Kronos X or Kronos MK1

swarupmahapatra · Post by **swarupmahapatra** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 6:32 pm

Hello Friends,

I am thinking of buying a 2nd Kronos 61 keyboard. Now I am getting 2 options, a Kronos X for a higher price and a Kronos MK1 for a lower price. I need your advice to which I should go for? I am not considering the Kronos 2 because of it's weight (2KGs more than the previous versions).

Thanks in advance

19naia · Post by **19naia** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 9:59 pm

Only thing better than Having a Kronos, is having two kronos.

But if you need to save money and weight burden, MK1 is Micro in terms of Weight, cost and overall utility, when compared to Kronos.

Your answer is easy, unless you have certain utility requirements from a new synth.
If you got MK1, would you miss having an extra 4 karma modules? An extra 16+16 tracks of Midi+Audio tracks? An extra drum track and an extra RPPR Buffet? Extra disk-HD space and the extra RAM?
I can go on and on about all the extra utility that comes with an extra Kronos. I assume you have a kronos already and an extra/second one is your interest now?

MK1 brings in its added utility and i do not know MK1 well enough to know much of what it brings to the setup, but it can probably only bring an extra but more significant analog synth engine as well as more control surface that is unique.
Another Kronos would be more of the same and hardly something exciting if what you want is new influence.
It all depends. More of the same old is good when it is such a versatile thing like kronos. Even people with a million in cash, would not mind more and more of that same old monotonous cash because it has the most diverse application or utility.
Sometimes the need is for something new and different especially if you are not already maxing out any of the Kronos features.

Just to be safe, better to get Another Kronos(61key) and the MK1. Have it all now, while you are still alive and able to enjoy it.

SeedyLee · Post by **SeedyLee** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:31 am

I'm not sure what you're referring to there 19naia with regards to the MK1? The Mk1 Kronos and Kronos X are functionally identical!

In any case, depending on the price difference, I'd go for the Mk1 Kronos. As a second keyboard you may not need as large an SSD or as much RAM, but if you do, they are easily upgraded.

swarupmahapatra · Post by **swarupmahapatra** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 3:33 pm

19naia wrote:Only thing better than Having a Kronos, is having two kronos.

But if you need to save money and weight burden, MK1 is Micro in terms of Weight, cost and overall utility, when compared to Kronos.

Your answer is easy, unless you have certain utility requirements from a new synth.
If you got MK1, would you miss having an extra 4 karma modules? An extra 16+16 tracks of Midi+Audio tracks? An extra drum track and an extra RPPR Buffet? Extra disk-HD space and the extra RAM?
I can go on and on about all the extra utility that comes with an extra Kronos. I assume you have a kronos already and an extra/second one is your interest now?

MK1 brings in its added utility and i do not know MK1 well enough to know much of what it brings to the setup, but it can probably only bring an extra but more significant analog synth engine as well as more control surface that is unique.
Another Kronos would be more of the same and hardly something exciting if what you want is new influence.
It all depends. More of the same old is good when it is such a versatile thing like kronos. Even people with a million in cash, would not mind more and more of that same old monotonous cash because it has the most diverse application or utility.
Sometimes the need is for something new and different especially if you are not already maxing out any of the Kronos features.

Just to be safe, better to get Another Kronos(61key) and the MK1. Have it all now, while you are still alive and able to enjoy it.

Thanks.

swarupmahapatra · Post by **swarupmahapatra** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 3:40 pm

SeedyLee wrote:I'm not sure what you're referring to there 19naia with regards to the MK1? The Mk1 Kronos and Kronos X are functionally identical!

In any case, depending on the price difference, I'd go for the Mk1 Kronos. As a second keyboard you may not need as large an SSD or as much RAM, but if you do, they are easily upgraded.

Thanks for the info. I heard that we can play samples from an external USB stick or external USB hard drive by Kronos. Never tried this though. But I think that should do the job if the keyboard is low on hard drive. RAM we can update as well. However I just found this video -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atx7Q-7VP3c

Looks like the X is bit better than the MK1.

19naia · Post by **19naia** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 4:15 pm

SeedyLee wrote:I'm not sure what you're referring to there 19naia with regards to the MK1? The Mk1 Kronos and Kronos X are functionally identical!

In any case, depending on the price difference, I'd go for the Mk1 Kronos. As a second keyboard you may not need as large an SSD or as much RAM, but if you do, they are easily upgraded.

Maybe i don’t know what MK1 is ? MicroKorg-1 ?

Maybe now i need a thread asking to explain me something...

If MK1 and Kromos X are functionally identical i guess that makes the decision harder.
Differences between original Kronos and Kronos X as functionally identical, can still be found. Not just an added X but added SSD storage and ram if i am not mistaken.

Thanks.

swarupmahapatra · Post by **swarupmahapatra** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 4:30 pm

19naia wrote:
SeedyLee wrote:I'm not sure what you're referring to there 19naia with regards to the MK1? The Mk1 Kronos and Kronos X are functionally identical!

In any case, depending on the price difference, I'd go for the Mk1 Kronos. As a second keyboard you may not need as large an SSD or as much RAM, but if you do, they are easily upgraded.
Maybe i don’t know what MK1 is ? MicroKorg-1 ?

Maybe now i need a thread asking to explain me something...

If MK1 and Kromos X are functionally identical i guess that makes the decision harder.
Differences between original Kronos and Kronos X as functionally identical, can still be found. Not just an added X but added SSD storage and ram if i am not mistaken.

Thanks.

Sorry about the confusion. What I meant by MK1 is the Original Kronos.

psionic311 · Post by **psionic311** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:37 pm

+1 on the Mk1 Kronos

19naia: Mk1 is an abbreviation for Mark 1, which means the first or original model of something.

Mine is a used Mk1 Kronos 61 I got in 2014 from a music store. It has served me well, no major issues at all. I've upgraded the RAM and added a second hard drive (SSD). For the last 3 years I bring it to practice or a gig about once a week. I always use a UPS.

I downloaded Busch's free library and have used a few sounds from that, and got the Audora's 80s and 90s cover soundset, but mostly I roll my own. It's upgraded to OSv3.02 (didn't want/need the split functionality), so it's pretty equivalent to a Kronos X.

Bottomline, I think you're safe to go with either a Mk1 or Kronos X, esp if you plan to add more RAM or HD to the Mk1.

swarupmahapatra · Post by **swarupmahapatra** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:58 pm

psionic311 wrote:+1 on the Mk1 Kronos

19naia: Mk1 is an abbreviation for Mark 1, which means the first or original model of something.

Mine is a used Mk1 Kronos 61 I got in 2014 from a music store. It has served me well, no major issues at all. I've upgraded the RAM and added a second hard drive (SSD). For the last 3 years I bring it to practice or a gig about once a week. I always use a UPS.

I downloaded Busch's free library and have used a few sounds from that, and got the Audora's 80s and 90s cover soundset, but mostly I roll my own. It's upgraded to OSv3.02 (didn't want/need the split functionality), so it's pretty equivalent to a Kronos X.

Bottomline, I think you're safe to go with either a Mk1 or Kronos X, esp if you plan to add more RAM or HD to the Mk1.

Thank you for the inputs.

Sweat · Post by **Sweat** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:19 pm

After cost differences, primary considerations to make between a pre-owned original Kronos or Kronos X may be these:

1. Are you ok with the ram and hard drive size, or willingness to upgrade?
2. Are there any sound libraries that previous owner purchased?
3. Many Original Kronos 73/88 had RH3 keybed problems that were corrected in the Kronos X. The 61 models were unaffected.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:42 pm

19naia wrote:
SeedyLee wrote:I'm not sure what you're referring to there 19naia with regards to the MK1? The Mk1 Kronos and Kronos X are functionally identical!

In any case, depending on the price difference, I'd go for the Mk1 Kronos. As a second keyboard you may not need as large an SSD or as much RAM, but if you do, they are easily upgraded.
Maybe i don’t know what MK1 is ? MicroKorg-1 ?

Maybe now i need a thread asking to explain me something...

.

I was confused by the Kronos MK1 reference. 1st time I have heard that term.

MK1 was a designation for a Fender Rhodes. Later there was Mk2 model for the Rhodes.

Anyway, I am not missing out

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:03 pm

Sweat wrote:After cost differences, primary considerations to make between a pre-owned original Kronos or Kronos X may be these:

3. Many Original Kronos 73/88 had RH3 keybed problems that were corrected in the Kronos X. The 61 models were unaffected.

Since the 7 yr Kronos is still popular/in use, lets clarify the keybed issue on the Original K.

Some of the original units had a bad keybed part/contact, what have you. Its fair to say ( from my experience) that a certain % of the first few batches of K73/K88's that were sold had the issue.

To illustrate, since I have the 88, have friends locally with the 73/88 initially, there was 1 owner with the issue ( out of 10). So I am extrapolating.

For example , lets assume 1000 units were sold. With that as a denominator, it would be somewhat fair to say 100 has the issue.

Keep in mind, Korg is a global co. Back then, Kronos was totally in demand, there were preorders, backlog, great excitement, waiting lists. I bought mine
sight unseen as did many.

We never could capture the exact range or any serial # data to quantify what was what. I vaguely recall Korg said get it fixed for free at a service center.
Which is what everyone did AFAIK. It was an unfortunate hassle for sure,
but Korg support came thru.

( we heard the complaining here 2011. It was mostly justified, bottom line)

I believe history is important.

SeedyLee · Post by **SeedyLee** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:42 am

19naia wrote:
Maybe i don’t know what MK1 is ? MicroKorg-1 ?

Maybe now i need a thread asking to explain me something...

I see the confusion now

swarupmahapatra · Post by **swarupmahapatra** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 4:07 pm

Sweat wrote:After cost differences, primary considerations to make between a pre-owned original Kronos or Kronos X may be these:

1. Are you ok with the ram and hard drive size, or willingness to upgrade?
2. Are there any sound libraries that previous owner purchased?
3. Many Original Kronos 73/88 had RH3 keybed problems that were corrected in the Kronos X. The 61 models were unaffected.

Thanks for the advice.

1. Are you ok with the ram and hard drive size, or willingness to upgrade? Yes, I will do the upgrade. Can you please advise where I can buy the hard drive and ram. I also heard that we can use an external hard drive or USB stick. Do you have any idea on this?
2. Are there any sound libraries that previous owner purchased? I am not sure about this. But why do you ask?
3. Many Original Kronos 73/88 had RH3 keybed problems that were corrected in the Kronos X. The 61 models were unaffected.[/quote]

swarupmahapatra · Post by **swarupmahapatra** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 4:09 pm

GregC wrote:
Sweat wrote:After cost differences, primary considerations to make between a pre-owned original Kronos or Kronos X may be these:

3. Many Original Kronos 73/88 had RH3 keybed problems that were corrected in the Kronos X. The 61 models were unaffected.
Since the 7 yr Kronos is still popular/in use, lets clarify the keybed issue on the Original K.

Some of the original units had a bad keybed part/contact, what have you. Its fair to say ( from my experience) that a certain % of the first few batches of K73/K88's that were sold had the issue.

To illustrate, since I have the 88, have friends locally with the 73/88 initially, there was 1 owner with the issue ( out of 10). So I am extrapolating.

For example , lets assume 1000 units were sold. With that as a denominator, it would be somewhat fair to say 100 has the issue.

Keep in mind, Korg is a global co. Back then, Kronos was totally in demand, there were preorders, backlog, great excitement, waiting lists. I bought mine
sight unseen as did many.

We never could capture the exact range or any serial # data to quantify what was what. I vaguely recall Korg said get it fixed for free at a service center.
Which is what everyone did AFAIK. It was an unfortunate hassle for sure,
but Korg support came thru.

( we heard the complaining here 2011. It was mostly justified, bottom line)

I believe history is important.

Thanks GregC. I was watching your video on YouTube last night about the hard drive and ram upgrade. Very educational.