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In short Yes.
So let me take a moment to explain why the world needs the Korg Kronos 3.
The Korg Nautilus didn’t cut it as the flagship workstation
I have said many times on my YouTube channel that the Korg Nautilus is a very capable workstation and at its current price in the UK, sub £2,000 for the 88-key RH3 version, you might also consider it a bargain!
Yes the Nautilus contained the same 9 core engines that the Korg Kronos did before it was discontinued. And after a while, but not a launch, you could move your patches from your Korg Kronos to the Nautilus.
But a feature that many players through was essential, the key bed after touch was removed. Many keyboard players use this feature to add there expression to music. Many of the Korg Kronos patches make use of aftertouch.
The second issue to many was the slimmed down user interface. The Kronos has lots of knobs, faders, the ribbon controller and joystick which could be used to alter the tone being played while being played. I think Korg underestimated how keyboardists used this feature when they made the decision to remove it from the Nautilus.
And finally it wasn’t radical enough. There was nothing really new with the Nautilus that would encourage a Korg Kronos user to spend the money and move to the Nautilus.
Korg Kronos Supportability
Many Korg Kronos users were getting jittery over the fact that it was getting difficult to source spares for the original Kronos, even prior to Korg discontinuing it. Of course with the new Kronos 3 being built on new, bang up to date, technology it means that spare parts will be available. And ultimately means it can be repaired when it goes wrong.
Same but different
Although the pictures from NAMM look like a Korg Kronos 3 is the Kronos 2 but with black end panels. But there are a number of subtle differences.
Firstly the 88-key is 1.5cm wider and the 71 and 61 key versions are 2.5cm wider. This of course means if you have a fully fitted case like me, the Kronos 3 may not fit in it.
The colour is more matt black as opposed to a more shiny black on the previous Kronos.
The new screen is the same size as the previous Kronos, however the screen has a matt anti glare finish which makes it more easy to view at different viewing angles and lighting conditions.
The new Kronos 3 has a new mother board and a faster CPU. Korg keep mentioning that there is no system fan in the Kronos 3 to keep the CPU cool. The system is OK to air cool the internals without this fan. They have also mentioned several times that the increased horse power means that the touch screen is more responsive!
Given that they have included 21Gb of samples in the new workstation they have increased the internal hard drive to a 120Gb SSD with the option to add a second drive to further increase storage.
As previously stated boot time on this keyboard was timed by many users at NAMM to be 48 seconds. But more interesting is the fact that the shut down is no longer cut power to the internal by flipping the off switch the machine appears to go through a shut down sequence. No explanation has been given for this, but maybe this was a fault that had been seen in prior versions that they have chosen to rectify.
Finally Korg has made a point of stating that the new parts that have been used to create the Kronos 3 are not backwards compatible with previous Kronos models.
Why was the original Korg Kronos discontinued?
Another comment that I have picked up on from Korg representatives at NAMM.
‘We had to discontinue the Korg Kronos 2 and its derivatives because we couldn’t support it any more.’
Basically they were struggling to get the replacement parts. Many musicians were posting about this issue on the Korg forums prior to discontinuation, but this is the first time I have seen this actually communicated. They also stated that the factory shut downs resulting from the Chrona virus just capitalised on the parts shortage.
Why have they re-introduced the Korg Kronos 3?
The official reason is that they have now been able to source new parts to build the upgraded Kronos 3. My view is still that this is a stop gap before the next workstation arrives.
New sound banks
In my precious video on the Korg Kronos I stated that an expanded sound library will be shipped with this new Kronos. To put this in context Korg have stated that the whole of CC, DD and EE are now populated with new patches. These patches have been created by very high profile sound designers and described by many that played the instrument at NAMM as 'rather good'.
Here is one of the reasons why we need a new Kronos. All these new sound banks will be made available to existing Kronos users for free. That’s right NO COST to download following launch.
But why do we need a new Korg Kronos?
Quiet simply:
We need a Kronos that Korg can support.
We need a new Kronos that supports the Korg musician base.
We need a new Kronos that grass roots players can buy with confidence that the platform is still alive.
We need a new Kronos with the hope that Korg has something special coming in the future
Until next time....
About the Author
Jon describes himself as a frustrated musician with a passion for the electronic instruments that help him and other musicians be creative. He started playing keyboards in his late teens and re-ignited his passion and built a new studio following his seperation.
About the Blog
The Music Tech Guy UK's Blog, Website and YouTube channel were started to share Jon's experiences and views on the industry at large and how these effect the small musician. Plus technical tips how to configure and maintain the equipment he owns.
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