KRONOS Rack?

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 8:04 pm

hermanmusic wrote:The T series got skipped as far as a dedicated module, though I think some of the waveforms/patches made it into the expanded M1R (forget the exact designation, M1Rex?) or maybe it was the M3R.

it's the m1Rex, whose waveform set is IDENTICAL to the T3. I have been shuttling patches (programs and combis) back and forth between T3 and M1Rex for almost 20 years now.

That makes for a 100% correspondence bwtween Korg key and rack products up to the Oasys (radias got both, ms2000 did, etc).

So, never say never.

EvilDragon wrote:If they wanted to make a rack, they'd announce it at NAMM like they did with the other 3 versions.

or maybe they will do as they did in all the previous cases: the rack was release 6/12 months AFTER the keyboard.

EvilDragon wrote:In any case, don't hold your hopes high.

No problem.

I won't consider buying until they make it a rack.

That's up to them.

It's not about my hopes of buying, it's about their hopes of selling.

If they want my dough, they know how to get it.

I have no room in my rig for another 73 or 88 keybed, I won't dismiss my current keyboards,

I could make room for the rack by dismissing the wavestation, the m1 and the M3

That's it.

I won't be forced to overthrow my whole rig for adding what's basically ONE instrument which can't replace all others.

Pilotwings · Post by **Pilotwings** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:05 pm

EvilDragon wrote:If they wanted to make a rack, they'd announce it at NAMM like they did with the other 3 versions.

I've seen companies introduce rack versions up to one year later. Never say never!

synthguy · Post by **synthguy** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:03 pm

gjvti wrote:Did you look here? ... + Korg legacy collection + some sample vst Steinberg/NI/Spectrasonics and you probably are pretty much there

Ehh.... not quite. It wouldn't be a Kronos.

No soft synth can replace the gear I've accumulated over the years. They can't replace each other either. My Radias, Virus, JP-8000, Karma MOSS synth, Fizmo... they all sound different. My SD-1, TS-10, Fantom X, Karma, M3, Kurzweil... they all sound different. All my synths have signature sounds that are pretty much impossible to replicate on anything else, so if anything dies, it will have to be fixed or replaced by an identical unit. Even my Origin can't be replaced by Arturia soft synths, because the modular arrangement allowing the creation of hybrid synths is unique.

Kronos... maybe I should get in the habit of typing KRONOS... has the potential to make a number of my synths redundant. Probably improving on them, sounding better. But certain sounds, nothing else can copy. And it's safe to say that nothing else can copy KRONOS in its entirety but an OASYS.

Francois · Post by **Francois** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:10 pm

vEddY wrote:and one more keyboard might be a problem for those people as this requires a lot of space and work for connecting...

Totally my point of view and this is why I bought a Motif Rack when I saw that the m3 was not going to be relased in 19" rackable format. Otherwise, the m3r would have been it.

In a home-studio, how many keyboards can you stack!

synthguy · Post by **synthguy** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 11:20 am

Francois wrote:In a home-studio, how many keyboards can you stack!

In my case, six.

Which means that incorporating not just the KRONOS but my SD-1 again is going to be a little awkward. But I'll manage somehow.

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 11:28 am

synthguy wrote:
Francois wrote:In a home-studio, how many keyboards can you stack!
In my case, six. Which means that incorporating not just the KRONOS but my SD-1 again is going to be a little awkward. But I'll manage somehow.

dunno.

There are ergonomic limits.

Sitting comfortably, you manage to play well 4 keyboards at the same time (in a live situation). Basically, two "organ" sets at 90 degress. A third layer of keys is either too far or too high for serious playing (or: you have to stand up, and get far from other keys. Or strain your shoulders).

I use six keybeds myself, but two of them are small controllers (a left hand only 37 keys for basses and drones I use once in a while, and a 49 for additional riffs when needed. Thinking of removing it. And it's just because old analogue doesn't allow for quick patch changes).

Not to mention that... dunno... sitting behind a horseshoe 6-keyboards set... well... you have to take care not to look like a clown or a wannabe.

having people shout at you "get a cape and a blonde wig" is not what I strive for.

RadekK · Post by **RadekK** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:55 pm

Not all musician are keyboardists who couldn't make a good use of Kronos...
Thought I can play a bit on a keyboard I prefer to use midi guitar converter. It'd benefit portability, where keybed less design can be much more compact.
So M3 still has an advantage here.

Basically... why not (marketing/business aside) offer Kronos in a LCD less case? It could support external display, USB midi/PC peripherals easily as running on a common Atom platform (and customized Linux).

It could be cheaper to manufacture as well. But it'd probably sell in minuscule amount, right?

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:19 pm

RadekK wrote:why not (marketing/business aside) offer Kronos in a LCD less case? It could support external display, USB midi/PC peripherals easily as running on a common Atom platform (and customized Linux).It could be cheaper to manufacture as well.

Not a bad idea, with some "but"s:

On one hand it would probably be very cheap, and similar to the Clavia Nord Modular engine (a tiny 1U rack with awesome power).

On the other hand it would be a cable festival (module to video, module to controller, module to keyboard, module top mouse, plus power for each of them),

or - worse - it would require a computer

and a knob-ladden controller keyboard (and the need of programming it to match the knobs with the K's controls...

),

which would defeat the very idea of a workstation: being computer-less and self-contained.

Roland v-synth XT and its screen make for a nice example of what could be done.

It would be larger than the V-synth (4+1 units), but after all the MS2000 B R had the same size (5 U) for far less power, and sold well.

RadekK wrote: it'd probably sell in minuscule amount, right?

I don't think so.

I don't think many people love discarding keyboards once a year.

you get accustomed to keys and controllers because they are physical, changing them is harder than changing modules.

Korg was on to something with the Komponent idea, albeit they flunked it.

Had they managed to think it better (thinking id advance of larger LCDs etc, making it really easy to mount/unmount)

today they would be releasing a mountable Kronos module to everybody who liked the RH3 and disliked the M3 (or wanted to upgrade), for 800 usd less, at NO LOSS.

They have NO margin on the keybed, so why should they care selling more keys?

They sell converters, software and control surfaces, not keys.

There has been people here, owning an Oasys, who didn't even know they had a rh2...

So, people don't buy Korg keys.

TagPass · Post by **TagPass** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:20 pm

RadekK wrote:why not (marketing/business aside) offer Kronos in a LCD less case? It could support external display, USB midi/PC peripherals easily as running on a common Atom platform (and customized Linux).

I was thinking more along the lines of a "Kronos Expander" that would be nothing *but* the touchscreen. Smallish desktop box, with I/O on the bottom part, and just the tactile surface (okay, maybe add a data wheel and a numeric keypad too?). More like a tablet PC about the thickness of a standard textbook, but with an appropriate ergonomic angle. Ahh, to dream.

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:28 pm

TagPass wrote:I was thinking more along the lines of a "Kronos Expander" that would be nothing *but* the touchscreen. More like a tablet PC about the thickness of a standard textbook, but with an appropriate ergonomic angle. Ahh, to dream.

nope, that's plain wrong IMHO.

Open your kronos when you get it, and see if its electronic content can be reduced the size of a tablet!

It's got a fan within, man...

You'd reduce it to the size of a BURNING tablet.

No, it would probably need to be a chunky module.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:36 pm

its been said, the same 50 folks request a rack version.

co's like Korg, Roland, are not going to make a rack version for 50 potential customers.

Buy a 61 Kronos and enjoy

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:45 pm

GregC wrote:co's like Korg, Roland, are not going to make a rack version for 50 potential customers.Buy a 61 Kronos and enjoy

thanks for reading but skipping the content,

and thanks for forgetting that Roland DID.

Please find, in the live setup below, the place where I'd put a 61 keyboard, and please tell me.

above: top, phophet 08, unreplaceable by a kronos 61 because it's not got analogue synthesis. bottom, 76 semiweighted keys, unreplaceable by a kronos because it's got no semiweighted variety.

above, from top: 1) CV-gate keyboard, unreplaceable by a midi-only keyboard. 2) Master, unreplaceable because the CV-gate controller's got to sit on top, 3) vl-1, unreplaceable because kronos hasn't got that kind of synthesis.

So, what gives?

I can add a module, not a keyboard.

God help us from experts who don't do their homework because they're too busy giving advice.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:50 pm

ozy wrote:
GregC wrote:co's like Korg, Roland, are not going to make a rack version for 50 potential customers.Buy a 61 Kronos and enjoy
thanks for reading but skipping the content,

and thanks for forgetting that Roland DID.

Please find, in the live setup below, the place where I'd put a 61 keyboard, and please tell me.

above: top, phophet 08, unreplaceable by a kronos 61. bottom, 76 semiweighted keys, unreplaceable by a kronos

above, from top: 1) CV-gate keyboard, unreplaceable by a midi-only keyboard. 2) Master, unreplaceable because the CV-gate controller's got to sit on top, 3) vl-1, unreplaceable because kronos hasn't got that kind of synthesis.

So, what gives?

I can add a module, not a keyboard.

God help us from experts who don't do their homework because they're too busy giving advice.

you need to simplify

ozy · Post by **ozy** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:53 pm

GregC wrote:you need to simplify

It's very simple.

Why simplify? And how?

You tell me how I'd get vintage analogue, modular analogue, modern analogue with aftertouch and memories, VL, rhodes emulation, vintage vocoder and harmnizer, all available live (considering than modular need two keybeds in order to quickly switch patches when soloing)

in less space.

Oh, you mean: "forget it, buy a workstation which does everything"?

I see...

Sorry, my ears forbid me from replacing the VL with "falling bones sample-based patch #331" and the SEM with "OB VA patch #125"

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:59 pm

ozy wrote:
GregC wrote:you need to simplify
It's very simple.

Why simplify? And how?

You tell me how I'd get vintage analogue, modular analogue, modern analogue with aftertouch and memories, VL, rhodes emulation, vintage vocoder and harmnizer, all available live (considering than modular need two keybeds in order to quickly switch patches when soloing)

in less space.

Oh, you mean: "forget it, buy a workstation which does everything"?

I see...

Sorry, my ears forbid me from replacing the VL with "falling bones sample-based patch #331" and the SEM with "OB VA patch #125"

I suppose if you can't simplify your requirements, you can keep piling on more gear.

Its your call