Considering selling Kronos and buying a stage piano instead

[GregC]

Also, you could replace the Korg floppy with one from a PC. That was great. Many other brands wouldn't let you do that. Your right the Extreme did have plastic end caps. I forgot about that one. I had the 61 key version and it felt quite solid. That is still a great keyboard. I would buy it again in a minute.

i agree. I had the 76 Extreme w/Moss. what a great board . I mostly used the Zip drives for storage. Had a hard time letting all that go. I can see why many owners want to convert the triton/extreme combis into the kronos.

Even so, the Kronos is sensational. I am finally getting into Karma. Having a blast using that.

[SanderXpander]

Still have my TEX61/MOSS and though I don't use it much, I'm not planning to get rid of it.

[Scott]

What you think, do you believe Kronos' build quality is okay? In those conditions, would changing it be a reasonable decision?

I think Kronos build quality is okay. But strictly for piano, personally, it has neither my favorite action nor my favorite sound. That really comes down to personal taste.

[GregC]

What you think, do you believe Kronos' build quality is okay? In those conditions, would changing it be a reasonable decision?

I think Kronos build quality is okay. But strictly for piano, personally, it has neither my favorite action nor my favorite sound. That really comes down to personal taste.

Not going to yap about Rh3.

But I am not sure some owners or musicians realize what you can do with the Kronos AP's. I think you are familiar with the SGX-1 engine.

for example, you can load up 3 Kronos pianos in a combi , and do a very slight detuning for each. Out comes a very rich and full acoustic piano.
This might be called 'unison ' with a slight variation.

[Scott]

But I am not sure some owners or musicians realize what you can do with the Kronos AP's. I think you are familiar with the SGX-1 engine.

for example, you can load up 3 Kronos pianos in a combi , and do a very slight detuning for each. Out comes a very rich and full acoustic piano.

Good point. I was talking about the stock piano sounds, not what you might be able to do with them through tweaking, loading alternate samples onto its SSD, etc.

[Bugra Ekuklu]

I can understand some of what you are saying. I own a Kronos X 88 and use mostly the pianos. I think they are very good. Not the best, but certainly miles ahead of the Triton days. I also wish the build quality would have been better. Take a look at the composition of the Triton and Triton Studio. Very solid. I do not think the Kronos is of poor construction, but it is obvious that build quality was changed in the production of this instrument. When I pick my Kronos X up off of the stand it is on I can actually fell the entire keyboard flex slightly. It is a very small amount and does no harm, but still it is there. The end caps are plastic. Not so on the Triton or Triton Studio. I actually first notice the change in build quality in the M3 Module. I actually sent it back because of the poor build quality, at that price range. I love Korg products and will continue to buy them, but like many manufacturers these days they cut corners wherever they can to save money.

Personally, if you are looking for a good piano I don't think you could go wrong with a Roland RD700NX. I had one and loved it very much. It is not cheap, but it is built like a tank. it also weighs around 54 pounds. I returned it to get the Roland Integra 7 and a Casio PX-5S. So what if it's ugly. I am playing it not dating it.

Good luck in your search for the perfect piano.

Thanks for your answer, you are closest to me. I need to say, everyone assumed as I never use workstation functionality of my Kronos. I generally use them. But in sound altering side, it would be better if i have dedicated knobs or buttons. I know this comes to DP.

I do not welcome thoughts who say it's not a perfect selection to me. A year ago, it was. I also use some other perfect functions of Kronos like guitar processing, but today it's not a game changer to me -it was.

Personally I wish Kronos weighs 50 kg and built like a tank too. Because I don't carry it. Ultimately, today I would be sure of its quality.

Nevertheless, the best for me is keeping Kronos and buying a DP. I'm done with that.

[phil55]

Sounds like a loose screw on the keybed, a problem that has been discussed here before. It may be a simple fix.

Open 'er up, check the screws on the keybed. Anything loose or off, tighten and or replace. Whilst open, you might want to get the dust out if any.

[splinters]

Just to chip in to the original point, I just sold my Kronos 61 and bought a Casio PX-5S. It was difficult buying something associated with cheap and nasty after decades of buying Korg/Roland etc. but I am glad I did. If you close your eyes it feels and sounds better than the Kronos (piano anyway) and the Roland RD300NX I had before. I haven't even scratched the surface of the synth engine in there and I am unlikely to ever use the 256 note poly.
Can heartily recommend it and I don't really miss the Kronos at all even though it sounded massive.

[SanderXpander]

Also might be worth checking out the upcoming new Kurzweil stage piano. Looks good on paper at least.

[splinters]

Indeed, Casio is in no way top of the league but at its price and considering its feature set, its incredible value and a really pro sounding machine.

[burningbusch]

Interesting comments above.

As I recall, the Triton and Triton Extreme are all largely plastic. The main body and endcaps were plastic. Many synths in the 1990s were plastic. I have a Yamaha VL-1, which sold for $5,000 in the day, and it's all plastic except for the bottom which is metal. Not that that plastic is all bad, it just is what it is.

There is talk about digital pianos and build quality. The new Roland RD-800 now has a plastic case. This undoubtedly helped shave off some weight and brought down the price a few hundred bucks. The old RD700s, and even the much less expensive RD300s used aluminum. Yamaha did the same with the new CP-4. It's now nearly all plastic while the CP-1/5 used aluminum.

The Kronos main panel is brushed aluminum with plastic endcaps. If I have any bitch about the Kronos it's the dial which should have a better feel.

With the continued pushed to cheaper, lighter and more plastic models I would be surprised if in a few years the Kronos is viewed as much higher build quality than what will be sold at that time.

Chasing the next and greatest digital piano is throwing away money, IMO. Buy the Kawaii and in three months the Kurzweil Forte will be the hot one. In a year it will be something else. I see guys swapping this stuff out every 6-12 months. If you're home-based, look at software pianos where you can get a lot better bang for the buck.

I've got something like 25 fully sampled acoustic pianos in my Kronos. Why would I want a different keyboard?

Busch.

[GregC]

Interesting comments above.

As I recall, the Triton and Triton Extreme are all largely plastic. The main body and endcaps were plastic. Many synths in the 1990s were plastic. I have a Yamaha VL-1, which sold for $5,000 in the day, and it's all plastic except for the bottom which is metal. Not that that plastic is all bad, it just is what it is.

There is talk about digital pianos and build quality. The new Roland RD-800 now has a plastic case. This undoubtedly helped shave off some weight and brought down the price a few hundred bucks. The old RD700s, and even the much less expensive RD300s used aluminum. Yamaha did the same with the new CP-4. It's now nearly all plastic while the CP-1/5 used aluminum.

The Kronos main panel is brushed aluminum with plastic endcaps. If I have any bitch about the Kronos it's the dial which should have a better feel.

With the continued pushed to cheaper, lighter and more plastic models I would be surprised if in a few years the Kronos is viewed as much higher build quality than what will be sold at that time.

Chasing the next and greatest digital piano is throwing away money, IMO. Buy the Kawaii and in three months the Kurzweil Forte will be the hot one. In a year it will be something else. I see guys swapping this stuff out every 6-12 months. If you're home-based, look at software pianos where you can get a lot better bang for the buck.

I've got something like 25 fully sampled acoustic pianos in my Kronos. Why would I want a different keyboard?

Busch.

eggzactly my experience. Roland had me locked in as a repeat RD700 customer every 3 years. With every RD model ' improvement' I felt I had to have the very best RD digital piano. I jumped off that train 3 years ago.

There is simply no end to chasing the ' next great thing '. As I mentioned above, the keyboard companies know their customers suffer from perpetual gear lust. And to then churn thru new models every 6-12 months shows its an expensive obsession. I realize this editorial is heresy for many keyboard based musicians.

I mostly play piano and there is nothing objectionable with the Rh3 keybed feel. It is only a slight process to adapt, get comfortable with it.

The Kronos is the ultimate keyboard. Korg figured it out with Oasys and finally got the cost down with the Kronos. AFAIAC, we are darn lucky to have such a powerful and multi faceted keyboard at our fingertips.

[PianoManChuck]

It sounds like the OP already made a decision before it was even posted.

[80salife]

KRONOS is the best workstation ever. But right I think that the body and the keys are not High-End.

My Trinity old and so much played, stage to stage, rumbling, getting wet, dirty fingers smoking, beer. 15 years and only one Key have to be replaced.

It has the best keyboard ever!!! Very good pressure points aftertouch etc.

I don't like playing on KRONOS I ever feel like playing plastic...

So I decide using KRONOS live only as a ROM-Player and the center of my SET-UP... Playing Synth-Sounds with my Trinity, Playing PIANO-Sounds with the Studiologic SL 990 pro!!! No more wishes

(Using Nano-Control and Nano-Pad for live Perfomances)

[SanderXpander]

I'm personally not a big fan of their piano sound anymore, but I really really enjoyed the Nord Stage interface while I had one. For a stage piano, you could do a lot worse. It's expensive but I do feel it sets itself apart from the others.