The Long Term Kronos owner/musician

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sat Oct 05, 2019 2:01 am

its been 8 years for me on my 2011 Kronos 88.

I am still amazed at the depth of Kronos, how I can find interesting
sounds and build chords and beats without being overly predictable
or repetitive.
[I follow a general formula or approach for my instrumentals-100% Kronos].

I can see continuing my creative efforts on Kronos for another year, at least.

Feel free to share, whether you have a few years on it or you made the purchase recently. And what projects you are working on, etc etc.

If you might be getting a somewhat bored with Kronos- talk about it. I know its possible, but its good to talk about our different use and experience of Kronos.

19naia · Post by **19naia** » Sat Oct 05, 2019 3:20 am

Not bored with Kronos but i am wishing it were less problematic.
And if i got bored with Kronos, where would i go to get a bigger thrill?

Maybe adding externals to Kronos to make it more extensive or a next generation Kronos come out with significant upgrades.

Back when i played only acoustic piano, i never had one of my own, but spent a lot of time using available pianos wherever i could. Mostly music school practice rooms.
If i got bored, i looked for new places with pianos to practice with or came up with new song compositions or exercises to do.

That went on for 7 years before i decided to go electronic.
And i worked my way up the tiers of keyboards until i got to Kronos and actually being able to use it to a greater depth.

Needing more than Kronos is getting away from where i started.
Truth is i will make the best of anything i have to work with.
I just so happen to be able to have a Kronos now(although it is stored away while i play no instrument whatsoever).

Only thing that gets old is playing the same song too often.
But i travel so often, leaving my instrument behind for months.
And when i get back, i am lucky if i can even remember how to play the same old songs right away.
So i start over with learning them again and even add new parts or alter old parts a bit.
Everything resets to new and interesting for me, after stepping away for a few months.
Not just with music. When i travel and return, my home, car, the food, the whole town, the climate and everything becomes new and exotic to me.

Sometimes i spend so much time in places that lured me with exotic flare, that it just becomes another place. And then going back home becomes the exotic destination....Until it gets old again... And then i travel again, round and round the world where the only thing that really needs renewing is my own sense of what i live with.

You stay away from food and drink long enough, even the worst item on the menu will be all you need, to give a five stars review, in thanks for putting life back into you.

Mike Conway · Post by **Mike Conway** » Sat Oct 05, 2019 3:24 am

Kronos is my workflow. I'm constantly adding new samples to it, so it's stays fresh. So many things left to do on it. I never really explored the depths of KARMA. So much to explore in the engines.

If the next Korg workstation doesn't encompass Kronos' features (FM, sampling, wavesequencing, song sequencer, etc.), I can't see giving up the Kronos. How do you replace it?

Falcon2e · Post by **Falcon2e** » Sat Oct 05, 2019 4:13 am

Humans don’t like change. Having made that statement let me explain. I loved the Triton, and it did everything that I needed it to do for almost 20 years. I knew it was time to move forward, so the Kronos was the logical choice. Love it! I’m almost five years in and I’m not even remotely bored with it. I just hope that it remains reliable. I’ve got countless hours of programming invested and I don’t want to rebuild everything anytime soon. I know something new will come along, that’s normal marketing strategy, but I’m not in a hurry to make a change right now. I’m totally happy with my Kronos.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 2:56 pm

Mike Conway wrote:Kronos is my workflow. I'm constantly adding new samples to it, so it's stays fresh. So many things left to do on it. I never really explored the depths of KARMA. So much to explore in the engines.

If the next Korg workstation doesn't encompass Kronos' features (FM, sampling, wavesequencing, song sequencer, etc.), I can't see giving up the Kronos. How do you replace it?

I agree, Mike. It seems unlikely anything can supersede Kronos into the future, unless Korg does their thing. Kronos is strongly attached to my music creativity.

I make simple use of Karma, always digging around to find Karma drum transitions. I think there are 2000 GE's or patterns in Kronos, lots of interesting work. I am curious to know if most of this is Korg people's work or Stephens great programming work. Maybe a mix from both parties.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 3:06 pm

Falcon2e wrote:Humans don’t like change. Having made that statement let me explain. I loved the Triton, and it did everything that I needed it to do for almost 20 years. I knew it was time to move forward, so the Kronos was the logical choice. Love it! I’m almost five years in and I’m not even remotely bored with it. I just hope that it remains reliable. I’ve got countless hours of programming invested and I don’t want to rebuild everything anytime soon. I know something new will come along, that’s normal marketing strategy, but I’m not in a hurry to make a change right now. I’m totally happy with my Kronos.

you are right. Us humans get comfortable. Some changes are good but when changes are disruptive, unpredictable stuff, we hang on to what we know.

I like the ' both ' approach, as long as I can afford it.

Like you, I have years of programming based on Kronos, specifically my song portfolio. I can't see giving it up or trying to migrate it. Move midi files around ? Not using Kronos FX and Karma ? I don't see an easy transition.

Also have that concern, that Korg will drop the file format on Kronos . They did it with Triton so its no surprise when it happens on a new generation product.

Meanwhile, seeing more great time with Kronos.

hackjo · Post by **hackjo** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 3:44 pm

Without wishing to sound condescending, I don't understand how anyone can get bored of an instrument with the depth and complexity of the Kronos. If someone had said in the mid 90's that we would one day have at our disposal an instrument that could do 9 forms of synthesis, with several GB's of wave ROM, 16 track MIDI and audio sequencing, sampling, wave sequencing, etc, etc, we'd never have believed them.

I think today's world of constant software updates and rapid obsolescence have changed our expectations.

Not that there aren't areas Korg could improve on. A more modern UI would be nice, but I think we should appreciate what we have.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 3:51 pm

hackjo wrote:Without wishing to sound condescending, I don't understand how anyone can get bored of an instrument with the depth and complexity of the Kronos. If someone had said in the mid 90's that we would one day have at our disposal an instrument that could do 9 forms of synthesis, with several GB's of wave ROM, 16 track MIDI and audio sequencing, sampling, wave sequencing, etc, etc, we'd never have believed them.

I think today's world of constant software updates and rapid obsolescence have changed our expectations.

Not that there aren't areas Korg could improve on. A more modern UI would be nice, but I think we should appreciate what we have.

I know directly of 1 person who got bored with Kronos. There's more to it, but losing interest can happen- for a variety of reasons.

I agree with both points, the UI and font size is tough on my old eyes.

we truly live in the golden age of music production keyboards. I appreciate what we have and the multiple possibilities to create interesting music.

kronoSphere · Post by **kronoSphere** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 4:09 pm

GregC, your topic reminds me that I had just bought (once again) an "old" Triton extreme just for transfering each tracks of each of my Triton songs to the kronos both in audio and also for creating the midi files I had forgotten to make with the Tritoni. I know, yes I know that midi files don't resolve all the problems of compatibility, but, anyway IMHO I think it is a very good thing to save each time each of the kronos song also in midi files too.
If one day my Kronos fails and if there is a successor of the Kronos : all will not be lost.

Derek Cook · Post by **Derek Cook** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 6:46 pm

I’ve only had mine 5 years, but to me it is like a super Yamaha EX5, which I also brought for the long haul.

I still feel I have barely scratched the surface of the Kronos.

I did some heavy programming of it years back, mainly AL-1, HD-1 and CX-3, and still have another shed load of engines to get around to when I have the time and need!

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 7:45 pm

kronoSphere wrote:GregC, your topic reminds me that I had just bought (once again) an "old" Triton extreme just for transfering each tracks of each of my Triton songs to the kronos both in audio and also for creating the midi files I had forgotten to make with the Tritoni. I know, yes I know that midi files don't resolve all the problems of compatibility, but, anyway IMHO I think it is a very good thing to save each time each of the kronos song also in midi files too.
If one day my Kronos fails and if there is a successor of the Kronos : all will not be lost.

you are right, brother. At least SMF song files is at least half way there when moving to another keyboard with GM

Have 2 questions :

Whats the diff between " 0 " format. and " 1 " ?

What does the 'exclusive ' check box achieve ?

Thank you !

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 7:49 pm

Derek Cook wrote:I’ve only had mine 5 years, but to me it is like a super Yamaha EX5, which I also brought for the long haul.

I still feel I have barely scratched the surface of the Kronos.

I did some heavy programming of it years back, mainly AL-1, HD-1 and CX-3, and still have another shed load of engines to get around to when I have the time and need!

Derek, I don't know how you can balance time between your 2 great boards- Montage and Kronos. You must have 2 brains

Derek Cook · Post by **Derek Cook** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 8:27 pm

GregC wrote:
Derek Cook wrote:I’ve only had mine 5 years, but to me it is like a super Yamaha EX5, which I also brought for the long haul.

I still feel I have barely scratched the surface of the Kronos.

I did some heavy programming of it years back, mainly AL-1, HD-1 and CX-3, and still have another shed load of engines to get around to when I have the time and need!
Derek, I don't know how you can balance time between your 2 great boards- Montage and Kronos. You must have 2 brains

Either I’m an idiot who cannot sit still, or I have more money than sense (after a poor childhood!).

PCFREE · Post by **PCFREE** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 8:31 pm

Well......

Errrrrrm......

I just sold my Kronos

Yes, I’ve just sold the most complete workstation on the planet !

I’m hoping a new one comes out next year !

I figure the price of a used Kronos will be much lower when a new one comes out !

For now, I’m happy with what I have

If the boot time is much quicker, the touchscreen is more ‘friendly’ and there are updated sounds, I will jump on one if the price is right - then I could also sell another one of my boards

That’s the plan!

Meanwhile, I’m still enjoying making music

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Mon Oct 07, 2019 8:51 pm

Derek Cook wrote:
GregC wrote:
Derek Cook wrote:I’ve only had mine 5 years, but to me it is like a super Yamaha EX5, which I also brought for the long haul.

I still feel I have barely scratched the surface of the Kronos.

I did some heavy programming of it years back, mainly AL-1, HD-1 and CX-3, and still have another shed load of engines to get around to when I have the time and need!
Derek, I don't know how you can balance time between your 2 great boards- Montage and Kronos. You must have 2 brains
Either I’m an idiot who cannot sit still, or I have more money than sense (after a poor childhood!).

FWIW, I think Montage + Kronos is living the good life. IMO, music is life.