Jupiter80 vs Kronos

aron · Post by **aron** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:10 pm

The one thing that sampling does allow is the use of the multi-velocity sampling auto sampler type programs. This is not the same as the Jupiter, but it does allow you to copy the sounds of registrations etc... That's how people copy the sounds of older keyboards. It actually works. Whether the Kronos has enough sampling memory is another thing.

DennyC · Post by **DennyC** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:20 pm

Cello, your last two posts sum it up perfectly. As did the "SanderXpander " on another thread. I am still quite tempted by the JP80, and that leaves a difficult decision for me. My Kronos 61 is supposed to arrive today at the store(been on back order). I love my Oasys 76, and right there is the quandary.

I want to publicly thank you for the extra effort of sending me the sound samples. I write melodic songs and that is why I enjoyed listening to some of your compositions as they were artfully performed and were wonderfully melodic.

RonF · Post by **RonF** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 4:39 pm

DennyC...

Just a thought based on your situation.

If I had an Oasys.....I would probably be looking more strongly at the JP80. Unless you do a lot of composition and other work inside a dedicated workstation.....as in, that is your primary DAW and composition tool, such that the feature and spec enhancements of the Kronos (over the Oasys) will make an important difference to you as a compositional "tool" (the workstation features).......then I would be more compelled myself towards the very different sonic flavors of the Jupiter to enrich my existing sonic palette from the Oasys. A Kronos and an Oasys sound very similar. We all understand the new sonic elements of Kronos over Oasys (the Pianos and EPs being the biggest).....but the Jupiter is SO different sounding than the Oasys/Kronos, that it really opens up new musical landscapes.

Of course, optimally you might get BOTH Kronos and Jupiter.....but I recognize this is a costly and perhaps impractical investment for many. This is just my opinion, of course. I am a former Oasys owner, and now have both Kronos and JP80. If I could have only purchased one, in retrospect, I would have kept the Oasys (which gives you 90+ percent of the Kronos) and purchased the new JP80. The combination of tones between the two is very magical.

I'm sure this has all be told to you before in differing opinions, but I wanted to share my thought.....

DennyC · Post by **DennyC** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:47 pm

Ron, thanks for the interest. You understand my dilemma. BTW my Kronos was supposed to be delivered to the "music store" today, but now the sales guy has said he now thought it would be delivered to Korg to ship out to the west coast today. That is being researched as we speak.

I was planning on putting the big O and the Kronos 61 head to head and see if I thought I could get by with just one. Then I would sell one and get the JP80 to compliment the winner of the shootout. Or if they stall me too much longer I will get a refund and then purchase the JP80, as this type of waiting as been a very unsatisfying experience. But as you have pointed out, I do my composing... inside the keyboard, that's why I like the additional sequencer idea as well as 16 extra audio tracks. Well, I guess it is one step at a time. Either the music store will produce the K61 or not. And because I am tired of the 2mo + wait, and I am feeling impatient, I would again probably go the JP80 direction as there are quite a few immediately available.

cello · Post by **cello** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 8:02 pm

DennyC wrote:Cello, your last two posts sum it up perfectly. As did the "SanderXpander " on another thread. I am still quite tempted by the JP80, and that leaves a difficult decision for me. My Kronos 61 is supposed to arrive today at the store(been on back order). I love my Oasys 76, and right there is the quandary.

I want to publicly thank you for the extra effort of sending me the sound samples. I write melodic songs and that is why I enjoyed listening to some of your compositions as they were artfully performed and were wonderfully melodic.

My pleasure DennyC

I can see your dilemma and the only one who can decide what's best for you is you! One man's poison is another man's wine... Whether you go with K + JP or O + JP you won't be disappointed either way. K + O is the option I rejected on the grounds of duplication (and other more political factors let's say...).

Appreciate your comments about my music - kind of you! Do let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

DennyC · Post by **DennyC** » Fri Sep 23, 2011 4:34 am

Thanks Cello and Ron. It is tough because the O is so well built and tremendous sound quality. The K has that drum track, SST, and the newer pianos. However, I find the O piano very enjoyable. The patience aspect is beginning to grind on me and that alone is influencing me to gravitate to the JP80. Either one of them is a monster of a keyboard.

sparkie · Post by **sparkie** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 1:38 pm

After reading about complaints with the K's keybed clicking, loose and making weird noises..plus the fan being noisy...plus older issues of data knob coming off, the 2nd 2GB Ram board being left out of the available slot, it seems to me the hardware they used is not what you would normally expect from Korg. The Jupiter 80 has no audible fan noise I hear, and the keybed is solid!

panrixx · Post by **panrixx** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 1:45 pm

Apart from the empty 2nd memory slot my 88 has none of those issues.

sparkie · Post by **sparkie** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:02 pm

panrixx wrote:Apart from the empty 2nd memory slot my 88 has none of those issues.

Can you read "all" the text, numbers and icons on the screen without bending over or using reading glasses to see it? Do you use a pointer stick or your fingers when selecting parameters?

Zeroesque · Post by **Zeroesque** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:03 pm

sparkie wrote:After reading about complaints with the K's keybed clicking, loose and making weird noises..plus the fan being noisy...plus older issues of data knob coming off, the 2nd 2GB Ram board being left out of the available slot, it seems to me the hardware they used is not what you would normally expect from Korg. The Jupiter 80 has no audible fan noise I hear, and the keybed is solid!

Have there been complaints about the unweighted keybed of the Kronos 61? Does the Jupiter 80 even have any sampling capability at all, let alone 2GB of it? I mean, you do want to compare apples to apples, right? Otherwise, you might also say, "The Kronos doesn't have anti-lock brakes, so I'm going with the Jupiter 80!"

Also, there have been polls here about the other topics you bring up with interesting results, though they can still certainly be seen as legitimate concerns for the minority that have them.

Morshu · Post by **Morshu** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:20 pm

the jupiter 80 is a sh** and you know it buddy. Its only good for some humor(ie. playing the starwars theme or jaws theme really badly).
You can do everything the jupiter 80 does with your kronos if you are a decent programmer.

anyways, rolands keyboards and synths have sucked for quite a long time... only their classic analog synths sound good. not the fake Juno Di or any of that horriblenss.

The only reason to buy a jupiter 80 is if you can get it cheap and you just want an extra synth, its not worth the four thousand dollars its at right now.

keyplayer14 · Post by **keyplayer14** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:24 pm

sparkie wrote:After reading about complaints with the K's keybed clicking, loose and making weird noises..plus the fan being noisy...plus older issues of data knob coming off, the 2nd 2GB Ram board being left out of the available slot, it seems to me the hardware they used is not what you would normally expect from Korg. The Jupiter 80 has no audible fan noise I hear, and the keybed is solid!

No complaints with my keybed, fan noise is a complete non - issue, data wheel has stayed where it's supposed to. In fact, I'd assess the overall build quality as pretty solid, although some have obviously had issues. It does seem to me that the complaints are getting less as more units are actually in people's hands.

keyplayer14 · Post by **keyplayer14** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:40 pm

sparkie wrote:
panrixx wrote:Apart from the empty 2nd memory slot my 88 has none of those issues.
Can you read "all" the text, numbers and icons on the screen without bending over or using reading glasses to see it? Do you use a pointer stick or your fingers when selecting parameters?

Well I wear reading glasses anyway, but there's nothing on the screen which isn't readable. Selection is a little more hit or miss depending on your viewing angle, but I'm using a stylus ( also helps to keep the screen clean of fingerprints ) and after a little bit of practice it's become very easy. Set Lists are easily readable and selectable on stage.
Once you are familiar with the screen layouts most of these supposed issues dissappear.

sparkie · Post by **sparkie** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:57 pm

Zeroesque wrote: Have there been complaints about the unweighted keybed of the Kronos 61? Does the Jupiter 80 even have any sampling capability at all, let alone 2GB of it? I mean, you do want to compare apples to apples, right? Otherwise, you might also say, "The Kronos doesn't have anti-lock brakes, so I'm going with the Jupiter 80!"

Also, there have been polls here about the other topics you bring up with interesting results, though they can still certainly be seen as legitimate concerns for the minority that have them.

No the J80 doesnt have sampling..Yes, More samples is always better and maybe Roland will add more later.."but" the Jupiter has so many different sound possiblitities already it is almost endless along with the multi-layering of such. And here is the big kicker, the J80 has Supernatural which is really explained in the video below. Everything on the Jupiter 80 is so easy to do a Caveman like me can do it... Plus the touchscreen is angled and super visible! ++10. The J80 doesnt have a sequencer although you can easily record to a USB stick..edit etc.. From what I have seen on the Kronos sequencer, which is the old Oasys sequencer, who actually uses it for recording anyway?

Watch this video, see how the sound "evolves" naturally as most of them do. The synth, drones, arent emphasized as they should be.. but they really are icing on the cake using this Supernatural technology! The synth sounds along with the Tone Blender are a Wavestation on Steroids!! The depth, reverb, of all the sounds need to be heard in person and you will see what we rave about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et5hgaJBExs

sparkie · Post by **sparkie** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 3:06 pm

Morshu wrote:the jupiter 80 is a sh** and you know it buddy. Its only good for some humor(ie. playing the starwars theme or jaws theme really badly).
You can do everything the jupiter 80 does with your kronos if you are a decent programmer.

anyways, rolands keyboards and synths have sucked for quite a long time... only their classic analog synths sound good. not the fake Juno Di or any of that horriblenss.

The only reason to buy a jupiter 80 is if you can get it cheap and you just want an extra synth, its not worth the four thousand dollars its at right now.

Did you hear one in person? You stepped on your foot with your comment "You can do everything the jupiter 80 does with your kronos if you are a decent programmer."

The key words being you have to program the Kronos to do what the Jupiter already has!!

And $4000?? Where do you buy stuff from.. it retails for $3499 and I paid way less than $3k for mine?

Keyplayer, I dont have to wear reading glasses or use an awkward stylus on the Jupiter screen either as the Kronos requires.