OS 3.1.3, Firmware 1.10 and new EXs

[LewTheKeyboardGuy]

One thing I am saddened by, the lack of thought by Korg for recent owners of the Kronos 2 and not offering a deal for recent owners within say the last 6 months for a deal / discount or free for the EXS21 piano.

I can't exchange my rigs as the dealer has made themselves clear on another matter, where I was about to surrender both machines due to a financial emergency I can't go in to here, they turned me away, after saying that if they took them back, it wouldn't be a full refund, only had these 3 months, A1 new condition still with packaging, etc, yet they wanted to do a 35% restocking fee, meaning I'd see just over £3000 for both machines.

shocking.

[GregC]

One thing I am saddened by, the lack of thought by Korg for recent owners of the Kronos 2 and not offering a deal for recent owners within say the last 6 months for a deal / discount or free for the EXS21 piano.

I can't exchange my rigs as the dealer has made themselves clear on another matter, where I was about to surrender both machines due to a financial emergency I can't go in to here, they turned me away, after saying that if they took them back, it wouldn't be a full refund, only had these 3 months, A1 new condition still with packaging, etc, yet they wanted to do a 35% restocking fee, meaning I'd see just over £3000 for both machines.

shocking.

you have a legit gripe, IMO

Not surprising, trying to get a retailer to ' re negotiate'. Its all about the $.
This assumes you really want the SE[assuming comparable price]- which is not substantially different than what you have other than some newer software sounds.

I have lost track of new price diff SE vs the K2 from 2015. Seems to vary by country.

[matro]

interesting point here. I just found that my kronos 2 running OS 3.1.3 has already had it's firmware upgraded? odd!

had to pop out and pick up a replacement USB cable to do this? wasted good time. doesn't make it easy to find out firmware through system menu either.

KORG... ARE YOU LiSTENING? (in the style of Kenny Everett)

lew

Seems like that update (1.10) have been installed from the factory since about the time of the LS was released...

[matro]

One thing I am saddened by, the lack of thought by Korg for recent owners of the Kronos 2 and not offering a deal for recent owners within say the last 6 months for a deal / discount or free for the EXS21 piano.

I can't exchange my rigs as the dealer has made themselves clear on another matter, where I was about to surrender both machines due to a financial emergency I can't go in to here, they turned me away, after saying that if they took them back, it wouldn't be a full refund, only had these 3 months, A1 new condition still with packaging, etc, yet they wanted to do a 35% restocking fee, meaning I'd see just over £3000 for both machines.

shocking.

In Sweden the normal Kronos 2 was discounted almost 14% compared to the SE which means that it would have been cheaper for me to get a new normal Kronos 2 and buy the new EXs. I assume you didn't pay list price for yours either.

[KK]

OS 3.1.3

Firmware 1.10
Windows: https://www.korg.com/us/support/downloa ... /424/2536/
Mac: https://www.korg.com/us/support/downloa ... /424/2537/
Note: Sub-System Version 1.10 (V01R10) is only available for the New KRONOS (KRONOS 2) production model. It can NOT be used for the KRONOS and KRONOS X production models.

Changes
 Reliability has been improved for USB Audio communication on Mac OS.

NEW EXs LIBRARIES

***EXs20 Grand Concert Organ (USD $99.00)
This library contains a wide variety of Pipe Organ sounds including a pastoral Positive Organ, a solemn Tutti Organ, and more.

***EXs21 SGX-2 Italian F Piano (USD $199.00)
Our new Italian Full Concert Piano has been captured for the SGX-2 sound engine and is based on a famous Italian grand piano that is becoming increasingly popular and used in many world-class piano concerts and competitions. This extraordinarily beautiful sounding Piano was chosen and tuned by skilled technicians and will bring new life to your piano performances.

Thanks to burningbusch for the latest news and of course... Thanks so much to Korg for these latest upgrades and new libraries. As opposed to the usual complaining spoiled brats, I am very grateful that Korg brought again new upgrades and libraries for the Kronos.

This timing is interesting for me, as just a few days ago just for kicks I went on the Korg site to see if there was anything new - and strangely their new files were added the very next day. My K2 now has both new systems and I just tested the new demo versions of the Korg church organs and Italian piano. After testing classical stuff and also improvising for a while, to me both libraries are quite impressive and very musical.

For the record, here are a few additional numbers (maybe Busch will want to add them in his initial post) :

EXs20 Grand Concert Organ
RAM size = 47 M
Disk size = 646 M

EXs21 SGX-2 Italian F Piano
RAM size = 306 M
Disk size = 7,5 G

Long live Korg and the Kronos !

[LewTheKeyboardGuy]

One thing I am saddened by, the lack of thought by Korg for recent owners of the Kronos 2 and not offering a deal for recent owners within say the last 6 months for a deal / discount or free for the EXS21 piano.

I can't exchange my rigs as the dealer has made themselves clear on another matter, where I was about to surrender both machines due to a financial emergency I can't go in to here, they turned me away, after saying that if they took them back, it wouldn't be a full refund, only had these 3 months, A1 new condition still with packaging, etc, yet they wanted to do a 35% restocking fee, meaning I'd see just over £3000 for both machines.

shocking.

In Sweden the normal Kronos 2 was discounted almost 14% compared to the SE which means that it would have been cheaper for me to get a new normal Kronos 2 and buy the new EXs. I assume you didn't pay list price for yours either.

I purchased both the LS and 2-88 below retainl as a special deal with the supplier, even then the prices quoted before further discount were lower than the SE now. UK price for the SE 88 is £3500!, yet you can buy at current retail the 2-88 for £2500 / 2700

By the way, I can confirm that the software installer combines the firmware rewrite, the reason being, this firmware 1.1 wasn't released prior to this software update and as such my OS firmware was older, last known version as from their website.

[Liviou2004]

Thanks to burningbusch for the latest news and of course... Thanks so much to Korg for these latest upgrades and new libraries. As opposed to the usual complaining spoiled brats, I am very grateful that Korg brought again new upgrades and libraries for the Kronos.

Perhaps, but let's remain moderate.

1°) Yes, it's a good thing to know that Korg keeps maintain Kronos. But, we have to be realistic : two very minor bug corrections don't do a real upgrade. Two years for doing that.....In french, we say "La montagne a accouché d'une souris", we could tanslate in "The mountain gave brith to a mouse"
It's a bit like giving crumbs to staving people !

2°) As regards new sounds banks, again be realistic : Korg doesn't give them for free !! They just expect to make money. So I'm not sure Korg deserve such thanks. They just do their job and will earn money for that. And, as we give thme money for that, we can just expect they will do it well !

[kronoSphere]

I completely agree with Liviou2004. I was about to post the same kind of mail. Maybe all the staff at Korg have quit their offices and are playing the Romeo on the beach with sunset girls !
If not : the question is : What are they doing to just come out with this indigent update ? All of us here have posted a lot of suggestions for updates. And not even a word of explanation...

[KK]

2°) As regards new sounds banks, again be realistic : Korg doesn't give them for free !! They just expect to make money. So I'm not sure Korg deserve such thanks. They just do their job and will earn money for that. And, as we give thme money for that, we can just expect they will do it well !

That's your point of view. Maybe it's you who should be more realistic. Korg has no obligation whatsoever since day one to upgrade anything for the Kronos. They still do because they decided to do so, which means something.

And to expect to get new sample libraries for free is IMHO totally ridiculous. Obviously, you don't know much about the immense task of correctly sampling a church organ or a grand piano and transpose them to be used musically in a synthesizer. Ask professionals who do that for a living. In any case, this thread is not an opinion poll. Busch started it to inform everyone about the latest upgrades. Complaints can be written to Korg directly or in the several other topics about this here.

[robbie50]

Thanks for the update Korg……..
Maybe a few soundbanks for free?


Rob

[Liviou2004]

2°) As regards new sounds banks, again be realistic : Korg doesn't give them for free !! They just expect to make money. So I'm not sure Korg deserve such thanks. They just do their job and will earn money for that. And, as we give thme money for that, we can just expect they will do it well !

That's your point of view. Maybe it's you who should be more realistic. Korg has no obligation whatsoever since day one to upgrade anything for the Kronos. They still do because they decided to do so, which means something.

And to expect to get new sample libraries for free is IMHO totally ridiculous. Obviously, you don't know much about the immense task of correctly sampling a church organ or a grand piano and transpose them to be used musically in a synthesizer. Ask professionals who do that for a living. In any case, this thread is not an opinion poll. Busch started it to inform everyone about the latest upgrades. Complaints can be written to Korg directly or in the several other topics about this here.

You didn't understand what I've said, but it doesn't matter at all !

[Galf2]

Thanks so much to Korg for these latest upgrades and new libraries. As opposed to the usual complaining spoiled brats, I am very grateful that Korg brought again new upgrades and libraries for the Kronos.

This timing is interesting for me, as just a few days ago just for kicks I went on the Korg site to see if there was anything new - and strangely their new files were added the very next day. My K2 now has both new systems and I just tested the new demo versions of the Korg church organs and Italian piano. After testing classical stuff and also improvising for a while, to me both libraries are quite impressive and very musical.

Good licked. But Korg won't give free libraries behind it

[jimknopf]

Of course Korg should earn money for new libraries. Nobody would seriously doubt that. But that doesn't change the fact, that Korg delivers libraries to do exactly that: earn money. I have bought a lot of Kronos libraries, beyond urgent need, willing to support the whole Kronos project. We all profit from ongoing development: legimate interests from both sides. It just becomes a bit silly, if anyone would try to depict all of that as acts of pure undeserved mercy. If it's good, it's business in the best sense, with mutual fun in music making on top.

I would also readily pay sigificantly for an OS update finally delivering an updated EP engine, along with well useable overdrive/amp modelling (which has been missing so far from my view). Add more user banks (because the Kronos can offer so many great sounds), and a really well integrated 64-bit VSTi-plugin for sound management and recording in one place, and we have a deal. I would pay several hundreds bucks for such a package. If better hardware is required, Korg could offer a successor and/or a mainboard exchange. The actual offer in this thread simply has nothing to do with all of that kind.

As for critical feedback, I politely reject views, as if this board were just for info and positive feedback, and all critical feebdack would be in the wrong place here and shoud be adressed to Korg directly instead. OF COURSE critical feedback belongs just as much here as positive experiences do. And nobody is entitled to redirect anyone to Korg for that instead. Would be a tough job anyways, because all the major companies including Korg hardly open possibilities for critical feedback to the main project management, and support mainly (and rightly so) helps solving issues with actual devices. I for one have had zero problem discussing both positive and not so positive experiences exactly here in this forum, since years, and that will hardly change, just because a minority of users can't deal with critical feedback in proper ways.

The new libraries are a) welcome and b) completey a matter of taste.
- the addional Fazioli (read: Italian F) piano sounds nice and very well balanced to me, with some doubts concerning cutting through a mix or use in band play, but that can be checked with the demo version. It is a welcome addition, and the required minimal update (with minor bug fixes) for that is neither overwhelming nor disappointing to me: it's just a technical update. Could it be, that it is an updated offspring of the KAPro Italian Grand from 2015? They sound quite similar to me.
- as for electric guitar sounds, I find them hardly useable with the present very limited quality of Kronos amp modelling and overdrive. That's independent of the quality of available sample libraries and concerns them all IMO, just as you won't get much useable overdrive for EPs and synths from a Kronos.
- the church organ sounds are interesting, but of course offer only a limited set of registrations. Some of the kind of more full registrations known well from famous organs seem to missing, as far as I heard the demos.
- the 4-part synth library obviously is a Poly-Moog library. While it is well sampled, to me personally it comes from one of the most miserable sounding instruments in the whole synth history, and is about the worst thing Moog has ever done. But it surely has it's own addicts, as everything peculiar has.
- Kurt Aders orchstral stuff is of overwhelming high quality IMHO, and it is fun to have another "best of" extract from KAPro.

All in all I am glad that there are more offers available for the Kronos. They do nothing to cover anything on my personal wishlist, but I see no reason for disappointment, nor being completely overwhelmed, either.

It's definitely more than the red paint of the actual Kronos, and actual buyers of the not significantly updated Kronos get a 200$ library for free along with the red paint. It's all fine

[GregC]

FYI.

3.1.3 installs flawlessly on my 2011 Kronos 88

I also read Korg requires 3.1.3 for the Italian Grand EXs

[jimknopf]

Update went like a breeze here.

My first and fast Italian F impression after half an hour is, that it DOES cut through mixes surprisingly well. It's the most balanced (meaning equally well enjoyable through all octaves without muddy low mids or boomy notes, with the same dynamics from lows to highs) Kronos piano so far to me. It does not offer some distinct character as much as the Bosendorfer and the likes, it does not sound as "woody" as some others, it's just there and very present, without beeing unnerving in any way. It "fits like a shoe", if you understand what I mean, and the different colours are flexible enough to cover most genres.

Originally I didn't want to buy more libraries, but this sounds so useful to me, that I can't resist buying it. Now one or two other big libraries will have to quit my main preload config.