Massively improving in Korg Kronos

Discussion relating to the Korg Kronos Workstation.

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Bachus
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Post by Bachus »

GregC wrote:
Bachus wrote:
DSTMK wrote:A

4) I am well aware, that replacing the mainboard in a perfectly fine $3000 instrument not for the average user. However, there are at least 5 modified Kronos out there right now (and maybe more that I don't know of). But what if a mainboard dies? What if you can get a old Kronos model for a lower price tag?
1) noticed...

2) overhere in Holland the Kronos is yours when you buy it and you are allowed to do with it as you want.. (as long as you dont steel the ideas of the creator)

3) that seems to depend on the motherboard used

4) As Kronos ages, and parts will die and might not be replacable out of stock, this may indeed become a methode to repair those boards..


If you live overhere in Holland, there is nothing illegal about your actions... tough different countries may have different Rules...

However the fact that they use software under the GPL license might force them to even show some of their sourcecode when taken to court, so the only illegal part i can see here is Korg using GPL protect code and not sticking to that license...
I don't have any philosophical problem if someone wants to take on a personal project. And I understand parts can fail over time.

I don't know your country. Are you saying I can operate a non - authorized Korg Kronos repair service in Holland ? and advertise this service ?
Yes, you surely can... As long as you deliver what you prommise
SanderXpander
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Post by SanderXpander »

I would be surprised if this were the case. It seems to me there would be a market for it if there were.
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Post by aron »

Who doesn't want max polyphony and a boot time of less than 20 seconds. This would be the next gen Kronos.

Play your cards right and you can start programming on your Kronos and don't need a computer. HAHAHA!

Windows 10 anyone????
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GregC
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Post by GregC »

aron wrote:Who doesn't want max polyphony and a boot time of less than 20 seconds. This would be the next gen Kronos.

Play your cards right and you can start programming on your Kronos and don't need a computer. HAHAHA!

Windows 10 anyone????
at what cost ? $582 plus how many hours of specialized labor ?

I rarely have a polyphony problem. I am use to the boot time so 1:50 improvement isn't much value.
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GregC
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Post by GregC »

DSTMK wrote:
GregC wrote: why is the original designer anonymous ?
Because I don't want this hobby / side project to interfere with my business or private life. I do professional embedded software development for a living and I just don't want people to google my business phone number and ask for support (has happened before). I don't want people to think that I want to earn money with this (selling upgrade kits, working for Korg, whatever). I don't fear Korg (actually, I'd like to have a chat with them). And I do not think that anything I have done is illegal.
GregC wrote: I am not clear on this. What are you offering ?
Hints for anybody who is interested in doing more with his instrument than just playing it. Information for people who want to know how things work.

I don't want to sell anything.
thanks for clarifying.

I use to work in your business some years ago. Wind River Systems in Alameda. They were purchased by Intel in 2009. Wind River had an office in Tokyo and I travelled there.
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aron
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Post by aron »

>I rarely have a polyphony problem. I am use to the boot time so 1:50 improvement isn't much value.

For me, having a boot time of 20 seconds would be great. I could use more polyphony for sure. If something were to happen to my Kronos motherboard, I am going to consider this for sure.

I play live a lot so boot time is a factor - especially when the Kronos is the only board I bring to the gig.

>Hints for anybody who is interested in doing more with his instrument than just playing it. Information for people who want to know how things work.

Yeah, like the early internet used to be. People helping out each other - not attacking others. So much negativity now days.
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ErnstDabest
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Re: Massively improving in Korg Kronos

Post by ErnstDabest »

tand wrote:Hello guys. Does anyone knows anything about this post? Is it real? Has anyone tried that?

https://marcan.st/2016/06/hacking-and-u ... rg-kronos/

I love reading about projects like this !!
I started a do-it-yourself thread you can read all about it <a href="http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=98677" target="_blank">here</a>
the same naysayers you see here now were trying to discourage me then, too. :wink:
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ErnstDabest
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Re: Massively improving in Korg Kronos

Post by ErnstDabest »

Here is someone else taking matters into his own hands ------> <a href="http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... p?t=103239" target="_blank">here</a>
Hopefully these type of threads will serve to inspire other DIYers since these synths manufacturers who should be concerned with making their products better aren't doing a dogdarn thing about it. Eventhough they have a vested interest in maintaning doing business with the buying customer......

since you won't fix the problem(s) with your products, then this is all DIYers saying 'I got this' !



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SeedyLee
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Post by SeedyLee »

I read this post last night with a great deal of interest, as embedded systems and Linux development are areas of interest to me, though I don't do it professionally.

I have always suspected that the Kronos software would be architected in such a way to easily take advantage of hardware improvements: I've been hoping that Kong may soon release an updated version of the Kronos that takes advantage of increases in CPU performance and thermal efficiency. This work shows that it may be quite straightforward to achieve (save for some minor quibbles around serial controllers and xhci requirements).

One point I did find interesting (if I understand correctly) is that a big part of the reason the Kronos takes so long to boot compared to a regular Linux machine isn't that it's loading sounds, but rather that it is doing a file verification check to see if anything has been modified. It's also interesting that all of the sound generation runs as part of the kernel (with its own memory management) rather than in users pace: this explains why the latency is so ridiculously low compared to a PC based system.

Indont think this is something that can easily be prevented by Korg through a software update either, unless everyone is issued with new auth keys and they fix the underlying vulnerabilities.
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Previous: Triton LE 61/Sampling/64MB/4GB SCSI, MS2000BR, Kronos 1 61, Monotribe, NanoKontrol, NanoKeys, Kaossilator II, Casio HT3000, Roland VP-03, Reface DX, Novation Mininova, MPC One
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jimiki
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Post by jimiki »

Seedy

do you remember, few years ago there was one guy doing this stuff and was banned from this from this forum ? any dejavu situation ?? :lol:
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SeedyLee
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Post by SeedyLee »

Haha, yes I certainly do: what was his username again? I'd forgotten all about that.

The big difference here is that these users have provided technical detail and downloadable evidence of their work. In the past it was all "I have done these amazing things, but I can't show you and you'll just have to believe me, and I can't really tell you how I achieved them".
Current Equipment:
Korg Kronos 2 88, Reface CS, Roland JV-1080, TE OP1, Moog Subsequent 37, Korg ARP Odyssey, Allen & Heath Zed 18, Adam F5, MOTU MIDI Express XT, Lexicon MX200 & MPX1, Yamaha QY700, Yamaha AW16G, Tascam DP008ex, Zoom H6, Organelle, Roland J6 & JU06A

Previous: Triton LE 61/Sampling/64MB/4GB SCSI, MS2000BR, Kronos 1 61, Monotribe, NanoKontrol, NanoKeys, Kaossilator II, Casio HT3000, Roland VP-03, Reface DX, Novation Mininova, MPC One
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levioter
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Post by levioter »

Just a remark ! I don't know if anyone noticed but one picture shows the cooler on top of the new processor so this is also a difference that can remarked for those that are already ranting against the actual fan noise ! :D
May be another point to enhance ?

Cheers :D :D
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amit
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Post by amit »

It's nice to have options open and totally agree, that hacking as is should not be looked upon negatively, It has given birth to countless things we can't even survive without today (medical science for e.g)

What you do with the knowledge once you have it, is something debatable and sadly many times goes into the dark side.

having said that :
Although very interesting achievement by those who have been able to do it, it's still way far something an end user could do themselves (mainly a musician).
Someone doing this as a service on day to day basis (and with some guarantee and nominal fee) would be more acceptable.

Here are few questions that come to my mind:

1: Is the current system overclockable? (i doubt that)
2: Has the new build been load tested?
3: what is the temprature like (in contrast)
4: what is the power consumption like (in contrast)

I am not sure if there is any copyright infringement regarding disclosure/distribution of some information of the system that is non GPL (there might be and korg has the right of objection).

For me,
The advantage would be,
1:If it were a 64 bit system (More Ram , 16-32 gig)
2: Had a Sleep/wake mode (System could be on for months in the studio,ready in couple of secs)
3: Perhaps could accommodate external interface. (like a small desktop module handling all the crunching the internal motherboard does. (thinking out loud)
4: USB 3.0 and above support.
..

am I building a desktop again??
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Post by enigmahack »

Personally, I am COMPLETELY for this kind of thing.

I have an old Kronos 1 73 key and a Kronos 2. I can definitely suggest that my Kronos 1 will be getting this upgrade eventually. The Kronos 2 is my 'production' board though and stability is more important. I recognize that the mod only has crashes when the polyphony exceeds the processor power.

The other board though is fair game. I already notice a polyphony difference between my Kronos 1 and my Kronos 2 and while it's not MUCH it's enough for what I do. I would LOVE to have a Kronos that has 200+ polyphony for every engine. Maybe I can finally run some of the larger patches with KARMA all together without notes dropping out.

The only thing stopping me from going through with this all is the Korg updates. The Korg updates would break these patches, and unless the developer of this update keeps on top of each of the patches with continued support, it's somewhat of a niche upgrade and I'm afraid I'd get too used to having all this horsepower available and then I can't take advantage of it later after an update that might bring new features or stability I want.
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NormC
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Post by NormC »

I think this is cool and exciting. Possible resurrection of a dead Kronos? Possibility of external PC with serial and usb to internal connections? All kinds of possibilities. I won't touch my K2 73 but if a deal for an old unit came around it could be a fun project. Damaged keybed.... Make your own rack unit?

Hey Ernst, how is your diy Triton upgrade coming along?
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