Kronos X 88 sold out

[william olson]

I am cracking up with laughter as this thread evolves.I LOVE this forum for all the great people that are in it.Nice to have some humor at times ?Our are you really serious?

[LivePsy]

I stopped believing when the store said the motherboard was discontinued so the Kronos is discontinued too. Right.

B

[BSV73]

Sorry guys I'm going to have to chime in here..

IF new hardware is on the way, (which would make sense since the K is getting on in keyboard years) it is good news. I would just hope that the existing os/sound engines are used and any improvements or additions to these are backwards compatible with the original Kronos. Even if for a a fee. There is a growing library of user and official programs, combis, samples etc that backwards compatibility would be a major selling point (at least in my opinion)

Faster boot up time, a lighter more compact case, improvements to EP-1, some new sample libraries and even the addition of some synths out of the legacy collection would be really cool.

And of course some improvements to the kronos os.

[muttleysat]

In Itally the product is available in 2-4 days

http://www.strumentimusicali.net/produc ... -x-88.html

[Oldretro]

That's how it starts. At first only a few stores don't have them because they have none in inventory and can't order any new ones. As each store depletes its inventory they in turn drop it from their listings.

This is a good thing. Maybe the next incarnation of the OASYS/Kronos will have a better touch screen interface and some more new engines. A 73 key semi-weighted keybed is also in order.

(But don't count on a sequencer update)

smaller distributors in the above countries ( Denmark, Germany) probably don't carry any inventory. Thus , when they decide today to order 1 or 2 from japan, they find that the X88 is on ' allocation '. IOW, they are on the bottom of the list, since they don't invest in inventory. On the other hand, if a large US retailer wanted 4 new X88's, they will get them.

The allocation game is played by all the electronics mfgr's. Its a pecking order to favor the bigger markets. Its not democratic. I worked for Sony for 9 years. I bet Korg has a similar allocation system.

A case of "The ones with the biggest wallets rule" perhaps? I don'think manufacturers write off products that still sell well, as I think is still the case with the entire Kronos line.

[GregC]

That's how it starts. At first only a few stores don't have them because they have none in inventory and can't order any new ones. As each store depletes its inventory they in turn drop it from their listings.

This is a good thing. Maybe the next incarnation of the OASYS/Kronos will have a better touch screen interface and some more new engines. A 73 key semi-weighted keybed is also in order.

(But don't count on a sequencer update)

smaller distributors in the above countries ( Denmark, Germany) probably don't carry any inventory. Thus , when they decide today to order 1 or 2 from japan, they find that the X88 is on ' allocation '. IOW, they are on the bottom of the list, since they don't invest in inventory. On the other hand, if a large US retailer wanted 4 new X88's, they will get them.

The allocation game is played by all the electronics mfgr's. Its a pecking order to favor the bigger markets. Its not democratic. I worked for Sony for 9 years. I bet Korg has a similar allocation system.

A case of "The ones with the biggest wallets rule" perhaps? I don'think manufacturers write off products that still sell well, as I think is still the case with the entire Kronos line.

I agree, I also think the Kronos X 88 is a strong seller. As a result, and since the Kronos X 88 cannot be mass produced in large quantities at a flip of a switch , there might be some country shortages on the 88. Thats why electronics cos like Sony and Korg have an ' allocation ' system that works and controls shippable inventory on a monthly basis. Demand is a little stronger than expected, thus the ' pecking order '.

[SanderXpander]

Agreed, the only thing that confuses me is that Thomann doesn't list it anymore, as they're (one of?) the biggest shops in Europe and one of the few that actually routinely delivers throughout Europe.

[GregC]

Agreed, the only thing that confuses me is that Thomann doesn't list it anymore, as they're (one of?) the biggest shops in Europe and one of the few that actually routinely delivers throughout Europe.

they could have moved thru their X88 inventory quicker than they planned. They probably think they don't need to list or advertise it further.


In my days the ' allocation ' system could be used to suggest to dealers not to sell greatly below MSRP. IOW, keep the price stable since there isn't any magic factory around to crank out a large qty of a hot selling, complex product.

From my experience, there were dealers that sold out based on needing immediate cash flow. Thus they gave away a lot of potential profit and would not plan for any long term. This is all behind the scenes stuff

[SanderXpander]

Your first two sentences are in direct contradiction of each other. If it sold that well, why on earth would they remove it from their web store?

But meh, I appreciate that a lot of it is guess work. Seems like we won't know anything until Korg makes a statement.

[Virko]

Im in progress of buying Kronos..now Im wondering should I wait a couple of months more because if the Korg launch new model Kronos prices should drop or?

[Broadwave]

Im in progress of buying Kronos..now Im wondering should I wait a couple of months more because if the Korg launch new model Kronos prices should drop or?

I doubt if anything new (if there is anything new!) will be announced before NAMM (July), and then there will be a delay before production hits the stores. I remember it took 6 months before the Kronos was available after Winter NAMM 2011.

You may be waiting until early 2015.

[Bald Eagle]

Im in progress of buying Kronos..now Im wondering should I wait a couple of months more because if the Korg launch new model Kronos prices should drop or?

I doubt if anything new (if there is anything new!) will be announced before NAMM (July), and then there will be a delay before production hits the stores. I remember it took 6 months before the Kronos was available after Winter NAMM 2011.

You may be waiting until early 2015.

If I remember correctly the availability of the OASYS starting to thin out in the fall of 2008. I was going to purchase the 76 at that time but Sweetwater was out of stock and could not get any more. No announcements or statements were made until January 2011 when the Kronos was unveiled. So it could be some time before the Kronos successor comes along although I'm hoping for something soon.

[SanderXpander]

Considering the volume sold (especially compared to the O) I would be surprised if they left such a large gap.

[phil55]

Im in progress of buying Kronos..now Im wondering should I wait a couple of months more because if the Korg launch new model Kronos prices should drop or?

I bought a second hand Kronos 73 for $1000. It has been checked over and the fan replaced and my K73 working 100% as far as I can tell.

My point being if you know what issues to look out for, a bargain can be had right now.

[Cyrano]

S&OP is a complex process, and even more complex when third parties are involved

Purchasing raw material, planning batches production (lines and manpower allocation), planning for supply...

Backorders can happens, especially if a product has been more successful than foreseen...