So angry with my New Kronos X

[Antoine8]

So not sure if this has anything to do with the recent update to the new software 3.0 but when working exclusively in sequencer mode, midi step recording the darn thing keeps freezing on me.
4 times in a row tonight and I had to turn the damn thing off each time.

Has anyone else experiences issues of freezing when working in the sequencer, midi step recording?

I am thinking of going back to original software as it never happened in the original software it shipped with.
So disappointing, guess the new sound pack I purchased which only works on the new software was a waste of money.
Sorry but I do allot work in midi step mode and to have it freeze annoys the hell out me

[StephenKay]

What you need to do is try to come up with a repeatable series of steps that causes it to freeze, so that Korg and others can see if they can duplicate your issue. That's the only way that it can be identified and fixed.

[JPROBERTLA]

I work about 95% in sequence mode. I have experienced this many times with both my original Kronos and now my Kronos 2. The problem occurs for me, when you complete and edit and press done. I have spoken to Korg technical service about this problem and have sent SNG files to them to experiment with. What they finally advised me to do is: when you reboot after a freeze, load a SMF and let it play for a few seconds and then re-load the sequence that you were working on and resume editing. This has worked so far. They cannot, or will not, tell me what causes it but this work-around works.

This problem occurs (for me) either after many edits and/or if the sequencer has a lot of songs loaded in it. When I am editing, I try to keep only one song in the sequencer; this certainly seems to help. I believe the sequencer just can't handle multiple edits when it is loaded up and somehow the file gets corrupted. Save often is also a recommended precaution so that any work completed successfully is not lost.

Hope this helps.

[Antoine8]

It seems odd that Korg has not fixed this issue considering how serious it is.

Sounds like I am not the only person this has happens to.

How can you sell a product with such a flaw? I am so annoyed with Korg right now.
I would have never purchased this damn thing had I known the darn sequencer freezes. WTF????? I own quite a bit of gear and have never experienced such issues. The sequencer on a workstation is fundamental, yet it freezes...lol what a joke

Thanks for the replies.
Does anyone know a work around other then turning it off when it freezes?

[StephenKay]

Does anyone know a work around other then turning it off when it freezes?

Read the message right above your last one.

[DJ Kronos]

...
What they finally advised me to do is: when you reboot after a freeze, load a SMF and let it play for a few seconds and then re-load the sequence that you were working on and resume editing. This has worked so far. They cannot, or will not, tell me what causes it but this work-around works.
...

I am still new to the Kronos and am familiar with .PCG, .SNG, .KSC, and .KGE extensions. What is an SMF?

I experienced a repeatable crash of the sequencer on only my second attempt to use it after purchasing the Kronos, and it wasn't in step mode. I simply copied a combi using the two-button method, recorded something and stopped. Apparently, the transfer was corrupt from the beginning and the song crashes regularly but unpredictably when I press the start/stop button. It's in the .sng file can can be reproduced anytime that file is loaded.

I've also found another bug (?) on my very first attempt to make changes to a program. I intend to post for help on that when I can type up an articulate explanation.

I still love this keyboard and the sounds are inspiring, but truthfully, these two experiences have greatly shaken my confidence in the board and I find myself very hesitant to record anything anymore -- and that's a shame, since one of the reasons I bought it was to be able to capture inspiration quickly without fussing with DAW software and connection issues, and thus losing my "muse."

Given the responses in this thread, I really hope and think that Korg should make fixing these sequencer issues a top priority for future firmware/software releases.

Please, Korg.

[SeedyLee]

I have experienced a couple of complete freezes when using the step recorder in the sequencer since 3.0.2, however didn't give it a tremendous amount of thought. That being said, there is one case where I lost my work as a consequence.

I agree that the stability of the sequencer in particular has declined with the release of 3.0.2, which is a shame as it's my main recording tool.

Best bet is to see if you can cajole the Kronos into freezing again when using the step recorder, and send Korg support a description of what led to the crash.

[Antoine8]

I have experienced a couple of complete freezes when using the step recorder in the sequencer since 3.0.2, however didn't give it a tremendous amount of thought. That being said, there is one case where I lost my work as a consequence.

I agree that the stability of the sequencer in particular has declined with the release of 3.0.2, which is a shame as it's my main recording tool.

Best bet is to see if you can cajole the Kronos into freezing again when using the step recorder, and send Korg support a description of what led to the crash.

Sorry but I use allot of gear and for Korg to release a flagship product like this is really poor if you ask me.
Its simply not good enough considering what you pay for the Kronos and Its bitterly disappointing.
I will have no choice but to revert to the original software it shipped with and see if it continues to crash.

I certainly will not be buying anything Korg again, I have sent them 3 emails for support and I have not even got an email back. Pfff I feel like talking the thing back now.

Yes I love how the keyboard feels and I like the sound but this continuous issue has totally turned me off.

A workstation with a sequencer that crashes, what good is that Dear Korg?

And I am not the only one who has experienced this it seems.

[Antoine8]

...
What they finally advised me to do is: when you reboot after a freeze, load a SMF and let it play for a few seconds and then re-load the sequence that you were working on and resume editing. This has worked so far. They cannot, or will not, tell me what causes it but this work-around works.
...

I am still new to the Kronos and am familiar with .PCG, .SNG, .KSC, and .KGE extensions. What is an SMF?

I experienced a repeatable crash of the sequencer on only my second attempt to use it after purchasing the Kronos, and it wasn't in step mode. I simply copied a combi using the two-button method, recorded something and stopped. Apparently, the transfer was corrupt from the beginning and the song crashes regularly but unpredictably when I press the start/stop button. It's in the .sng file can can be reproduced anytime that file is loaded.

I've also found another bug (?) on my very first attempt to make changes to a program. I intend to post for help on that when I can type up an articulate explanation.

I still love this keyboard and the sounds are inspiring, but truthfully, these two experiences have greatly shaken my confidence in the board and I find myself very hesitant to record anything anymore -- and that's a shame, since one of the reasons I bought it was to be able to capture inspiration quickly without fussing with DAW software and connection issues, and thus losing my "muse."

Given the responses in this thread, I really hope and think that Korg should make fixing these sequencer issues a top priority for future firmware/software releases.

Please, Korg.

SMF Standard Midi File I guess, but not sure how loading a midi file is going to stop the sequencer from crashing.

Maybe the other poster can give us more detail around this.

[Antoine8]

Here we go folks, look at all these threads talking about the corrupt Korg Sequencer, notice the word FREEZING.

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... ce82a1e354

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... 7e6444b062

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... 58c7f658f3

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... 7b9a35b99b

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... 1e9112ec38

[SeedyLee]

Whilst it's disappointing that the Kronos has exhibited this behaviour, and I can certainly understand your annoyance, it's important to keep some perspective and remember that all non-trivial software systems have bugs. Some of the threads you linked to are four years old - seven threads across four years and thousands of users isn't too bad!

I personally have experienced the occasional sequencer freeze on the Kronos (one of the threads you linked to above I started) but as a point of comparison I have experienced this much less frequently than I have with say, Cubase on Windows.

Korg are generally very responsive about resolving bugs, the volume of OS upgrades released since the launch of the Kronos is testament to that. In those same threads you linked to above, you will see Korg employees and affiliates trying to help diagnose the issue. However, to aid remediation of the problem, it's important to get the right information to the right support personnel.

Also, Korg allow you to downgrade the OS at your discretion. Whilst 3.0.2 offered a lot of new features and improvements, if it's causing you problems it might be worth downgrading to 2.x until the next OS update is released.

[SeedyLee]

I own quite a bit of gear and have never experienced such issues. The sequencer on a workstation is fundamental, yet it freezes...lol what a joke

Well, don't buy a Yamaha Motif then:

http://www.motifator.com/index.php/foru ... ad/459791/
http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=222865

And Cubase is totally out of the question:

https://www.steinberg.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=53546
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-c ... shing.html

I do understand your frustration - the Kronos Sequencer is the heart of my studio - but this is a forum of users in the same boat as you! All we can do is help Korg identify and resolve the issue in the next firmware update.

[DJ Kronos]

Whilst it's disappointing that the Kronos has exhibited this behaviour, and I can certainly understand your annoyance, it's important to keep some perspective and remember that all non-trivial software systems have bugs. Some of the threads you linked to are four years old - seven threads across four years and thousands of users isn't too bad!
...

It's interesting how different people can take away different views from the same data. I would argue that if the problem has been ongoing for four years that Korg should have addressed it by now. In addition, it's more than likely that like many consumer complaints (about anything), the vocal ones are the tip of the iceberg and each case represents many more who have had the same problem but have never posted here or whose threads don't show up in that search. Mine isn't there. How many non-members have had this happen?

I don't see it as a minor problem. This unit is sold as a workstation. If all I wanted was a synth, that could have been had for a lot less money. The integration of sampling and multi-track sequencing and recording are central to what this keyboard does.

For example: I own a Yamaha Motix ES rack. The rack lacks all of the sampling and sequencing that the Motif ES had, as well as the Vocoder. The keyboard was much more expensive, not only because of the keybed but because of those features which elevated it from being just a synth to being a complete workstation.

The same applies to the Kronos, IMHO.

There is no doubt that the Yamaha in your link, Cubase and other complex software and firmware have had their share of problems. It's the lack of response and resolution from Korg that is really the issue.

[SanderXpander]

My Kronos has never frozen like that. Once I came back after I'd left it on and it said a problem had occurred and it needed to be rebooted. And I've had loose RAM but that was an obvious and fixable issue.

To be honest I don't really use the sequencer. I feel for your problems though, it's not good to spend so much money and have equipment malfunction. Reproducibility is really the key though. Contact Korg support with your specific steps. See if you can get it to happen on another Kronos.

On the whole, freezing hasn't been an issue for me and not for most people on here I think. If yours does it regularly, it's either a pretty specific bug that they'll hopefully fix or you can work around, or something is wrong with your individual Kronos.

[SeedyLee]

Don't get me wrong: bugs annoy me as much as the next guy and I would love for nothing more than the Kronos to be flawless. I can totally empathise with the original poster's frustration!

But in my opinion, Korg are one of the most responsible manufacturers for fixing bugs over the life of a product. I do have faith that, if they are made aware of the issue with useful supporting evidence, they will do their utmost to fix it.

I use the Kronos sequencer heavily, and in four years I think i've maybe had four crashes, two of them on 3.0.2. I don't think that's bad at all compared to many other products I own.