For owners of both Kronos and M3...

iixorbiusii · Post by **iixorbiusii** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:22 am

Hello all. I am an M3 & Radias EXB owner, and I've spent about an hour playing the Kronos at a store. Still not sure - I've not been bitten by the K bug yet, but I'd like to throw the following question out to a specific group of owners:

So you've still got both the M3 and Kronos at your disposal, and you've had time to get to know the Kronos... You're not only interested in authentic pianos, EP's and organs; moreover you appreciate the whole spectrum of sounds and genres possible within both keyboards.

Please could you comment on how the M3 and Kronos compare, in your experience to date. Not really in terms of sequencer, but more in terms of the progs and combis.

Please be honest

Thanks.

iix.

QuiRobinez · Post by **QuiRobinez** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:48 am

i've voted for: The Kronos is way ahead of the M3. No comparison

Here's why:

- better (much better) sound, especially in the low end of the spectrum
- The kronos has 9 synth engines which 8 of them you can combine (except the hd1)
- On top of Karma you have arpeggiators and step sequencers in some of the synth engines
- the automated Vector control is a programmers dream if you are into electronic sounds
- Each synth engine has it's own unique sound signature which makes this a versatile powerhouse

Now also the honest part (but it is my personal opinion):
i think that the combi's on the M3 (factory default) are way better than the one supplied in the Kronos. Much of the programs and even combi's don't have KARMA programmed.

For me it's no problem at all, because i can easely program my own combi's.

Ksynth · Post by **Ksynth** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 2:00 pm

The M3M (with Radias, 256MB) I own will stay linked to the K61.

It makes a fabulous pair.

The sounds are very close though the K61 has more scope of course.

Post by **Sharp** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 2:06 pm

A curious poll to run. They most certainly share common PCM data, but sonically they should sound nothing alike. The KRONOS will be superior in every way. No question of it.

Regards
Sharp.

NuSkoolTone · Post by **NuSkoolTone** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:18 pm

I have an M50 which I think counts. Just doesn't have the expanded samples and radias.

When I find patches of the same name to load in the Kronos vs. the M50 using the same samples, for all intents they sound IDENTICAL to my ears. Perhaps a few tweaks to some FX here and there, but the difference I hear in converters etc is splitting hairs. Will I say the Kronos sounds better? Of course! However sans the new Piano and MDS engine, this keyboard sounds the same as the OASYS from 2005. Going further I have samples I took of a TRINITY V3 (Before the Triton mind you) when I got a hold of one and there are some waveforms from THAT which are in the Kronos without doing a full comparison I noticed. I haven't bothered to look at my O1/W, but I wouldn't be surprised. Not saying that there isn't new stuff in the Kronos, but there's a LOT of recycled stuff in there. It's sort of a culmination of Korg IMO.

jazlover · Post by **jazlover** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:31 pm

The M3M (with Radias, 256MB) I own will stay linked to the K61.

It makes a fabulous pair.

They are great together. The M3 keys sits right under my kronos with the M3M module on top. The radias, the key pads, the karma on M3 is great for live play but the kronos is miles...galaxies beyond the M3.

MarPabl · Post by **MarPabl** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:36 pm

I agree there are Combis I prefer on M3 but the fact is that I can get those and much more on Kronos. However, there are features I prefer on M3:
- The sequencer is much better as well as the expanded UI.
- I prefer using the whole touch screen for X-Y control instead of the vector joystick.
- I miss the 8 pads and don't really like the "virtual pads" on Kronos.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:51 pm

MarPabl wrote: - I prefer using the whole touch screen for X-Y control instead of the vector joystick.
- I miss the 8 pads and don't really like the "virtual pads" on Kronos.

I imagine these two both could be rectified with an additional controller like the nanoPad or PadKontrol - the Vector Joystick must respond to CCs which could be sent from an X/Y pad.

JPWC · Post by **JPWC** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 4:03 pm

I still have my M3 sitting above the Kronos on a two tiered stand.

I miss the pads, so I got a PadKontrol, works great.

I can't hardly read the Kronos Display, got me some 2X readers.

Other than that, while the M3 is an excellent keyboard, the Kronos is on a different plane.

Sometimes the Kronos sounds like the M3, but the M3 never every really sounds like the Kronos.

afr · Post by **afr** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 4:13 pm

Of course Kronos sounds much better than m3, but today my m3 + radias board and all exbpcm loaded in my opinion sounds better than other work station, a feature that I really like about korg sound is the depth, for example motif xf is OK, nice acoustic sound, but it does no give me the same sensation of my m3, everything sound so small

popmann · Post by **popmann** » Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:27 pm

As a person who never liked Korg keyboards BECAUSE MY bread and butter sounds (acPiano/EP/organ) mostly trailed WAY behind the completion, I find this an odd line of questioning.

I played the m50 back to back because they were blowing it out cheap and I thought "certainly it will be good if the Kronos is SO good"...I played for ten minutes and just scratched my head. Not even in the same ballpark.

If you took the EX4 pack of EPs and "oasys piano" samples in the Kronos and made them THE piano sounds, I'd have walked away from the whole thing. Wouldve gone with my cheap plan-used fantomx8 and put my SRX cards into it and still mostly relied on software for recording. In fact, one of these days I'll figure out how to NOT load them and get them out of the choices on my Kronos. Anyway, I know I don't completely qualify for your question, but I sort of do as the opposite of a Korg fanboy. When it comes to those sounds, this is a whole other world of quality and touch...I won't pretend to know much about the synth engines-never been much of a synth guy.

drama1 · Post by **drama1** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:35 pm

I have played the Kronos side-by-side with an M50. Yes the Kronos has more depth and clarity, no doubt. If you are a serious recording musician you're going to want the Kronos. If you're a weekend warrior, your audience will probably not be able to tell the difference all that much between the two if you're using them for bread and butter gigs. (Piano/organ/strings) An M3 with radias installed, with carefull programming can probably come damn close to the Kronos. Yes, the pianos are far more detailed in the Kronos, but your audience is not going to hear the mechanical or resonance samples from the Kronos. Again, the Kronos simply sounds better than any other board out there in my opinion, but for those of us playing for half inebriated audiences, a loaded M3 will more than suffice. INHO.

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:39 pm

drama1 wrote:I have played the Kronos side-by-side with an M50. Yes the Kronos has more depth and clarity, no doubt. If you are a serious recording musician you're going to want the Kronos. If you're a weekend warrior, your audience will probably not be able to tell the difference all that much between the two if you're using them for bread and butter gigs. (Piano/organ/strings) An M3 with radias installed, with carefull programming can probably come damn close to the Kronos. Yes, the pianos are far more detailed in the Kronos, but your audience is not going to hear the mechanical or resonance samples from the Kronos. Again, the Kronos simply sounds better than any other board out there in my opinion, but for those of us playing for half inebriated audiences, a loaded M3 will more than suffice. INHO.

To be honest, most of the audience will not even hear the difference between a Korg M1 and a Kronos (depends on the music / mix though).
And there are even people who cannot hear the difference between a guitarist and a keyboardist.

But there are also other reasons for buying a Kronos over another instrument:
- for YOURSELF you should hear the difference (I hope)
- programming is easier (big screen)
- control is easier (lots of controls)

EnjoyRC · Post by **EnjoyRC** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 6:17 pm

I too own both. Kronos 88 & M3 w/Radias. My sound tech constantly comments on how much better the Kronos cuts through the mix. Uncanny they say.

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:55 pm

I also have reacted since the sound of an M50 is equal to an M3.

But I noted almost immediately the Kronos sounds more clear than a M50/M3. However you probably mainly notice it while playing by yourself, not in a band.

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