Is it reasonable to expect that a Korg Kronos is fit now?

Discussion relating to the Korg Kronos Workstation.

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kyoland
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Is it reasonable to expect that a Korg Kronos is fit now?

Post by kyoland »

I'm an ex-oasys owner that is considering buying a kronos 73/ 88. I've read a few posts that made me think I should wait a bit until the keybed and OS upgrades were ironed out - I play live so reliability is a must for me.

I had a bad experience with the oasys 76 that meant it was 9 months getting repaired so don't want to go through the same thing with the kronos. This time I have sold my triton studio and only have a couple of the triton racks as backups.

I'm still using the Fantom X7 and more recently a Access Virus, but I miss the oasys sounds. The oasys was too big for Air NZ so I quit it for a smaller board.

Is there a serial number or something I can use to determine what a good one will be?
Just play it

Korg forever
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michelkeijzers
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Post by michelkeijzers »

The keybed problems are already solved, and the OS fixes probably also will be fixed in time. Besides, you can upgrade it as soon as the fix is available.

On the other hand, the OS bugs are only in very specific areas and I never noticed one.
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runningman67
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Post by runningman67 »

Very reasonable. Buy one !
There you go, I made the decision for you.
Life's to short. You won't regret it :D
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BobTheDog
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Post by BobTheDog »

I have to disagree here!

I have recently brought a Kronos 88, a couple of weeks ago.

The first one had a noisy fan, noisy outputs, the old keybed and a crap value dial.

I spoke to the dealer who sent me another one which Korg said has the new keybed, it didn't so this one went back.

I have just unpacked my third one, this was triple guaranteed by Korg to have the new keybed, it doesn't. Also the fan is really really noisy.

I am loosing the will to live with this keyboard!
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michelkeijzers
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Post by michelkeijzers »

BobTheDog wrote:I have to disagree here!

I have recently brought a Kronos 88, a couple of weeks ago.

The first one had a noisy fan, noisy outputs, the old keybed and a crap value dial.

I spoke to the dealer who sent me another one which Korg said has the new keybed, it didn't so this one went back.

I have just unpacked my third one, this was triple guaranteed by Korg to have the new keybed, it doesn't. Also the fan is really really noisy.

I am loosing the will to live with this keyboard!
The key dial is a problem already solved long ago... the shop can get a new one for free from Korg to be installed.
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BobTheDog
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Post by BobTheDog »

Hi,

This one I just got is recently delivered from Korg to the dealers, 88 serial 3558 230UK-PE.

Noisy Fan (can hear from 5 meters away)

Bad Value dial (scratchy)

Old keybed.

I have now had three of these and none of them are up to scratch for a £3000 keyboard!
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MarPabl
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Post by MarPabl »

Yes there's risk with the "old" Kronos specially if your serial number is below 3600 However, this is also an opportunity (at least in USA) considering the price drop. You only have to make sure not to accept any Kronos 88 below 3600
Current gear: :arrow: Access Virus TI2 Whiteout Keyboard (111/150), Access Virus TI2 Polar DarkStar Special Edition, Gibson Custom Lite 2013, Roland MV-8800 \:D/
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BobTheDog
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Post by BobTheDog »

But this is a 'new' one just received from Korg!
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runningman67
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Post by runningman67 »

runningman67 wrote:Very reasonable. Buy one !
There you go, I made the decision for you.
Life's to short. You won't regret it :D
I stand by my comment :D
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MarPabl
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Post by MarPabl »

BobTheDog wrote:But this is a 'new' one just received from Korg!
Yes but it didn't pass the 3600 serial number criteria :( With lower serial numbers, the fix is not applied.
Current gear: :arrow: Access Virus TI2 Whiteout Keyboard (111/150), Access Virus TI2 Polar DarkStar Special Edition, Gibson Custom Lite 2013, Roland MV-8800 \:D/
seapea
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Re: Is it reasonable to expect that a Korg Kronos is fit now

Post by seapea »

kyoland wrote: I've read a few posts that made me think I should wait a bit until the keybed and OS upgrades were ironed out - I play live so reliability is a must for me.

Is there a serial number or something I can use to determine what a good one will be?
kyoland. I'm in Auckland. If you want to pm me, I can tell you my Kronos experience over last year. Local Korg agent were real helpful and competent. Very happy with Kronos, use it live.
Kronos 73 #8xx Hammond XK3C Axiom 61 Mainstage 3.32 with OMNISPHERE 2.51 AbletonLive 9.74 controlled by SETLIST MAKER on iPhone8+ Arturia V Collection Classics, Reason 10 with Reason Pianos, SonicRefills Gold + Ian McIntosh Patches, UVI Falcon, Sylenth, Giant Alicia Keys Various EASTWEST Libraries Sample Robot 5 Pro OSX Vintage Organ Pack Christian Cullen
kyoland
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Post by kyoland »

All good thanks guys - the fan issue isn't as much of a deal to me - I can't hear a lot of fans live -

There's obviously the X factor to contend with now, so I will see what these price out at. User sample streaming sounds awesome. I have a massive set of samples to put in.

8)
Just play it

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yeloop
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Post by yeloop »

MarPabl wrote:Yes there's risk with the "old" Kronos specially if your serial number is below 3600 However, this is also an opportunity (at least in USA) considering the price drop. You only have to make sure not to accept any Kronos 88 below 3600
Thanks for this info!

Given that the serial numbering is separate for each size (61, 73, 88...), do you know what the "safe minimum serial number" would be for the 73 note version?

I think the 88 has sold more so 73 note serial numbers are still a bit lower... should I nevertheless wait until I can get a 73 note with a serial of at least 3600?

(I've returned three Kronos 73s already, all with serial numbers below 2000... and all of which had the keybed fault.)

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have!

Cheers,
Mike
mathieumaes
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Post by mathieumaes »

kyoland wrote:I can't hear a lot of fans live -
Really ? At times I can't hear myself play because of fans screaming and shouting. :lol:
(Sorry, couldn't resist)

I burried all my doubts after playing a few gigs now ... For me the game really has changed on stage, and I'm loving it!
Old gig setup: Yamaha S90, Roland Fantom XR, Hammond XM-1, M-Audio Axiom 61
2011 gig setup: Korg Kronos 88
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BobTheDog
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Post by BobTheDog »

yeloop wrote:
MarPabl wrote:Yes there's risk with the "old" Kronos specially if your serial number is below 3600 However, this is also an opportunity (at least in USA) considering the price drop. You only have to make sure not to accept any Kronos 88 below 3600
Thanks for this info!

Given that the serial numbering is separate for each size (61, 73, 88...), do you know what the "safe minimum serial number" would be for the 73 note version?

I think the 88 has sold more so 73 note serial numbers are still a bit lower... should I nevertheless wait until I can get a 73 note with a serial of at least 3600?

(I've returned three Kronos 73s already, all with serial numbers below 2000... and all of which had the keybed fault.)

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have!

Cheers,
Mike

Hi Mike,

From what I understand with my recent Kronos purchase the serial number cannot be trusted to determine the keybed.

I had a 88 (3559) with old keybed and then a replacement (3558) with the new keybed!

The important bit I think is another code that is near the serial number on the box, my one with the new keybed has "K1", the one with the old keybed was "J-12".

I have no idea if this is the same with the 73 though.

Cheers


Andy
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