software etc. But for hardware at such a premium price, it just feels wrong to charge so much to make the product sound "better"

Of course i m simplifying the issue. And I always look for the best sound......its just i might as well put that money down on well, something else just saying.:

Does anyone else feel this way?

adding the sample Libs sort of ' customizes ' your Kronos, IMO.
and keyboard players are highly discerning.

But I do agree that there is resistance to forking over $199 or more for 1 sample Lib. Without a doubt, a great deal of work/skill is invested in the sample Lib creation.

fortunately some of the prices decline over time. esp., as more and more sample Libs are offered. I think if a good quality sample Lib reaches $99 or less, it could achieve a good volume of sales.

PatrickD · Post by **PatrickD** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 8:00 pm

CUBASE has its USB dongle, Chief Architect has online or dongle, and these are the 2 softwares that I have and how they deal with piracy. I dont think they are cracked easily and it would give Kronos owners the leeway they need. Come on Korg catch up with your consumers. This is a no brainer.

Bertotti · Post by **Bertotti** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 10:54 pm

There are a couple libs I would like to have but will never buy because of no ability to transfer. I won't let it stop me from buying another Kronos if I so desire.

rob_tky · Post by **rob_tky** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 11:50 pm

+1
(+100 in fact!)

jeebustrain · Post by **jeebustrain** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 12:50 am

I know it's been brought up before, but this is the single reason why I have not (and will not) buy any of the libraries. I'm not going to tie my sounds to something that I can't transfer over should my current Kronos bite the dust (or I decide I want to add a 61 for "smaller" gigs).

Bertotti · Post by **Bertotti** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 1:15 pm

I guess i can't say I haven't bought any I have bought all of Karma's stuff for Kronos and Qui's as well!

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:26 pm

jeebustrain wrote:this is the single reason why I have not (and will not) buy any of the libraries. I'm not going to tie my sounds to something that I can't transfer over should my current Kronos bite the dust (or I decide I want to add a 61 for "smaller" gigs).

Same here.

Korg's policies on fighting piracy (or re-selling libraries) comes at the expense of their users, I suppose I can understand if they took the strict stance of not letting users register their libraries to more than one workstation (though many would argue that you should be able to purchase the libraries and use them on all of your registered workstations). But to not let you de-register your library from an old workstation and re-register it on a new one is simply bad policy.

My Kronos has already failed once so it's not impossible I'd have to replace it with a newer model. No sense in throwing money away on something I may not be able to use down the road.

-Mc

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 4:03 pm

McHale wrote:
jeebustrain wrote:this is the single reason why I have not (and will not) buy any of the libraries. I'm not going to tie my sounds to something that I can't transfer over should my current Kronos bite the dust (or I decide I want to add a 61 for "smaller" gigs).
Same here.

Korg's policies on fighting piracy (or re-selling libraries) comes at the expense of their users, I suppose I can understand if they took the strict stance of not letting users register their libraries to more than one workstation (though many would argue that you should be able to purchase the libraries and use them on all of your registered workstations). But to not let you de-register your library from an old workstation and re-register it on a new one is simply bad policy.

My Kronos has already failed once so it's not impossible I'd have to replace it with a newer model. No sense in throwing money away on something I may not be able to use down the road.

-Mc

The real problem is how pervasive and clever the piracy and counterfeiting has become. all the software cos are battling it. we actually don't know the best way to prevent the hacking.

that said, no USB type technology is going to happen. I think Korg do a workaround with greatly reduced pricing for the 2nd license or '2nd site' to the loyal customer. I mentioned this early in the post.

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 4:27 pm

GregC wrote:I think Korg do a workaround with greatly reduced pricing for the 2nd license or '2nd site' to the loyal customer. I mentioned this early in the post.

I highly doubt I'll ever own a 2nd Kronos (meaning two at the same time) and the same goes for the vast majority of Kronos owners. The inability to de-register and re-register because someone replaced their Kronos with a newer one is simply a matter of policy. However, because of their rigid stance they may actually have a greater risk of piracy because people have found a legitimate need to hack the Kronos Library licensing scheme to continue to use something they already paid for (which will eventually get used to pirate things people did not pay for).

-Mc

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 6:32 pm

McHale wrote:
GregC wrote:I think Korg do a workaround with greatly reduced pricing for the 2nd license or '2nd site' to the loyal customer. I mentioned this early in the post.
I highly doubt I'll ever own a 2nd Kronos (meaning two at the same time) and the same goes for the vast majority of Kronos owners. The inability to de-register and re-register because someone replaced their Kronos with a newer one is simply a matter of policy. However, because of their rigid stance they may actually have a greater risk of piracy because people have found a legitimate need to hack the Kronos Library licensing scheme to continue to use something they already paid for (which will eventually get used to pirate things people did not pay for).

-Mc

The software pirates I refer to are in it for the quick bucks. After 4 yrs I have not seen any reports of pirated Karo or kronos 3rd party software. Personally, i I would never buy hacked software or a $4000 keyboard with hacked software.

Ottawa58 · Post by **Ottawa58** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 7:33 pm

I'm very new to the game, and I don't know much about this --- but reading the forum, I wonder if the true issue is disclosure.

When you buy an EX or third party sound set from Korg, are you told at the time of purchase that it is not transferrable? If so, why complain? If not, then it seems like Korg should tell everyone as they purchase it in clear terms.

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 7:43 pm

Ottawa58 wrote:When you buy an EX or third party sound set from Korg, are you told at the time of purchase that it is not transferrable? If so, why complain? If not, then it seems like Korg should tell everyone as they purchase it in clear terms.

Yes, it is non transferable. Because apparently Korg feels if you bought AutoCad or any other commercial software and your PC crashes you need to buy all of your software all over again. The Kronos is a PC in a keyboard case that does have a track record for the occasional failure that requires a new motherboard, hard drive, or complete replacement. In the PC world, you can have a new authorization number given to you with proof of purchase. I can't think of ANY software company that doesn't allow you to reauthorize your software on a new PC or if you have to reinstall it because you had to replace the hard drive.

Until they change this policy, I and many others have no interest in purchasing any expansion libraries and will support 3rd parties that aren't stuck in the 70's (in terms of licensing).

-Mc

Ottawa58 · Post by **Ottawa58** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:23 pm

Not buying a product because of the non-transferrability policy is a very good reason. If enough people don't buy because of this, then hopefully the policy will change.

However, the title of this long thread is that Korg is making it impossible to upgrade to a K2. Not true --- if I understand correctly, everyone buying these knew they were not transferrable. They also knew that likely, someday they would upgrade - unless they planned on using the same keyboard forever. Those that did not like the policy, and did not buy, have no issues buying a K2.

Myself? If all comes down to cost. I will buy a $50 throw away, but not a $300 throw away.

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