Korg Forums

[GregC]

yeah, I know. Kronos is more keyboard than all owners can handle or learn.

Thats not the point here.

There is always room for improvement. Kronos can be improved in modest ways without replacing the Mobo, etc etc.

The last OS update was March 5, 2019

Korg should show reasonable attention to Kronos owners.

Get going on OS update would be reasonable attention.

Yamaha does excellent work updating MODX/Montage. I am impressed
by their commitment to the MODX/Montage community.

Nord , AFAIK, updates many/most of their keyboards for a long time [ I believe Nord has an excellent rep for support and service].
I am impressed by Nord's commitment to their keyboard owner community.

Thats Korg's peer group. Thats objective.

Or maybe Kronos owners here don't think Korg should do any further OS updates.

Since you are the customer, what do you want from Korg ?

Further OS updates for Kronos,,, Yes or No ?
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[tunaman]

Greg - is there some specific feature or bug you would like to see addressed? Typically manufacturers don’t arbitrarily update the OS just for grins and giggles (as I’m sure you’re aware).

I know there are a few kludgy behaviors I would like to see updated, such as inconsistencies and annoyances in the file management interfaces, but to be honest my two K2’s seem to be rock solid and not lacking in the least.

I’d love to see you and other members’ ideas of features or issues to be included.

[GregC]

[Lightbringer]

I love getting firmware updates. Definitely something that helps with my ongoing customer satisfaction with a piece of music gear.

It's 2020, and in this digital age I feel like it's almost more of an expectation than an exception on a flagship piece of gear. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Korg owes me something. But its pretty commonplace these days to enhance a product that is enhanceable via firmware.

I feel like the occasional firmware update with new features and enhancements is a win/win. It is good for customer satisfaction. But it's also good for the manufacturer because it creates buzz and renewed energy around the product. Imagine if Korg dropped a new firmware that had a few substantial new features or enhancements. I think the Kronos community would be totally excited and talking about it. And for someone shopping for a workstation, all the buzz might tip the scale in favor of Korg (vs. Yamaha, Roland, Kurzweil.) People do read forums when they're comparison shopping to see what's happening and what people are saying.

[GregC]

[tunaman]

[kronoSphere]

GregC,
Time passes and passes again...
The crux of the problem is the core of the O.S of Kronos.
And the Kronos sequencer is a perfect example to explain why it is now almost impossible to hope for future and notable improvements in O.S. of Kronos : Everything is practically too old to be thought in a new way or to be redone ...
To realize this, it is enough to look carefully at any simple sequencer that is in a D.A.W. today.

Throughout the O.S. Kronos (and therefore also in its sequencer) it lacks so many essential and useful functions that this forum has made it here, for so many years so long a list ...

This is why I repeat here, while I turn on my Kronos, that to hope for a great and real improvement of the O.S. Kronos today is useless and futile.
To permanently overcome all these shortcomings of the O.S, we simply have to connect the Kronos to a real D.A.W.

The 2 complement each other perfectly, and avoid wasting precious time: Luck!
_________________
trees are going fast.

https://www.lairdeparis.fr

Current Gear : Kronos 88 / Seaboard Rise / Triton Extreme / Sequoia / Motif Rack XS / TC Helicon voicelive rack /Awave 11 / Audio & VSTi plug-ins connected /wide touchscreen / iPad Pro 512.

[19naia]

Reminds me of my iPad 4th generation.
I bought it in early 2014, right as its replacement came onto the market.

I still have it today after being 6 years old, but its software is not supported any more.
I did upgrade to iPad Pro in 2018, but i still have the iPad 4th gen.
I still use the 4th gen for guest to use if they need basic tablet features while visiting with me.
Kids love it for bright color games.

Anyway, no more software support for the old iPad after being 5 years old.
That is the age of my Kronos 2 now.

I guess the difference between Korg and Apple, is that i was able to go get a new and vastly improved iPad in redesigned and upgraded hardware form.

I don’t really need to mention here that i cannot go out and get a new and vastly improved hardware unit of Korg Flagship Workstation.
Not yet........And that “Yet” part has been dragging on for years.

My hopes are that the delay is about something really good in the works, just like the years when so many editions of Triton followed each other up until the original platform for Kronos was released as a real game changer for the entire keyboarding world.
Roland flailed for years with FA series, before finally bringing out the latest Fantom with very significant hardware and system upgrades, but not enough to set Kronos relevance back.

Korg is probably holding back because korg is not falling behind so much in that department.
And all the other new equipment they have been releasing every year, adds up to a lot of work and experience that can translate into really good ideas for the next big thing that keeps korg ahead in the flagship race.

Personally, the hardware in Kronos is set back in the polyphony department, and Roland has leaped ahead in that department.
I will never use all of Kronos features and probably don’t need a bigger better keyboard, except when i start to swim in the deep end of Kronos potential and find it lacks the polyphony to smoothly handle putting so many features to the test.

[HardSync]

I dunno if I really wanna jump in on this topic for fear of aggravating anyone unnecessarily with my subjective opinions on what Korg ought to do or not. So perhaps consider this post as an alternative perspective, and know that I'm not wedded to my opinion either. And this definitely is not intended as snark. I do fully understand the frustrations though. All right?

So the Kronos is -- what? -- 13 years old at this point, as far as the original version's release? There's been several versions since and Korg is still selling new ones. So, for the last decade or so, they've done quite a bit of updating on this flagship model workstation. That's a long time for any product these days. We're lucky if support for any consumer product lasts longer than say, five years, at best. Korg has supported the Kronos for thirteen so far.

Secondly, it matters not at all if you are a pro, gigging musician, a home studio type, YouTuber influencer, or a hobbyist. All of us have to work with what we have, what we can afford, etc. The only relevant thing in respect of our gear is: Can I make music with this instrument? If you can't, then get rid of it. But if you can, keep it despite that there are things you want improved. That's it. That's the whole thing right there. Are you able to make music with your Kronos? You decide of course. I've got synths and drum machines that I've had for 30 years now, and they're antiquated and don't do a fraction of the things the newer synths do. I still make music on them all the time, and I'm grateful they still work. And they're Korg synths, too.

Now Korg definitely has some issues they ought to resolve, especially in respect of computer software and drivers. I can't even bear to hook up my Korg gear to a PC anymore, because I don't want to fight with it and ruin my creativity when all I want to do is play and create music. I have other synths that I do hook up to my PC without issues, even older Korg gear by way of old MIDI apps designed for Windows 95, originally. But my newer Korg gear with USB connections -- nah. No thanks. Too painful. So I'm with all of you wishing that Korg would come up with something more stable that won't be affected by every single Microsoft OS update.

Anyway... that's my thought on this topic. I do get the frustrations. Can Korg do better than they are? Yes. They can. We tend to think of Korg as this huge company that can do anything with unlimited resources. But they have fewer than 300 employees worldwide, and most of them are not software programmers, or designers. And like every business, Korg is going to ensure its viability, which means they can't do everything for every product all the time.

Feel free to ignore this. I'm unwilling to argue about who killed who... lol. Just throwing out a viewpoint that I hope is worth considering. As a final point, literally one month after I bought a Korg M3-88 and spent several thousand UK pounds on that baby and accessories, Korg announced the Kronos. That ... OMG, that was frustrating! I would have preferred a Kronos to an M3. Sure wish there would have been a price drop on the M3, but there wasn't. But... I kept my M3 anyway, because it made music just fine for me. And it still does, and that OS hasn't been updated at all since I bought it.

[GregC]

[GregC]

[HardSync]

Yeah, mate. I don't own a Kronos, if that wasn't made clear enough in my post.I've wanted one for 13 years. Desperately, but can't afford it. I've been on this Kronos forum since it came out and helped a bunch of musicians with their Kronoses, including you, Greg. Everyone, regardless of ownership, is entitled to comment and express an opinion. You all get to decide how much weight to give it when they do. :)

I'm beginning to think my dates are well off here. Can't be 13 years. Has to be less than that... but oh, well... however long it's been, I've wanted one.

[GregC]

[exsequor699]

[GregC]

thank you !

That makes 3 of us, so far
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Kronos 88. MODX8
Achieve your musical dreams
https://soundcloud.com/user-898236994