Any Signs of a Kronos Replacement?

[MarkF786]

I as prior owner of the Oasys, now wanting to get a Kronos, I've held off because a replacement often seems imminent.

Have you seen any signs or heard rumors of a Kronos replacement?

Thanks.

Mark

[GregC]

umm,,,,

No. No one knows, other than Korg

Since you waited this long, you could play wait and see until Jan NAMM 2020

[19naia]

i am getting more info about when the end of the world is coming.
They are saying “soon” this time, which is a bit less ambiguous than when they said it was “near”.
Either way, near or soon, i don’t think that leaves me enough time to use to the fullest, the kronos i already have...
And my K2 is already starting to have things fail in it.

[GregC]

i am getting more info about when the end of the world is coming.
They are saying “soon” this time, which is a bit less ambiguous than when they said it was “near”.
Either way, near or soon, i don’t think that leaves me enough time to use to the fullest, the kronos i already have...

LOL. I won't watch the bad news TV.

I am able to predict the stock market. I know keyboard players do not care so I don't talk about it


I am on 8 years and still discover depth in my K.

[KK]

i am getting more info about when the end of the world is coming.

Interesting, as Kronos comes for the Greek word "Chronos", which means time. Hopefully the Kronos Doomsday Clock is still far from midnight, at least for new software/firmware updates and more exciting EXs libraries.

Maybe the Kronos is one of those legendary synths which will/were never (be) surpassed in their particular genre and sometimes marked the end of an era. Like the monster Korg PS-3300 or majestic Yamaha CS-80 (end of 70s/beginning of 80s), the Fairlight CMI and NED Synclavier (end of 80s/beginning of 90s), etc.

[GregC]

[quote="19naia

Maybe the Kronos is one of those legendary synths which will/were never (be) surpassed in their particular genre and sometimes marked the end of an era. Like the monster Korg PS-3300 or majestic Yamaha CS-80 (end of 70s/beginning of 80s), the Fairlight CMI and NED Synclavier (end of 80s/beginning of 90s), etc.

why sure. That might happen.

Even though this is the Internet , where its mostly casual , I am reluctant to tell folks what to do. For a +$3000 purchase.

And there is that little game of " I will buy this tomorrow, now talk me out of it ."

I have always nagged about potential owners getting clear on goals and music production requirements over the next few years.

Sure, many see Kronos or whatever as an impulse purchase or something to be desired. Or because their favorite keyboardist loves it, etc.

Diailing it back some, Kronos is a long term purchase- greater than 3 years
My FA is 2-3 year purchase.
Other keyboards are niche fillers and/or impulse purchases.

These years are minimum, IMO.

The O/P reminds me of the thinking " that a shiny new thing is on the way "

And there is this puzzling perception that the ' shiney new thing ' will be more better or more wonderful, etc.

Just because Korg did the 01/W and Triton and Oasys and Kronos , Korg does not persuade me they will create a ' great new shiney w/s thing'.

IMO , its a big stretch to " assume " at this point, that the ' shiney new thing' will be perfect for the O/P or me or you.

If you analyze Korg, they are a far different co the past 3 years than what they were 2011 and prior.

Just look at their new keyboard products the past 3-4 years. BTW, LS is not 'new'. Neither is the SE.

[Derek Cook]

I tend to take a slightly longer term view than three years.

If I am spending $1000s on a keyboard, I expect to have it in use for ten years or more (my EX5 was in use from 1999 to 2017).

So, to me, a $3,000 purchase is $300 a year. Or the nine synth engines of the Kronos cost me $33 per year each.

Bargain!

There is always a danger of "waiting for enabling technology". There was talk of it being time for a Kronos replacement when I purchased mine in 2014!

If you purchased a Kronos now and a replacement came out in a year's time, you've had a year's usage of a great synth that you could always sell on to fund the purchase of whatever replaces it.

[GregC]

I tend to take a slightly longer term view than three years.

If I am spending $1000s on a keyboard, I expect to have it in use for ten years or more (my EX5 was in use from 1999 to 2017).

it.

Hey Derek, I know you are joking around. I asserted the years are minimum.

I also believe in 'amortization.

And my experience is that, it takes a few years to hit your [ not you] stride. with a Montage or Kronos.

I am not sure new buyers are fully aware how long it takes to become fully productive on a Kronos/Montage.

I focused on a mode, the SEQ on year 3 and 4 and have been on a good roll , recording ever since. I am having a great time in year 8

[Derek Cook]

Fully agreed, Greg.

These synths are deep.

[Joe Gerardi]

i am getting more info about when the end of the world is coming.

Interesting, as Kronos comes for the Greek word "Chronos", which means time. Hopefully the Kronos Doomsday Clock is still far from midnight, at least for new software/firmware updates and more exciting EXs libraries.

Actually, "Kronos" is from the Greek god that ate his own children. It has nothing to do with time.

..Joe

[GregC]

i am getting more info about when the end of the world is coming.

Interesting, as Kronos comes for the Greek word "Chronos", which means time. Hopefully the Kronos Doomsday Clock is still far from midnight, at least for new software/firmware updates and more exciting EXs libraries.

Actually, "Kronos" is from the Greek god that ate his own children. It has nothing to do with time.

..Joe

https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanKronos.html

THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY

KRONOS (Cronus) was the King of the Titanes and the god of time, in particular time when viewed as a destructive, all-devouring force.

[19naia]

“Time is an illusion. The mere shadow of something else and not an entity unto itself.”
So Kronos would not be able to be a real god if any of the gods ever turned out to be real.

No time, just matter and its motion.
Matter and its motion is the dance of matter, and time is merely the rationalization of the empty space of nothing between matter and matter as its movements take it from one position or form, to another.
When matter has speed, it has motion, and speed goes further to say motion over a span of empty space that is empty of all, except imaginary markers denoted as what we call time.
Sometimes we use other units of matter to mark empty space, but that does not make time material because that matter used to mark time, can move and reposition outside of the frame of time it was marking before.

Time is the tracings of the footsteps a dancer makes on the sands of time.
The traces are perceived, but they are neither the sand nor the dancer, nor dancer’s feet.
The traces are empty space marked between matter such as sand and dancing feet.
Time is neither the drum nor the hand that strikes it. It is the empty space marked by the movement of the hand and the drum.

Try as hard as you will, and you will never be able to catch time in a bottle.
It simply does not exist. So how then can a god of time exist?
Maybe a god of motion and a god of matter, but not a god of time.

I always remember that the Einstein equation for energy has two parts rationed together to represent energy.
One part is motion as represented by speed(speed of light) and the other part is represented by mass(a function of matter).
That is all there is, movement and matter.

And if i am wrong, i suspect it would be because there is even less to matter if you scale down far enough to the least possible particles which may defy being matter at all.
But it doesn’t matter when things go that deep, too deep to apply to anything meaningful or useful in the life i live.

So Kronos isn’t real....
And that is why maybe you should have gotten a Montage instead?

[Kevbo]

I have also been in that category of, "I will buy the Kronos next month, or after next paycheck." I still have not made the purchase. Life gets in the way, and I haven't been in front of my keyboards as much as I'd like. I've been using VSTs with my Korg Triton, and have been very successful for at-home recording.

I would like a Kronos for gigging, but again, I left the band I was in after my kids were born and don't have time for that anytime soon. So maybe purchasing a Kronos at this time still isn't necessary.

Would I like one? Absolutely! But at this point, I may as well hold on to hope that there will be a successor that is better than the Kronos, but as many mentioned in here, a successor doesn't always mean it would be better.

I can afford to wait and see if anything comes out, but I also do fear that companies are getting away from these workstations, which would be a shame. I think there would always be a market for one, but maybe not big enough for these companies to justify upgrading their flagships.

I remember in the late 90s, early 2000s getting so excited when a Musician's Friend magazine came in. I would turn right to the keyboards and see if anything is new in there. I remember when the Triton Extreme came out, I was flabbergasted and thought "I HAVE TO HAVE THIS!"...but I never made the purchase. I think what I don't like about the Kronos is that it's like a CPU for a computer. They NEVER go down in price (brand new).

[GregC]

I have also been in that category of, "I will buy the Kronos next month, or after next paycheck." I still have not made the purchase. Life gets in the way, and I haven't been in front of my keyboards as much as I'd like. I've been using VSTs with my Korg Triton, and have been very successful for at-home recording.

I would like a Kronos for gigging, but again, I left the band I was in after my kids were born and don't have time for that anytime soon. So maybe purchasing a Kronos at this time still isn't necessary.

Would I like one? Absolutely! But at this point, I may as well hold on to hope that there will be a successor that is better than the Kronos, but as many mentioned in here, a successor doesn't always mean it would be better.

I can afford to wait and see if anything comes out, but I also do fear that companies are getting away from these workstations, which would be a shame. I think there would always be a market for one, but maybe not big enough for these companies to justify upgrading their flagships.

.

Cost and time justification is also important to me , and to most, I would guess.

8 years ago, when Korg announced the K, it was a no brainer for me. I immediately sold my XS7, RD700GX1, Korg M3M and Extreme. That easily funded the Kronos cost.

Have said this often- if I were President of Korg , I would drop the Kronos price. Given there is little serous development of Kronos, the price 'should be ' $2500.

But I am sure the number crunchers would howl at that

Objectively, you don't have reason today to drop + $3000.

[danmusician]

There was talk of it being time for a Kronos replacement when I purchased mine in 2014!

That talk was just wishful thinking in this forum. Korg has never given any indication that they were planning to bring out a Kronos successor.

FWIW, which is nothing, my personal opinion is that Kronos is the final flagship workstation. The music tech market changed greatly after the 2008 recession. It never recovered to what it used to be.

Virtual instruments are much easier to develop, market and sell. I'm not sure how much of a market there is to recoup R&D on a completely new hardware platform.

I'd like to be wrong. I don't think I am.