Oh, boy. Is this a new Kronos?

[burningbusch]

(Note) Since natural wood is used in the side panels of this instrument, there will be individual differences in the grain and figuration of the wood.

 

Busch.

 

I think wood, natural or faux, looks very sharp on synths. The MiniNova has fake wood end cheeks but it really adds to the look of the instrument.

 

I agree. One of the most expensive synths made, the Yamaha CS-80, had fake wood that wouldn't fool anyone. I don't think that has impacted its desirability as a collectable in the least.

 

Busch.

[Song80s]

The USB keyboards are most beneficial for entering text for the improved SET LIST mode. Set List has a number of significant enhancements. Start around 20:00

 

[video:youtube]

 

Busch.

 

there are some very nice improvements.

 

and new additions; SGX-2 enhanced with a new piano- Berlin D

 

Total waveform data at 21 GB might be more than the original Kronos

 

Additional ( 200) ' artists ' Programs- another nice touch

 

 

[RABid]

Nice, but not nice enough to make me think that I have to upgrade my original Kronos 61.

[sherry]

Is THIS it?

 

[video:youtube]

 

http://oi57.tinypic.com/6sqf4j.jpg

 

I guess they are calling it the Kronos 2?

http://www.korg.com/us/products/synthesizers/kronos2/index.php

 

Yup. That's it.

[kanker.]

So how many hours does this one take to boot?

[Song80s]

So how many hours does this one take to boot?

 

for you, until Jan 2015 NAMM

[sherry]

Will there be an OS update for the older Kronos giving us these new features?

[Doerfler]

Nice, but not nice enough to make me think that I have to upgrade my original Kronos 61.

 

"it's gonna change the game, yo"

yeah, right

[allan_evett]

Info is up on the Korg USA site. Looks like some useful improvements - especially the Set List updates, additional color coding options, etc.. Will be interesting to hear what the SGX-2 sounds like. Overall, it looks tempting for those in the market for this type of keyboard. Looks sharp, too; dig the wood end caps, and redesigned casing.

 

I read a reference to OS 3 in the new Kronos details. Would be great if I could update my Kronos 61 to OS 3 spec.. No info on that, yet. Either way, this announcement doesn't prompt a horsetrade. The two improvements that would've intrigued me are a 76-key, semi-weighted option, and a large selection of synth-specific filters in the AL-1 model. From the info provided, neither are evident.

[AnotherScott]

Nice, but not nice enough to make me think that I have to upgrade my original Kronos 61.

There should be no reason to. I could be wrong, but I would be very surprised if OS 3.0 were not made available for all previous models. I doubt there is incompatible hardware between the old and new Kronos. But if I could, I might buy those wood panels and put them on my 61! It's funny, one of the things I most dislike about my Kronos is the endcaps. The shape makes it awkward to carry the 61 from its ends. Probably designed by the same guy who decided to make the SV1 all curves.

[AnotherScott]

The two improvements that would've intrigued me are a 76-key, semi-weighted option, and a large selection of synth-specific filters in the AL-1 model.

Oh, now we're going to talk about what we would have liked to have seen? Prepare for the deluge! ;-)

 

Yeah, I could have been tempted by a 73/76 SW, but I doubt it would have been light enough for me anyway.

 

As for other things that could be addressed in a software update:

 

I want to see a high trigger point option for organ (even if only available when a CX3 program was playing by itself). Maybe low release, too. (I like playing with these options on the King Korg.)

 

I'd like to see another VA synth engine... an emulation of my old Maxi-Korg.

 

On the Set List screen, instead of having to hit the forward/back buttons repeatedly, I'd like to see tabs (preferably user-nameable) to directly navigate to any of the 8 pages.

 

A quick global transpose up/down button on the bottom of the Set List screen would come in handy, too.

[humb]

this update (os 3 ,is normal update i guess) of kronos is because intel stoped to make old mbo's

and kronos 1->x new mbo + os update+bonus -> 2 new mbo maybe new cpu too 22nm + os update +bonus

 

[Bobadohshe]

Yamaha, it's your turn to respond. Got anything????

[humb]

yeah new turbo 850cc bike _))

[Guven Ilter]

I'm waiting for Motif XT series and FX70 / 90. Unless Yamaha finds a more interesting model name of course... (I did have the CX5MII music computer back in the days.)

[lekanout]

Well:

The same powerful workstation with a great sound...and some minor enhancements.

With the same computer architecture,screen with minus information difficult to read when you edit...

Same processus for tierce sound banks authorisation ..with expansive library.

 

My question is:

Would it be as reliable than the baddest kronos 1?(the baddest reliability we saw since so many years in the 15/20 last years with os and RH 3).

And what about of the old kronos 1 used price?(killed by the kronos X....who is killed by the kronos 2)

 

Well,at this price i prefer buying a more reliable apple computer...and a nord!

 

The kronos 61 i bought i was the badest synth i bought in my life(his os problems makes me mad)and when i'm speaking about all the keybed problems with all my friends (semi pro or pro keyboardist...)i feel lucky to make another choice.

 

 

So this kronos 2 is korg vision"a lot of technology...but less reliability"

Not for me..

[marczellm]

And all the models are uniformly 2.1 kg heavier than Kronos 1.

[Analogaddict]

Hmm. Interesting, but I'm probably going to stick with my Kronos 61. Probably.

[newkeys]

Very nice looking synth. It reminds me of the dignified livery of the Yamaha S90 series which I always enjoyed.

 

One might also detect a SLIGHT visual resemblance to the Virus TI2 . . . lol . . .

 

[video:youtube]EbxHg2sdPKk

[MorayM]

A little bit more here. From the article:

 

Although this is a new product - it'll ship in December in 61-, 73- and 88-note configurations - Korg has let it be known that many of the new features will be available to existing Kronos owners via an OS update.

 

Hmm, maybe not as groundbreaking as it looks..

[Bill W]

Looks nice, but I've already got a fleet of the damn things.

[HAMEGZ]

So if you could update your existing Kronos into the 2,

 

wouldn't that be shooting themselves in the foot?

 

Perhaps a limited subset of features, or else whats the enticement to upgrade to the Two?

[DulceLabs.com]

Yamaha, it's your turn to respond. Got anything????

 

Easy now. People are still recovering from the shock of the white Motif.

[AnotherScott]

So if you could update your existing Kronos into the 2,

 

wouldn't that be shooting themselves in the foot?

 

Perhaps a limited subset of features, or else whats the enticement to upgrade to the Two?

 

That assumes that the intended market for the Kronos Two is largely existing Kronos owners (as opposed to people looking at and considering buying Yamahas, Rolands, Kurzweils, or less capable Korgs).

 

I like the aesthetic refresh. And it will probably grab them more attention than if they just announced the new features as an OS upgrade for the existing Kronos/X. And they may have made internal changes based on parts availability, or improved quality, or lower cost, who knows. But if the OS is fully (or at least largely) backward compatible, I think that's a GREAT move by Korg. One of the biggest marketing advantages of Nord is that they are better than most at not leaving current owners in the dust, routinely coming out with updates (of course most notably, new samples). The underlying PC architecture of the Kronos and the fact that the OS is stored on rewritable SSD lends itself to being able to be kept current more easily than most boards (even Nord), so I think that can be a similar selling point for Korg, that the platform is one that can be updated and kept current. You can't turn your old Motif into a new Motif, or an old Roland into a new Roland... but you can turn your old Kronos into the new Kronos.

 

Hmm, maybe not as groundbreaking as it looks..

 

It's funny, people complain when a company comes out with such big changes to their board that they can't upgrade their existing gear ("I want the Electro 4 features in my Electro 3!"), and people complain when the changes are minor enough that you can ("Why didn't they do something more revolutionary? Same old, same old."). ;-)

[allan_evett]

Yamaha, it's your turn to respond. Got anything????

 

Easy now. People are still recovering from the shock of the white Motif.

 

It was an offbeat move for Yamaha synths. While we've seen a few bright white keyboards, I think of that one as the Chalk Motif. A true shock would be waking up to the release of a blue Nord.

[Dana.]

The sound of the Berlin grand is not at all impressive. Can't tell if the sample or the player is to blame.

[vonnor]

I'm holding out for the mikroNOS.

Fixed in the quote.

[MorayM]

Hmm, maybe not as groundbreaking as it looks..

 

It's funny, people complain when a company comes out with such big changes to their board that they can't upgrade their existing gear ("I want the Electro 4 features in my Electro 3!"), and people complain when the changes are minor enough that you can ("Why didn't they do something more revolutionary? Same old, same old."). ;-)

 

I'm all in favour of backwards compatible upgrades, it just doesn't seem to me like the kind of thing that warrants a new major version number

[Song80s]

Hmm, maybe not as groundbreaking as it looks..

 

It's funny, people complain when a company comes out with such big changes to their board that they can't upgrade their existing gear ("I want the Electro 4 features in my Electro 3!"), and people complain when the changes are minor enough that you can ("Why didn't they do something more revolutionary? Same old, same old."). ;-)

 

I'm all in favour of backwards compatible upgrades, it just doesn't seem to me like the kind of thing that warrants a new major version number

 

well, you can stay with 1.1 or 2.1 , if you like.

 

Oops, you are not a Kronos owner, never mind

[felix]

From what I understand, all previous Kronos models will be able to update to the new OS, which will give them all of the new functionality except the SGX-2. The SGX-2 will be available for purchase from Korg.

 

IIRC, boot time is also supposed to be significantly improved with the new OS.

 

And this disclaimer in the published specifications seem to indicate the wood is real:

* Since natural wood is used in the side panels of this instrument, there will be individual differences in the grain and figuration of the wood.