Cutting down Kronos LS88 to LS76 or similar…possible?

omvibraphone · Post by **omvibraphone** » Sat Feb 19, 2022 1:29 pm

Hey all, enjoy my LS88 alot, but it's size and weight (even the LS version) is getting to be a problem. So, crazy question of the day: would it be possible in any way to reduce the size/ weight of it by perhaps by cutting off the top octave to create some kind of 'Kronosstein' 73 or 76 version? Anyone tried doing something like this?
(Of course, if Korg had released a LS 73/76 version back in the day I would have been all over it, but I guess that will never happen now. Kronos 61 version doesn't have enough notes for my needs, and the Nautilus doesn't look like an appropriate substitute for myself.)

KK · Post by KK » Sat Feb 19, 2022 4:17 pm

It would be very complicated but doable, if you accept your unit would be worthless for resale and that the risk of damaging it beyond repair is very high. You would first have to completely dismantle it, cut metal parts with precision and more. One of the worse parts would be to reduce the keyboard action and trick the PCBs under it so that it continues to work. So you need to be good at working with metal, electronic circuits, etc.

Another alternative would be to separate the keyboard from the rest and create a "module" + action ensemble. This way you cut the unit weight in two halves even though you still have a long keyboard to carry, so if it might not work for you if the action length is what annoys you the most. Here is an example from someone who rebuilt a damaged Kronos into a keyboardless version.

http://www.synthify.com/Kronos_Module/

omvibraphone · Post by **omvibraphone** » Sat Feb 19, 2022 4:46 pm

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I assumed it would not be easy

. I would definitely need to find a pro here where I live if I was to try and go ahead with it, the skills needed are far beyond my abilities.
The module option is also of interest, thanks for the link.