KRONOS Rack?

apex · Post by **apex** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 10:46 pm

michelkeijzers wrote:Interesting photoshop work
It could probably much cheaper by changing the big display into a small monocolor nontouch display and remove some not strictly necessary knobs. Programming can be done with the editor (later).

no one wants a kronos anything without a touch screen... (or do they?)...

Sina172 · Post by **Sina172** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 2:54 am

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Wed Sep 07, 2011 8:29 am

I wouldn't buy a rack in general since 2 synths is more than enough and setup time would increase with racks... one advantage would be I could only take the rack to/from the rehearsal room.

ix studio · Post by **ix studio** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:13 pm

what i want to know is where everyone puts all these keyboards ? do you sell your old karmas and m3 etc to buy the kronos ? ( and in the process lose use of all your old patches which never load in a new korg synth ) or do you just keep buying keyboards for ever ?

I personally dont have the space , i cant buy kronos until i sell my master keyboard due to space issues ...where does this policy leave me.

The reason no ones buying rack versions is because no ones making them and the reason for that is because all these greedy manufacturers want to keep selling you black and white pieces of plastic over and over again.

I really think this ' no rack ' mentality is not only totally unethical where this already messed up planet is concerned but also loosing people like korg cash.

If korg made a kronos rack now i would buy one.Same goes for

Vsynth gt
Nord wave

I think this policy is aboout forcing people to buy the keyboard version myself as racks are seen as a lost keyboard sale.I think the opposite occurs as these companies are not considering peoples homes have FINITE SPACE.

Why do they lose money on rack versions ? that sounds odd to me , i think theres other reasons and its utterly pathetic that in this day and age to upgrade to a new synthesis device you have to keep buying cheap made keyboards , at what point is this oing to back fire ? i read about how certain luminaries on here say ' dont sell your old karma , dont sell your oasys , dont sell your mo3 - keep them all.......and yeah what buy a bigger house ?

am i missing something here ? am i the only one with a small room who cant fit all these keyboard versions in ?and dont want to be surrounded with keyboards.

I have a 2 u rack that takes up f all space and holds 15 synths and samplers ? is that not more sensible ?

Forget all this balls about how you need these black and white keys to make the synth work properly , you dont and desktop rack versions should be higher priority if any of these companies have any ethics at all about plastics , pollution and this planet.

[quote="cello"]Racks don't sell as well as they used to these days (stated by several people in other threads).

shawnhar · Post by **shawnhar** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:23 pm

The reality is that hardware in general doesn't sell as well as it used to, as a significant portion of the market has moved over to soft synths.

Of that move, studio users (including home studios) have adopted soft synths in greater numbers, while live players are more likely to still be using dedicated hardware. But live players also tend to want actual keyboards, while rack modules were always more popular for studio purposes.

Of course there are exceptions (I, like the previous poster, am primarily a studio user who likes and would buy more rack units if such things were available) but in general I would expect the growth of soft synths to cut into module sales much more deeply than keyboard sales. So it makes sense to me that racks would be the first to go.

EXer · Post by **EXer** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:31 pm

ix studio wrote:I think this policy is aboout forcing people to buy the keyboard version [...] as racks are seen as a lost keyboard sale.

I share that point of view.

I'm particularly upset by the Clavia (Nord) marketing policy. They don't make racks anymore. And their keybeds are crap

.

ix studio · Post by **ix studio** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:40 pm

[quote="shawnhar"]The reality is that hardware in general doesn't sell as well as it used to, as a significant portion of the market has moved over to soft synths.

so do a software version ?

what you have to ask is how much more it costs korg to make the keyboard version over the rack ? i dont imagine its a great amount but then look at the pricing difference.

My big problems simple....this mentality of making each new synth only available as a keyboard version and at the same time totally unable to import or load most of your older models patches = idiocy of the highest order.

Ive heard all the excuses ' its a different engine , its this , its that......

i have a theory that its a policy of ' resell ' and if you keep buying the keyboards in truth your spending a large % of your cash on black and white pieces of plastic over and over as its used as means to warrant such inflated prices i feel.

I guess i am one of those idiots stuck in the middle , i love complex synthesis , i have no urge to look like a twat on stage .....

Korg no longer consider me

shawnhar · Post by **shawnhar** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:47 pm

ix studio wrote:so do a software version ?

Isn't that kinda what Kronos is already?

Seriously though, I find it interesting that Korg dabbled in that market with the Legacy Collection, but since appear to have backed off from a full software approach, instead making this hybrid instrument that is basically a bunch of soft synths, but running on dedicated hardware where they choose all the parts and can carefully optimize everything to work well together.

I can only speculate why they aren't making any more pure soft synths like the Legacy stuff, but I suspect it may not be much fun going into direct head on competition with firms like NI, in a market where price points are usually so low compared to hardware synths.

Also interesting that, just from a glance in these forums, the Legacy Collection forum is full of "why doesn't X work on my Y without Z glitch happening" type posts. Personally I buy hardware synths because I like stuff that just works all the time - soft synths are great for broad sound palette but I find myself spending too much effort fiddling around trying to overcome technical glitches! I can totally understand Korg being shocked by the amount of support calls they got from a software product, and deciding that wasn't a fun market to play in!

fingers109 · Post by **fingers109** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:17 pm

Kronos rack.... The only way forward! 4 keyboards is more than enough. 4 rack modules and I've got space for more...
Surely there are more people with no keyboard space than there are with??
What about all the sequencer type who dont actualy play keys??

mm-pro · Post by **mm-pro** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:20 pm

I would have bought a rack instead of the 73. If they choose to market one, I would add it as a second unit if they didn't make me re-purchase all the libraries.

Regards,

MM

Purusha · Post by **Purusha** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 1:27 pm

I certainly know the problem of lack-of-space due to too many keyboards.

It'd be great if more companies managed to do what Access do with the Virus.

2 differently sized keyboards and a desktop/rack model. Hybrid hardware/software solution which (most of the time) works too!

Phabius · Post by **Phabius** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 3:37 pm

I've had the pleasure to work again with Steve McNally last month, and I asked about the rack version.
Well, I'm gonna get me a second Kronos 61 soon, because as far as he knows, there won't be any rack version

But what I really miss from start is a 76 (yes, 76) semi-weighted keys version!
Kronos 73 is too big and heavy. In this band, I don't play much piano, and the piano parts can be easily played on non weighted keys, so I was left with the 61-key model and a small X50 controlling it for "extra keys"...

Phabius · Post by **Phabius** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 4:02 pm

what i want to know is where everyone puts all these keyboards ? do you sell your old karmas and m3 etc to buy the kronos ? ( and in the process lose use of all your old patches which never load in a new korg synth ) or do you just keep buying keyboards for ever ?

A few years ago, I had more than 25 keyboards here (apart of the racks). It was when softsynths began to sound good. So I've sold most of them and kept the ones which really make a difference, like the Kawai K5000 and its amazing Advanced Additive Synthesis, and the Nord Modular G2X, the most dangerous digital synth on earth with its marvelous modular design. And I still keep my Nord Electro 2 and Nord Stage because of the Hammond sounds (the overdrive in CX-3 does not convince me).
The other synths I had are all inside Kronos now, with the best quality I should expect from Korg, so I'm thinking about getting a second Kronos 61 for live gigs.

guillex · Post by **guillex** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 2:30 am

I WILL BUY IT!!!
Ah, is not available? ups...

Really guys, I don't need the keys, and the pitchbend/modwheel joystic,etc....what for?

Korg should understand that the cheap Kronos, should be a Rack Version, and not a Kronos 50....like the M50.. There ara lot of midi controllers, or other synts/pianos to use it as controller...

I won't buy a Kronos, because I have already enough keys, I just want the Sounds inside the Kronos, not the keys, not the sliders...

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:40 am

I think the Kronos Rack version will not be that much cheaper than the complete Kronos, maybe saves like 300 or 400$ for a Kronos 61.