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magikroom wrote:Couldn't have said it better Jim...

I too agree with Jim, but I fear it will never happen. I think it was intended as a 50th aniversary release that is what it is without any update. I wouldn't even be surprised if it will be out of production soon. But I'm still glad I bought one though, after some initial doubts.

The only thing that keeps me from using the KingKorg on stage for the reason that I bought it is the ridiculous decision Korg made to not have Constant Rate Portamento. None of the synths that it emulates have Constant Time Portamento as it does. Makes playing any glide dependent solo sound very unnatural. Otherwise, I think it does a great job as advertised.

Suggestions For KingKorg Updates That Never Happened

eisblau wrote:Suggestions For KingKorg Updates That Never Happened

I mean, i guess its nice that the info is here, but its not like they asked for suggestions for future updates.

Though I am a little surprised we haven't gotten any updates yet, it would be nice to see SOMETHING. They probably need to sell more units before they even consider it.

Korg completely spoiled selling more units by their own behavior.

In the Thomann rankings, there was obvious interest in this VA for the first months. But then, after Korg did literally nothing substantial to support this VA, neither offering additional sound patches nor updates, they completely killed the initial interest. I alone know half a dozen people who were seriously interested, but hesitated after nothing happend. Compare the rich Arturia Origin sound banks and updates and you know what I mean. Even a fraction of that impetus would have helped the KK a lot. In fact I own not a single analog or VA synth with as little support as for the KK. Even the Korg Microkorg line got MUCH better support than the KK, and that's the main reason it is selling relatively well.

Nowadays, you can't just sell a keyboard above 1000€ in numbers, without caring a bit about additional sound stuff, and not delivering one or two updates closing some gaps/fixing some issues of the initial release.

If you behave like Korg with the KK, you kill your own product and annihilate the chance to turn development costs into earning money. Simple as that.

And hard to understand what sense this is supposed to make from the view of the Korg management. Because what is worse, they raise serious doubts about the company being a reliable partner for products in this price range, like they have been for my Kronos just like for my little Microkorg before, and make you hesitate significantly before your next buy.

I find it awfully quiet lately anyway, concerning updates and fixes for Korg products. Some, like the Krome, still has bugs that really need to be addressed. And why does it take so long for a new engine (like a MonoPoly) to be released? They did with Legacy. Or is all men/women power redirected to work on a coming big new board (Frankfurt?)? Or are they simply understaffed?

I can only see two possible reasons for the silence and inactivity from Korg lately. Even their board presence in the Korg forums has become minimal.

- a) bad: Korg has decided to cut costs a lot, like many in the music business have done, and to begin by reducing their r&d and public presence costs radically. This would be the beginning of their end, and rather untypical of Korg as we know them: a typical clueless money management choice a la Roland, enforced by people who don't understand the music business any little bit.

- b) interesting: they are extremely busy preparing new stuff. This would be much more promising concerning their future profit than a), though it always takes a courageous and skilled management team to prefer that route in unclear economic times.

This is kind of a depressing thread. I just started looking into getting a King Korg because I like the tube in the output stage, I heard on the Kronos board that the KK has better analog filters than the Kronos, and I'd like to get into more analog-type stuff. It's also a great looking board, and I heard it has a good, light synth action. I recently got a Kronos X 61, and the OS update that I installed came with a whole bank of new organ programs and a reprogrammed CX-3 engine. I hope Korg updates the OS and fixes the bugs you guys are having problems with. I think this board would look cool above the Kronos. I guess I'll wait and see what happens with this before making a decision on getting another synth. Good luck, -Jim.

Hey Slowtrain - don't let the few bugs mentioned scare you off. I use this thing regularly in a live setting and have never had an issue. Depnding on your use the things mentioned my be a non-issue.

This keyboard sounds great, is simple to program, and does a great job emulating many vintage synths as it is right now. If that fits the bill I say go for it!

black953mj wrote:Hey Slowtrain - don't let the few bugs mentioned scare you off. I use this thing regularly in a live setting and have never had an issue. Depnding on your use the things mentioned my be a non-issue.

This keyboard sounds great, is simple to program, and does a great job emulating many vintage synths as it is right now. If that fits the bill I say go for it!

How does it compare to your Prophet or Virus Ti2?

Favorably, actually very complimentary to those two synths. The filters on the KingKorg and pretty accurate reproductions of what was found on the Prophet 5, Oberheim, Moog, and MS-20 synths. As a result the KingKorg can be quite a chameleon and do faithful reproductions of a lot of the classic sounds quite easily. It can also be hard and edgy if you want it to be and can easily handle the new stuff. It really is great for live performance from a jack of all trades perspective.

The Prophet 12 and Virus Ti2 are different beasts entirely in my opinion. While they can also be programed to do accurate reproductions of the classics they each definitely have their own distinct sound to them. The Prophet 12 uses Curtis filters so you get the character that goes along with those. The Virus is... well... a Virus and indispensable for when the band covers the newer stuff. Also with the Virus you get a very robust synthesis engine that goes farther than the KingKorg, but also makes it a bit more of a challenge to master, in my opinion.

Modulations possibilities on the KingKorg are deep, on the Prophet 12 and Virus the possibilities are VERY deep and setting mod sources and destinations is a piece of cake.

I've heard others say that the Prophet 12 and The Virus has a steep learning curve to get comfortable with them and I think that is a fair statement, there is just a lot more to get to know. This in no way diminishes the value of the KingKorg to me, it is very good at doing what it does and you could not convince me to part ways with it.

Thanks a lot for all the information. I really appreciate it.

Technology advancement rates are strongly dependent on Units shifted

If there is a market for a billion phones or computers its gonna get attention and thus be boosted.

If the market it measured in mere thousands then the products are invariably lashups that lean on yesteryears tech... all synths are tech lashups

It doesn't have to be that way but until the Bill Gates or Steve Jobs of synthland comes along expect cobbleware


King Korg = 1990's technology

Top end smart phone = year 2075ad technology

Desktop computer = year 2150 ad technology, Why ? because its a productivity backbone across the globe and been turbo boosted past the rest.


What synthland needs is 'user interface standards' ...and the ability to plug in a computer monitor to examine and display the 'machine state' of the synth in real time

Complexity kills creativity and compatibility (aka global standards) is the universal 'fix'



Examples:

I wasted several hours of my life wondering about the headphone socket on the King Korg..why ? It was in the non standard place AND as it was a nonstandard size so i just didn't see it.

If every synth had a spring loaded sideways acting octave shift button like the Microkorg XL+ life would be that much simpler overall

If every synth had a teeny microphone used to detect 'tap tempo' life would be much simpler...you dont have to learn the specific feel of an awkward button...u just tap the spot marked on the case just as you would tap a table or any other hard surface...a $5 solution that should be rolled out globally...sometimes one click is one click to many....why click when you really just want to tap ? ...101 great solutions are out there already or simply waiting to be discovered !

somethings have become synth standards....JUST not enough things !


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_facto_standard

kkorgian wrote:I wasted several hours of my life wondering about the headphone socket on the King Korg..why ? It was in the non standard place AND as it was a nonstandard size so i just didn't see it.

Several HOURS? After 5 minutes, it might have been a good idea to check the manual.

What's wrong with the location? Where do you think it "should" be?

The "nonstandard" size is pretty much the new "standard" size. Most headphones these days seem to come at the small size, with an adapter required for use with the older style jacks.

The King Korg is just awesome, and I am really happy I bought it.

If they did decide to update it, my wish-list would be:

• The Ability to enable/disable Midi Though
  The ability to edit the patch numbers linked to the category Buttons (Synth, Lead, Bass etc)
  A delay setting for modulation LFO
  A Pitch envelope