SoulBe wrote:
I agree to the first part of your post: for an OASYS owner the Kronos is not necessary in my opinion even if I play a lot live, because at last Kronos is nothing "new". I also kept those of my former synth if they had something "special" .. DX7 for FM synthesis, TrinityV3 for Moss board, K2600 for VAST, Waldorf Q for the analog feeling and operation and i´ll keep the OASYS for the integration of it´s synth engines. For that reason I have no problem with selling my yamaha motif etc, because it has nothing special, it is somthing to work with on stage.
Agreed. It's precisely for the "versatility of soundscape" that I bought a Kurzweil and some VSTi's and sample libraries. OASYS, Trinity and Triton are like a doorstep for me and I'm keeping them because they enable me to do what I need to do in little or no time. As I know them inside out. Kurz I'm learning on a daily basis and I like what I hear, especially the real-world, orchestral sounds. For everything else, I don't need it.
SoulBe wrote:
But I disagree with the second part....... if Korg (or Roland or Yamaha) is releasing something really new and interesting, I will consider to buy it. Besides the let´s say "half-fulfilled" promises of years to come the O is still a superior instrument. Or for what other reasing they put all the OASYS-engines into their newest product?
Let me try to give you some more insight into my way of thinking right now as an OASYS owner, a heavily involved IT journalist/consultant and a person doing a lot of IT work. Then I'm sure you'll understand much better where my "not buying" is coming from, as it's only 5% from the "a bit pissed" state. This really isn't an impulsive reaction, it's a sumtotal of rational thinking that just grew over time (reasons, checkboxes and real-life usage things). And it's based on years and years of working in this industry that has become tiresomly boring with its circular, non-inventive motions.
Let's dissect the main differences between these two keyboards. Kronos has set list, drum track, it streams samples from the hard drive (only its own samples), might have some more effects. And a couple of more sample libraries (piano and EP). That's all high and cool, but let's look at the big picture here.
1. Kronos doesn't look, sound or feel like it has any sonic advantage over the OASYS. Piano and EP are a moot point here as I know that many users that didn't like some of the built-in sounds in the OASYS (piano, for example) managed that situation otherwise. Generally, I _really_ doubt that a lot of people who already own the OASYS would've move to Kronos for those three features. So it doesn't offer anything really exciting to OASYS owners, at all.
2. If, and only if, the "sample streaming from hard drive" would be a GENERAL thing - so, users can stream THEIR OWN samples as well (.ksc file, is more then enough of a "support" for that as it's pretty transparent to the OS). But it isn't, there hasn't been any announcements about it and I sincerely doubt that it will ever be possible, becaue KORG won't let that happen. And although I can understand KORG's "most probable" way of looking at it (how can we guarantee that you'll be able to stream Kronos's samples and your own at the same time and not have sounds cutoff and steal from each other in a very nasty way) it's just another feature that's on the "could've, should've, would've" list. And it's a problem because without that, you don't have an awful lot of memory for sampling, which is the same problem that you have on the OASYS. So, that, for me - doesn't mean any progress. That's standing still burried in a hole scared to take any risks and implement new features. Yes, I'm taking Kronos "at face value" - for what it is right now - but that's the only right thing to do and I'm pretty sure that vast majority will agree on that attitude after the OASYS.
Why am I pointing this one so much? Because I saw a chance here for KORG to be miles ahead of Y and R because they can stream stuff. But so far, they "have it but don't have it". And I consider this to be a VERY important potential feature for all of potentional Kronos buyers.
3. It doesn't look like there will be a lot of "space" for upgrades, and I'm not talking about synth engines here. They're more or less all there. So, if KORG introduces some new sample libraries (or third-party companies like KARO do), you will have to compromise your built-in sounds vs additional sounds because of the architecture of Kronos. That's just insane. Compared to 2005 when OASYS was launched, this is even more limiting then the OASYS. Because the state of technology THEN didn't really allow to have a tightly integrated synth (OASYS) with DFD-type streaming. Now it does, absolutely, and it's much easier to implement it as the raw speed is without a shadow of a doubt there (SSD). But it would take a bit more effort and more memory for users to be able to "completely use Kronos to its limits".
You can summarize 2) and 3) with this - I have a feeling that this is a compromise-keyboard that doesn't leave a lot of room for any kind of upgrades, and that it's done on purpose. As a business model, that's probably OK for KORG. To leave "room for future products", or whatever. I HEAVILY disagree on this for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it remains to be seen whether there will be any market for workstations in 2-3-4 years when KORG introduces something newer. And if you take a step back and look at things rationally, I think we can agree that Kronos - in terms of it as a product - doesn't offer anything new. It has all of the OASYS synth engines that were developed 4-5-6-7-8 years ago and two more sample libraries. What I'm trying to say is that this isn't innovative as a product, but as a package - product for its price. And that's quite ok, but what I want to see is some real progress. Synth industry is moving in circles and I'm really, you know, like... *yaaaawn*. As I mentioned before, there's no risk-taking and a lot of products today look extremely pasionless or without any character. The same goes for Yamaha, and Roland, and Kurzweil. Motif XF? Come on. Fantom G? Come on, again. PCxxx? Same s**t, all over again. And the only reason I got a Kurz is because I got it dirt-cheap and it has a lot of sounds that I need inside, and I don't have to have additional computers for those sounds.
My summary would be that this synth-industry of the "big three" seems very tired and without any fresh ideas. For that reason, I see no point in planning to buy anything from KORG in the future as the OASYS seems like the "top of the line" from KORG. And that's actually fine by me. But rationally, if you take a look at product cycles, they haven't done anything revolutionary in a long, long time. And it seems to me that they won't, either.
When they went from 01 to Trinity, you could really feel the progress. Same thing when they went to Triton, as well, albeit perhaps not in a way some people would like. When they went to OASYS, you could _definitely_ feelt it. But now? M3 and Kronos? You can't feel any progress has been made from the OASYS. And I'll go out on a limb here and say it - there's a LOT of progress to be made in every keyboard from the Big Three. And it's this reluctant state of innovation that's become stale and makes me a non-buyer.
I do respect Kronos for what it is - a great package for everyone who wanted the OASYS but couldn't have it because of its price, an excellent way to conquer the workstation market and a very good product for a lot of newcomers to synths, be it younger and/or older.
I hope I managed to explain it a bit better. I feel that every single one of those companies need a good kick in the a$$ to stop milking past and work on the present and future and innovate.
Sorry if I bore the hell out of everyone.
do I sound like a robot to you in my "usual style"? 
That is one of my biggest disappointments with the O - they certainly could have done some kind of MIDI over LAN using the onboard NIC to give us computer integration if they really wanted to...heck, KARMA OASYS has a reasonable amount of back and forth control of the OASYS over regular MIDI. I gotta agree - as powerful as the O is, and even with the 10" screen you are totally right - there is "much squinting and baring one's teeth, into the small hours."
