Big news from Korg

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Thu May 10, 2018 11:33 am

franksaraceno@msn.com wrote:Bit off topic - but there's only one software release in past 2 years since I bought my Kronos 2. Korg hyped this iteration of kronos as a progressive worksatation that can grow with software updates. Guess What, Nothing from Korg cause their too busy making ipad apps. They screwed us once again. DAW integration is non existent. And they will rebrand the kronos one day and once again make our investment worthless. Funny they were right about one thing - this is the last workstation I'll ever buy.

Korg' probably did make that marketing statement some time ago- 2011. I think its best to carefully analyze, scrutinize and discuss a co's 'marketing' statements. DAW limitations were widely discussed some years ago.

I am not clear when you bought your K2. But this forum is very open for discussion. You could easily google search it and see what 7 year owners say plus what other long time Korg W/s ( Oasys) owners say.

Here in the US there is a sentiment of ' buyer beware'. It applies to everything.

Given all that, and its 7 yr old limitations , the K2 is still an impressive keyboard. IMO, and if I was president of Korg, I would reduce the price due to its design age.

kronoSphere · Post by **kronoSphere** » Thu May 10, 2018 12:01 pm

Yes 7 years old limitations and during those years Windows, the DAWs and most of all the music softwares (plug ins and the others) have considerably evolued. I suggest for the next son of Kronos a drawer with the motherboard and its memory inside to be easily changed each time. We are in 2018 or not ?

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Thu May 10, 2018 1:33 pm

kronoSphere wrote:Yes 7 years old limitations and during those years Windows, the DAWs and most of all the music softwares (plug ins and the others) have considerably evolued. I suggest for the next son of Kronos a drawer with the motherboard and its memory inside to be easily changed each time. We are in 2018 or not ?

last I looked, its 2018

BTW, Korg' has to look forward vs 'just keeping up'. Something tells me Korg' does not want to play in the rear view mirror/computer component game anymore with a w/s.

marc1 · Post by **marc1** » Thu May 10, 2018 3:10 pm

GregC wrote:

Given all that, and its 7 yr old limitations , the K2 is still an impressive keyboard.

Exactly!

kronoSphere wrote:

I suggest for the next son of Kronos a drawer with the motherboard and its memory inside to be easily changed each time. We are in 2018 or not ?

That doesn't make much sense to me. Given the fact that the "unimpressive" Intel Atom inside the Kronos does quite a good job at what it does, just imagine what Korg could implement in a future product. If it's ever going to happen, you probably can expect a processor, which is not just twice but 3 or 4 times as powerful as the current one. And being an imbedded system , the processor inside the Kronos for the most part is just there for music creation, unlike a standart PC.

GregC wrote:

Korg' has to look forward vs 'just keeping up'. Something tells me Korg' does not want to play in the rear view mirror/computer component game anymore with a w/s.

That's what I am thinking. Playing catch up in this fast paced age is exhausting. And I'm glad Korg decided to offer the Oasys/Kronos platform its well deserved longevity.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Thu May 10, 2018 3:42 pm

marc1 wrote:GregC wrote:
Given all that, and its 7 yr old limitations , the K2 is still an impressive keyboard.
Exactly!

kronoSphere wrote:
I suggest for the next son of Kronos a drawer with the motherboard and its memory inside to be easily changed each time. We are in 2018 or not ?
That doesn't make much sense to me. Given the fact that the "unimpressive" Intel Atom inside the Kronos does quite a good job at what it does, just imagine what Korg could implement in a future product. If it's ever going to happen, you probably can expect a processor, which is not just twice but 3 or 4 times as powerful as the current one. And being an imbedded system , the processor inside the Kronos for the most part is just there for music creation, unlike a standart PC.

GregC wrote:
Korg' has to look forward vs 'just keeping up'. Something tells me Korg' does not want to play in the rear view mirror/computer component game anymore with a w/s.
That's what I am thinking. Playing catch up in this fast paced age is exhausting. And I'm glad Korg decided to offer the Oasys/Kronos platform its well deserved longevity.

without a doubt a good 7 yr run for a w/s is impressive. But, ( you knew that was coming), many or some of us experience polyphony problems as we stack
up on the SEQ and run out of FX. That limit is processor related, simply speaking.

Yes, I know, use a DAW. But that is opposite of the ' all in 1 work station '
solution. Or buy a 2nd Kronos. Or buy another type keyboard.

This also underlines how fast software has evolved. Hardware components are bound to have a ' shelf life '.

And as components start to fail, ( buttons, LCD, key felts, other internals) in 3-10 years where will 10,000 Kronos owners go for parts ? To 3rd party speculators on eBay ? None of this sounds like any fun. (I am not one of those
that thinks ' since my 1990 Kronos keyboard still works, my Kronos will last 15-20 yrs).

When I consider all the potential long term issues with relying on components from other cos there is tangible cost risk and questions of availability.

I am not much for sentimental on new product design. For cos like Roland, Korg and Yamaha , its a business, #'s , cold facts, etc.

There is a fair argument against another expensive hardware all in 1 workstation. With the assumption of a required 5 year shelf life.

BTW, keyboard owners are fickle.

If I was president of Korg, I would put my R & D on a hybrid software solution.
And have minimal reliance on outside components. Due to the reasons
stated above.

marc1 · Post by **marc1** » Thu May 10, 2018 4:50 pm

GregC wrote:

But, ( you knew that was coming), many or some of us experience polyphony problems as we stack
up on the SEQ and run out of FX. That limit is processor related, simply speaking.

Oh, I understand this, don't get me wrong. And I never wanted to imply that the Kronos will or should last forever as the be all and end all of workstations. What I actually wanted to convey is, I think everything processor related in terms of computational power, I should add, will probably be a non issue with a future Kronos successor. Technology's not taking baby steps anymore like in the 80ies or 90ies (even early 2000s) and I think Korg is well aware of that fact.

This also underlines how fast software has evolved.

Exactly. A small company like Korg has to take considerable thought into what they're developing. They are observant of the music market with all its trends and developments (of course they are) and they act accordingly.

Hardware components are bound to have a ' shelf life '.

That's the bigger problem, imho, and not just tied to Korg, but the economy in general. Therefore expecting a product, especially electronics, to last longer than 5 or even 10 years is rather daring. It's sad, but...