They are still providing support via Authorized Service Centers. New motherboards for Kronos (original) and Kronos X are no longer available, and new motherboards for the Kronos 2 are still available (but scarce) but only from Korg Japan (for around $425 USD) but only through their service centers, and theres a guy in Texas in the US that sells them too (for about $750 USD). Those will be gone pretty soon.Am I hearing that Korg no longer support the Kronos line? If so, are sites like "marcan.st" free to publish certain modifications?
Korg fails to support its product
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Gargamel314
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- Location: Carneys Point, NJ
Korg Kronos-61, Nautilus-61, 01/Wfd, SONAR Pro
I’m really sorry to hear about your experience, and it’s something that weighs on my mind too. In fact, I sold my Kronos 1, one of the first available in the country, a few years ago and bought a Kronos 2 - just because I was concerned about the parts situation.
You mention that not having parts available, or not providing support, should be illegal. And in some parts of the world it is. It’s a valid point, but it’s also complex.
Korg are a small company (I think with less than 300 employees last I heard) selling into a huge number of countries, each with their own laws around warranty and parts. Korg’s business model seems to be that they rely on their distributor network to manage repair, servicing and parts. The consequence of that is that parts availability differs from country to country. It’s up to individual distributors to manage their own parts inventory based on local laws and expectations.
In Australia, we have fairly robust consumer protection laws compared to, say, the US. As a consequence, our local distributor seems to have a reasonable number of parts. I was recently able to obtain some chassis parts and a new PSU for my Kronos 2, and my Kronos 2 is still under warranty for another year.
I get the sense that Korg USA, which is essentially just another local distributor that happens to just deal in Korg products, doesn’t or didn’t keep enough parts stock, and this is the consequence.
I know this doesn’t help you, and I agree with everything you’ve said. In fact, the scarcity of parts makes me hesitant to invest in another big workstation in the future, as much as I love them. But supply chain is complex, and so is managing spares. It’s all about managing risk and probability and uncertainty, which is hard to get right. And having more spares would lead to higher prices (who pays for all that inventory to sit in a warehouse until it’s needed?).
You mention that not having parts available, or not providing support, should be illegal. And in some parts of the world it is. It’s a valid point, but it’s also complex.
Korg are a small company (I think with less than 300 employees last I heard) selling into a huge number of countries, each with their own laws around warranty and parts. Korg’s business model seems to be that they rely on their distributor network to manage repair, servicing and parts. The consequence of that is that parts availability differs from country to country. It’s up to individual distributors to manage their own parts inventory based on local laws and expectations.
In Australia, we have fairly robust consumer protection laws compared to, say, the US. As a consequence, our local distributor seems to have a reasonable number of parts. I was recently able to obtain some chassis parts and a new PSU for my Kronos 2, and my Kronos 2 is still under warranty for another year.
I get the sense that Korg USA, which is essentially just another local distributor that happens to just deal in Korg products, doesn’t or didn’t keep enough parts stock, and this is the consequence.
I know this doesn’t help you, and I agree with everything you’ve said. In fact, the scarcity of parts makes me hesitant to invest in another big workstation in the future, as much as I love them. But supply chain is complex, and so is managing spares. It’s all about managing risk and probability and uncertainty, which is hard to get right. And having more spares would lead to higher prices (who pays for all that inventory to sit in a warehouse until it’s needed?).
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
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
It looks like you are right. Their corporate website says they had 295 employees as of 2023. That surprised me.SeedyLee wrote: Korg are a small company (I think with less than 300 employees last I heard) selling into a huge number of countries.
https://www.korg.com/us/corporate/profile/
Just thought of this. After going through hell trying to replace the screen and touch sensor...Is the Natilus the same part mabye????
Korg Karma module, Kronos61, SEQUENTIAL PRO3, DSI OB6, Oberheim OB8, XStation25, Yamaha MFC (for Karma Pads), Omnisphere, guitars by Tom Anderson, Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, D'Angelico, Parker, Line6, Guitar Processors by Fractal Audio, Amplification by Mesa, Carvin, w/Celestion V30(!)