What Korg should do if new Kronos not released on NAMM 2018

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Mon Jan 15, 2018 1:27 pm

DeltaJockey wrote:My pie in the sky thought.....

I reckon it'd be great if Korg came out with a drop in motherboard replacement we could buy for our existing Kronos, which is 64bit, heaps of RAM etc. It's technically not a problem in my view, as the bottleneck is the data thoughput, and the audio/contol interface hardware can still be used. They could sell it for say $1000, and have the certified techs do the upgrade. They'd probably sell more of them to all the existing Kronos users than a complete new WS. Along with a nice OS upgrade to go with it.

its a good thought. It would solve the aging tech of Kronos. It would require a significant OS upgrade.

The certified tech is a grey area to depend on. The auth service centers are mostly small business types ( here in the US). Getting parts is no finger snap. Same with time to repair. Not always predictable if it gets complex. I am not picking on all of them. My guess is the large majority do a good job.

Plus there are many 6 yr Kronos owners out there. I never required a keybed replacement . If I am going to drop $1000 on a current Mobo I will get a new keybed. So that cost has to be reasonable.

One again, its that nagging big picture thing for something to be totally sensible for the $

DeltaJockey · Post by **DeltaJockey** » Tue Jan 16, 2018 3:05 am

Of course, it may all be determined by controlled roll-outs. It may be down to the economics of pacing the releases to maximise the returns, rather than release a product with all the technology included.
Just progressively feed us enough to get us to buy the next model, with small improvements along the way. A bit like new car design, I suppose!

Purusha · Post by **Purusha** » Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:05 pm

DeltaJockey wrote:I reckon it'd be great if Korg came out with a drop in motherboard replacement we could buy for our existing Kronos, which is 64bit, heaps of RAM etc.

Yep - I've been hoping that Korg would take that kind of approach for a few years. They could spin it as an environmental approach too!

mikeyd · Post by **mikeyd** » Tue Jan 16, 2018 3:28 pm

We can continue to be reminded that the KRONOS is 6+ years old but it’s still a great keyboard and I get compliments all the time on how good it sounds and so far it’s been solid. A new OS update would be just fine with me. There has been no other keyboard/workstation supported like the KRONOS. So whatever happens at NAMM or beyond I believe it’s still worth the money today.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Tue Jan 16, 2018 3:48 pm

Purusha wrote:
DeltaJockey wrote:I reckon it'd be great if Korg came out with a drop in motherboard replacement we could buy for our existing Kronos, which is 64bit, heaps of RAM etc.
Yep - I've been hoping that Korg would take that kind of approach for a few years. They could spin it as an environmental approach too!

these electronic cos are very slow to change their approach. I think Korg is mostly invested in big bang new products plus IOS products. Thats what I observed in 2017.

That said I am very curious about their 2018 strategy. Since Korg holds its plans tightly to the chest, there are no clues today. I am looking at NAMM to see what they direction is. I also think Korg is an innovative company not a ' me too ' company.

As a Kronos owner, an incremental (low cost) improvement to the aging Kronos would be nice.

I am not much for looking backwards or being satisfied with the status quo. Status quo for $3000 does not seem that exciting for me. Plus the marketplace is fluid, it does move forward whether we agree or not. Tech has clearly been our good friend IMO, even with some missteps.

kronoSphere · Post by **kronoSphere** » Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:37 pm

Korg should add to the Kronos a new button: It would be called "the crazy touch" and we would never know what would come out of our kronos at that moment ! Let's get it now !

kronoSphere · Post by **kronoSphere** » Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:53 pm

ADDENDUM : I think more seriously that this kind of "random" button will be a clever musical thing : Every time we push this button every time a random sound commes out, and after that we could have the freedom and opportunity to save this sound. It could be a weird sound or not. But this random, this hazard is a precious thing for any musician's creativity

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Tue Jan 16, 2018 5:54 pm

kronoSphere wrote:Korg should add to the Kronos a new button: It would be called "the crazy touch" and we would never know what would come out of our kronos at that moment ! Let's get it now !

I was thinking 2 buttons:

" Pop Hit "

" Not a Pop Hit "

SeedyLee · Post by **SeedyLee** » Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:44 am

kronoSphere wrote:Korg should add to the Kronos a new button: It would be called "the crazy touch" and we would never know what would come out of our kronos at that moment ! Let's get it now !

Isn't that already there? It's labeled KARMA?

ng_friend · Post by **ng_friend** » Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:43 am

On the topic of NAMM, is there any speculation if Korg will actually release a successor or refresh to the Kronos this year? I've been wanting to trade in my Krome for a new Kronos, which I was thinking of doing this week, but not sure if I should wait till after NAMM.

mikeyd · Post by **mikeyd** » Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:13 pm

ng:

NAMM is next week so probably waiting a week won’t kill you

But if KORG doesn’t release anything for KRONOS or a new version you’ve still won. There is still nothing to rival the KRONOS out there.

ng_friend · Post by **ng_friend** » Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:40 pm

mikeyd wrote:ng:

NAMM is next week so probably waiting a week won’t kill you

But if KORG doesn’t release anything for KRONOS or a new version you’ve still won. There is still nothing to rival the KRONOS out there.

I think I'd be perfectly happy with the Kronos2, but at the same time, I don't want to miss out if Korg is about to drop a Kronos3 or something new. I might as well then begrudgingly attempt to exercise patience till NAMM.

mikeyd · Post by **mikeyd** » Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:04 pm

ng...totally understand! Deep breaths

SeedyLee · Post by **SeedyLee** » Thu Jan 18, 2018 8:15 am

Well, doesn't look like Korg are unveiling a radical new workstation at this year's NAMM, though there are some cool products nonetheless (and only 38% of them are tuners!).

prologue   POLYPHONIC ANALOGUE SYNTHESIZER
volca mix    ANALOGUE PERFORMANCE MIXER
D1 DIGITAL PIANO
ARP ODYSSEY FSQ DUOPHONIC SYNTHESIZER
KR-55 Pro KORG RHYTHM
KONNECT PORTABLE STEREO PA SYSTEM
KDM-3 DIGITAL METRONOME
AW-OTG-POLY / AW-OTB-POLY POLYPHONIC CLIP-ON TUNER
AW-OTG / AW-OTB CLIP-ON TUNER
CA-50 CHROMATIC TUNER
GA-50   GUITAR/BASS TUNER
Pitchblack Advance MG PEDAL TUNER
KORG Gadget for Nintendo Switch MUSIC PRODUCTION STUDIO

ng_friend · Post by **ng_friend** » Thu Jan 18, 2018 8:35 am

SeedyLee wrote:Well, doesn't look like Korg are unveiling a radical new workstation at this year's NAMM, though there are some cool products nonetheless (and only 38% of them are tuners!).

prologue   POLYPHONIC ANALOGUE SYNTHESIZER
volca mix    ANALOGUE PERFORMANCE MIXER
D1 DIGITAL PIANO
ARP ODYSSEY FSQ DUOPHONIC SYNTHESIZER
KR-55 Pro KORG RHYTHM
KONNECT PORTABLE STEREO PA SYSTEM
KDM-3 DIGITAL METRONOME
AW-OTG-POLY / AW-OTB-POLY POLYPHONIC CLIP-ON TUNER
AW-OTG / AW-OTB CLIP-ON TUNER
CA-50 CHROMATIC TUNER
GA-50   GUITAR/BASS TUNER
Pitchblack Advance MG PEDAL TUNER
KORG Gadget for Nintendo Switch MUSIC PRODUCTION STUDIO

That explains why I saw a ton of chatter on the Prologue today. Is this their full list for NAMM this year, or is there still a chance they are keeping some things under wraps until the show actually begins?