Korg Kronos 3 Has Landed.

[dexman]

The Kronos 3 has landed. Guitar Center and Sweetwater have updated their websites from pre-order to available. Price for the 88 key version is $4,000.00 USD, which checks in at $500.00 USD less than the Yamaha Montage M8x ($4,500.00 USD).

Posted reviews are still sparse, but comments seem to be mixed.

[Mike Conway]

The Kronos 3 has landed. Guitar Center and Sweetwater have updated their websites from pre-order to available.

I went to both of those sites and Kronos 3 is backordered on my browser. Did they sell out an early batch?

[dexman]

I just checked Guitar Center's website. The 88-key model's page shows in stock at their warehouse.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/KORG/KRONO ... orkstation

[KK]

The K3 has landed, but in the middle of the forest...

[Mike Conway]

I just checked Guitar Center's website. The 88-key model's page shows in stock at their warehouse.

Thanks, I see it now.

[dexman]

I just checked Guitar Center's website. The 88-key model's page shows in stock at their warehouse.

Thanks, I see it now.

[dexman]

The K3 has landed, but in the middle of the forest...

[ChrisDuncan]

Just checked Sweetwater in the US and saw this message:

Order today to reserve yours now, risk-free, or contact us for more information. We expect these to arrive in a few months. Estimated August 2025.

[dexman]

If my memory serves me, one of the posters of a Kronos 3 video mentioned ordering theirs from Sweetwater.

[ChrisDuncan]

He got the last one!

[dexman]

That is odd. Sweetwater is backordered on all three versions.

B&H Photo has the 88-key, but the others are backordered: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=Kronos%203

Guitar Center also has the 88-key version, but the others are also backordered. Seems like the smaller units have not shipped to the various distributors just yet.

If I was in the market for a K3, I would purchase an 88-key unit.

[Mike Conway]

If I was in the market for a K3, I would purchase an 88-key unit.

Just an aside. In 41 years or buying keyboards, I've never purchased an 88. I don't like weighted keys, because I do a lot of fast strike attacks on drums and synth sounds. Also, I like taking keyboards on trips, so it helps that I can move them around. I sure like the range and look of a big board though! OASYS 76 is my favorite keybed, ever.

[dexman]

I suppose that I'm on the opposite side of the fence. Having learned to play on a piano, I'm used to some sort of weighted keys. The keys on the Nautilus AT (88) that I purchased and donated to my church have a good feel to them.

My practice keyboard here at home is a Yamaha PSR-EW425. That unit has synth-action keys. It is all too common to have extra notes sound due to accidental light touches...such touches that would be brushed off by the Nautilus.

I recently had the opportunity to play a Yamaha Montage M8x that was recently donated to the high school that I graduated from in 1984. The feel of the keys was very similar to the Nautilus.

[Mike Conway]

My sister got the Kawai piano and lessons. I would open the top and scrape a screwdriver across the springs. I was never traditional.

I recently had the opportunity to play a Yamaha Montage M8x that was recently donated to the high school that I graduated from in 1984. The feel of the keys was very similar to the Nautilus.

If I was to ever get an 88, it would be the Montage M8x. That interface is inspiring. I don't need another brand of workstation, but it is a beauty.

True story: I dreamt that I had the new Roland Fantom (I have an old one that I rarely use, save for resurrecting old projects). I woke up stressed. Not because the new Fantom isn't great, but because it was too much overlap with the workings of the Kronos. Montage M didn't stress me out, but I do not need it, either. I've been leaning a lot towards analog and experimental, the past couple of years.

I just bought the PolyBrute 12 and UB-Xa, so I finally feel fleshed out in the analog department. I will control them from the Kronos, so no problem. I am glad that there is a Kronos 3, but might only get it if my Kronos X gives up the ghost. What a workhorse it has been for about 13 years, so far.

[fomalhaut]

I've only had the Kronos for 8 years, and I love it. Hope the Kronos 2-> Kronos 3 library upgrade this summer will give it some new life to this amazing instrument. But if it were to die, I think I'd choose the Montage if only for its plug-in incarnation.