What's the reason you DIDN'T buy a Kronos?

MartinHines · Post by **MartinHines** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 10:57 pm

StephenKay wrote: Hi Martin - not quite correct.

Stephen,

Thanks for the correction. Bottom line, it appears changing the font sizes is not an easy modification for Korg to make.

Synthesizedclapping · Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:26 pm

Randelph wrote:
And instead of setting up voices in a matter of minutes like I do on the Stage, a well done Combi can easily take an hour or two.

That's another thing I love about the stage. Also the build quality is phenomenal and all the parts feel great. Solid metal body is great, considering it's also so light. Not to mention clavia has consistent updates to OS and the sample library.

theshinenz · Post by **theshinenz** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 12:26 am

I tried the NS2 while I was at the music store the other day, I also tried Kronos and JP80. Kronos and JP80 sounded good in almost all areas. The NS2 has nice Organs, Piano and EP's but the rest of it was underwhelming, the samples sounded thin and no punch to them. Some synth sounds were ok but nothing memorable thats for sure. I walked away thinking I was glad i tried it but its definately not I'm my wanted list.

Which also leads me to the conclusion that if you want the Nord sound just get an electro because the other sounds just aren't up to scratch yet. Maybe in a few generations they will lift their game on sounds other than organ/ep/piano.

bousfieldj · Post by **bousfieldj** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 12:47 am

Synthesizedclapping wrote:
Randelph wrote:
And instead of setting up voices in a matter of minutes like I do on the Stage, a well done Combi can easily take an hour or two.

That's another thing I love about the stage. Also the build quality is phenomenal and all the parts feel great. Solid metal body is great, considering it's also so light. Not to mention clavia has consistent updates to OS and the sample library.

I agree with the comment about build. The NS2 is built like a tank and the end caps are wood with marine grade varnish. Very hard and resistent to scratches. Very roadworthy.

I don't agree tho that setting up combis in the Kronos takes hours.

I have done about 30 of them so far on the Kronos for live performance. Including ones that control external vsts. It only take a few minutes once you learn your way around the menus. There are some advanced features related to karma and drum tracks I haven't delved into yet, but basic combis with layers and external midi control ( which is all the Nord can do ) are easy. It's also easy to assign the controllers that you want for real time control like eq and effects.

And here it the good part. Once they are done I just copy them to the set list. I play in multiple bands and I have different set lists for each - complete with comments and performance notes. I also have sets lists just for cool programs and combis that I find while playing thru the factory sets. Just select "copy to set list" when you find something interesting so you can come back to it later.

I used to have handwritten notes taped to my keyboard with song order and performance notes and I had to redo it every time our set lists changed. Now I have it all consolidated in set lists in the Kronos.

Sweet.....

Synthesizedclapping · Post by **Synthesizedclapping** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:07 am

theshinenz wrote:I tried the NS2 while I was at the music store the other day, I also tried Kronos and JP80. Kronos and JP80 sounded good in almost all areas. The NS2 has nice Organs, Piano and EP's but the rest of it was underwhelming, the samples sounded thin and no punch to them. Some synth sounds were ok but nothing memorable thats for sure. I walked away thinking I was glad i tried it but its definately not I'm my wanted list.

Which also leads me to the conclusion that if you want the Nord sound just get an electro because the other sounds just aren't up to scratch yet. Maybe in a few generations they will lift their game on sounds other than organ/ep/piano.

The thing is, the nord stage synth section, as basic as it is, compliments the rest. The electro 3 is mono-timbral, so its uses as a solo keyboard are very small. The ability to morph and combine the three sections of the stage is very useful.

The synth section is useful not because I'm going to be using it to play leads and massive synth parts, but it's great for simple textures and adding a little more backbone to a program. And if you need it, it's there.

The reasons I prefer the stage

1. User interface is gorgeous and instantaneous
2. Build Quality- probably the biggest. I need something that will last and be a lifelong(-ish) keyboard. Kronos gives me doubts.
3. Sample library. I'm kinda a sucker for birds sample library and to be able to mix it with organs and pianos is great, and mangling it in the synth section will be much fun
4. The morph function. I love it. Amazing for live.
5. Programming in a band context is much quicker than on a Kronos and musical ideas are not lost while searching for a sound

Now I'm highly aware of the limitations of te stage, and for me I think getting around them will force me to be creative rather than be overwhelmed. I just feel, that FOR ME, the nord stage 2 is a better option.

Davidb · Post by **Davidb** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:54 am

Shakil wrote:
1. No full program editing UI in sequencer and combi mode.
2. No drums kit editing in sequencer and combi mode.
3. Not able to change tracks while recording in loop.
4. No real-time audio time stretch.

+1

blinkofanI · Post by **blinkofanI** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 3:43 am

Just tried the K today and i don't think Korg will have me as a customer this time around. I totally understand the workstation workflow people here like so much, i've used Korg workstations for the last 20 years(M1, 01/W, Trinity and TritonEX). But i don't see myself programming this thing for hours with that display. I had so much trouble selecting things, it would get on my nerves real fast. Thinking of the amount of time i like to take to program and refine a sound or combi, i know i would get tired quickly. And that data wheel really doesn't give me confidence in the long run.

Sound-wise, while this mix of engines is very powerful, i wasn't overwhelmed that much. It's definately a big advance in workstation design, but i wouldn't trade my MainStage rig for this synth in a million years. I'll have to give it another try someday, but right now, i left the store a bit disappointed.

But i don't think anyone can put a final conclusion on such a short amount of time playing with it. I'm really not into these one man band Combis, even though i have a lot of respect for the people programming it and all that crazy Karma stuff by S. kay. So, who knows, i might be a Kronos owner in some months and really feel like an a$$ having wrote this.

Blink

CfNorENa · Post by **CfNorENa** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:00 am

blinkofanI wrote:Just tried the K today and i don't think Korg will have me as a customer this time around. I totally understand the workstation workflow people here like so much, i've used Korg workstations for the last 20 years(M1, 01/W, Trinity and TritonEX). But i don't see myself programming this thing for hours with that display. I had so much trouble selecting things, it would get on my nerves real fast. Thinking of the amount of time i like to take to program and refine a sound or combi, i know i would get tired quickly. And that data wheel really doesn't give me confidence in the long run.

Sound-wise, while this mix of engines is very powerful, i wasn't overwhelmed that much. It's definately a big advance in workstation design, but i wouldn't trade my MainStage rig for this synth in a million years. I'll have to give it another try someday, but right now, i left the store a bit disappointed.

But i don't think anyone can put a final conclusion on such a short amount of time playing with it. I'm really not into these one man band Combis, even though i have a lot of respect for the people programming it and all that crazy Karma stuff by S. kay. So, who knows, i might be a Kronos owner in some months and really feel like an a$$ having wrote this.

Blink

Amazing -- I also tried it today for the first time, and came away with the same impression (and like you, I'm a long time Korg worstation user: M1, 01/W, M50). I played for about an hour, with nice headphones, and probably ran through about 30-40 programs and 10-15 combis (a miniscule percentage, I know, but enough to get a feel). Everything I played sounded a bit better, but not leaps and bounds better, than my old M50 (the obvious exception being the acoustic pianos, which were, in fact, leaps and bounds better).

I had no problem with the vector joystick, and the data wheel, though remarkably cheap, would only qualify for me as a minor niggle. But I was more or less shocked by the screen's visibility and font size. I had read all the discussion about this, but was frankly unprepared for how miniscule the fonts were, and how, when sitting in a normal playing position, the resolution diminished noticeably (had to lean forward a few inches in order to see it clearly). I'll have to give it another try, but this could well be a deal-breaker for me.

I'm prepared to spend around $4K on my next big purchase. I'm now seriously considering a used M3-88 and some other nice stuff (new SEM, perhaps, and maybe some more FX) instead of a new Kronos 88...

Chriskk · Post by **Chriskk** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:20 pm

I had read all the discussion about this, but was frankly unprepared for how miniscule the fonts were, and how, when sitting in a normal playing position, the resolution diminished noticeably

This is the biggest reason why I didn't buy one. Hopefully, Korg will rethink about how information is displayed on the screen on the Kronos Ex, which I bet will come out in a year or two.

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:28 pm

Chriskk wrote:
I had read all the discussion about this, but was frankly unprepared for how miniscule the fonts were, and how, when sitting in a normal playing position, the resolution diminished noticeably
This is the biggest reason why I didn't buy one. Hopefully, Korg will rethink about how information is displayed on the screen on the Kronos Ex, which I bet will come out in a year or two.

Hopefully for long time editing the Kronos Editor that will be launched probably soon will solve this problem. On the other hand, mostly I make my combis on the synth itself (not Kronos yet).

rrricky rrrecordo · Post by **rrricky rrrecordo** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:31 pm

blinkofanI wrote:...but i wouldn't trade my MainStage rig for this synth in a million years.

Ditto.

RonF · Post by **RonF** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:45 pm

michelkeijzers wrote: Hopefully for long time editing the Kronos Editor that will be launched probably soon will solve this problem.

Exactly right...and I am guessing this was at least a *part* of the rationalization that Korg made to themselves when making decisions about which screen components to use in the K. Ok...the editor is not out yet....early adopters sometimes have to wait a bit....that's nothing so new.

Chriskk · Post by **Chriskk** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 6:51 pm

I hope the Kronos editor is scalable although I wouldn't bet on it. If not, the Zoom feature will come in handy.

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:00 pm

Chriskk wrote:I hope the Kronos editor is scalable although I wouldn't bet on it. If not, the Zoom feature will come in handy.

To make a program zoomable is quite some work (at least to do it well). For very widely spread apps it is done, so I don't expect it for the Kronos Editor. But you can always lower the resolution of your monitor.

Chriskk · Post by **Chriskk** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:03 pm

So, are you saying that Mac OS X zoom function may not work on the Kronos editor?