Korg Forums

I have a few keyboards inc a C2, which is going to go in favour of the Kronus X.

My gold standard is currently the RD 700NX. This keyboard has a fabulous action, it has some very good sounds, but I have heard better from the Kronus (non X). I feel the piano on the Roland is slightly beefier., the EPs are far superior on the Kronus X (IMO).

Excellent though it is, for me the Roland has an old school feel, the VDU is tiny and there are a lot of esoteric key combinations. I look forward to the VDU on the Kronus X .

Anyways thats my basic take so far...

I do hear the Kronus has a few issues

a] Fan noise. Is this always an issue? Is it fixed?

b] 2 minute boot up? Is this true?

c] Bad keys? Is this true of the new Keyboards? If so is it frequent?

Futrther Questions:

Are there any more things that I should be aware of?

what is it like playing the Kronus action wise please?

Anyone use both and could cast an opinion?

I run a Cubase 7 64 bit Studio is the plugin good?

I think there maybe another interface for PCs too?

What kinds of sounds can you load via this? Do they havetheir own format?

First post, lots of questions! Thanks

Zero

I went with the x61 because of the history with the Keybed issues. Runs fine no bad keys and the fan isn't loud to me at all. It does take 2:15 to boot but it really is a non issue. I have computers that take as long. I just power it up and do something else while it loads, just turn it on first.

I have the roland rp301 I can midi into if I want piano action but this synth action is nice and firm. If I wanted portability and piano a toon Inwould add the roland A88 since I like the rp301 action.

I had the Rd700gx1 which I sold in advance of a Kronos 88.

There are a few things I liked about the Rd but it wasn't worth keeping around since the Kronos is clearly dominant.

Hi

1) The fan issue hasn't been sorted, its a gamble. Some are very quiet, some are louder.

I had two original Kronos and couldn't hear the fan at all but my X I can hear it very slightly if my PC is off, but I mean very slightly, the average laptop fan makes more noise.

I can only report what I've experienced, some other people have had no problems, others have had to replace their fans due to the noise (hence the kronos fan fix sticky in this forum)

2) Yes it does take about this long to boot but I wouldn't let that put you off what I think is the best hardware instrument ever

3) I haven't seen one reported case of the note cutoff problem on the X.

My two original Kronos had very uneven spacing between the keys, on my X, every key is perfectly evenly spaced.

As for the action, that's a very personal thing. I personally love it (its a different action to the original Kronos keybed in my opinion). When I had problems with my original, I was looking at the possibility of going with the competition and tried out various keyboards. I hated the action on the Nord yet many others swear by it, so I do think its something your going to have to try for yourself. That said, I only tried the Nord for 5 mins in a store, maybe my opinion would change if I had it for a few days, who knows. But if you do try out in store, make sure you try out the X version.

Unfortunately the plugin is a very sore point with many Kronos users. The korg editor plugin is totally incompatible with 64bit daws and things like jbridge won't help.

The Kronos can stream your own samples directly from its SSD drive, there's a few threads on here explaining how to do it and how to convert samples into the correct format.

So, fan noise can be an issue, it does take a while to initially boot and the plugin isn't 64bit compatible.

Personally I think the Kronos is such a superb machine that I suspect once you've had it for a few days, the boot time will be irrelevant and you will be awe struck as to how good the Kronos is.

Hopefully you won't have a fan problem but if you did, then return it and get it fixed or get a replacement. I appreciate spending that much on a synth you shouldn't expect a gamble with the fan, I really wish it wasn't the case, however I do feel that the Kronos is so good, even though we shouldn't have this gamble with any instrument, let alone one of this price, its worth it in the end as there's no other hardware instrument out there like it. I also appreciate if I was thinking of buying it and read this, I would be concerned about the rest of the Kronos quality, personally I find it to be solidly built.

The only thing personally I feel should/could be a deal breaker for you is how important 64 bit daw integration is.

Hope that helps

Joe

ZeroZero wrote:
b] 2 minute boot up? Is this true?

Yes, two minutes or more, if you have more samples to load. But, show me ANY other sampler workstation with that much memory that boots up faster.

Ojustaboo (et al) - Yes I know what you mean about the Nord, I had a Stage 2 anjd took it back in the week. IMO its also very dated under the hood (or was) the piano was too weak for me to use. If it were a car I would say it had an excellent chassis but was underpowered.

The Plugin issue is a real showstopper, what is Roland saying/doing about this? Does this apply to Cubase 7.2? (64 bit)? I notice some of my old plugins now work with Steinberg Bridge these days, where they did not in C5 (I also have J bridge).

So there is a difference between the keys on the Kronus and the Kronus X?

Could someone give the run down on this please. I am worried about this, it seems you can't lug one around without putting things in between the keys?

The boot up thing I can live with. Is there a PC on board running linux perhaps?

There are huge amounts to love about the Kronus, but these points worry me.

Thanks for the replies, I do want to be convinced

I've got a kronos 88 and am reasonably happy with the keybed action. That said the RD700NX does have a better piano action IMHO (including escapement) and it is the same keybed as on the flagship Vpiano. To really prove/feel the differences these 88 note keyboards have to be on a stable solid stands ... some music stores are not always well equipped or have enough of such stands on display. If you could afford it I would keep the RD and get the Kronos61 as your top keyboard for a close to ultimate setup as the RD is also a good midi controller. If the choice is 1 keyboard only ... Kronos 88 is the best choice for the best of all worlds in 1 board. just my 2cents.

I shall be keeping the Roland NX, ditto my right arm... I might sell my soul though, for a Kronus X

if you gig, I can see having a midi controller or stage piano as a solid backup to the Kronos.

And I use to have an array of gear where a midi controller makes sense.
I owned every Rd stage model, at a time, going back to the late 90's

But with the Kronos, I felt all the other rompler hardware was mostly redundant or not worth having around. I have had my Kronos 88 since August 2011

ZeroZero wrote: The Plugin issue is a real showstopper, what is Roland saying/doing about this? Does this apply to Cubase 7.2? (64 bit)? I notice some of my old plugins now work with Steinberg Bridge these days, where they did not in C5 (I also have J bridge).

I presume you mean Korg

I don't know what they are saying or doing, its a real pain and there are a lot of annoyed people but the way Korg keeps their customers informed is very old school, they don't. They believe in keeping us in the dark until the last second. They could come out with a new updated editor tomorrow and that would be the first we hear about it, they could have decided they are never going to do so in which case, the chances are we will never hear about it (and believe it or not, a few users on this forum constantly stick up for Korg treating their customers in this way)

Stupid I know, but that's the way they operate.

But I'm sad to inform you I also have Cubase 7.2 and no it doesn't work, its not Cubase, it doesn't work with any 64bit DAW. I did try with a demo of Jbridge (I've tried every time a new Cubase version is released) but no joy.

So there is a difference between the keys on the Kronus and the Kronus X?

It's never been officially said or commented on by Korg.

My two original Kronos both had completely different keybeds, different actions, different feels, even the texture of the black keys were completely different. If a blind man played them both side by side, he would be 100% convinced they were different instruments.

That was not my imagination and others that had problems and got their Kronos replaced have reported the same thing. The action on my 2nd (later serial number) Kronos was much much much better than my original in my opinion.

What I do know is that on both my original 88 Kronoses, the key spacing was VERY uneven, plus it looked like they had assembled the keybed in groups of 3 and 4 white keys (there were larger than normal gaps hence it looked like they fitted modules of c to e and then f to b and you could see this a mile away).

My X has no noticeable difference in gaps from one end of the keybed to the other it is perfect. Whether that means its a different keybed or just built properly I don't know.

Could someone give the run down on this please. I am worried about this, it seems you can't lug one around without putting things in between the keys?

Unbelievably you are correct. They supply you with 3 or 4 bits of cardboard that you slot between the front of the keys and the front bar, this is to stop the front bar from being knocked during transport.

People on occasions have reported finding keys rub etc. It's a simple 2 min fix, loosed a few screws on the bottom, stick the cardboard spacers in (or a couple of business cards etc) then tighten the screws up. The long front edge, due to it's length, if you put a bit of pressure on it, it bends slightly, the cardboard spacers are to stop it bending into the keys.

Saying that, my 2nd Kronos that went back for repair before I got my X, I sent it carefully to Korg UK with the cardboard spacers in place, it came back without them.

I'm really really really not trying to put you off buying the Kronos, I'm simply telling the truth. And yes, while it's an easy fix, it's not something you expect on a £3k product, sometimes companies amaze me. I really shouldn't have to say this about the X version, they should have altered the design somehow.

The boot up thing I can live with. Is there a PC on board running linux perhaps?

Yes it runs their own version of Linux

There are huge amounts to love about the Kronus, but these points worry me.

I still think if the DAW integration isn't a deal breaker, the overall quality of the synth is worth it and you wont be disappointed.

Please any Korg employee, send this post to your companies bosses. I'm simply answering this guys questions and I don't think I'd buy it with the replies I've given him and I love the machine. I'm not going to lie to people when they ask things. Overall I think the Kronos is well built, but chances are you've lost another sale because of lack of 64 bit software and having to use bits of cardboard on a 3K machine, you should be ashamed of yourselves (korg bosses, not korg staff who visit this site).

I have a Roland RD700GX with SN piano expansion which I use with the Kronos. To be honest the pianos on the SN piano expansion (same as NX I believe) are a bit too bright and brittle for me. Playing the Kronos (61) from the RD is pretty nice though...

The Corgi pianos are better but not by much... all depends on the application... I spent all afternoon playing the Kronos piano solo on a friends latin/RnB track (just piano and vocal) and neither of us were really that happy with the sound but it seemed better than the RD. I think changing the perspective to audience makes the piano sound a bit bigger out of the speakers.

I think the piano on the Nord Stage 2 (which is the piano at the local jazz/soul jam venue) sounds a lot better than the RD and Kronos..

I've just had another play with Cubase 7.2 and the editor and while I cant get it working at all properly, I have the start of getting it working.

I have the editor screen up in cubase.

While I haven't managed to get the info from the Kronos, pressing the various setlist buttons on the VST editor does change it on the Kronos.

Although every 3 seconds the Kronos sound cuts, its set to local, so something the editor is sending is overloading it.

I still don't hold much hope of getting it working properly, but I want to tell it as it is.

Best

Joe

I have a Kronos 73. Not an X. I gig with it and rehearse with it a lot. I move it in a proper ATA case and I don't use the cardboard thingies that came with it.

I also use it in my very small home recording studio. The fan noise has never ever been a problem. Yes, I can hear it through my headphones when I'm recording vocals but I position my mic so that it's not picking up the sound of the fan.
This is not hard to do. You just listen in your headphones until you can't hear the fan while carefully moving your microphone around. I never did understand the "fan noise" problem.

As far as the cardboard keyboard holders. If any keyboard manufacturer sold a keyboard that was considered to be "professional" and actually needed these things, I'd seriously have to question them. I would NOT buy their keyboard and I WOULD consider that company to be a joke!

I played my first paying gig in 1969. I like to think that I have a good idea as to what is a "real" keyboard. I'd say the Kronos is the best that has ever been made.

Thanks for all the replies. Lots of food for thought. I think I shall email Korg. If they don't reply I will learn a lesson about support.