Is Kronos on it's way out?

[Koekepan]

The Kronos is now based on old hardware and even older software.

Workstations are possibly not really even needed anymore, other technology has taken over and the demographic of people buying "keyboards/workstations" has changed.

I mostly agree, but this last bit deserves some commentary.

In principle, what more do we need than parchment and quills, bone flutes and log drums? Conversely, who ever needs more than a general purpose, arbitrarily programmed computer?

There is a clear niche for people who want to be able to compose and arrange, record and perform, without a computer. Now, you can certainly assemble your own studio with MIDI controllers, a stack of synths and effects units, Portastudio or equivalent recording and mastering devices - or you could have an all-in-one workstation.

All-in-one is certainly more convenient, while piecemeal constructing a studio is more flexible - but even then your workstation is a great studio centrepiece.

There's no single substitute for the workstation, and as long as the MPC X/Live keeps selling, they're living evidence of that utility as well.

I see a great role for workstations, just updated for the new world we're in.

[GregC]

The Kronos is now based on old hardware and even older software.

Workstations are possibly not really even needed anymore, other technology has taken over and the demographic of people buying "keyboards/workstations" has changed.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Kronos/Oasis are amazing bits of kit but things and times change.

I.

I agree completely. If we look forward, I am not even certain an all in one W/s
is viable in terms of cost and product support looking forward 5 yrs.

I still think a DAW ready, iPad ready keyboard is the best way to go. Korg would need to develop a software app for PC/Mac to tie it together

I think chasing assembled components is not 2018. Get out of that game.

A hybrid w/s might make more sense.

[karmathanever]

I think Kronos should stay!!!

Korg should come up with something completely new like...
motorbikes, calculators, digital watches.....
Ah whoops, the other keyboard manufacturers already doing that!!!

Seriously, this beast has been unleashed for a long time but hell, it's amazing!!!
I try to think what I would like to replace it and I can only come up with "Kronos"!!!

Sure those extra little things/buttons/colours & etc would be nice but I question would I really want to change it and for what!!!

Sure will be interesting to see where Korg goes with its products.

Cheers

Pete

[hans1966]

karmathanever He says
Korg should come up with something completely new like...
motorbikes, calculators, digital watches.....
Ah whoops, the other keyboard manufacturers already doing that!!! Embarassed


Also trumpets, trombones, violins, guitars, drums, percussions and basses. as to expand the range of possibilities.

[Bachus]

Fun, to see this topic surfacing about every 6 months..

I still don’t see any reason other then a new Kronos or an Oasys2 to stop producing the kronos..

And there is no sign of that anywhere to be found.

[GregC]

Fun, to see this topic surfacing about every 6 months..

I still don’t see any reason other then a new Kronos or an Oasys2 to stop producing the kronos..

And there is no sign of that anywhere to be found.

I was thinking the same. Korg will continue offering the K2 for 2018, thats obvious to me. Korg may have stopped OS updates and that does not bother
new buyers.

If sales continue at a steady pace for 2018, and Korg can still acquire all the parts for assembly, they can continue the k2 in 2018. Strictly by going along with the market place. Automatic pilot.

Korg, in 2019, could offer something quite different in the w/s place and it may not directly impact the K2. It may sound tricky but Korg can think out of the
box. I still think a software/hardware hybrid would make sense for a new model.

[Hooked On Sonics]

We love our Kronos, the only other keyboard that even comes close to it in in our opinion in sounds and capabilities, lacking a large UI of course, is the Kurzweil line.

If Korg was to produce it's successor, what could they do? Granted technology has changed over the last 10yrs, i'm sure the electronics will be fasters, UI touch screens enhanced, but sound wise, what could they do? Karma is incredible. All the tools and samples available for purchase from the Korg partner community are AWESOME!!!

The nine engines are incredible, we think the MS20 engine is a trip and messing with the MS20 UI is a blast. Would Korg consider a 10th engine? Adding the ARP2600 engine? Or a hybrid of Mini/mono LOG?

[GregC]

We love our Kronos, the only other keyboard that even comes close to it in in our opinion in sounds and capabilities, lacking a large UI of course, is the Kurzweil line.

If Korg was to produce it's successor, what could they do? Granted technology has changed over the last 10yrs, i'm sure the electronics will be fasters, UI touch screens enhanced, but sound wise, what could they do? Karma is incredible. All the tools and samples available for purchase from the Korg partner community are AWESOME!!!

The nine engines are incredible, we think the MS20 engine is a trip and messing with the MS20 UI is a blast. Would Korg consider a 10th engine? Adding the ARP2600 engine? Or a hybrid of Mini/mono LOG?

there is tons of room for improvement for sounds. Thats one reason there are a dozen 3rd party folks offering sample libs. Even so, the 60 gig SSD on the K2 is definitely a constraint.

Simply look at VI's, Omnisphere to see whats possible for improvement.

I like my K and enjoy producing good sounding originals. But after a few years of doing so, I can see where all the sounds need an update.

I realize we see things thru our own bubble. I don't see lack of competition for an all in 1 W/s to be a factor. Folks have their DAWS and VI's. This is not news, of course. But the quality is excellent. That quality is the bar to reach.

[MoonMusic]

I really miss the simplicity of my old Alesis MMT-8 sequencer....Everything you wanted to do was a button or 2 presses and a part could be set up ready to record in about 10 seconds....They should build a workstation with a 16 track version of that....Have 16 tracks audio recorder that can work in both part mode and song mode....I loved how fast I could sample a drum kit in the MV8800, start the sampler and then hit the pad for the duration of the sound, hitting another pad stopped sampling on the previous pad and started the next sample...When you were done hitting each pad, you could save it as a kit....Amazingly fast! Just make every function simple, easy, intuitive, fast workflow....Speaking of fast workflow, make all 16 tracks instantly load the fx just like they sound in program mode...Make solid hardware that has a great interactive feel...Of course top notch, great sounds....A digital input so you can hook up your own top notch converters to get full professional audio results within the workstation....When your done with your song in the workstation, have a button you can push that takes the song and converts the 16 midi tracks and 16 audio tracks into 32 tracks of wav audio you can dump in your DAW to do all the final production....That's the workstation of my dreams...moon

[skinmechanic]

I agree the market has changed since the Kronos was released in 2011. Already based on 6 year old technology and a slimmed down Oaysis the Kronos has had a good life. However dwindling sales in high end workstations and a shift towards smaller footprints (Volca's, Roland Boutiques, Aira, Minilogue) and the success and revenue that those bring has led to big manufacturers to rethink their strategy. There is less of a reason to have a Workstation in 2018 than there was in 2011 and the market is shrinking. There will always be some market but it's not has big as it once was. I expect a replacement for the Krome before another Kronos replacement.

[GregC]

I agree the market has changed since the Kronos was released in 2011. Already based on 6 year old technology and a slimmed down Oaysis the Kronos has had a good life. However dwindling sales in high end workstations and a shift towards smaller footprints (Volca's, Roland Boutiques, Aira, Minilogue) and the success and revenue that those bring has led to big manufacturers to rethink their strategy. There is less of a reason to have a Workstation in 2018 than there was in 2011 and the market is shrinking. There will always be some market but it's not has big as it once was. I expect a replacement for the Krome before another Kronos replacement.

I agree with this bigger picture. Korg' or any mfg'r of a mostly hardware based w/s product cannot keep pace with software, which is continuously evolving.
I think the alternatives to an all in 1 W/s are attractive and cheaper.

Plus w/s have high cost from investment to product support 5-10 years, from concept to final EOL( no more parts). All the cos have sharp pencils and can estimate this total cost.

To be fair, us observers of the w/s market have sounded the decline of the market before. Then, Korg woke it out of its slumber in 2011. The cycle might repeat, if Korg tackles it again. But this is not something to hold your breath on.

[Derek Cook]

You can see Korg putting a lot of effort into the software market, as is Roland. I fail to see Yamaha doing that, which is strange.

I think I have purchased my last high end synths in the Kronos and Montage, but have paired them with a very powerful computer that can run my VSTis as a halfway house. Unless the Kronos replacement was a complete game changer, I think the future is covered in what I have set up now.

[GregC]

You can see Korg putting a lot of effort into the software market, as is Roland. I fail to see Yamaha doing that, which is strange.

Korg and Roland have to expand out if its traditional product categories. I am 95% certain they are future focused on interesting new products.

New products typically produce a certain bulk of sales the first year, extremely important for a Korg/Roland. Expect them to be aggressive on new products.

Yamaha does not have that type of pressure. Much different organizationally.

Your point about Yamaha is valid. Its fair to contrast all 3 from a new product perspective.

[Kevin Nolan]

Many of us on this by now old-fashioned Forum are from an era when synthesisers were used in live bands and groups or by "old school" electronic musicians; whereas the future of electronics in music is rooted in less traditional areas with EDM and Media Music very much driving things; coupled to an arguably more ubiquitous / generic use of those same tools in all "popular" music production.

In other words - our narrow definition of the synth and workstation are kind of over; and in truth the likes of Native Instrument Komplete is the current "Workstation".

But perhaps it's not a zero sum gain - certainly the proliferation of computer based music technology hasn't meant an end to hardware - if anything the opposite - that those brought up on software more recently want hardware and hence the revolution in synthesizers too.


And in that - surely the Nord Electro and Stage have something to say about this - the Stage 3 offers, for live performance, a huge range of "keyboard" options but far more accessible than from the Kronos. So I wouldn't be surprised to see the Kronos morph into something closer to the Nord's (perhaps that's already happening with the Kross, SV1, ....)?


As for Yamaha - not sure where they're going - and it's not clear they know either. They seem to be out of step with everyone else - but in truth they always were. Apart from the DX7, most of their other synths - even the likes of the CS80 and VL1 - had limited commercial success - so it's not clear there's a singular ethos in Yamaha as there has been in even the likes of Korg and Roland. They just seem to be big enough to be able to throw so many resources into a project that on occasion they stumble upon something extraordinary (though it's been a while!).


Back on topic - surely Korg will release another flagship keyboard at some juncture, surely different to the Kronos; perhaps with a nod toward the Nord's and with other "innovations" for us to get our heads around (or not)


Sequential X is interesting in this regard - a synth and Sample Library partnership - though it's very expensive.

[GregC]

Back on topic - surely Korg will release another flagship keyboard at some juncture, surely different to the Kronos; perhaps with a nod toward the Nord's and with other "innovations" for us to get our heads around (or not)


Sequential X is interesting in this regard - a synth and Sample Library partnership - though it's very expensive.

good you got back on topic.

I use to think Korg was the type of company that does not think in a straight line. IOW, looking at current new products/the rear view mirror and doing it the Korg way.

GrandStage strikes me as a ' me to' answer to Nords dominance. The stage piano is ultra competitive niche with numerous cos , big and small, playing it it.

Korg has had new top management for a few years now. I believe we see that change effect in the type of new products offered.