Korg KRONOS 61 - Key Keyboard Production Station

When I first read about the Kronos, I admit I was extremely interested. One keyboard that seemed to nail most of the key keyboard sounds an enthusiast and vintage synth nut could want? And the early videos on YouTube seemed to only highlight the positives that I was already drooling over:1) A super realistic acoustic piano sound engine2) A super realistic electric piano sound engine3) Drawbar organ sound engine with great Leslie effect4) Three different modeled analog synth sound engines5) A suped-up FM sound engine6) A string physical modeling sound engine7) A great sampling-based sound engineWell, now that I've purchased and played with the keyboard for a few months, let me give you some initial observations (I say "initial" because this thing is SO deep, I feel I'm still in the early stages of exploring it). As a basis for comparison, I have owned or do own several decent synths including an Alesis Fusion (also reviewed on Amazon), Roland Fantom X6, Motif Rack, Alesis QS8, an Access Virus C desktop, a Novation KS4, a Nord Electro 2 rack, and a Moog Voyager. They don't all compare directly, but they do offer a variety of sound engines to help qualify my reaction to the Kronos.What this review DOESN'T contain are any comments about the on-board sampling (I haven't sampled anything with it yet), the on-board sequencer (I use a PC running Cakewalk Sonar to sequence the sounds), or much of the technical specifics which are better referenced from Korg's own website.**Build Quality - 2.5 starsNot bad, but not necessarily worth the almost $3,000 I paid for it. The worst part is the semi-flimsy plastic side panels. They just don't seem that solid or solidly attached to the main body of the keyboard. My Roland Fantom X6 was a LOT cheaper and much more solidly constructed. The actual action on the keyboard is to my liking, especially the synth-feel for playing organ and synth-type sounds. That being said, I still slightly prefer the Fantom X6 keyboard feel . I would have preferred the piano-action keyboard for the acoustic and electric piano sounds, but the piano-action version of the Kronos was more expensive and had problems with some of the keyboards, AND it doesn't work so well (for me anyway) for the organ and synth sounds. Check out Kronos forums for details on the piano-action keyboard problems.**Sound Quality - 5 starsHere is where you get your money's worth in my opinion. The 9 independent sound engines offer a REAL wealth of sound-producing power. The acoustic and electric pianos sound great. Much better than my Roland Fantom X6, Motif Rack, Alesis QS8, or Nord Electro 2 rack. It's a coin flip whether the drawbar organs sound better on the Kronos or the Electro 2 rack. I admit I prefer the Leslie speaker emulation from the Kronos a bit over the Electro 2, but the actual tonal quality comparison between the two is 6 of one, half dozen of the other. Synth engines are incredibly deep and complex, wonderfully emulate some classic Korg synths, and sound great...but if I had a complaint, it might be that the touch screen programming of the synth engines (FM and string modeling included) is too dauntingly complicated.**User Interface (buttons, knobs and touch screen) - 3.5 starsThe amount of parameters the user can program for the various sound engines ranges from not-so-complex (electric pianos, acoustic pianos) to what-the-heck-am-I-looking-at (the FM sound engine in particular). The touch screen user-interface definitely helps, and in conjunction with the knobs, buttons, and sliders, programming isn't horrible. BUT, the touch screen is kind of small, and the angle of the screen is fixed, so working through menus and such can test my patience a bit. I actually found myself appreciating the approach Alesis used with the Fusion for programming (which also has multiple sound engines) a bit more after trying to dive into the Kronos. To assist with all this interface confusion, Korg was supposed to release the Kronos with a PC-based editor, allowing you to program the Kronos from a LARGE monitor (ie, much easier-to-read screen). BUT, despite their website's latest info saying it would be released in Nov 2011, there's still no sign of it (it was supposed to be released WITH the Kronos earlier in 2011). Additionally the software is supposed to allow the Kronos to integrate with your favorite DAW (like Sonar or Ableton) and allow you to work with it like you do the rest of your softsynths. If or when the software is released, AND it works as advertised, it might help raise the whole "user interface" score up to a 4 or 4.5 stars, but we'll see.**Other Problems/ObservationsMy Kronos has been upgraded to OS 1.5, the latest operating system offered by Korg. Previously (with the old OS) I had REAL problems with note-on and note-off MIDI messages not being sent or received through Sonar (my other keyboards don't have this problem, leading me to think it's a Kronos problem). This resulted in stuck notes or unsounded notes. This has vastly improved with the OS update to 1.5, but frustratingly, I STILL get the occasional stuck or unsounded note.**In Summary (so far) - 3.66 stars with a round up to 4 for the whole keyboardI'm seriously pleased with the Kronos, but mostly for the sound quality (it's really that good). There are a few bugs and omissions (the editing software!), and that awesome sound quality coupled with the build quality and the price unfortunately don't make it a no-brainer purchase...at least not yet. I waited to buy the Alesis Fusion until a couple years after it was released, and that time allowed Alesis to solve most of the OS problems with it. For price, programmability, and awesomely synthy sounds, it WAS a no-brainer purchase when I bought it (prices were falling as well, as Alesis was discontinuing the line). Were I in your shoes, I might consider waiting a bit with the Kronos as well. For gigging, I'd be worried about the build quality and the keyboard glitches, but I'm a bit cautious that way.I admit, as pleased as I am, I am bit disappointed with Korg as well. When hardware products start being released as betas and the consumer ends up PAYING to be the test group for the product, then something is wrong. If Korg isn't careful, they'll end up with a less-than-stellar reputation like Alesis.========== Added after original review =========Well, they FINALLY released the PC editor a few weeks back and you can easily download it from Korg for free.Pluses?- It really does let you edit patches, song lists, etc in a MUCH more comfortable way (bigger and easier-to-read characters, no stooping/leaning over the Kronos, etc). That's extremely nice- Let's you very easily back-up your entire libraryMinuses?- It doesn't offer much functionality or ease-of-programming past what the keyboard touch screen already offers (it's mostly just easier to read!). Most editors let you MORE easily access parameters than the keyboard to facilitate programming. That either means the keyboard is VERY well designed for programming, or the editor software isn't so hot. It's actually a little of both I think- The editor software looks like it was programmed for Windows 3.1 from the early 90s. I have a Dave Smith Tetra and the free software that was released WITH that synth looks a LOT better. This isn't a major gripe, but you'd like to think if they're almost a year late bringing the product to the table, they wouldn't have delivered something that looks like a betaEven with the editor, I can't say I'd bump my total score past a 4 of 5 stars.

For such an incredible keyboard (and incredibly expensive one), I have been shocked to not find more Kronos reviews on Amazon. There are plenty of professional reviews from keyboard and music magazines out there for Kronos, but I figured it would be useful to share the perspective of an almost complete newbie who decided to dive headfirst into the deep end of the keyboard / music workstation pool. I was in my high school band (so I'm a band nerd and technology nerd) over 20 years ago, and I had a tiny Casio keyboard in the 1980s that I could play a mean Axel F (using sampled dog barking noises), but aside from that, I haven't touched anything musical since the 80s (beyond building an incredible synthpop CD collection). I am an IT guy, so while I generally love technology, sitting in front of a computer with a mouse to make music just isn't my idea of fun. I know that is the reality these days and is probably the most efficient means of making music, but I want to be just like my keyboard heros and be able to make my own music on a dedicated instrument that doesn't have a mouse. So just to be clear, my purpose of buying the Kronos is to have fun making music; I have no illusions about this ever becoming an income source for me.I initially narrowed my keyboard choices down to the Roland Juno Gi, and the Korg Krome. I loved the Krome's touchscreen and online support community, but I also loved the Juno Gi's ability to record digital audio files (since "someday" I'm sure I'll develop awesome guitar playing skills and great vocal abilities). The Juno Gi feels a bit dated in many respects (and doesn't have true MIDI recording, which can be edited and forgiving for those not gifted with keyboard playing skills). The Krome had 90% of what I am looking for, but only lacked the ability to record external audio (or user samples ... another item on my wish list, just in case I want to "borrow" sounds directly from the keyboard gods that make up my CD collection).As I gravitated towards the Krome, I kept seeing write-ups that more or less hinted that it was the "spiritual baby brother" of Kronos. But Kronos not only had better quality and more extensive sound libraries, but it ALSO could record and mix audio (from a microphone, guitar, WAV file, CDs, etc). It apparently can do anything under the sun, and even has a depth of features that more advanced (as in true pros) musicians may not even use. The only downside was that the Kronos retailed for close to four grand, while you could get the Krome for under a grand (street price, anyway). But one day I noticed the Kronos selling for "only" double what the Krome sells for, and somehow I convinced myself that I wouldn't regret going with the bigger purchase, so I plopped down the cash and snagged me a nice new Kronos (61 key version). It really is like asking a 16 year old what kind of car they want, and instead of learning to drive a hand-me-down Chevy Impala, they go out and buy a Ferrari. Thrills are harder to come by as I get older, but I can say that the day my Kronos arrived, I felt just like the 16 year old with a Ferrari in the driveway. Now if I only knew how to drive ...The Kronos physically is a big fat beautiful keyboard. It has a metal skin and the knobs and buttons truly have that professional look and feel. It is a sharp looking machine. It came with an instructional DVD (which the same videos can be found on Youtube), and a "quick start guide" which is about 30 pages. If there EVER was an item that folks DO need to read the directions for, this is it. Long story short, I have read the 30 page quick-start guide. I then downloaded the nearly 300 page operations guide online, which is still high-level. Read the whole thing. I THEN downloaded the parameters guide, which comes in at 1,171 pages. Throw in another few hundred pages for the sounds listing, and you have a couple of THOUSAND pages of documentation for this thing. Seriously. But I have found the guides invaluable. You really DO need the massive parameters guide to learn how to do things like edit your MIDI recordings. But guess what ... there is a built-in help button for every screen in Kronos, so while the paper manuals are great to read, you will have access to much of the same content directly on the Kronos screen if you get stuck. Pretty darned nice. While I can't say that the keyboard is intuitive (not like picking up an iPad), at least there is always help along the way. There seems to be at least 3 different ways of accomplishing the same thing for the Kronos. Often you can adjust sliders, adjust the touchscreen or move knobs, all which are controlling the same thing. All of the buttons have built-in LED lights so that when the buttons are active or "apply" to whatever you are doing, you know at a glance which ones to mess with. The sliders and knobs are plentiful and really do make changing parameters quickly a breeze.The 61 key version has the non-weighted keybed. For my purposes it works great, but to be honest the plastic keys feel a lot like I remember my cheapie 1980s Casio keyboard keys feeling. They work fine, but for a true keyboard player, you might want to feel the keys in person before buying, or go for one of the weighted versions. The touch screen is awesome. The size feels a bit small (since I use an 11 inch Android tablet regularly), but it is bright and responsive. I really can't imagine trying to use a workstation like this without having a display like that.It took me about a week just to get comfortable with learning how to select an instrument and play the darned thing. I was initially overwhelmed trying to understand the difference between programs, combinations, and set lists (and why they kept talking about 9 different sound engines, internal vs external banks, etc etc etc!), but if you give each topic some time, watch the video, and read the manual, it eventually does make sense (even for a complete newbie like me).The sounds (arguably the most important part) are truly spine-tinglingly amazing, at least in my book. With around 1,800 different sounds (or "instruments") built-in, it takes some time just to learn to navigate and learn what is available. But there is nothing as rewarding as scrolling through and finding synths that I have heard in my favorite tunes; I mean, some sound absolutely identical (and again - not at all cheesy - really rich and pro sounds from this thing!). And these sounds are truly able to be modified with infinite combinations. You can create sounds almost from scratch and modify dozens of parameters that I have never even heard of (heck many of the screens look like somebody cracked open my old Calculus III textbook). You don't HAVE to mess with any of the settings, but if you want to change the sounds, you can do so until the world stops turning and never run out of new sounds. And keep in mind, this thing allows you to sample and upload thousands and thousands of additional sounds that you can download (some for free, some for money). One example of a parameter that can be adjusted is the "lid" on the piano which goes to eight different levels; the screen literally shows the angle of the lid increase or decrease as you move the slider control. Awesome.Another cool feature is the ability for the unit to hook up a DVD/CD player / writer to the USB port. I ordered an external USB Samsung portable writer for around thirty bucks that works like a charm; the Kronos can play CDs (and you can play along, compare sounds from Kronos vs the CD, etc), and you can even sample sounds directly from the CD and use that in your music. Songs created from Kronos can be written to blank audio CDs, so the Kronos can serve as a true standalone music production system, right down to making CDs. Incredible.Learning to record music was another adventure that took a few days just to get comfortable with. But before I knew it, I had a breakthrough recording of the theme from "Halloween" going (really is a very simple song with piano and synth, but by golly it sounds professional - sounds "fuller" and better than the original, believe it or not!). There is a ton of power with the recorder. Loops, drum tracks, a gazillion settings are available. You can "step" record one note at a time (for people like me without keyboarding skills). But the one thing (and really my ONLY complaint with Kronos) is that editing a song after initially recording it is challenging to say the least. I knew this going in. I knew that baby-brother Krome keyboard DOES indeed have a nice "piano roll" style interface. However, Kronos, despite being the flagship product for Korg, simply doesn't have a similar nice interface. The free Kronos editor (that you can use for connecting a PC with Kronos) also does not have the piano-roll-style editing capability. For this reason, at some point I may need to integrate Kronos into a computer-based software workstation. But I so wanted to avoid that, so time will tell if I can tolerate the bare-bones editing interface in Kronos, or if Korg will release another software update to bring the Krome-style editing capabilities to the Kronos.Do I have any regrets in buying Kronos? Not at all. I love this thing. Even if I could never win a race, who wouldn't love to have a Ferrari in the garage that they can take for an occasional spin. I truly do have aspirations of making some decent music, at least with a quality that most pros would consider to be adequate demo material. I think Kronos can deliver that, even in stand-alone format. And for many of you true pros, the Kronos can deliver whatever pro capabilities you need to crank out finished tunes.Depending on your budget, I truly do think that the Krome would be an awesome product and alternative for the money, especially for someone like me who may not ever dream of using many of the sound-sculpting abilities that Kronos offers. Krome even has a superior MIDI editing interface, and can probably meet the needs of most users for a more affordable price. But if you can swing it from a financial perspective, and aren't afraid to sit down and learn (and are prepared to be patient and NOT have instant gratification) I do highly recommend the Kronos; I can't imagine anyone ever outgrowing the capabilities that this thing offers. And at the end of the day, it sounds freakin' awesome and is a blast to play. Thanks for reading this lengthy review!UPDATE - 12/29/13I love this thing more than ever! I am now able to easily create and edit songs; honestly I don't miss the "piano roll" for editing. It is very easy to record "patterns" and then apply those to songs, and if there is something I don't like I just play it again. I have created a full dance/pop style song that family members just couldn't believe (it really is what I would consider to be professional demo quality). And I am now well versed on creating my own sounds and combining sounds from synth engines to have some ear-pleasing stuff. I am so so so so glad that I bought this thing; I have had more fun with it than I would have imagined. And I'm just getting started! 5 stars all the way!!!UPDATE - 6/5/14Six months later, I can say that I absolutely am still floored by what this keyboard can do. I'm still learning to use it, but creating a song from scratch is now almost second nature. I've created about 15 tracks so far, and most sound professional (to my incredibly biased ear). Again, I am not a musician; just an enthusiast. But this keyboard is so good, has so much depth, and is so much fun to use, I keep firing it up and seeing what I can create.Throughout the six months, the keyboard locked up once. I was using the sequencer and threw in the whole kitchen sink with tons of tracks, effects, etc. Only happened once, but it did teach me to save every hour or so (very quick and easy to do). The only other glitch I have encountered is that the functionality of burning songs straight to CDs just does not work. I have tried multiple drives (all which have been verified as working on the Korg forums), but they all result in cutting off songs at 4 seconds each. Others have reported the same issue. Although I purchased my keyboard through Amazon, I bought it from a third party (not "authorized" dealer), and therefore there is no warranty. The workaround is that you can just save your songs as WAV files, pop those on a thumb drive, and pop them in a computer and use iTunes or Windows Media Player to burn a CD. But that is extra trouble. Interestingly, I can rip samples from CDs (using the same drives) with zero issues. So overall, not a big deal, but it is the tiny flaw in an otherwise gigantic diamond! I have not even been tempted to integrate with a computer or digital workstation; the standalone board does everything I can imagine. Effects? Hundreds. All are completely configurable and adjustable. Vocals? Crystal clear recording is provided. Volume, tones, panning, filters ... the Kronos has 'em. I'm sure that some aspects of working on a song would be easier with a giant computer screen and a mouse, but there is no substitute for having a physical keyboard for cranking out the tunes.Lastly, I can say that I have now gone through all of the hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of Korg samples that are built in. Of course, with the layering capabilities and true synth "engines", your options for creating new sounds out of the box are truly unlimited. But I have found myself feeling like many of my sounds sound similar and have that "Korgy" sound. Well, for well under fifty bucks you can purchase awesome sample libraries through third parties. I recently acquired the "Uber Analog" collection (just Google the terms "Uber Analog" or "Uber Americana"), and wow, I now have over 500 new incredible and crystal clear analog synth sounds (Moog, Roland, etc). The sounds were super easy to install, and now have given a whole arsenal of sounds that can mix things up. When I fire up my Kronos, I now feel like I have stumbled across tool that puts me right in the middle of the recording studio for the classic synth greats. I am absolutely in no way associated with the good folks that sell these collections, but did want to mention this since it demonstrates how your Kronos can "grow" if you tire of the built-in sounds. Bottom line, I can see myself continuing to love my Kronos for years (and possibly decades) to come.

The best deal:Great price.Free shipping.Delivered on time.Keyboard has great instruments, fXs, sound, etc.For Both studio and live it is a nice keyboard.

Great Keyboard And Great Seller = Win For me

My husband is a professional musician. This has replace a 15 year old Roland XP60. He tells me the new board does things the other one couldn't do. He can manipulate the sounds during performance and enhance every song played. He and the audiences are very happy with the results.