Kronos 2 replacement

[GregC]

This may be heresy but it wouldn't surprise me to see the next version of Kronos being, software hosted in you computer either within the DAW or standalone. I am not sure I like that. On one hand without the hardware it should be much more reasonably priced but then your stuck to an OS and once they stop supporting it its done unless you keep a legacy unit around. And then you need a quality controller. I know I could continue with the KX61 I have but what about new people to Kronos who don't have hardware. I don't know but this possibility is not that far fetched, I think.

Actually not a half-bad idea... If they had a software version of the Kronos that could potentially add polyphony to your existing Kronos - use your existing Kronos as the controller and bam - more power. I could also see having a rackmount PC as your VST host and running the "Kronos" software in there too. *shrugs*

One can dream huh?

Its a nice idea. Korg is playing in IOS. Other than that, they are hardware, device oriented. I don't think of them as a big software app developer.

I could see some type of step, a simple Kronos , into Gadget. But don't get your hopes up.

[ITguy54]

Sweetwater is out of stock on all Kronos models except for B stock. With Musikmesse around the corner, it would a good time to announce the Kronos 3.

[GregC]

Sweetwater is out of stock on all Kronos models except for B stock. With Musikmesse around the corner, it would a good time to announce the Kronos 3.

out of stock for,,,

1 week

SW has the answers. To the right question.

I called them and confirmed ETA on A stock, wood side panels.
Bunch coming in , in 1 week.

There is no Kronos W/s replacement. Not at Messe.

as we have often discussed here. Next window of potential replacement
is NAMM 2019.

don't hold your breath.

[leonh]

In UK most music shops have Kronos with no discounts so no new Kronos.

[ITguy54]

In UK most music shops have Kronos with no discounts so no new Kronos.

So Korg always discounts items when they are going to be replaced?

The LS coming out doesn't mean Korg isn't working on a replacement. The LS could be another way to wring more money out of the design. IIRC the Kronos 2 came out in 2014. There are other keyboards like Dexibell that have a very high polyphony amount compared to the Kronos maximum polyphony of 140 voices on the HD-1 engine. Dexibell has already shown how useful it can be to have 320 digital oscillators when doing all the nuances of an acoustic piano. True, Dexibell is also using some modeling technology on their acoustic piano sounds, but then there is also the need for more polyphony when piano with strings.

So, with Dexibell using a quad core processor and 1tb SSD storage being cheaper than in 2014, I think the case could be made for Korg to go quad core or even six core, with 1tb of SSD storage, expandable to more, in a Kronos 2 replacement come Jan. 2019.

[ITguy54]

???

[GregC]

In UK most music shops have Kronos with no discounts so no new Kronos.

So Korg always discounts items when they are going to be replaced?

The LS coming out doesn't mean Korg isn't working on a replacement. The LS could be another way to wring more money out of the design. IIRC the Kronos 2 came out in 2014. There are other keyboards like Dexibell that have a very high polyphony amount compared to the Kronos maximum polyphony of 140 voices on the HD-1 engine. Dexibell has already shown how useful it can be to have 320 digital oscillators when doing all the nuances of an acoustic piano. True, Dexibell is also using some modeling technology on their acoustic piano sounds, but then there is also the need for more polyphony when piano with strings.

So, with Dexibell using a quad core processor and 1tb SSD storage being cheaper than in 2014, I think the case could be made for Korg to go quad core or even six core, with 1tb of SSD storage, expandable to more, in a Kronos 2 replacement come Jan. 2019.

lets review.

1) you are aware that SW will have A stock K2 's in about a week.
This is a fact.

So we are 99% sure there is no imminent K2 replacement. Thats a fair assumption.

2) you seem to be interested if Korg will be discounting the K2 when a replacement is approaching.

If any expensive keyboard is going thru a product transition, and there is a large volume of the older model, in the retail channel, its makes business sense
to incentivize and bring the volume down. To help the dealers.

This is theoretical. Not specific to Korg.

What Korg does is what Korg does. we don't have all the circumstances, we don't have enough detail to conjecture fairly. We don't know with certainty a Korg strategy with the K2 workstation.

3) I mostly agree with your statement on the LS. But it seems all electronic cos run the same horse out of the barn with a different saddle. If I was President
of Korg, I would also focus on component improvement vs a different color, etc, etc. But I am not in charge of anything.

What Korg " should do " and what Korg ' does' will always be subject to debate.
Nothing new here.

4) I think your Dexibell example is not a good compare to a full featured w/s like Kronos. The Dexibell is a digital stage piano.

Also, there is a lot more to consider on a new generation W/s than standard and current computer components.

We all know Kronos is 7 yrs old, has components from that era, is not super strong on polyphony, etc, etc.

Finally, as none of us work for Korg, and Korg does not disclose its strategy, we really have no tangible idea what they will do , which is why I believe we should wait for Jan 2019 NAMM.

Again, I have my opinions what Korg " should do ". But I realize that does not count for much

[ITguy54]

In UK most music shops have Kronos with no discounts so no new Kronos.

So Korg always discounts items when they are going to be replaced?

The LS coming out doesn't mean Korg isn't working on a replacement. The LS could be another way to wring more money out of the design. IIRC the Kronos 2 came out in 2014. There are other keyboards like Dexibell that have a very high polyphony amount compared to the Kronos maximum polyphony of 140 voices on the HD-1 engine. Dexibell has already shown how useful it can be to have 320 digital oscillators when doing all the nuances of an acoustic piano. True, Dexibell is also using some modeling technology on their acoustic piano sounds, but then there is also the need for more polyphony when piano with strings.

So, with Dexibell using a quad core processor and 1tb SSD storage being cheaper than in 2014, I think the case could be made for Korg to go quad core or even six core, with 1tb of SSD storage, expandable to more, in a Kronos 2 replacement come Jan. 2019.

lets review.

1) you are aware that SW will have A stock K2 's in about a week.
This is a fact.

So we are 99% sure there is no imminent K2 replacement. Thats a fair assumption.

2) you seem to be interested if Korg will be discounting the K2 when a replacement is approaching.

If any expensive keyboard is going thru a product transition, and there is a large volume of the older model, in the retail channel, its makes business sense
to incentivize and bring the volume down. To help the dealers.

This is theoretical. Not specific to Korg.

What Korg does is what Korg does. we don't have all the circumstances, we don't have enough detail to conjecture fairly. We don't know with certainty a Korg strategy with the K2 workstation.

3) I mostly agree with your statement on the LS. But it seems all electronic cos run the same horse out of the barn with a different saddle. If I was President
of Korg, I would also focus on component improvement vs a different color, etc, etc. But I am not in charge of anything.

What Korg " should do " and what Korg ' does' will always be subject to debate.
Nothing new here.

4) I think your Dexibell example is not a good compare to a full featured w/s like Kronos. The Dexibell is a digital stage piano.

Also, there is a lot more to consider on a new generation W/s than standard and current computer components.

We all know Kronos is 7 yrs old, has components from that era, is not super strong on polyphony, etc, etc.

Finally, as none of us work for Korg, and Korg does not disclose its strategy, we really have no tangible idea what they will do , which is why I believe we should wait for Jan 2019 NAMM.

Again, I have my opinions what Korg " should do ". But I realize that does not count for much

.

I understand what you are saying. The Dexibell example was given because they are currently using the same hardware platform for their pianos and organs. The K2 is known for being strong on piano, so that an important consideration when discussing the K2.

There's always the hope that someone from Korg is noticing this. I would be very tempted to buy a K2 if it was heavily discounted. But I would be more likely to see what is replacing it and go for that instead.

[Jan1]

Whenever you see a discount it does not necessarily mean that the discounted model will be discontinued.
Earlier this year the KRONOS dropped in price, and it may be because KORG wanted to move inventory or increase sales, or maybe the retailer wanted to get rid of stock.
The same is true for Yamaha and Roland (earlier this year some Roland products also went down in price).

Nothing has been announced for the Messe (as was to be expected), so who knows when and if KORG makes the next move?
Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year.

[GregC]

Whenever you see a discount it does not necessarily mean that the discounted model will be discontinued.
Earlier this year the KRONOS dropped in price, and it may be because KORG wanted to move inventory or increase sales, or maybe the retailer wanted to get rid of stock.
The same is true for Yamaha and Roland (earlier this year some Roland products also went down in price).

Nothing has been announced for the Messe (as was to be expected), so who knows when and if KORG makes the next move?
Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year.

keep in mind, a price adjustment could vary by country. Or country distributor.

I don't recall any price drop on the K2, A stock, this year here in the US.

I spoke to SW here in the US , yesterday, on the K2 88. A stock.
$3699 firm

And they have no problem selling them at that price.

[Jan1]

I don't recall any price drop on the K2, A stock, this year here in the US.

It must have been a European phenomenon then, because the KRONOS 88 was sold at around the 3200/3300 Euros mark in Germany and Holland, and it was not B-stock.
A few weeks later the price went up again.
The same happened with Roland (System 8, JD-XA, RD2000, FA).

[ITguy54]

4) I think your Dexibell example is not a good compare to a full featured w/s like Kronos. The Dexibell is a digital stage piano

Again, I have my opinions what Korg " should do ". But I realize that does not count for much

To be more precise, Dexibell makes home pianos, portable pianos, stage pianos, as well as a drawbar organ and classical organ. Roland really screwed up when they closed their factory in Italy. But you are right; Dexibell doesn't make anything to compete with the Kronos...for now.

[GregC]

[

There's always the hope that someone from Korg is noticing this. I would be very tempted to buy a K2 if it was heavily discounted. But I would be more likely to see what is replacing it and go for that instead.

I doubt Korg notices the posts these days.
They have not participated in any topic or question for quite some time.
They do not discuss their plans . Or their strategy.

The employees have other priorities- to sell and promote their new products. Kronos is not new. Yes, it still sells. But that is what I call 'transactional '.

IOW, don't hold your breath.

I would like to see a significant MSRP price drop for the 7 yr old Kronos. I believe this is due. But that opinion counts for nothing.

[GregC]

Roland really screwed up when they closed their factory in Italy. But you are right; Dexibell doesn't make anything to compete with the Kronos...for now.

I know Roland went thru significant financial and management changes some 4-6 yrs ago.

So I know nothing about your statement about the factory in Italy ( from 2014). Roland delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2014.

I see recent positives with Roland. I think their product support is very good.
I like the FA line up. They had a good presence at Jan 2018 NAMM.

I prefer to emphasize the current Roland vs what happened some years ago due to the changes they likely had to make.

[ITguy54]

Roland really screwed up when they closed their factory in Italy. But you are right; Dexibell doesn't make anything to compete with the Kronos...for now.

I know Roland went thru significant financial and management changes some 4-6 yrs ago.

So I know nothing about your statement about the factory in Italy ( from 2014). Roland delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2014.

I see recent positives with Roland. I think their product support is very good.
I like the FA line up. They had a good presence at Jan 2018 NAMM.

I prefer to emphasize the current Roland vs what happened some years ago due to the changes they likely had to make.

I said that about Roland because Dexibell is made up of former Roland Italy employees. Roland's decision has created a competitor that I think is going to become formidable in the near future. Roland also sold the Rodgers organ company.