Kronos minus KARMA = Nautilus?

Mike Conway · Post by **Mike Conway** » Sat Nov 07, 2020 11:45 pm

Okay, that's simplifying it, as there are some new features. If you just bought the Kronos, I wouldn't worry. It will remain a top class workstation, with an in depth Control Surface. Nautilus has many of the same features, number of FX, sampling, 9 engines, etc.

I think it is made to compete with lower cost competitor keyboards, like the MODX, though I don't know the price yet. The Nautilus supposedly has 4 scene arpeggiators, phrases, and AI. Looks like a simpler workflow. Not sure about aftertouch and wavesequencing.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sun Nov 08, 2020 12:25 am

your eyes are better than mine. I only see the photo on that German { ?] gear news web site.

Where exactly is the Korg authored/sourced spec on Nautilus ?

Mike Conway · Post by **Mike Conway** » Sun Nov 08, 2020 12:38 am

I guess they took it down.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sun Nov 08, 2020 12:40 am

they {? ]

I wonder what the story is on that ?

I will wait for info from Korg Inc.

ITguy54 · Post by **ITguy54** » Sun Nov 08, 2020 5:52 am

There’s info and photos on a thread in Music Player Forum:

http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthread ... ost3068690

The thread in the link also has pictures and specs for the Opsix FM synth shown at NAMM. But now it has a three octave keyboard.

ITguy54 · Post by **ITguy54** » Sun Nov 08, 2020 2:23 pm

To me, the biggest drawback of the front panel of the Nautilus is the lack of 9 sliders that can be used as drawbars for the organ engine. Maybe this scaled down version of the Kronos is clearing the way for a new Kronos.

Jan1 · Post by **Jan1** » Sun Nov 08, 2020 2:44 pm

GregC wrote:they {? ]

I wonder what the story is on that ?

I will wait for info from Korg Inc.

You have a point.
But if most of the info is true then the Nautilus has a strong emphasis on sound content expansions.
I am not familiar with the EXs packs mentioned (EXs301-314), but if the quality is good then the Nautilus will be equipped with a well rounded soundset one might expect from a workstation.

GregC · Post by **GregC** » Sun Nov 08, 2020 3:17 pm

I would like to see Korg clarify the product spec status of this report on " Nautilus "

I understand many accept the report originating from Gear News as 'fact'.

Product specification documents originate from the manufacturer, thus they[ and their distributors] own the process of reporting, distributing the Product Specification.

For myself, It would be cleaner and easier to assess the Product Spec document if I knew it was from Korg [ and/or its Distributors].

What is going on 'should' become more clear soon /in a few days.

tunaman · Post by **tunaman** » Sun Nov 08, 2020 3:36 pm

ITguy54 wrote:To me, the biggest drawback of the front panel of the Nautilus is the lack of 9 sliders that can be used as drawbars for the organ engine. Maybe this scaled down version of the Kronos is clearing the way for a new Kronos.

I agree that the missing drawbars is a huge omission and would make me a hard pass. I’ve gotten to the point where I use them extremely frequently to manipulate timbres, and can’t envision doing so via virtual controls on the display.

When I saw the photos of the shell taken at NAMM I was struck by the lack of physical controls. I read the entire data posted on the other site, and some of the UI details sound appealing and it will be interesting to see how they are implemented... I’m always skeptical of glossies and marketing speak.

Time (and the market) will tell... hopefully this is a niche product to fit in the gap, and that the full Kronos replacement is nearly ready for the reveal - I don’t believe that this is that.

alamo · Post by **alamo** » Mon Nov 09, 2020 11:37 am

Korg NAUTILUS REVIEW // vs KRONOS // Tutorial including the new arp and drum sequencers

Broadwave · Post by **Broadwave** » Mon Nov 09, 2020 11:55 am

Here in the UK, the Nautilus 61 is £1999, the Kronos 61 is £2245 - Not much of a saving coinsidering the extras you get with the K61.

I certainly don't feel hard done by. I still haven't fully explored all of the Kronos' capabilities even after almost 10 years.

Lightbringer · Post by **Lightbringer** » Mon Nov 09, 2020 12:43 pm

After watching the loopop video I’m not seeing much of anything to make me jealous as a Kronos owner.

The thing that popped most for me is that I think I’d have either invested in a more responsive touch screen for this, or at least not removed the value slider. There were probably at least a dozen times in that demo where it took him multiple tries to select or change the parameter he wanted to change. Looks very frustrating. Kronos has this going on to some extent too, but it actually looks worse on Nautilus, possibly due to the display being smaller. On Kronos it’s also mitigated to some extent by the much larger control surface.

Well, doesn’t look like Korg is going off in radically new directions with their workstations. I kind of doubt they’d release a new model in 2020 based on the Kronos/OASYS tech stack and release a new re-invented flagship anytime soon after... Guessing they are planning to sell the same EXs for both models.

Mike Conway · Post by **Mike Conway** » Mon Nov 09, 2020 1:16 pm

Lightbringer wrote:After watching the loopop video I’m not seeing much of anything to make me jealous as a Kronos owner.

The thing that popped most for me is that I think I’d have either invested in a more responsive touch screen for this, or at least not removed the value slider. There were probably at least a dozen times in that demo where it took him multiple tries to select or change the parameter he wanted to change. Looks very frustrating. Kronos has this going on to some extent too, but it actually looks worse on Nautilus, possibly due to the display being smaller. On Kronos it’s also mitigated to some extent by the much larger control surface.

I agree. It looked cumbersome. I much prefer the Kronos' UI.

Liviou2004 · Post by **Liviou2004** » Mon Nov 09, 2020 1:40 pm

Lightbringer wrote:After watching the loopop video I’m not seeing much of anything to make me jealous as a Kronos owner.

I do agree.

The Nautilus is a kind of Kronos with some missing specs !!

This kind of strategy is a very good one when there is a real significative price gap between the both. (as Modx vs Montage). But in that case it will be about 400 $ difference.

The only reason I see, is an upcoming Kronos ending, replaced with a big new flagship (around 4000 $).
That way, a middle workstation like Nautilus could have his place in the products range.

Jan1 · Post by **Jan1** » Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:01 pm

I don’t think the Nautilus is of interest to Kronos owners, and as for those who still don’t have a Kronos I think the extra cash for more comprehensive haptic control on the Kronos might be worth it.

From what I have seen in the loopop video there’s still the long booth time, the laggy screen (although the GUI looks better), the screen really is too small for some of the pages I saw...
It’s once more a case of Korg milking the Kronos cow.

I do hope they realize there comes a point when people stop buying the same old.