Korg Forums

[GregC]

[Narioso]

[Jan1]

Looking at the sales rank of workstations at Thomann there’s no commercial need for Korg to rush a Kronos successor to the market.
It still sells very well, and the fact that there’s really no competition in terms of the range of features also plays a role, the Kronos being an ‘old school’ type of workstation.
The price of an 88 key Kronos (and by the way the top 3 at Thomann at this moment consists of 88 key versions) is now around €3100.
On the other hand, Roland is not sitting still and the Fantom is still growing and expanding in terms of features, I’m sure that this has not escaped the attention of Korg...

The Kronos is contrasted by the Montage which apparently does not sell very well, and it’s almost five years old
So my guess is that if there going to be a new workstation in January it’s going to be a Montage successor.

[Musicwithharry]

You know, it seems to me as though Korg do not really have to release a new flagship workstation because the Kronos is still the leader of the pack.

I am not taking anything away from the competitors, but consider:

When the Yamaha Montage was released, it did not have a full-featured sequencer in it. They were promoting the extended FM capabilities and the Superknob. Sure, the phrase pattern matrix on the Montage was pretty cool and in combination with the Superknob, it made for fun sounding stuff. If memory serves, the Montage was supposed to be a super performance-oriented synth. It seems like the sequencer was added as an afterthought because the customers wanted that. It seems like the Montage was not designed with that in mind.

When the new Roland Fantom was released, it really did not seem ready yet. They were still adding things to it and many people, including in this forum, thought that Roland released it too quickly. While people may say that they are simply upgrading the unit with newer and more features, that may be true for some things. But in the grand scheme, it really seems like Roland were not truly ready to release it. Planned upgrades and additions to a unit is one thing...

Kurzweil are such a small player in the market, that I do not feel that they are even worthy of much more than a passing nod of identification.

Nord do not make a workstation, to my knowledge. I do not understand the hype with their offerings anyway...

Any of the other brands - Arturia, Sequential (Dave Smith Instruments), AMS, and almost anybody else, are almost releasing boutique-level gear that serve a very limited purpose. Behringer would be included in that too (although it would be neat to see what Behringer would do in a workstation instrument).

When regarding the Kronos, it seemed like it was a full package and truly FULLY ready for release. I think that they succeeded. Sure, they may not release as much new material for it was we would like, but the core was complete and ready for its users from the beginning.

There are a lot of people who are not happy unless their keyboard is the latest and greatest. They will complain about old architecture and layout... if the current model works, why change it? Why not take the time to actually get to know your synth and ALL it does?

In many aspects, the 'tried and true' architecture is not a bad thing. Korg still uses the 2-oscillator setup that can be traced all the way back to the M1. The HD-1 engine in the Kronos is a carryover from the OASYS. Is that really a problem? Does the Kronos make you less musical simply because it is not the newest board on the market? I bet not.

I watch so many videos of synths and 'artists' and rarely do I even see a full-size keyboard anymore. They are smaller in size (even with smaller-sized keys) and are almost niche products. With that said, even I have the Minilogue XD and the XD Module... but my main performance boards have at least 61 keys and my main controller unit in my live rig is a Kross 1-88...

Sure, Korg could make some upgrades that would really help many of us out. I, for one, would like to see a bigger screen on the Kronos, and pretty much every other workstation out there. Maybe Korg could program in some compatibility to allow for an external touch screen to be added (and a mouse/keyboard setup too). Maybe their next release could really blur the lines between hardware workstation and computer-based operation...

I really have issues with the attitudes of people not ever being happy. There are more than enough workstation offerings, especially from Korg, that can satisfy just about any user. In today's 'throw away' society, the former does seem to be the norm, and it is sad.

With all of the above said, I do not have a Kronos yet. I still LOVE the design of the OASYS, personally, and would still consider getting one of those. I do have many workstations, including the Kross (first gen - I have 4 of these), the PA700, and some old Ensoniq VFX-SD units in my studio. Even the Ensoniqs still get use, real MUSICAL use, in my music making for both live and studio use.

I do not believe that Korg are sitting back and not doing anything, either. I am sure that they are still designing the next-gen flagship workstation and I am sure that it will all blow us away. With that said, I hope that there is a high level of backward compatibility with the previous model (Kronos) so that more users will get on board.

I remember a time with Ensoniq; We were all happy with the VFX-SD (after they got all the bugs worked out with the keybed calibration error fiasco) and the SD-1. The SD-1 was backwards compatible with everything on the VFX-SD. It was basically the same synth, but with more polyphony, 16-bit piano waveforms (and other waveforms), the keybed issue resolved, and just more general stability. We were all happy about that.

Then, Ensoniq released the TS Series (TS-10 and TS-12) and lost ALL backward compatibility with the VFX-SD and SD-1. We were PISSED! Many of us did not upgrade to the TS Series, because we had to scrap all of our old sequences and sounds from the VFX-SD and SD-1 and start anew. Ensoniq claimed it was because of the architecture (which was different but still based on what the previous models listed did), and they added new features. For us users, it felt like a slap in the face because we invested so much into the previous models.

With a flagship from ANY company, I would hope that this is not the norm. I understand about progress, newer architecture and such, but there should be a way to migrate up to the new system and use stuff from the previous system. That should be written into the code of any new machine, especially if they are keeping parts of previous sound engines in the new release. We are talking about adding lines of code to an OS kernel (likely Linux) and it is an easy thing to do.

With the pandemic being global, I imagine that has really put a damper on many different things coming to market. Sure, Roland can release updates, in software, for the Fantom, but to release an actual new product from any company would be a bit muted right now. I am fine with that. I think that it is silly to release a unit with a newly color case (Krome EX Copper) and try to push it as a new release, but that is my opinion. Korg have done it with the M50, Kronos, Kross, etc... Even Yamaha have done it with the DX series back in the day and with the MX series.

Maybe one thing that I have really focused on during all of this COVID-based down time, is that there is a lot to offer in the gear that I already have. I have really gotten to know the Kross units and have learned that there is A LOT of flexibility in them, IF you take the time to dig under the hood. I have gotten great results from them and my band is still in awe when I intro into a song with a great piano sound and other layers and they simply turn and stare while I play. I have taken the time to get to know the Minilogue XD units and they add a lot to my textures. The Behringer Deepmind-12 I use on stage offers sounds that I cannot get from any of my other synths live and it adds the right textures to our sound. Since I have had my Ensoniqs for so long, I already know about them but still get surprised every now and then with a new texture that I make.

I think that the same applies to the Kronos. Many of us only scratch the surface with our synths and I feel that if we really take the time, we would probably have a new 'desert island' synth in our midst...

Grace,
Harry
_________________
Alesis Vortex Keytar, Alesis QS6.2, Alesis QSR, Alesis SR-16, Behringer Deepmind-12, Ensoniq Avista 7600, Ensoniq VFX, Ensoniq VFX-SD, Ensoniq SQ1+, (2) Ensoniq SQ-R+/32, Korg i3 (2020 Version), (2) Korg Kross 1-61, (2) Korg Kross 1-88, Korg Minilogue XD, Korg Minilogue XD Module, Korg M50-61, Korg PA700, Korg X5DR, Korg Z3, Kurzweil SP1, Lowrey EZP3 (bascially a Kawai), Roland D-05, Roland E-09, Waldorf Streichfett, Yamaha Reface CP, Yamaha Reface CS, Yamaha Reface DX, Yamaha Reface YC

[GregC]

[Jan1]

The MODX 8 ranks number 1 in Thomann’s workstation category, not a surprise considering what you get for your money. So that’s an entirely different story than the Montage.

The supply chain delays really are a big problem, and with Autumn setting in with flu related illnesses I think the problem may get worse, unfortunately.

[GregC]

[Jan1]

[Jan1]

[GregC]

[GregC]

[rbox]

[Jan1]

A retailer here in The Netherlands recently offered the Titanium edition at significantly reduced prices while the price of the Kronos 2015 edition remained the same (which made the 2015 models more expensive than the more recent Titanium edition).
So I think a new limited edition is going to arrive, not a successor.

[kday]

[GregC]