Whats not at NAMM?

[JPROBERTLA]

This post is an observation on my part and not meant to start any kind of a rant. It might however explain some things and calm some nerves.

Unless Roland, Yamaha or Kurzweil are really holding back (which I seriously doubt considering we're 2 days in to NAMM) there is nothing else, in one platform, with the capabilities and capacities of the Kronos. This leads me to believe is that Korg is significantly ahead of the competition in terms of keyboard development and evolution; and is the "innovator" of this kind of equipment.

This does not mean that current Roland, Yamaha and Kurzweil keyboards aren't good; but it does beg the question as to where they are with keyboard development, innovation and evolution. The Kronos was announced 1 year ago and was delivered about 6 months ago. It seems to me that if any of the other manufacturers had something really new in development and close to completion, we would have seen it by now.

Yes the Kronos has teething problems and yes we are yet to receive the editor (although this is probably a non-issue to many owners); but for those of you, like me, that were waiting for and believed the Kronos was the next evolutionary step, and bought one, should feel better about not waiting for an option, because there isn't one.

Some on this forum have questioned and doubted Korg's viability and future because they are a smaller company and have a limited product line. That said, the Kronos proves that Korg is looking ahead, moving forward and committed to being the best at what they do. They took a chance and bet the farm on the Kronos; I can't imagine them believing they can continue to be viable if they don't follow through and make it right for those that bet the farm with them. I must admit I am a bit mystified about their product information and communication protocol. But it might just be a cultural thing; this is after all a Japanese company - although that is no excuse!

I have no regrets with my decision and would make the same if I had it to do over again. Korg has to make this right - I believe their existence and relevance depends on it.

[michelkeijzers]

Yes it seems by changing the game it means the competition is now really behind.

Of course this is good (for Korg) and currently also good for customers, since we can have such a great synth, however in the long run some competition is always good (sorry Korg).

I hope Korg will have the 'need' or the wish to continue developing synths in the future.

[kid_nepro_2002]

Yes the Kronos has teething problems and yes we are yet to receive the editor (although this is probably a non-issue to many owners); but for those of you, like me, that were waiting for and believed the Kronos was the next evolutionary step, and bought one, should feel better about not waiting for an option, because there isn't one.

Well said. That's right, when you buy a cutting edge product like Kronos, there are bound to be some problems while the bugs are worked out.

I've been dealing with this since I bought my first synth - A Prophet 5. I bought a Rev-1 in 1979 (serial number #101) which was the very first Prophet 5 offered for sale to the public. The first 100 were beta machines and taken by employes and friends from Sequential Circuits. It had an amazing sound, but never worked right due to the unreliable SSM oscillator and filter chips installed in it. As soon as the unit heated up it would turn off. Sometimes it came back on, sometimes not. I can't tell you how many times I had to ship it out to Sequential to be repaired, but the staff got to know me so well that they practically gave me a new Prophet 2000 when it was released just to make up for all the problems that I had with the Rev-1!

Good companies will do that. I'm sure Korg is making every effort to deal with the bugs and make things right with Kronos. I think by the time next years NAMM rolls around all these bugs will be a distant memory. We should even have the editor by then too!

[Jan1]

KORG may not be as big as either Roland or Yamaha, but the company has a well established presence from the low end to the high end.

The KRONOS is the result of persistence in realizing a long term vision, especially if you consider that it began with the original OASYS in the nineties.
And in spite of protests of some die-hard fans of other brands, the KRONOS is indeed without any real competition at the moment, and I can only applaude KORG for moving ahead of the pack.

Now, if KORG would only show this stubborn persistence in further developing their Legacy software line...

[Bachus]

Yamaha has a different perception, they stick to the sampleplayer synths, and build workstations around it.

Roland has in recent years toyed with many many forms of Synthesis in their Fantom/V-synth/Jupiter80, but they somehow never put all they can (which is still huge) intoo one instrument, which makes them slowly slide away from the top of the Workstation market.

Kronos/Oasys is currently the most flexible synth workstation availalbe, but they dont cover certain aspects there is no synth engine for virtuall accoustics, which is a real letdown. KARMA is a tool for creativity, but the sequencer is just outdated.

Still with all these technollogies available there is not a single tool available that has it all, so i am allways forced to have more then one piece of hardware on stage.

[KronosSoundDesigns]

This man can play! Like listening to malmsteen, satriani, and maiden all in one song. WOW! wish i could play keys next to this dude!



<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VLRqj6p5-p ... r_embedded" frameborder="0"></iframe>

[Rocness]

I for one feel that Namm is sending a message to consumers loud and clear
and it's clearly saying to me that the age of the workstation is dead .

You see if your thinking in a old way you may look at Namm and think, where are all the big announcements theres noting exciting there but if you look agin with a open mind you start to see that actually this is one of the best Namms ever .

Just look at Nova music main product page look at the pics of all the Namm gear below , it's mostly smaller instruments with a direct focus on doing something extremely well not everything like workstations try to do.

http://www.novamusik.com/default.aspx

What do the most popular things at namm have in common ?
There all getting smaller and smaller and more efficient .
Germany has been doing that for years already the US is just starting to catch up now. Do to the economy people want there money's worth and nothing says your getting your money's worth more than small efficient and affordable . This is why the Korg Oasys will be priceless in a few years
because you will never see a fine synth like that agin .

This is the age of the ipad , thunderbolt and more focused instruments that does something extremely well and efficient that connects with a DAW .

Workstations may stick around but IMHO a new chapter of instruments are beginning to take over . Time will tell .

[KronosSoundDesigns]

You are definitely correct about most the new gear at the show seeming to have something to do with either plugin Software or ipad apps. Maybe one day a workstation will employ say a more powerfull ipad as its touchscreen interface, and its very heart. Then let you remove it easily to carry with you wherever you go and still use it to lay down material on the go. um um um.....sounds like bread and butter.

Do any of you remember how expensive the syn-clavier was. A studio back in the 80's said it was like 100 grand. Now im not gonna suggest marketing a keyboard that expensive. I think what musicians need is an windows or mac based, all in one full DAW / Keyboard with 1 terabyte of VST plugin expansion room that is expandable by adding new hardrives. And the interface would be touch by also controllable by mouse. The screen would be at least 24" too. This would eliminate the need for all that separate gear in the studio that is.

[BasariStudios]

I think what musicians need is an windows or mac based, all in one full DAW / Keyboard with 1 terabyte of VST plugin expansion room that is expandable by adding new hardrives. And the interface would be touch by also controllable by mouse. The screen would be at least 24" too. This would eliminate the need for all that separate gear in the studio that is.

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... 96&start=0

[JPROBERTLA]

Following the logic of one instrument doing one thing great is actually why we have workstations like the Kronos - people don't want to transport multiple keyboards and/or gear around. In the 70's, at one point I was using 6 keyboards on stage: C3, Rhodes, Clavinet, ARP String Ensemble, Mini-Moog, and a 66 note Diapason acoustic piano. We had a 3-man road crew; one for the PA, one for the drums and guitar amps and one for the keyboards. I am not suggesting that we will ever get back to that again, but that is what it used to take to get it done. Now you can have 1 keyboard do it better than all of those and then some! I doubt if the workstation is dead; maybe the musical equipment marketing people are responding to the depressed world economy and trying to have low price point gear during this depressed time, but the Kronos is selling well despite its teething problems, as are the Yamaha, Roland and Kurzweil workstations. Studio use aside, having a keyboard that can do just about any instrument on the planet is still relevant.

[Rocness]

Good point.
I guess we'll have to wait and see if this iPad thing slows down or not.
The workstation concept I think is great I just don't know if it can continue like in the past . I think for future workstation to continue there must be major integration with a DAW or iPad . I'm talking a 16 channels built in interface is a must plus great control for a affordable price .

Think about this , even the Elektron Monomachine is a workstation similar to kronos because it also has several sound engines and sequencer, a good one at that add a octotrack and a midi keyboard your in buisness maybe not here but to someone some where thats a dream set up . Of couse it won't produce the same sounds as Kronos but still great music non the less.

If I was korg I would not fight against the ipad ,I would use the ipad to make products better and most important , fun .

How about this one ?

What if Apple say's to itself , Hey, everybody in the music production industry loves the iPad, so why not make our own synth called iSynth with iLogic built into the iPad that slides into the Apple isynth keybed controller.

I think that would take out Korg,Roland,and Yamaha at the same time .

[BasariStudios]

I still simply fail to understand how can i use and iPad in my setup or what
its functionalities will be, i still see it as a toy compared to what i have and
use and maybe even a slowdown of my workflow.

[popmann]

The workstation's been dead for like a decade, IMO. That's not new for NAMM 2012 !! The Kronos is an exception to the rule...and honestly-I didn't care that it was a "workstation"--had it been an "SV-2" with the SGX1, EP1, and Cx3 engines, I'd have bought that.

Anyway...the only two things I saw that induced any amount of GAS were:

--Universal Audio Apollo interface. Now if only they'd make the leap into just making it a hardware recorder--hook up hard drive, mouse, monitor. (or maybe JUST iPad!) SO close...

--Waves v9...after years of complaining, they're finally going to work in 64bit DAWs...and they're ditching iLok, to boot. That takes away my two complaints. I use 64bit for big RAM instruments...and when I demo'd them, there was an awful 10-15 sec "checking iLok" delay every time you opened an instance. Absurd. Anyway, now the best sounding vintage plugs won't have either of those issues.

Other than that...I saw nothing of interest.

[padking]

There's a video of the XW-P1 from Casio,
http://www.casiomusicgear.com/home/index.html

Look's good !

If they don't ship in 9 months or charge a
arm for it !

Padking

[jeebustrain]

there's also this video from Sonicstate

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2012/01/ ... -up-close/