Keys, Synths & Samplers

[AnotherScott]

Originally Posted by Nismology

Forgive me, but apart from the nicer touch screen and a new piano sound, is there really anything that makes this worth ditching my M50?? It's not looking worth the upgrade so far, especially if they haven't improved the keybed. I also happen to think it looks fugly as sin.

From what I can see so far, no, it's not enough of a difference to bother upgrading from an M50, unless you really want the improved piano/EP sounds. But then, I don't think the primary market for this board is people who already own an M50.

[Bernard]

Originally Posted by AnotherScott

Of course, those don't have any sounds in them. It's always something. ;-)

I think they are going to far in cost-cutting, though. The M50 (no aftertouch) replaced the TR (which had aftertouch). As I recall, the M50 was also cheaper, despite the addition of a touchscreen, so you can see where the dollars went. But it is a shame that lightweight performance boards are so often so scaled down. The TR also had assignable outs and sockets for sample RAM. The M50 would have been better with all those things the TR had, even if it meant adding a couple of hundred dollars to the price. Korg's argument probably would have been that you should buy an M3, but those things weigh a ton and so are not nearly as gig friendly.

Sadly it also comes down to Marketing/Product management. They want to position it below other products so upgraders feel the increased cost worthwhile...

Many other reasons also...

I suspect a lot of synths are purchased these days as a compromise as so many features have been wiped out but the buyer has no other choice left in the Market at a given price point...

Weight saving on certain items lost cannot be denied... It's a big game really

[zoink]

Originally Posted by AnotherScott

From what I can see so far, no, it's not enough of a difference to bother upgrading from an M50, unless you really want the improved piano/EP sounds. But then, I don't think the primary market for this board is people who already own an M50.

It looks to be made for people who know they probably wouldn't use the advanced features and synthesis engines of the Kronos and just want the palette of sounds, and gigging musicians who want something lightweight that sounds good.

It makes good business sense, though on another level it's not very inspiring.

As for the MicroKorg, I like the black key / metallic red panel color scheme. It's too bad they didn't graft a new Electribe onto the back of it.

Advanced VA + Groove Drum Machine + 37 keys + software editor + cool color scheme = MicroTribe.

[triton76]

Kashmir Combi FTW!

[bdub]

Originally Posted by triton76

Kashmir Combi FTW!

There were several cool combis and patches in this video that would be nice to have in the Kronos.

[13ghostsofscoo…]

Not sure this qualifies as a "major" announcement.

[tim gueguen]

The choice of name is interesting. You'd think they might worry a bit that Google would get upset at using the name Krome. No, Google isn't in the musical instrument business, but people have sued over such name similiarities even if a product isn't in the same industry.

[RetroVintageOld]

It looks to be made for people who know they probably wouldn't use the advanced features and synthesis engines of the Kronos and just want the palette of sounds, and gigging musicians who want something lightweight that sounds good

Sounds like you mean someone like myself. Well, I want even less. I really want a stage piano with Korg's best sounds. But I have no need for a touch screen, sequencer, drum machines or recording. A multitimbral SV1 with better organs would have been just the ticket for me.

[playstation]

M50 Extreme! I like it! Makes me miss my Triton Extreme.

[Bernard]

Originally Posted by Nismology

Forgive me, but apart from the nicer touch screen and a new piano sound, is there really anything that makes this worth ditching my M50?? It's not looking worth the upgrade so far, especially if they haven't improved the keybed. I also happen to think it looks fugly as sin.

Do you use the cord assign buttons?

They seem to have gone...

[triton76]

did anyone notice if it has the pattern assigned to a key RPPR function?

[zoink]

Originally Posted by tim gueguen

The choice of name is interesting. You'd think they might worry a bit that Google would get upset at using the name Krome. No, Google isn't in the musical instrument business, but people have sued over such name similiarities even if a product isn't in the same industry.

Google Chrome has a different spelling, so there's no real conflict.

[AnotherScott]

Originally Posted by zoink

Google Chrome has a different spelling, so there's no real conflict.

It's not as simple as that. If you came out with a browser called Krome, google could probably get on you for that. Trademark law is not cut and dried, but is somewhat tied to how likely a similar name is to cause market confusion. In addition, Chrome is a regular english word (unlike, say, Kleenex), so that further will further limit (but not eliminate) the claims they can make on the term.

[zzzxtreme]

already available here, but funny, M50 still slightly pricier

[zoink]

Originally Posted by AnotherScott

It's not as simple as that. If you came out with a browser called Krome, google could probably get on you for that. Trademark law is not cut and dried, but is somewhat tied to how likely a similar name is to cause market confusion. In addition, Chrome is a regular english word (unlike, say, Kleenex), so that further will further limit (but not eliminate) the claims they can make on the term.

I understand that. But the fact that they're dissimilar products with differently spelled names being offered in completely disparate markets pretty much eliminates any controversy over trademark priority.

[Bernard]

Not that well recorded but better than nothing ;-)

[Nismology]

Originally Posted by Bernard

Do you use the cord assign buttons?

They seem to have gone...

As much as I initially thought them useless, I actually did end up using them. I do wish they were assignable to different functions other than chord triggering. I wouldn't really miss them to be honest.

What I really wanted was to be able to change arp or drum track patterns on the fly in combi mode.

[Metrosonus]

Originally Posted by zzzxtreme

already available here, but funny, M50 still slightly pricier

I heard 1200$ Sounds about right then.

so what's the difference between krome and m50? m50 is the m3 engine and krome is the kronos engine?

[Quru]

I want some midrange workstation to replace my good ol' Motif 7. All I want is good synth action keyboard, aftertouch and basic workstation-sounds to get me going without computer. I thought that Krome would be winner after my disappointment with MOX (same 64 polyphony as my original Motif, no aftertouch), but no. When did manufacturers decide that midrange workstations don't need aftertouch?

[AnotherScott]

Originally Posted by Quru

I want some midrange workstation to replace my good ol' Motif 7. All I want is good synth action keyboard, aftertouch and basic workstation-sounds to get me going without computer. I thought that Krome would be winner after my disappointment with MOX (same 64 polyphony as my original Motif, no aftertouch)

Maybe look for a used Motif XS (or XF)? In a new board, the closest to what you want might be a Kurzweil PC3LE.