Buy now or later?

[ITguy54]

Since current Kronos owners are getting screwed by the release of the SE, wouldn’t it make sense to wait until another, extra special edition that will have more sounds at the same price? That way I won’t have to spend more money to catch up, by purchasing all the extra sounds in the next extra special edition.

[GregC]

Since current Kronos owners are getting screwed by the release of the SE, wouldn’t it make sense to wait until another, extra special edition that will have more sounds at the same price? That way I won’t have to spend more money to catch up, by purchasing all the extra sounds in the next extra special edition.

I am not seeing much price reduction, are you ?

The same type of questions were asked 3 yrs ago, 2 yrs ago, 1 year ago.

And here we are. Back to the future. Anyway, I think the SE is going to sell.

Its the sum of its parts not the individual parts. Folks see the Kronos and the SE as an excellent music production keyboard.

Some of us realized this + 7 years ago.

[janrhansen]

I think people should really think what they need before buying.

Kronos 2: Aftertouch on all models
Kronos LS: No aftertouch

LS has waterfall keys so its more geared towards organ use really.
And Korg CX-3 engine ... yuck
The keys are light and if you arent a Piano player you should be fine, cause the Kronos,X,2 LH3 keys on the 73 and 88 versions is definetly more geared towards people that have Pinao fingers. It is extremely difficult to play fast synth licks on with or without aftertouch.
I am gonna get an usb small factor keybed for thos fast synth run uses cause I realised after buying how heavy the LH3 keys are for synth rifs. I really like the RH3 keys for Piano. They have a very sturdy feel and the key reaction is some of the best in my taste I have ever played. I had flashbacks to my old Roland RD-250s when playing it the first time. And I really don't like many of the newer Piano boards. Many of the Piano keybeds used, in house mades or Fatar beds feels like plastic keys.

I havn't tried the LS myself but I highly doubt many Piano players will like the keys if they are gonna use it for primary piano board, and the LS is more expensive than a Kronos 2 73. For that price tag I really would have expected it had aftertouch .. in my book --fail

If the LS had aftertouch I propably would have chosen it over the 73 version just because of the lesser weight of the board and still full 88 Keybed if I'd find it usable. I propably would have tried to find store where I could try it out first tho. For me the lack of aftertouch was a game changer and I knew how the 73 version keybed felt. And the LH3 keys makes me practice my Piano playing too ... so in time it might get easier to play synth licks on

[GregC]

I think people should really think what they need before buying.

Kronos 2: Aftertouch on all models
Kronos LS: No aftertouch

L:)

I am surprised if buyers actually do not consider keyboard , weighed vs unweighed.

Possibly, since I am piano inclined, its not a complex thought process.

After that, if the buyer is gigging, yes, weight and size is a consideration.

IMO, what Korg is offering today for Kronos, is all we can expect.

[ITguy54]

Since current Kronos owners are getting screwed by the release of the SE, wouldn’t it make sense to wait until another, extra special edition that will have more sounds at the same price? That way I won’t have to spend more money to catch up, by purchasing all the extra sounds in the next extra special edition.

I am not seeing much price reduction, are you ?

The same type of questions were asked 3 yrs ago, 2 yrs ago, 1 year ago.

And here we are. Back to the future. Anyway, I think the SE is going to sell.

Its the sum of its parts not the individual parts. Folks see the Kronos and the SE as an excellent music production keyboard.

Some of us realized this + 7 years ago.

I’m not talking about a price reduction. I’m asking why buy the SE now, if Korg is just going to keep bringing out newer editions with more sounds at the same price? What’s the incentive to buy the SE now, when later Korg will release the super-duper Kronios 2, in whatever color, with even more sample libraries, but at the same price?

[StephenKay]

I’m not talking about a price reduction. I’m asking why buy the SE now, if Korg is just going to keep bringing out newer editions with more sounds at the same price? What’s the incentive to buy the SE now, when later Korg will release the super-duper Kronios 2, in whatever color, with even more sample libraries, but at the same price?

Uhmmmm.... because you need a keyboard now?

[GregC]

Since current Kronos owners are getting screwed by the release of the SE, wouldn’t it make sense to wait until another, extra special edition that will have more sounds at the same price? That way I won’t have to spend more money to catch up, by purchasing all the extra sounds in the next extra special edition.

I am not seeing much price reduction, are you ?

The same type of questions were asked 3 yrs ago, 2 yrs ago, 1 year ago.

And here we are. Back to the future. Anyway, I think the SE is going to sell.

Its the sum of its parts not the individual parts. Folks see the Kronos and the SE as an excellent music production keyboard.

Some of us realized this + 7 years ago.

I’m not talking about a price reduction. I’m asking why buy the SE now, if Korg is just going to keep bringing out newer editions with more sounds at the same price? What’s the incentive to buy the SE now, when later Korg will release the super-duper Kronios 2, in whatever color, with even more sample libraries, but at the same price?

I see you are worried about what Korg might do. I don't know anyone that can predict the future with some accuracy.

Folks that buy the SE or the K2 are likely excited and inspired by the keyboard.
They see musicians of all types having a great time with their K's.

That is obvious to me. Call it motivation. Plus they find a way to handle the purchase.

[ITguy54]

I’m not talking about a price reduction. I’m asking why buy the SE now, if Korg is just going to keep bringing out newer editions with more sounds at the same price? What’s the incentive to buy the SE now, when later Korg will release the super-duper Kronios 2, in whatever color, with even more sample libraries, but at the same price?

Uhmmmm.... because you need a keyboard now?

If I NEEDED a keyboard now, that would be a different story. But I don’t NEED one. However, Kronos is an inviting keyboard, but Korg isn’t impressing me right now. I don’t like the way the current Kronos owners are being treated by Korg, and I don’t want to buy an expensive item from them, only to get treated the same way.

[DJCobbSalad]

I NEEDED a keyboard right now and after a few weeks of research and trying other options, decided on a Kronos 61. I really really want the 61 SE, but waiting possibly up to another 6 weeks for them to ship wasn't an option, so I got a B-Stock Kronos 2 61 for a really good price that I'm going to use for now, and possibly return or resell on the used market once the SE's start to ship, depending on when that is.

You can easily get a few hundred off a brand new Kronos 2 right now if you talk to a dealer, but I doubt there will be any discounts on the SE. I decided to go for the B-Stock because the discount was more significant than what they could take off of new ones.

I don't see any sign of Korg treating 'customers' badly in this process...?

[19naia]

Good thing i waited through the ice age and many rises and falls of civilizations empires before buying in to being born.

Man! Imagine if i had come in on life just two editions of civilization ago.
There would be no electricity and no Kronos to use for strumming out my sorrows over not having electricty- and the tyrant war lords always ransacking my stoop and making me have to start all over again with less than everybody else.

Just not worth it being left behind with less than everybody else has, so why be born at all.

Or maybe be reborn into every era and follow the streamline of evolution for a fuller sense of what life is all about?

And if you get reborn into a kronos, it comes standard with good Karma included. 4 full modules of good Karma in fact.

And about waiting for next edition.....when OASYS was replaced with Kronos, kronos was an improvement in some areas of OASYS and other areas went backwards from what OASYS offered.

So you wait too long, and eventually one version will come out and surprise you with missing functions and controls. OASYS had physical rubber pads for chords and other assignables. Kronos came without that, but had virtual touch screen pads. Kronos went bawards from OASYS tilt up screen and also kronos became a smaller screen.

Even Apple product, waiting too long for the next generation and eventually no more USB or any analog ports for interface. You will end up forced to buy a load of dongles.

Korg will now sell you a separate Pad set for kronos, after removing them from the workstation during the upgrade from OASYS to Kronos.

Maybe Next edition of Kronos will lack sliders, but korg will sell you separately a pad device and sliders midi device.
You will risk to have a bare bones workstation and be forced to buy a bunch of donggles, just like apple products have done for profits.

Good luck. I hope it does not come to one day you end up here desperate for a used SE because they stopped making or selling new SE, and moved rather to an edition with nothing included and no control surface,
just interface for dongles and a long lineup of dongle options for purchase, so you can buy them separately to make your newest kronos whatever control configuration you need.

Hmmmm. The future and waiting long and hard for it to become what we want or imagine it to be.
I like having a Kronos now, more than surprises over time.
Only thing that kept me waiting was money, then the bugs reputation of Kronos X and then settling down from always being away from home.

[Derek Cook]

Hi

It is best not to "wait for enabling technology" unless what is currently on the market cannot meet your needs. If a current day Kronos (full or LE) meets your needs then why wait?

If I were a betting man, I would say Korg has a Workstation with no equal in the Kronos as an all rounder. They probably have no need to replace it any time soon. It sells well.

[matro]

Since current Kronos owners are getting screwed by the release of the SE, wouldn’t it make sense to wait until another, extra special edition that will have more sounds at the same price? That way I won’t have to spend more money to catch up, by purchasing all the extra sounds in the next extra special edition.

I am not seeing much price reduction, are you ?

The same type of questions were asked 3 yrs ago, 2 yrs ago, 1 year ago.

And here we are. Back to the future. Anyway, I think the SE is going to sell.

Its the sum of its parts not the individual parts. Folks see the Kronos and the SE as an excellent music production keyboard.

Some of us realized this + 7 years ago.

I have ordered a new SE, my 2011 (actual 2011) original Kronos need a replacement. For me, it is not strange to replace an 8 year old synth, the only strange thing about it is that they are functionally compatible. So why did I do it? A friend of mine got a brand new K2 same model as mine about a year ago. Tried his as realized that the years have done on my Kronos. Did some more research and comparison and the K2 have several improvements but still being compatible. Cooling, they way they mount the keybed, less deep, the tactile buttons feel better, upgraded ARM-based IO-board, gold plated port, cooler, but faster Atom processor from a newer generation, to name a few.
At the end of the day, I needed to replace my original Kronos, I waited on NAMM to see of Korg released something completely new, but no. A normal K2 would have done for me. Just thought an SE would be more... cool?

From a price point here in Sweden there was (still is I think) a discount on the normal K2. The price difference is more or less what you would pay for the new sounds that comes with the SE.

[matro]

Hi

It is best not to "wait for enabling technology" unless what is currently on the market cannot meet your needs. If a current day Kronos (full or LE) meets your needs then why wait?

If I were a betting man, I would say Korg has a Workstation with no equal in the Kronos as an all rounder. They probably have no need to replace it any time soon. It sells well.

You mean LS, right?

There are competitors out there, but Kronos still holds its ground. I predict that whatever Korg decides to do it would be more related to the changed market than trying to improve on the existing Kronos platform.

[voip]

Since current Kronos owners are getting screwed by the release of the SE, wouldn’t it make sense to wait until another, extra special edition that will have more sounds at the same price? That way I won’t have to spend more money to catch up, by purchasing all the extra sounds in the next extra special edition.

I'm not feeling the least bit screwed by Korg. Rather, I feel blessed in having such an instrument, and being able to enjoy its qualities for a while now. Life's too short. If and when Korg decide to release a successor, its merits will be assessed and a purchasing decision made, if finances permit.

.

[GregC]

Since current Kronos owners are getting screwed by the release of the SE, wouldn’t it make sense to wait until another, extra special edition that will have more sounds at the same price? That way I won’t have to spend more money to catch up, by purchasing all the extra sounds in the next extra special edition.

I'm not feeling the least bit screwed by Korg. Rather, I feel blessed in having such an instrument, and being able to enjoy its qualities for a while now. Life's too short. If and when Korg decide to release a successor, its merits will be assessed and a purchasing decision made, if finances permit.

.

the poster is not going to be a Kronos owner given his remarks here for over the past year.

Its impossible to please everyone, as most of us know.

I was not opposed to constructively criticizing Korg esp given the relative silence
for almost 2 years. However, Korg finally did do something for Kronos owners.

We got an OS update which wasn't feature rich- but it does pave the way to load the new EXs.

And Korg is offering 2 new EX's[plus Aders work]. Sure, there is a cost. Its realistic to pay something for an excellent piano. And Kronos was lacking in Pipe organs. And Korg addressed this.

For an 8 year old workstation, I think this is as good as it gets for Kronos.