Korg Forums

Any leaks, video teasers etc from Korg, Yamaha or Roland? Workstation wise.

Stylus RMX 2 pls!

http://www.korg.de/produkte/tuner-metro ... nfo-1.html

Exiting news for keyboarders

If only they did it in red.

What's the point of Summer NAMM?
It happens in the heat of July when people are not very inclined to step into the frying pan called Summer NAMM which does not have much news to offer anyway.
They might as well call it quits, or move it to late September/early October.

It's just an excuse to present something which wasn't ready for Winter NAMM.

Seriously, I think in internet times the significance of these trade shows is steadily decreasing, including Winter NAMM. Anybody can present anything all year long - and have as much public attention as needed, due to the net.

Perhaps the shows are mainly for some personal contacts and deals nowadays.

jimknopf wrote:It's just an excuse to present something which wasn't ready for Winter NAMM.

Seriously, I think in internet times the significance of these trade shows is steadily decreasing, including Winter NAMM. Anybody can present anything all year long - and have as much public attention as needed, due to the net.

Perhaps the shows are mainly for some personal contacts and deals nowadays.

There really isn't a lot of significance when it comes to launching a new product. But there is still some charm left in a live event where everything comes together under one roof. Then again, trade shows come and go. Being in the IT industry I remember a big computer show named COMDEX held in Vegas. That too went by the wayside many years ago as times changed.

But summer NAMM is generally pointless other than a good excuse for the marketing gang to go out for a big party ... So let them have their fun

Yes, when it comes to promoting a new product the internet is the best medium.
I know a few software companies have stopped attending NAMM because there was too little additional value to warrant the cost of attending the show.

On the other hand, I think that for companies such as KORG there still is merit in attending the Messe and Winter NAMM, if only because of the fact that these shows generate a lot of publicity, and many attendees will bring their cameras, shoot videos, and upload them on YouTube so that the public exposure of any new product is increased.
Summer NAMM however simply does not generate a lot of publicity, and the timing is off.

I have to say that so far the greatest disappointment this year has been Yamaha.
Somehow I expected that they would at least celebrate their 125th birthday in a big way and feature a new synth or workstation, or a recreation of an old synth, but no, nothing.
I got to hand it to KORG that the company definitely knows how to seize the opportunity, celebrating their 50th with the KingKorg, the MS20, the Volca family and the KROSS.

We should keep in mind that these 'trade shows' are primarily for the 'trade'. A place where manufacturers can tout their wares to wholesalers and dealers and generate sales. Consumer attendance is incidental to the real purpose of these affairs.

Thoraldus wrote:We should keep in mind that these 'trade shows' are primarily for the 'trade'. A place where manufacturers can tout their wares to wholesalers and dealers and generate sales. Consumer attendance is incidental to the real purpose of these affairs.

True, they are for trade, but the ironic thing there is I can't remember the last time I was in a music store that had any sort of half way decent stock. I've always gotten that general feeling from many on the forums too where they live.

These days it seems more people do more research online about a product they want to buy.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the feeling I get. I really feel it's certainly shifting that way.

Regards
Sharp

Sharp wrote:

Thoraldus wrote:We should keep in mind that these 'trade shows' are primarily for the 'trade'. A place where manufacturers can tout their wares to wholesalers and dealers and generate sales. Consumer attendance is incidental to the real purpose of these affairs.

True, they are for trade, but the ironic thing there is I can't remember the last time I was in a music store that had any sort of half way decent stock. I've always gotten that general feeling from many on the forums too where they live.

These days it seems more people do more research online about a product they want to buy.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the feeling I get. I really feel it's certainly shifting that way.

Regards
Sharp

There are several stores in my general area. No single store has a floor display of every model available. Most have a very limited selection and the high end models are very scarce.

The stores will soon disappear in favor of online purchases. You can go to a store to demo a product (if they have one) and then buy online for a cheaper price in most cases. I'm guilty. Although in my defense I have not purchased anything online that I have demoed at a store as they have not had any of what I purchased online on display in any store in my area.

Sad but true.

There's not a shop anywhere near my location. 2 1/2 hours to the nearest real city & i've never been there.
I do all of my research online & then all of my buying online. I would love to have a convenient retailer nearby to check out some hands on stuff.

I live in the uk, the far north west of wales & i buy my stuff from anywhere between London & Edinburgh. My last two synths came from scotland. Best deal & best service wins over all other retailers in my case. If there was a good trade show i might even go. Love all that big hall of shiny things !

So err, any leaks from summer namm then

Nearest place to me is PMT music.

At this moment, they have eleven 88 note keyboards listed on their website, but only 8 in stock, and this stock is over 11 branches.

Roland fantom G8 is in stock at 3, Birmingham, Romford and Southend, all 3 display items.

Motif XF8 in stock at just 2, Leeds and Cambridge, again display items

Yamaha MOX 8 at 7 branches, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Northampton, Southend and Cambridge, all again listed as display item.

Original Kronos 88, just at Birmingham, display item only. X version not in stock at any of the 11 branches.

Clavia Nord Stage 2 HA88 at 6 branches, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Norwich and Liverpool, all display items except for Liverpool which also has new unboxed ones.

Yamaha CP50 stage piano in stock at just 2, Northampton and Romford, both display items.

Krome 88 in stock at 7, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Norwich, Oxford, Romford and Southend, only Bristol has unopened new ones.

Clavia Nord Piano 2 HA88 only in stock at 2 branches, Birmingham and Romford.

So they have 11 stores across the UK, only Norwich is within a sensible drive of my house,
Norwich has just two 88s, Krome and Nord Stage 2
Bristol has 3
Leeds has 4
Manchester has 2
Northampton has 2
Oxford has 1
Romford has 4
Southend has 3
Liverpool has 1
Cambridge has 2

I'm only using PMT music as they are the only music store I can drive to. There is no other company near me.

So if I want to try out some 88 note keyboards where do I or anyone else go?

The king korg is in stock at all their branches (3 branches only have the display one)
Kronos x88 and x61 isn't in stock at any of their 11 branches
Kronos X73 is in stock at just 5 branches and three of them are display models.

I want say cubase, NI, Omnisphere etc, they can get them but they don't stock them and I can order online and get it delivered the following day.

I want a korg half damper pedal, they only stock the Roland that won't work properly with a Kronos etc.

Retail stores complain about us buying online but if we can't go and try them out in store anyway, what do they expect. In England the distance selling laws mean I can order a synth online, try it out, if I don't like it, send it back within 7 days and by law they have to give a full refund.

However, I was recommended to try out Cookes Pianos in Norwich when I wanted to replace my Kronos, that's a small independent business, the service I got there was exceptional, the salesman didn't try to push any old high markup crap on me, he took the time to find out exactly what I wanted to do, gave me about 1hr of his time, showing me every aspect of the MP6 and MP10, plus showing me the difference on the newer Kawai pianos that use 3 sensors on each note, rather than the 2 on the MP10.

Then left me alone to have a play for as long as I wanted.

It was an extremely friendly atmosphere, zero pressure, other staff asked me if I would like a coffee a few times.

When I decided on the MP10 their best price was £59 more than I can buy it from a box shifter, however I decided their service and knowledge deserved that little extra and I was more than happy to pay it.

I asked if they sold expression pedals, they sold the Yamaha one, I offered to buy it but the salesman said he would happily sell me one but he recommends I save my money and use the MP10 for a few weeks first to check whether I will really need one or not.

I found a problem with my MP10 Friday, emailed them, they phoned me up almost straight away to say a new one will be here Monday.

When I finally live somewhere where I can have an acoustic piano, I know with certainty who will get my business.

My point being, if I'm buying a hi-fi I will use Richer Sounds retail shop, if I'm after a piano I will use Cookes, but for almost anything else, I gain nothing by trying to use retail stores and often end up shaking my head wondering how these stores manage to stay in business with limited stock, unknowledgable or pushey sales staff, often older stock and higher prices than online, and usually a week or more until what I want is available to pick up, then having to fight traffic, often pay for parking etc, or I can order much cheaper online and if I order early enough, get it delivered the next day.

I'm happy to pay more for great service and knowledgable staff, but sadly few stores give me this.

Edit: I should add that the service I've had from PMT Norwich has also been extremely good, the keyboard guy at Norwich is very knowledgable and I know if I wanted to try out a keyboard that another branch had, he would willingly get it transferred across for me. They also have their own car park.

Their equipment on display is no worse than anywhere else I've visited in fact its better than most.

I simply picked on them as they are my local store, and my point is, if I or anyone else felt like going to their local music store regardless of which company it is, to try out a range of 88 synths or try out a range of midi controllers, we will be disappointed as no where has a descent range on display.

Personally I have a lot of time for PMT, at the same time, if I phone them up or email them for something and they have to order it in, there's no point in me ordering it from them, it's quicker and easier to order online.

Sharp wrote:

Thoraldus wrote:We should keep in mind that these 'trade shows' are primarily for the 'trade'. A place where manufacturers can tout their wares to wholesalers and dealers and generate sales. Consumer attendance is incidental to the real purpose of these affairs.

True, they are for trade, but the ironic thing there is I can't remember the last time I was in a music store that had any sort of half way decent stock. I've always gotten that general feeling from many on the forums too where they live.

These days it seems more people do more research online about a product they want to buy.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the feeling I get. I really feel it's certainly shifting that way.

Regards
Sharp

My closest dealer is a 400 mile round-trip adventure! Can you spell BOONIES?

Can't complain. This shop
http://www.musicstore.de/en_EN/GBP/Welc ... 00iVHyrXMd
is half an hour from here.

But anyway, I always get infos va Internet or from friends with testing devices, long before I can have a look at new synths in this or any other shop.

The best source would probably be NSA: direct access to their accounts would mean direct access to synth development data.