Pet Peeve with the Kronos 61 - NO OCTAVE button

[michelkeijzers]

Actually it would not be a problem if switch assignments have to be done for each program. It only is a lot of work if you really would have to set it manually. But what if in the global page there will be a function (e.g. in the menu) to assign switches, knobs or whatever for ALL programs or all programs in one or a set of banks?

You will not need extra (hardware) buttons and still have the flexibility. With this you also can set a switch for every program to any parameter you want.

[NuSkoolTone]

Wait, let me be the first one to say "But Dude, you could just buy an 88 key controller to trigger Kronos! What's the big deal?" Sorry just wanted to get that out of the way before someone thought it was a good idea

Seriously though, for 61 key guys, that's a drag. This is where the divide comes between studio guys and ones that GIG. Every board has limitations and it's getting around them that can be a challenge. If you make your own Combis, what you COULD do I suppose is have the sound you want in the Combi twice. Have it once at the regular octave and one at the octave below (or up). That way you could turn those parts on and off during performance. I don't know how fast 16 programs gets used up for most people, but that could be a workaround in one regard. Though that would work in combi mode, probably NOT in set list mode! Doh! It's also not any less work than editing the program either except you keep your SW button programming for the patches.

FWIW, Yamaha is the only mfgr that uses octave buttons on workstations AFAIK. I think a certain someone is spoiled by arranger features (both octave and transpose) eh?

In the end, I agree Octave buttons (Or a way to map some) would have been nice. Hopefully Korg will have a solution.

[EvilDragon]

FWIW, Yamaha is the only mfgr that uses octave buttons on workstations AFAIK.

Kurzweil too. As soft-buttons. But nonetheless, they're instantly available when you're gigging.

[Teh Mick]

My vote for a soft button for transpose, there is space left for another tab called something like "Performance Editor" (like on Triton line)

[kbrkr]

[quote="NuSkoolTone"]Wait, let me be the first one to say "But Dude, you could just buy an 88 key controller to trigger Kronos! What's the big deal?" Sorry just wanted to get that out of the way before someone thought it was a good idea

Nah, 88 keys are great for the studio, not for the road or live gigs. Too heavy to move around, take up too much space in the ride and on the kb stand.

[jemkeys25]

i mentioned this before the kronos came out, as in refrence to kurzweil boards, that have had this feature over 20 years, and kurzweils' hold feature holds no matter how many different programs you switch through, not just one, as in the kronos, but dont get me wrong, i really love the kronos, it kicks ass.

[TSUNAMI]

not fussed about the Octave shift as its the transpose thats a pain .... we very often will change the key of a song on the fly and i have to process every note on the fly (not easy after a few pints ...) on my S90XS i just transpose it and play the same notes/chords that are engraved into my brian without having to think about it.

[phattbuzz]

Nah, 88 keys are great for the studio, not for the road or live gigs. Too heavy to move around, take up too much space in the ride and on the kb stand.

Casio Privias have a good piano action, are relatively cheap and not too heavy to gig with.

[robdevine69]

This is an unforgivable ommission on all 61 key Korg Workstations. I have to use my Fantom G6 to control my Kronos so that I can use lower and higher notes easily but I love my Kronos Keybed way more. Such a shame and just plain crazy that there is no button for octave shift.

[xp50player]

I bought a Yamaha NP-11 for $159, just to have something to throw in the car with a minimum of fuss. THAT thing is bitimbral with independent octave adjust +/- 2 octaves and a ton of other features with button+key combinations. I don't see why Korg couldn't make ENTER+Key in Play mode to set new middle C and ENTER+SW1/SW2 for octave change.

[KevinOnKeyz]

On the eve of purchasing another Kronos (the 61, my 88 is 1st gen and it is both too heavy, too valuable, and unfortunately too unreliable following a series of catastrophic crashes hours before a gig to be trusted), I am reminded of how incensed I am by the absence of dedicated octave and transpose buttons.

Seriously?! The MicroArranger has them! $500 Yamaha keyboards have them! Every credible synth I can think of, including as mentioned the S90xs, which I ditched in favor of the Kronos, has them.

I'm baffled by it, and no one at Korg has provided an adequate excuse.

Yes, there are some halfway workarounds, but for a keyboard costing thousands of dollars, I find that insulting.

Yet no other board has the sonic horsepower, or the seamless sound switching...what to do?

And don't get me started on the embarrassment of 2.5 minutes of silence if the unit ever powers off. Holy heck!

Why create a product so brilliant in most areas, so fatally flawed in others? Struggling to understand...

Current setup: Korg Kronos 88, Yamaha CP300, Roland Juno Di, Alesis QS 7.1, Roland D50 and D550, Korg Microstation and MicroArranger, Mac Pro, Lync Jan Hamer controller, Neo Ventilator

[Scott]

And don't get me started on the embarrassment of 2.5 minutes of silence if the unit ever powers off. Holy heck!

Why create a product so brilliant in most areas, so fatally flawed in others? Struggling to understand...

Well, it is a Linux system booting, plus loading a lot of code, so I do understand. Design tradeoffs. But I don't know why they are so averse to quicker ways to do the common octave shift and transpose functions.

[Gambler]

Yeah, the lack of dedicated octave shift buttons on Kronos is one of the reasons I still have my Juno Gi. (Also, boot time and proper control over velocity translation.)

Since we're stuck with the current hardware, the suggestion of binding some existing buttons to those functions makes perfect sense.

Also, this is a great example of why I think the next big step in hardware workstations will be scriptability. If we could re-define custom key combinations, we could fix this ourselves. If I could, I would reprogram BPM knob (which I never use) to shift octave in the lowest and highest thirds of its range.

[kaptainkeyboard]

This is an Old Man Rant.

What is the matter with you people.
In the 50 years I've been playing live keyboards, there has never been a machine which inspires me to play, experiment, program and simply get lost in the sonic beauty as much as the Kronos, and I have owned just about every "Flagship" keyboard over the decades.
Dedicated Buttons ??, over 2 minutes to boot ??....Really ?.
Korg have given you a joyous machine which demands user input, and if you don't know how to assign SW1 & 2 to switch octaves (or any other method) by now, sell your Kronos, you have no business owning this machine - and if you have decided Not to buy one because there is no dedicated octave buttons, go buy a Juno 106 - you will be right at home with all those big knobs to play with (and dedicated octave buttons).

My Fantom X8 took 4 minuted to boot with 200 meg of my own samples, the Kronos boots with Gigabites in a little over half that time - you do the math.

Unreliable ? - what are the real stats on this ?.
Some owners of earlier models have indeed had problems, which, if I read their posts properly, have had the problems fixed by Korg.
Have we to assume that the minority rules the roost yet again ?....I am a Scottish person, and trust me on this, only a few of us actually wear kilts, paint our faces blue and shout " Freedom" to random tourists, and yet the world perceives us as some kind of mythical clans people.

I make no apologies for this rant and will continue to enjoy the sheer pleasure my Kronos gives me.

Rant over.

[Thalumas]

Just a thought, I have a Nanopad 2 connected with only 8 pads being used, does anyone know if there is a way to program the spare pads to transpose or change octive?