Korg Forums

[HUBA]

This is a 2024 thread for sharing thoughts and ideas on how Korg could make a Kronos successor an actual success in the sense of being perceived by lots of musicians as desirable and a rational long time investment.

Many will feel an instant urge to point out that this has already been talked about, that Korg doesn't care or that they've made their last flagship level workstation. Maybe so. This is a thread just in case the truth lies somewhere else, as the fact of the matter is we don't know for sure what Korg's current thoughts are about all this. And for all of you who's knee jerk reaction is to get all up in arms about criticism and "negativity", you're more than welcome to agree with each other in the vast majority of other threads on this forum and the internet in general. You may comment in this thread too, but accept that everything conceivably negative about the existing Kronos is all fair game in this one. For the greater good and so on. Okay?

So, as the Kronos2 is already quite the complex beast, the natural thing would be use it as a starting point and comment on how it could be bettered. However, it's also getting pretty old, and so there might be aspects that should be entirely different from the Oasys/Kronos in a say 2027 flagship workstation.

Myself I happen to be a Kronos beginner so my observations will probably be well known and of limited value but I'll start things off with my thoughts on the Kronos nevertheless:

1) Screen needs adjustable angle. Viewing it hunched over is literally a pain in the neck after mere minutes. Massive issue.

2) UI is convoluted as all hell and everything looks tiny on the screen. Which strains the eyes. Massive issue #2.

3) No piano roll editor. Massive issue #3

4) No octave jump buttons. WTF?

5) Way too few physical knobs and buttons. Empty surfaces is not something I find desirable on gear.

6) I like the notebook feature that store with projects. Great feature.

7) While convoluted, I like that nearly everything is possible. Lots of ins and outs. Lots of insert effects is hugely important. Especially the ability to have long fx chains on single patches. More of that please.

That's it. For now at least. Your turn. Don't be shy

[average_male]

Yea, all that. But as many will point out, this topic has been brought up since K1 on this and other forums. Short of it is, Korg had a features list, a budget and timetables to meet. If Korg didn't have to contend with any of these factors, your list of desires would have been fulfilled. Sorry if I soured your, 'only if' parade.

[HUBA]

[HardSync]

Focusing first on the screen angle, my personal wish list would be some sort of HDMI port thing or other connector so that we could hook up a large touchscreen tablet or laptop to mirror the screen output and functionality. These days, with my eyesight deteriorating rapidly from old age, I wish every synth had that option. It's rare that I can see what's happening on most of my synths without putting on reading glasses.

There's a relevant topic about this here: http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=126362 So clearly it's not just my wish.

On the Korg M3 workstation, the entire sound module w/ screen tilted up of course. That made manufacturing more complex and costly, which is probably why Korg abandoned it. But I agree that an angled screen is easier on the neck.

The piano roll thing is a mystery -- it's possibly the most common request made since the Kronos came out. If you search on Piano AND Roll in this forum, you will find many hundreds of topics and posts mentioning it, complaining, etc. That it hasn't been implemented even in the Nautilus leads me to think that there is something that prevents implementation in the OASYS architecture (whereas the M3 does have a piano roll screen). I have no idea what that something would be. Maybe that's been answered somewhere.... There's also DAWs to consider, and while there are plenty of people like me who don't use them, there are even more who do use them.

Octave Up/Down buttons aren't typically needed on 88-note keyboards, which is probably why Korg went with a much more flexible SW1 SW2 functionality that could do many different things including octave shifts if you need to. You can also do those with KARMA buttons and sliders, and a small handful of other ways. Korg probably felt it was superfluous. Now if there had been a 37-key Kronos, yeah, you'd definitely need dedicated buttons.

How many more knobs would be acceptable, and what would you have those knobs do? Keep in mind, there are nine different synth engines to consider. Worst case scenario you could buy a controller with tons of assignable knobs that rests on one of those empty spaces.

[HUBA]

[timg11]

If you read all the threads like this over the past few years, and factor in the total silence from Korg, there is only one conclusion. Korg has decided they are no longer interested in offering a "flagship" workstation. It's like Toyota saying "we are not going to pursue our Lexus brand any more, but rather, put our efforts toward making more vehicles like the Corolla"

When I started with my Kronos in 2011, it was mostly for Smooth Sound Transition, which was a unique feature at the time.

My next instrument is going to be a software / plugin type of system with a MIDI controller. That is even better than SST, since I can have a huge number of plugins loaded and ready to play on a computer with lots of CPU and RAM. It finally eliminates polyphony and SST limits. Software and OS stability has improved a lot over the past 10 years, and I would now trust a software instrument in a live performance.

Of course if there had been a K3, I probably would have bought it, just for the simplicity of not re-doing much of my voices and sound design.
_________________
Kronos2 73, Presonus StudioLive, Cakewalk / Sonar Platinum, Windows 10

[KK]

http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=123292

[HUBA]

[HardSync]

KK, that angled screen mod is superb.

HUBA, the M3's UI does have fewer things happening on screen. Part of that is screen resolution, but also because there are more tabs or pages to move through. It's a great workstation even now, but I do wonder if it would ultimately disappoint you. It was designed to work with the EXB-Radias card, or you could put the OG Radias alongside it (if you can find the bracket and plate kit needed for that). I have both the EXB-Radias installed, and the OG Radias module. This is all fantastic, but you don't get nine synthesis engines on a M3. You don't get proper Wavesequencing either. It does have built-in pads though, and these feel a lot better than the Nanopad's pads, imo.

None of us know what Korg will or won't do in the future. It is fair to say to that market has changed considerably in the past decade, and what people want and can afford if those things are made are not the same. (I'd love a 3rd Wave, but I can't even justify the money to buy one -- it's just too far out of my acceptable price range.) I don't agree that silence means nothing is happening or is indicative of no new flagship workstations. In my brief experience with a synth manufacturer, we weren't allowed to talk about anything that was being developed. When the Kronos "dropped" it took pretty much all of us by surprise. I think Korg teased it briefly a few weeks before they announced it. If Korg is now working on anything "new" they'll do it the same way, I'd think.

[HUBA]

[HUBA]

[ChrisDuncan]

[KK]

Thanks HardSync, HUBA and Chris. What I like about this mod is you can have the original LCD screen look/angle and the improved one, so very classy. And no more neck/head/shoulder aches after hours of sound programming on your Kronos.

I've never heard about Synth Wizards, looks like a nice job that I would love to do (modifying keyboard instruments). But I doubt many Kronos owners would be interested as it takes a while to do and nobody likes to be without their Kronos.

My Kronos still works perfectly so it proves my mod is solid and still fine. The tough part is I had to use the materials available in my own Kronos. Zero room for mistakes. Ideally, some guy good at 3D printing would create a 3D design of the modified LCD holder I did very carefully by hand. Then I could complete this mod more quickly using 3D prints of the modified LCD holder.

[HUBA]

[ChrisDuncan]