Any advice for a new Kronos user?

splinters · Post by **splinters** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 12:53 pm

The wood surprised me but then again my Roland Stage Piano is mostly metal so it would be a shock to see a premium nachine containing cheap wood board. However, its 9mm MDF so easy to make another should I have to and I recall my Yamaha P150 was built like a tank yet the base was inch think chipboard!! Sold it a few months ago after 10+ years of use with no sign of damage.

Still, almost £3000 worth of machine should be made of premium materials. I used to think Macs were overpriced but now I see why you pay more for the build quality.

Love the sound of the Kronos but I am still not 100% convinced its the only board I will need for the next few years. Just wish there were not so many complaints about keybed, ribbon, fan, reboots etc.
As it will be my only board I need it to be reliable. I realise people are more likely to post problems than the fact that nothing is wrong but just how reliable are they in general (bearing in mind I dont plan to move it from where it is sat now)?

phil55 · Post by **phil55** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:18 pm

Ithink the wood bottom is to keep it cooler and since there's a template for a vent, maybe future modification.

I bought my Kronos 2nd hand and cheap ($1000). I've been working on improving it (with help) as it was to replace my M3. I decided against selling the M3.

For the record, the only issues I had with it was the fan noise. The keybeds seem perfect and everything else is holding up. I did have some sustain issues, but I believe that to be an OS update issue and I have yet to upgrade to 2,1,1. If anyone is keeping tabs, I have a K-73 with a sn #148.

I think of the Kronos as a 'parlour piano' with a bunch of extra interesting stuff and for what I paid, that's just about right.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:23 pm

It was an absolute bargain at that price mate (I guess around £600) which is unheard of in the UK even if it was faulty. They sell here for just under £2000 used in good condition so a mint unit with 12 months warranty and free shipping for £1400 was a bargain...although nothing like yours.

Anyway, I will give this a few weeks and see how I feel about it after some serious use.

phil55 · Post by **phil55** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:31 pm

I've seen the Kronos go for as little as $500 (refurbished) on completed items in eBay.

Some people can't deal with the bugs and sell cheap. I think there's a deep downward trend, price wise, on the Kronos.

I actually didn't know about the bugs when I bought it. All I did was test the keys to make sure they were all working, which is what I do when buying any keyboard second hand.

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:34 pm

[quote="phil55"]I've seen the Kronos go for as little as $500 (refurbished) on completed items in eBay.
[quote]

I also have seen one or two long time ago ... they probably are stolen; always ask for a receipt or (expired) warranty for such low prices.

MusicLive · Post by **MusicLive** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:38 pm

Wango,

All I can say about my new Kronos is...I love it.

Ok, I can just about hear the fan but I'll just ignore it. I've read the thread about replacing it but won't be taking a screwdriver to mine whilst the warranty is still active.
When I compare it to running my PC there's just no noise. I Run 14 fans in my PC as well as a water cooling system ... so it sounds as if I'm in British Aerospace testing Hangar...but then there are 17 drives involved.

My iMac is virtually silent but the whir of the drive can be just about heard. So I would imagine a highly sensitive studio mike would pick that up too.

In a recording studio I can imagine it to be very frustrating and it definitely needs to be addressed by Korg. I hope you can get it sorted out very soon.

As for all the other so called "issues" - well, they really don't worry me in the least.
I have only one interest and that is the sounds that the instrument can produce and as long as it can do that, I'm happy.

Now I'm off to register mine and download all the updates.
Once that's done I'll lose a lot of weight, as I won't be able to eat or drink for a week.

Good Luck and enjoy the ride, to all you new Kronos owners.

MC

phil55 · Post by **phil55** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:45 pm

michelkeijzers wrote:
phil55 wrote:I've seen the Kronos go for as little as $500 (refurbished) on completed items in eBay.

I also have seen one or two long time ago ... they probably are stolen; always ask for a receipt or (expired) warranty for such low prices.
Here's the one on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/KORG-KRONOS-X-K ... 2a354e4632

I don't know if it was stolen as I didn't follow up on it (let alone know about it until later). The one I bought was from a sound recordist from a TV production company. He had the manuals and it was in his own sound studio. He had it listed for $1200 and I really wasn't going to buy it as I'm quite happy with my M3 setup, but the price was quite good.

However, I would suggest that the Kronos is averaging around $1600 to $1800 as completed items on eBay. I can see this going down in 2014.

wango · Post by **wango** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 3:14 pm

MusicLive wrote:Wango,

All I can say about my new Kronos is...I love it.

So do I

Ok, I can just about hear the fan but I'll just ignore it. I've read the thread about replacing it but won't be taking a screwdriver to mine whilst the warranty is still active.

Nor will I but there's no way I can ignore the noise. I'm waiting for Korg to propose a solution and eventual replacement or modification will be done in one of Korg's service centers.

When I compare it to running my PC there's just no noise. I Run 14 fans in my PC as well as a water cooling system ... so it sounds as if I'm in British Aerospace testing Hangar...but then there are 17 drives involved.

In the control room I use an 8core Mac with a ridiculous silent fan, so no problem when recording vocals - acc guitars etc. With the Kronos in the control room, I would need to shut it down every time I record acoustic instruments and vocals. In the recording room mostly used for drum recording, I use an iMac and I don't even know if there's a fan noise or not because it doesn't matter.

In a recording studio I can imagine it to be very frustrating and it definitely needs to be addressed by Korg. I hope you can get it sorted out very soon.

Yes it can be very irritating and affect your concentration and as with everything, you get used to "silence".

As for all the other so called "issues" - well, they really don't worry me in the least.

Apart from the fan noise, I don't have any issues 'til now. I only was surprised to see a wooden panel in a synth housing. That was a première for me. After updating to OS 2.1 and the last firmware, I'm happy that everything still works as expected.
Anyway, I'm very confident, that my dealer, a very helpful guy, will come
up with the right solution. In the mean time, thanks to all for your help and words of welcome.

Best regards
Ab

jeremykeys · Post by **jeremykeys** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:40 am

The wooden bottom has never bothered me and in all actuality, I never gave it a second thought. As for fan noise, yes I have some, but if I'm recording with a mic I just focus the mic so the null point is helping to keep as much fan noise out as possible. I live in an apartment building on the ground floor and right outside my window is the swimming pool. In the summer there's the sound/noise of kids screaming and playing in the water. Because that's the side of the building that faces the sun it gets freakinglynhot in there. I've just decided that if you can hear children in my recordings, then so be it.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 11:50 am

I have had to move the Kronos around a few times in the last few days and i noticed that a few keys in the middle of the board are intermittently 'clacky' for want of a better word. Isn't all the time though, mostly just fast staccato parts and then only with no sound on. I presume this is just the board settling into its new resting place as it was on an Apex stand before (on a solid surface now).
It got me thinking as i have 5 days to return this if not happy. What other things should I check out to be sure it has no problems. Ribbon, joystick, screen etc. all work fine and I now have it connected to my mac via usb now so that seems to work.

Its a fairly early 00305 serial 73 with 3gb ram. Looks like it has never been out of the box to be honest.
It was never registered as far as I know so is there any way of knowing how much use it has, condition of ssd etc.

Getting the hang if it and its truly a great sounding board.

phil55 · Post by **phil55** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 2:31 pm

splinters wrote:I have had to move the Kronos around a few times in the last few days and i noticed that a few keys in the middle of the board are intermittently 'clacky' for want of a better word. Isn't all the time though, mostly just fast staccato parts and then only with no sound on. I presume this is just the board settling into its new resting place as it was on an Apex stand before (on a solid surface now). ….

The board settling into it's new resting place makes no sense to me at all. Could you elaborate please?

The only issues to look out for are what have been suggested in the thread here: http://www.korgforums.com/forums-frame.htm

I think the key bed is the most expensive one to fix. The fan can be modified with a quieter one for about $30 if you do it yourself or about $80 if you get a computer tech to do it. (I see no point sending it to Korg for the fan issue as they would most likely replace it with another stock fan). There's been some software issues (sustain mainly) and the other odd hardware issue (build around edges, knobs, ribbon, output gains) but these seem to be more uncommon than the others.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 3:29 pm

Thanks Phil, the link doesn't go anywhere though.
When I got the Kronos on Wednesday I had a god play and the Keybed sounded fine. However, today with headphones in I took them off ant noticed a few keys were a bit noisier than the rest (its the 3rd F from the bottom then the G and A notes next to it. Also the second A is the same).
When I put my Roland RD on its side for a second, all the keys went weird; loose and different heights like a broken keyboard. I laid it down and they were fine so I just thought maybe the Kronos frame had twisted a little on the Apex style stand.
Now when playing slow you can't hear it or even pressing down hard...its on the release like it is hitting something inside when it springs back up. On the other notes there is a reassuring soft 'thud' but on these its more like a metal sound under the keys.
I will make a video...it will be easier.

phil55 · Post by **phil55** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 3:58 pm

splinters wrote:Thanks Phil, the link doesn't go anywhere though….

Sorry about that. I was trying to link the 'sticky' at the top of Korg Kronos page on this site. I tried it again and it didn't link. Anyway, just above at the top of this page is where you'll find other resources.

lotty1 · Post by **lotty1** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 6:55 pm

Hi Splinters
When I bought my Kronos 73 I played it for 6 months before I started to delve into it and I was amazed at what it could do. I had it for nearly 3 years now and I'm still amazed at what it can do.
I every time I play it I hear something new or find out something new about it.
So just enjoy it and you will find it very rewarding.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 9:03 pm

Not likely lotty, its going back. As detailed in the 'faulty keybed' thread its definitely got issues and worse still there are 4 screws missing from the base including at least one from the keybed. Given how it was described to me when I bought it from Korg with the promise of a refund if not happy, its going back.