Oasys dead - Replacement??? Kronos???

[NETWORK1]

Thank you.

NETWORK1:
I Don't have time to wait. Got gigs in November, and don't have any decent keys to play on!
I borrowed a Montage 6 from a friend, and I'm trying it right now.
It sounds awfull! Very dull and boring. Nothing inspiring. I keep looking for the great sounds. They're not there!

I need mostly realitic sounds. Pianos (very important), organs, strings, brass, saxes and so on.
It seems like there's only two options at the moment. Kronos and Montage. Kronos is unstable and Montage sounds bad, and got bad midi functions (for connecting another keyboard, doing splits, layers and so on).

Do you know any other options?
I listened to Kurzweil demos on their website. I didn't like them!

Please keep it coming. I really don't know what to do!


Ricky

Hi Ricky
November is less than 4 weeks away,so learning a new board in 4 weeks is STRESS .
Have you tried the GENOS from yamaha ?
its very fast to learn and sounds Realistic, regarding midi implementation
i dont know why youd need it for LIVE events ?
one board is usually enough.

Stability isnt one of kronos/s strong points Long-Term,
especially when combining multiple features together
although it does have some very nice Bass
& piano sounds for recording purposes.

Im not sure but i think the company took a few shortcuts acording to this programmer/engeineer?
Although his custom procedures might UPGRADE the Kronos to function Much Better.

https://marcan.st/2016/06/hacking-and-u ... rg-kronos/

"Software shenanigans

"I’ll skip the rant about Korg violating the GPL. Suffice it to say, they do it in quite a few places, from undisclosed kernel patches to a shim module that re-exports GPL-only symbols as non-GPL to GPLed userspace apps with patches and no source. They make a token effort to distribute the kernel source and incomplete patches in a DVD shipped with the unit, but I digress.

The kernel boots into a stripped-down Linux distribution (RedHat/Fedora based by the looks of it, but with very little of that identity left), with only minimal userspace and init. It then does some basic init, then eventually starts loading kernel modules and starting userspace daemons..............

Yes, 124-bit, not 128-bit, because they have a bug that eats the last nybble of the original 128-bit keys. The three images and their respective mountpoints are:"...........




----------------------------
1.VIDEO POP : https://vimeo.com/album/5005360
2.VIDEO POP : https://vimeo.com/album/4798784
<a href="https://vimeo.com/album/5005360"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/8da48yF.jpg"></a>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/album/5397189"><img src="https://image.ibb.co/coMN8p/meriambanner.jpg"></a>

[Poseidon]

I don't like many things about Korg Kronos.
However I do not regret buying one, and propably would buy again, because there is nothing similar out there.
I think Kronos is great for LIVE, and for studio as a main horse is underpowered.
Another things is if you don't buy it ,you will never have a "whole picture".

[leonh]

You need realistic sounds yes Genos is good but did you think of Korg Grandstage check it out it may be the one you need

https://www.korg.com/uk/products/synthe ... randstage/

[navydave]

I have the Kronos 1. Since 2011. After all the OS updates its been pretty stable. Had to replace the Joystick once. Due to going out of tune issues. Had a couple of lockups due to early software bugs in the early days. Mostly all have been resolved. Once had an error due to a faulty USB stick causing issues. Removed bad stick and problem went away. Had a couple of errors about power cycling too quickly. Re-seated the ram and problem went away. Nothing major though. I do gig with it and it gets moved around alot. Not too bad considering the length of time I've owned it.

[Ricky]

Thank you all for your great feedback.
It helped me a lot making a decision (at least I think I made a decision. Haven't ordered it yet!).

So it have to be the Kronos.
I looked at the GrandStage, but think it's too limited for me.
Also tried Roland RD-2000.
Both are great keyboards, but not exactly what I need at the moment.
If I wanted a stagepiano I would go for a NordStage.

I know the Genos a little. It's an arranger and it has 76 keys.
I need 88 piano action keys at the bottom and 61 synth action keys on the top.
Already got a Tyros 4 for arranger things, and don't think the Genos has so much more to offer.

I'm very disappointed with Montage. Don't know what went wrong for Yamaha, but that's another discussion, in another forum.

Kronos it is. Yes it is. I'm quite sure now... (just trying to convince myself!!!)



Got a couple of questions before I buy it, but I'll start a new thread for that, if that's legal in this forum.

Thanx again.
You have all been a great help.


Best regards

Ricky

[Mike Conway]

Will the Kronos be a good replacement?

Absolutely. Any library you have in the OASYS can play on the Kronos, even 3rd party sounds. Though the screen is smaller and there are less LEDs, the Kronos can load almost 10 times the sounds that the OASYS could.

I'm travelling and gigging with these keyboards, so I really need them to be stable at all times. Also after 5-10 years on the road!

Handle it with kids' gloves, like you would with anything that had a hard drive. As someone said, you might want a more rugged stage piano type, that doesn't use a hard drive.

Did they improve the built quality of the Kronos (2?).

Yes, it is better ventilated, the screen has a better viewing angle, etc.

What kind of problems are you experiencing? Please be honest!

I think everyone gets the occasional (once every few months) freeze. Using a UPS seems to help a lot of people. Other than that, Kronos has been very reliable.

No matter what brand you buy, you should have a light, backup keyboard.


EDIT: Ha! I see you posted your decision, as I was writing this response. I think you're going to love the Kronos.

[danmusician]

I would not call the Kronos unstable. It is a complex machine and as such, it is possible under certain rare circumstances to have things go bonkers. But that is rare.

I have 2 original Kronos 73s that I purchased in 2011. Both are used regularly. I only ever had one issue in performance: a few months after I purchased the first one, it spontaneously restarted in the middle of a song. Fortunately, I wasn’t playing alone and the other musicians covered me. I wasn’t using a UPS at the time and the venue was notorious for electricity issues. Since that time, I always use a UPS and have never had an issue.

I now also own a K2-88 and a K2-61. Obviously, I believe in the platform because I’m heavily invested and keep coming back. The K2-88 is 11 months old. On 3 occasions, it has had an error during startup. It’s always restarted on the second try.

My first K73 is permanently installed at my church. It gets played 1-3 times a week and never has an issue. (It actually survived an accident where my car was totaled. It had a few keys damaged on the right end. I play it with a controller.)

I have the K2-61, the K73 and the K2-88 because depending on the gig location and duration, I take different versions of my rig on the road. All have been rock solid.

If you like the Oasys and you have sounds that work for you on it, you can bring all those into the Kronos. I see no reason for you not to migrate to the Kronos with confidence.

[Pedja]

Ricky,
Can you please share a link about Yamaha Montage discussion. All tests which I heard on YouTube sounds to me very good. Why, you are so disappoint with Montage sound? I guess that it is similar with MODX?
Thanks.

[Ricky]

Hi Pedja

I don't think I got a link for a discussion about the sounds.
But they discuss the very limited midi implementation of the Montage.

I also think the videos and demos of the Montage sounded good, but they must be heavily processed afterwards to make a good impression.

Luckily I borrowed a Montage, so I could try it out.

I've just recorded 2 samples. 1 of the Montage CFX Piano and one of my Oasys EXs2 Piano.
Both are recorded from the Oasys keys (midi to the Montage).

Mixersettings are of course the exact same on both recordings.
I just normalized each track to 0dB afterwards.

So you can judge by yourself.

I don't know why, but I think they're more different when I play them, than when I listen to the recordings. Maybe I'm more aware of sound when I play.


Oasys
http://lethsparty.dk/oasysmontage/oasys.wav

Montage
http://lethsparty.dk/oasysmontage/montage.wav


Best regards

Ricky

[Ricky]

By the way the ModX has the same internal sounds as Montage, but the D/A converters in Montage should be better.
And the keys too.


Ricky

[GregC]

Ricky,
Can you please share a link about Yamaha Montage discussion. All tests which I heard on YouTube sounds to me very good. Why, you are so disappoint with Montage sound? I guess that it is similar with MODX?
Thanks.

This is the first time (in quite a while) I have read so much enthusiasm on a keyboard.

I have read over 100 posts of very happy MODX owners. These are mostly folks that gig their boards, a demanding group.

all this is quite convincing.

I will eventually get one next year.
Have to study the midi implementation to confirm that will work for me- thats
the only issue I need to sort out.

[CharlesFerraro]

I will eventually get one next year.
Have to study the midi implementation to confirm that will work for me- thats
the only issue I need to sort out.

From what I understand, MOD X is just a sampler engine and an FM engine, correct? I really don't see what it offers that the Kronos can't do. I can say that for most synths, including the Moog One which is making waves. What am I missing?

Synths like Zebra2 for example are much more attractive to me because they actually do something that the Kronos can't do at all, like Zebra's spectral effects.

[GregC]

I will eventually get one next year.
Have to study the midi implementation to confirm that will work for me- thats
the only issue I need to sort out.

From what I understand, MOD X is just a sampler engine and an FM engine, correct? I really don't see what it offers that the Kronos can't do. I can say that for most synths, including the Moog One which is making waves. What am I missing?

.

I hear you. On paper, MODX doesn't jump out as anything especially different

I think its the ' sum of the parts ' vs individual things, that makes MODX attractive. Y was smart to get the price down. I think both engines are high quality, has some strengths, which makes it attractive to me.

MODX solves some basic problems that gigging keyboardists have. Add this
and the above plus it has instant gratification, and the board is flying off the shelves.

This guy does decent demos. Go to 10:00 on a feature MODX has thats getting
attention:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ps2HnG9Iz4&t=624s

[BobTheDog]

MODX solves some basic problems that gigging keyboardists have. Add this
and the above plus it has instant gratification, and the board is flying off the shelves.

I think that is exactly the point, as you also say they seem to love it, something must be right.

I'm a guitar player, if I gig I don't use my best guitars and amps. I use a couple of ok guitars and a Helix. This gets the job done.

For recording stuff the choices are different, different tools for different jobs.

[leonh]

Maybe a Kronos lite is coming i.e Krome replacement all Kronos engines in plastic body it seems that is the way to go .