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Kronos 2 - What am I missing ??
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 3:53 pm
by xmortenx
Hi Kronos users
I have for years tried to fall i love with the Kronos

But everytime I try one I cannot get my head around two things:
1: The Touchscreen. It´s feels pretty oldschol and unresponsive and also combined with the a pretty non touch friendly software with tiny synths and boxes.
2: The Grand Pianos and Ep´s - though huge in size they do not come close to any software or just the Nord Grand Piano 3D..
I really want a workstation - but if Kronos is the Flagship and mother of all workstations - I feel like a need to wait for a Kronos 5.
Sitting in the store in front of the Kronos bending over while tripple pressing that touchscreen to hit a tiny box - I cannot help looking over my shoulder for that hidden camera....
What I missing - since the rest of the world seem to love this board ????

Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 4:11 pm
by benny ray
Simple either you like the Kronos or you don't. Move on they are many choices of keyboards on the market however the Kronos is the best workstation.

Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 4:14 pm
by spaceman3
If you have for years tryed to love KRONOS, and you still dont.
Then nothing anyone sais here is going to give you anything to change your mind.
If you have tryed out KRONOS for years, and your still uncertain, then maybe KRONOS isnt for you.
Re: Kronos 2 - What am I missing ??
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 4:14 pm
by enigmahack
xmortenx wrote:
1: The Touchscreen. It´s feels pretty oldschol and unresponsive and also combined with the a pretty non touch friendly software with tiny synths and boxes.
Compared to... What exactly? Name an actual hardware synth that has a better UI and screen/touch interface.
And yes, there is a computer software interface that works reasonably well if you don't want to use the touchscreen.
xmortenx wrote:
2: The Grand Pianos and Ep´s - though huge in size they do not come close to any software or just the Nord Grand Piano 3D..
That's just like... Your opinion man. While I like the sound of the Nord Grand, I prefer the Berlin for most live situations.
I still even go back to the Oasys 3-way grand in some of the pop-rock songs to really cut through the guitars.
Re: Kronos 2 - What am I missing ??
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 5:24 pm
by GregC
xmortenx wrote:Hi Kronos users
I have for years tried to fall i love with the Kronos

But everytime I try one I cannot get my head around two things:
1: The Touchscreen. It´s feels pretty oldschol and unresponsive and also combined with the a pretty non touch friendly software with tiny synths and boxes.
2: The Grand Pianos and Ep´s - though huge in size they do not come close to any software or just the Nord Grand Piano 3D..
I really want a workstation - but if Kronos is the Flagship and mother of all workstations - I feel like a need to wait for a Kronos 5.
Sitting in the store in front of the Kronos bending over while tripple pressing that touchscreen to hit a tiny box - I cannot help looking over my shoulder for that hidden camera....
What I missing - since the rest of the world seem to love this board ????

It's not perfect. And to expect that is unrealistic
Since you are not feeling it, maybe its not a fit for u
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 5:38 pm
by xmortenx
I know I should move on - but I´m just fed up with working on a DAW

I think I just somehow love the idea of the Kronos but am disapointed with the execution.....
With regards to opinion about the subjective quality of the piano samples. I think it´s fair to say that if one user prefers one rhodes over another within Spectrasonics Keyscape - "then it´s just their opinion, mann". They are all superbly sampled and if one prefers one keyboard over the other it´s down to taste.
However with regards to the piano samples of Kronos, I do not think it´s just a matter of me not liking that sound - there a plenty different pianos in there. I just feel the realism and quality of the samples feels a tad on the wrong side of 2010. The realism is just not 95% like Ivory or Nord 3D..
However Ivory is in the DAW and Nord is too stage oriented

Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:20 pm
by spaceman3
xmortenx wrote:I know I should move on - but I´m just fed up with working on a DAW

I think I just somehow love the idea of the Kronos but am disapointed with the execution.....
With regards to opinion about the subjective quality of the piano samples. I think it´s fair to say that if one user prefers one rhodes over another within Spectrasonics Keyscape - "then it´s just their opinion, mann". They are all superbly sampled and if one prefers one keyboard over the other it´s down to taste.
However with regards to the piano samples of Kronos, I do not think it´s just a matter of me not liking that sound - there a plenty different pianos in there. I just feel the realism and quality of the samples feels a tad on the wrong side of 2010. The realism is just not 95% like Ivory or Nord 3D..
However Ivory is in the DAW and Nord is too stage oriented

You could get a ZOOM R24 or a TASCAM 32 track stand alone daw.
Then you could get the synth that suits you, as you do not love KRONOS.
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:34 pm
by worth
I don't own a Kronos but I know , like all Korgs with a touch screen, you will need to calibrate the screen to your touch . If you use the back of your finger nail after calibrating the screen you will get immediate response every time .
But the whole point about a workstation. Is that it's value is worth more than the sum of its parts . Ths beauty of a workstation is that you can start to create and record as soon as the inspiration hits you and rough out a track very quickly .
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:40 pm
by mikeyd
Not sure what anyone can say to change your mind but I think Benny said it best. You either like it or you don't. I think both things you are concerned with are as someone else said, subjective.
Touchscreen works fine for me. It took some getting used to coming from a Triton Studio to an M3 to the K. But it function just fine for me.
The pianos are fine. I was playing last night in a rehearsal running my KRONOS through my amp, no stereo, and was thinking how good the pianos sound. I was using everything from the German Grand, Berlin Grand, Rhodes type patches, and Chorused Electric Pianos.
I'm not sure what you're looking for but if you like the NORD go for it. There is never a perfect keyboard as I'm sure you know. I, like so many others on the KRONOS forums are happy with it.
Good luck in your quest.
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:48 pm
by NormC
Was the in store demo stereo or just a keyboard amp? Many of the pianos are thin in mono but come alive in stereo and are very realistic.
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:18 pm
by lunaluna
I tried to love the Yamaha MotifXF to compliment the Kronos but Just couldn't so I ended up getting a second Kronos . It may not be the best in every category but it is the best over-all Keyboard out there imho.
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:27 pm
by xmortenx
I have only tried with headphones so far
But thanks a lot for the many responses:)
I dream of a workstation that has a DAW/Vst like sound quality and a less fiddly hardware interface - but perhaps that´s simply to much to ask in 2017 ??
Touching my ipad or the upcomming MPC live makes me think they do not put up to date touch tech in the Kronos and when I´m looking at the GB available for samples I am hoping that Korg could move into Ivory teritory but to my ears that is somehow not the case.
I would be over the moon with a version that had better pianos and a 2017 touch responsive interface and especially some more touch friendly software with big knops and less clutter. To me the software does not look optimised for finger touch -hence many people need a stylus to program the Kronos...

Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:37 pm
by NormC
It is not an iPad type capacitive screen. It is a resistive touch screen. It is single touch only with no gesture support. That is why some people use a stylus. You must be more deliberate with your touch but when it is calibrated it works fine. I stopped using the stylus once I got used to it. The Pianos are very good and hard to beat in full stereo but you will need some mono ones to punch through the mix in some performance situations.
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:38 pm
by xmortenx
lunaluna wrote:I tried to love the Yamaha MotifXF to compliment the Kronos but Just couldn't so I ended up getting a second Kronos . It may not be the best in every category but it is the best over-all Keyboard out there imho.
That´s also my feelings - the others are often even worse. But still - I just feel that Kronos with the touch interface and huge GB should be better than the felling I get from it considering we are in 2017. Hardware workstations and also the Kronos somehow always feel 5 to 7 years behind the current music tech point..
I guess I just want more

But perhaps it does just not exist

Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:48 pm
by SanderXpander
Hardware workstations will always be 5 to 7 years behind the current music tech point, if not much more. But this only goes if you have the luxury to compare against a modern computer, high quality interface and controller, loads of current software and no problem navigating a multitude of different plugin interfaces. Not to mention that in a live situation it's often not even an option.
There is simply no way any hardware workstation manufacturer can take current state of the art hardware AND write a super stable custom platform for it, AND get it out to market before it's years behind the most current general purpose computer hardware.
I use both depending on the situation. I almost never use my Kronos in the studio but in a live situation it's really hard to beat without bringing four times as much stuff (adding complexity I don't want).