Korg Forums

When you get your new piano, could you ask them to make synths again, please?

Maybe I could replace my k4 here then. It is more than 20 years old now and some of the sound select buttons are a bit worn out now ...

Thanks!

I think I'm correct in saying that the X version has had no more problems than any other make of keyboard, for example my new Kawai. All electronic items will have the odd failure.

I have no hesitation in recommending the X version to anyone.

It's just that my overall experience has ruined the Kronos for me personally, I still think it's the best hardware synth on the planet and I really hope korgs next offering tempts me back.

I would not however recommend the original weighted Kronos to anyone based on personal experience.

SanderXpander wrote:I love my Kronos, and I realize my evidence is still anecdotal, but every single Kronos but one that I know of has had some measure of trouble over here. Two friends who bought a 61 had issues, my 88 had issues, another 61 I borrowed had issues, Michel had an issue with his 61. Only one guy I know hasn't had any (yet). Unless Qui has been completely problem free and to be fair I've only met him once and know him mostly from online.

No, my kronos 88 was repaired too, in my case they replaced the complete keyboard in my kronos since I was one of the first kronosses that got repaired (along with a few others from the same store).

I've never seen an old version Kronos RH3 keyboard that didn't have the cutoff issue. But that's old news now and discussed over and over again over the years here on this forum. The Kronos X doesn't have this problems anymore and there are only a few problem reports about the Kronos X.

Of course the reported service times and the fact that people with problems are going through hell is unacceptable and is something you don't see often in the musical world, there is a lot to win for korg to get that solved for the few customers that have problems now.

If people are asking me if it's safe to buy a kronos weigthed keys version than I would say yes, but only if they buy the X version. If they want to buy the old version I wouldn't take the risk to be honest.

I don't mean to reopen the whole discussion. I just find it odd that the official numbers apparently still come to a small percentage when literally 5 out of the 6 Kronosses I know have had problems. I wonder if there is a difference in regions (perhaps due to shipping series), since Greg says in his California pool of 15 there was only one.
Could be chance but it still seems a pretty dramatic difference.

SanderXpander wrote:I don't mean to reopen the whole discussion. I just find it odd that the official numbers apparently still come to a small percentage when literally 5 out of the 6 Kronosses I know have had problems. I wonder if there is a difference in regions (perhaps due to shipping series), since Greg says in his California pool of 15 there was only one.
Could be chance but it still seems a pretty dramatic difference.

So when you say 5 of 6 were bad, were they the original series? Model (88,61,etc)?.....What were the issues exactly?....Different issues or all the same?.....I'm calling my friend this evening and I'm going to bring this up to him but I want to give him legit info before he makes a purchase....The bottom line is I'd hate for him to get a lemon but I'd also hate for him to pass on a great keyboard too....General consensus seems to be if you stick with the 61 X model, the issues aren't there or extremely limited.....moon

Knock on wood, but I have had only one issue with Kronos and that was this wobbly sound I sometimes got with the Lyle Mays Grand patch. My Kronos tossed about by roadies, gets worked hard at gigs, and has survived a trans-Atlantic move - in its original box too!

I realize that some musicians have had problems with their Kronos and I certainly feel for them and hope that the issues get sorted. But this talk of a "bad" reputation Kronos has or seems to have certainly hasn't hindered some of the heavy hitters in the industry adopting Kronos for long tours and studio use.

And no, not a Korg fanboy here if you look at my sig. In fact, Kronos is the first Korg I have owned in ten years; I used to have a second hand DW-8000 and a Wavestation EX. I've mainly been a Roland user and have played and owned more Rolands than I have listed in my sig which is current gear I use.

I do warranty work for keyboards, not Korg.
Two large companies had serious keybed problems that we have been dealing with for years.

Company A had a series of keybeds made in an approximate three year period start to fail some years later. They required the affected keyboard products (both home and pro products) be seen by a certified technician to determine if it was indeed the problem. If it was, they would replace the keybed at no charge, even if out of warranty until the 10 year mark was reached. They still offer the keybed at no charge but you pay the tech to install it. All customers out of warranty had to pay for the initial visit. We have replaced some 300 keybeds in our area.

Company B had a similar failure of a whole series of keyboards (home and pro) fail some years later, usually past the warranty period. Any keybed found with the problem was replaced under an extended warranty until the 10 year mark. In this case, they paid parts and labor but the owner had to have the receipt. PERIOD. Since many of these were many years old it was hard to locate receipts. Complicating the issue was the local dealer who sold this brand went out of business so we had no other way to get a receipt if the customer didn't have theirs. They still have replacement keybeds but now you buy it.

In both cases these problems were not considered a recall and no one was notified. Customers only learned of the situation during service. I say this to offer some balance to the Korg problem. They are not the only one.

I have had great service from Kawai. However, even with them there are products that are not that old where parts are no longer available. Parts that wear out fairly quickly.

Fortunately, My Kronos 61 has been perfect, and I love it!

Geo

I believe that was Roland that had the 10 year warranty. We had a Roland digital piano(HR555) at our church and the keybed went bad at about 9 years and a few months. I found out about the extended warranty by accident. I called Roland to verify. They replaced the keybed, but we had to pay some labor. A reciept was required.

Moon, they were all original models. The weighted models had the note cutoff issue. The 61s had some form of sticky keys/notes.

SanderXpander wrote:Moon, they were all original models. The weighted models had the note cutoff issue. The 61s had some form of sticky keys/notes.

OK....Thanks for the input....I talked to him last night and told him to try to get the x series if he decides to get one.....moon

I've not had any problems with my original Kronos 61 (if that's not tempting fate I don't know what would be) ...

Re: OP: - Isn't this the customer service of the retailer that is fantastic ... though not sure if there were behind the scenes discussion with Kawai ...

Sparker wrote:I've not had any problems with my original Kronos 61 (if that's not tempting fate I don't know what would be) ...

Re: OP: - Isn't this the customer service of the retailer that is fantastic ... though not sure if there were behind the scenes discussion with Kawai ...

I found Kawai fairly aggressive responding to a complaint of a noisy keybed. I didn't think the keybed noise was out of line and it was consistent across the entire keyboard. I reported it to Kawai to make sure I was "on track" and they insisted on replacing the keybed.

The field techs have the face to face time with customers and are on the front line. Usually, the factory will support the tech, espcially if they are experienced and have good re-pore with the service department.

Geo