Which will happen I know!!!! Now onto the topic: Yes I played the Kronos 61 for the 1st time today for about half an hour (with my sick wife sitting by my side!).
I must say that the Kronos is everything that I expected it to be: A truly wonderful next generation instrument from Korg that is very intuitive to use despite it's complexity. Having owned a lot of Korg gear over the years- T3EX, O1WFD, Trinity Plus, Z1, Triton Classic, DW8000, Wavestation AD, Wavestation SR, IX300 (I still have the T3EX and O1WFD!), I felt very comfortable using the Kronos right from the start. I'm thankful that Korg haven't done anything radical by changing their general GUI, sticking to the well known COMBI, PROGRAM, SEQ, etc. modes.
The large 8.5' LCD is awesome. However, I feel that Korg could have made better use of the large LCD with larger characters that can be seen from further away in live performance. I'm visually impaired and found the small fonds displaying programs and combinations off putting and I'm sure that someone with 'normal' vision would feel the same.
I did love the graphics displayed on the LCD reflecting the 9 different synthesis methods and instrument categories. Upon going through some set lists, I too felt that this area could have been presented better with larger characters for naming the set lists as opposed to so much information being presented in those smaller characters! I'd prefer an option where you could have 8 set lists displayed at once with larger graphics as well as the option to stick with the current format of 16 set lists on the LCD.
Hang on, I haven't even mentioned the crux of the instrument itself: All those wonderful sounds. The pianos, EPs, organs and clavs are superb IMHO. They are a big improvement on what's on offer in my Kurzweil PC361 (which itself has some fantastic piano, EP, organ and clav programs). The CX3 emulation IMHO is an improvement on Kurzweil KB3 emulation for organ sounds. I'm not sure what it is but to me, the Korg just sounds 'better'. The pianos and EPs are definitely a step up from the Kuzweil and previous Korg synths such as the Triton and M3. Those 3 analog synth emulations are simply AWESOME! I was much less impressed with the guitar and harpsichord emulations that STR1 was trying to produce. IMHO these were a joke. I'm sure though that a good programmer could do a lot better than what's on offer in the STR1 factory programs. The HD1 acoustic and electric guitars were what I expected from a Korg instrument: in need of a desperate make over and (with the exception of the nylon string guitars that I enjoyed playing). Seriously Korg, smell the cheese and listen to what Yamaha and Roland have been offering for years when it comes to quality acoustic and electric guitar programs! I seriously hope and even pray that Korg will released a dedicated HD expansion to improve this obvious weak area. It's not that the sounds are terrible: The issue is that this quality was available in the early 90s and even the Trinity had better acoustic guitars than what's on offer here! Ok enough about the guitar sounds as this topic has been done to death here at Korg Forums! Lets just hope that Korg do something about this obviously weaker sonic area in the Kronos!
I was pleasantly surprised by the solo and ensemble brass and woodwind instruments. The solo trumpet and different saxes were very musical (and I generally don't like these kind of instruments in a keyboard!). They are a huge step up from Kurzweil's very 90s(!) sounding pop brass programs (although those in their classical bank are great). I liked the strings but I can see Korg augmenting this area with better expansion packs. I was very pleasantly surprised by the vocal/voice programs (both sampled and synthetic). The synth basses, leads and pads were to die for! I also really enjoyed playing the electric and acoustic bass programs but I still think that Yamaha have the leading edge here! Those new drum programs are FANTASTIC and a big step up from previous Korg instruments. My Kurzweil simply can't compare with it's 90s sounding drum programs that are an obvious weakness in 2011!
Now about those combinations: To be honest, I was quite underwhelmed. I was expecting many more combis with affective use of Karma and beats. It seems that may of them were 'me to' layers and splits that didnt really show off the instrument in the same way that the combs did in the Triton and M3. I'm certain that by this stage, I was worrying about getting my sick (and very supportive!) wife home and to bed.
I briefly had a look at the SEQ page and found it to be an enhanced version of that in the Triton serious with all 16 tracks being visible on the 'midi' page and the same being the case on the 'audio' page. Therefore, it's a sequencer that I'd no doubt use when taking the instrument away with me on holiday or gigs as I used the Triton's sequencer extensively when I owned it. It's a pity that Korg have taken powerful features out the Kronos' sequencer which to me has the potential to become the ultimate hardware sequencer. They omitted 'cue lists' that I used all the time in my Triton to construct songs. Most importantly, they've omitted the powerful M3 Xpanded track list and piano roll. Come on Korg, let's hope that the Kronos 2.0 OS will address these limitations.
I picked up the Kronos (obviously being a 61 model). It was light but it felt like a solidly built instrument unlike the M50, MOX6 and other more budget instruments on the market. I found the switches, knobs and sliders to be solid and I didn't have the impression that the instrument was badly built. Even that data knob that everyone's complaining about felt ok to me! The Kronos is a fantastic looking instrument IMHO. I also wish that the LCD was tilted like that on the Trinity or the Roland Fantom X and G series workstations. However, this isn' a makeand break issue!
All in all, I was VERY IMPRESSED with this next generation Korg instrument. I'm keen to see what Korg does with new operating systems, adding extra sequencer features and expanding the Kronos's sound libraries even further. The 1.5 OS is already a big step in the right direction along with all the new expansion packs being released (even if they are pricey!). I don't expect to get expansion sounds for free but I also don't expect to alo be ripped off!
My feelings about the Kronos are very similar to the feelings I experienced when the Trinity was released in 1995 and I played it for the 1st time. Then, I loved the instrument and really wanted to own one but the 32 note polyphony limit really put me off. In 2011, I also really want to own the Kronos and treat it as a 'do everything workstation'. However a 2011 worksation should come with a 1995 era sequencer!
Korg have provided some great OS upgrades for their workstations in the past. Lets hope that the Kronos continues to be supported for many years to come with new and improved features that will enhance the incredible power that is already available as standard in this truly excellent instrument that breaks new ground in what you get 'out of the box' for the money!
Keep supporting this instrument Korg and I'll be the 1st to buy once you update that sequencer and get those average guitar sounds up to date.
I've only lightly scratched the surface with what I've written here. There's so much to the Kronos that it was be a huge shame if Korg decided to abondon it in favour of the 'next best thing' in 12 months time!
