71 thoughts on “New Korg Kronos Workstation “The Most Powerful Synthesizer On The Planet””

1. I just watched the video manual and realized I can already do all of this with my Controller and PC 😉

   1. Hmmm, so?

      1. So the potential market is now 7 billion minus Michael.

   2. But you are sure can not do all things on stage, liveshow. Korg Kronos is made for Live Gig not using as a DAW. So you can not compare Kronos with PC and Controllers.

2. I guess this is for pros, it does nothing for me. They always say they’ve improved the modelling, but it never sounds quite right to me in most of these types of synths. Anyway it’s probably the price of a car.

3. The price will most probably be in the same range as a Gibson acoustic guitar, for example, and considerably much cheaper than a good violin. Fine musical instruments meant to be played come at a cost. Electrical appliances, OTOH, are getting cheaper and cheaper.

   1. german prices (incl tax):

      KRONOS 61 keys 3.569,- euro
      KRONOS 73 keys 4.045,- euro
      KRONOS 88 keys 4.402,- euro

      1. 2999€ on street for a 61 keys though.

   2. A well-built and looked-after guitar or violin will hold its price, or perhaps increase, across decades and decades. The same goes for a nice analog synth, analog mixing desk, etc. Even some specialized digital gear holds value as it is rediscovered or championed by a gear tastemaker. Not just dollar value, but in musical worth.

      A digital workstation is pure technology. Every few years, there’s a new gold standard flagship with new features, and this degrades the perceived value of the last generation’s model.

      Most Powerful on the planet is a very telling claim. Every year, Apple brings out it’s “most powerful, fastest, best ever” stuff. Last’s year’s stuff is discounted, then unsupported, then abandoned. When you buy a computer – and that’s what a workstation is – you’re renting a couple dozen months where you have the latest thing. Then the problems start.

      I’m not knocking these big products, and the price is fair enough to sustain the business. But every workstation launch seems to suggest you have a lifetime of learning and exploration ahead of you with the best musical tool in the world. What happened to the old ones, which were launched with the same adjectives and ad copy?

      For some strange reason, I no longer own a blue G3 Mac with a low-def CRT monitor, despite the fact that it was “the best” and cost me $2,600 in 1999 dollars.

      1. ‘But every workstation launch seems to suggest you have a lifetime of learning and exploration ahead of you with the best musical tool in the world. What happened to the old ones, which were launched with the same adjectives and ad copy?’

         Yeah, I just hate when the old ones stop working as soon as the new ones are released.

         1. These workstations do offer a lifetime of learning, though. I’ve got a Kurzweil K2500, and that thing still sounds great, works perfectly, and has tons of features still to figure out.

            The problem I have with workstation keyboards us that they are so deep that I almost feel a little guilty for not knowing them inside and out. You can figure out an analog synth in a few hours, but workstation keyboards are super deep.

      2. I`m not even getting into discussing whether a musical instrument should also to be a investment. I am just thinking that getting, say, five years of use of a top of the line workstation for about two euros a day is nothing to cry about, if you really play it.

4. Will never buy this RH3 shit again. Worst keybed ever made. You never know what you will get. Unreliable quality, takes weks to get it replaced or repaired.
   And what about those GBs of data you can only access via 76 character long filesystem strings? This is 1995 OS crossbreed with todays technology.
   A sane man will buy a big PC or Mac for that price and a Viscount K4 masterkeybed and some decent softsynth package. It’s not more work to learn to utilize a computer OS than to learn how to program that shiny piece of garbage!

   1. A quick look onto their website shows no improvement of the sequencer. It’s still worse than M3 and Krome. What kind of update is that? Korg, Yamaha and Roland are just selling their old stuff in new clothes over and over again. I will stick with my Fantom G6 and Macs and iPads. There is no keyboard workstation that could compare with the ease of use and versatility of a good modern OS. You just have to remove a ton of useless backgroundservices from your computer, to get a stable machine you can rely on.

      1. “Worse than the M3?” Why do you say its worse? Its not even on a par with the M3 or Krome?
         How do you come to that conclusion?

   2. Reason & i5 8GB ram.
      All the power I need , all contained in a solid app.
      The synths and effect all plug into each other, to build a monster.

      1. Hi. Would appreciate your assistance. I bought a Kronos 88X – sold it some 6 months ago. Financial reasons. Ready to re-invest. I’m really considering all options. Would love to have a chat with someone who is adept on soft synth route to really understand this option. If you could email me I would be very grateful if you would have the time to offer your advice. Thanks [email protected]

5. Granted what people say about this technology.
   However, the CPU power and stability that hardware offers is something a lot of people gravitate towards, especially those performing on stage.

6. Hey, there will always be a need for a good workstation. I am glad that Korg is on top of things making them better and better. If I had the bread to buy a workstation right now (and I must admit I’d love to have one again) Kronos would be the big contender for me. One thing that I failed to pick out from the above rundown of this new & improved thing is that they seem to have not addressed the relatively shitty build on those faders/sliders. I have been to different music stores and have seen, countless times, those things being missing and feeling like crapola when they were still present. Yamaha’s Motif line, on the other hand, has always felt solid in the performance controls department. They just seem quiet beefy in built quality verses those of the Korg. Anyway, like I have gushed in my other posts under various Italo pseudonyms, Korg is like a bull that just won’t stop. Keep on pounding it Korg team!

7. Long live the volcas, long live dx 100s, long live cheap nasty 303 clones, mophos etc.
   Keep music crude and funky.

8. Korg, I want that Arp!

9. i have the Korg Oasys and i love it, now i love this one so!! Korg Kronos is the best workstation on the planet, not dude, i’m sure 😉

10. i have the Korg Oasys and i love it, now i love this one so!! Korg Kronos is the best workstation on the planet, not dude, i’m sure!

11. So this is basically a repackaging of the aging Oasys sound engines plus some new pianos……

    1. Which makes me wonder if the choice of processor was that wise after all.

       I’m not sure how busy the developer team has been, but such a minor improvements seem to take ages. Is there even that sequencer update with touch screen implementation yet, that they managed to implement on the M3!?!?

       And is the touch screen sliders and virtual knobs really a hardware upgrade? Is it really necessary?

       If so, and especially when considering the time it takes to implement these things, there is something horribly wrong.

       1. Phew, the new OS update is/will be available for previous models too.

       2. With keyboards this deep, I think it’s actually better that development is methodical.

          Cats are using these beasts to run shows, controlling everything, and it’s gotta be rock solid. If you’re jamming at home, a Launchiad and a USB controller are good for a lot of people. These keyboards are for serious gigging, where you don’t want to mess with audio interfaces and MIDI controllers and software and OS upgrades and all that shit.

          I haven’t used the Kronos, but it sounds great and Korg’s got good track record with workstations, so I’d expect this to be solid.

          1. Just try to build a multisample on a Korg machine. It’s a pain in the ass. And most people lose their work the first time they do it, because the OS is so user unfriendly. Even the otherwise inferior Fantom G is better regading editing MS, but has a trash system to import and export them. It means you cannot share MS patches on a roland between projects. /facepalm
             But Korg does not like people to do anything easy. It feels like an oldstyle spreadsheet program. It sounds good and maybe nice for someone who gigs and uses presets. But to market this as a workstation is false advertising.

             1. I dunno wtf ur talking about. I own a Trinton extreme, ive owned a fantom and motif es. The triton ex is the greatest multisampler ever made. Dont come on this trashing korgs MS’s and mislead people. Ive built tons of MS on my triton ex it couldnt be more user friendly. Hold enter press the key u want edit done

12. It might be the most powerful synth on THIS planet, but which planet has the most powerful synth?

    Rigel VII has a transparent pipe organ made of trillions of nanobots suspended in a quantum liquid. Each nanobot is a complete monophonic synth unto itself. The organ’s 4-D key bed is a floating mobius strip and it spans 1,000 octaves. It is said that unless you have the pure uncorrupted mind of a innocent child, you will go insane if you play it. It also has MIDI over USB.

    1. >>> It is said that unless you have the pure uncorrupted mind of a innocent child, you will go insane if you play it.

       Well, that lets me out. I’m already insane and I’d corrupt the nanobots.

       Sheesh, all this hollering… either you have the need for a workstation and the clarity to apply it or you don’t. I own two older Korg workstations that still see use ’cause I love ’em, but I grew to a point where they became team players rather than the whole game. A Kronos plus a DAW would be so huge, complaints sound like sour grapes. IMO, some people are just plain daunted because no matter how pure the pianos are, they’re just another patch to them. If you’ve had the experience of really sitting with a piano or workstation for a while, your approach broadens and changes. You stop looking for “improvements” on the spec sheet and start feeling what’s in front of you more clearly. Workstations rarely offer NOVELTY anymore because they already do everything you could sensibly ask of them musically. Calling it an “aging OASYS engine” is disingenuous. Calling it an OASYS in a tighter form for less than half the original’s price is more accurate. Its got NINE matured engines and people are COMPLAINING? WTH? Do you have to hate the Kronos because you’re ready to marry your Volcas? Aw, look at the streaming pile of First World problems! 😀 A Hammond organ would be wasted on me, but my Korgs are not. Play more, hate less.

       1. Note: I wasn’t complaining about the price.. I was simply stating the fact that it is what it is…… A repackaging of the original Oasys engines that are now almost 8 years old… along with a couple of new piano samples… Im not saying it’s a good or bad thing.. Just simply pointing out that it’s not exactly ground breaking or new in terms of the sound engines…

          I should add, I’m a former Oasys owner and I loved that beast…. but over time I decided to sell it and focus on a SI based rig instead because of the greater flexibility and ease of use it offers….

          Each to their own 🙂

    2. This comment almost made me piss m y pants with laugther.

13. NEW, huh?

    Nine sound engines, same.
    Better string modeling engine.
    Another piano.
    62GB of SSD, when you can upgrade your Kronos or Kronos X to 240GB pretty easily.
    More “Artist Signature Programs”, okay.
    Better Set List mode.
    Oh…and WOODEN END CAPS.

    Who are they marketing this to? I suspect the OS upgrades will come to all Kronos owners…but the wooden end caps…that’s the only selling point I can find at ALL on the website.

    1. Yeah, I reacted to the wooden side panels, that looks strange.

       I don’t know why they didn’t keep the Oasys look, that was an excellent design and layout. Then they downgraded that attractive design into stupid plastics on the Chronos series.

14. So oopfoo, you’re saying that if u already own a kronos or kronos x, you’ll be able to upgrade and receive all the new sounds that come with this one? Can u confirm this? I don’t know how their system works.

    Was thinking about purchasing a kronos, and if that’s the case, i would definitely want to save the money and grab a used version of the current model, then upgrade to get these new pianos etc.

    1. Free upgrade to the new 3.0 for all previous kronos and X users the 9gb new piano is a paid upgrade confirmed from Korg on their twitter website and in the korg forums.

    2. I just paid for the “Sound Upgrade” for my original Korg Kronos 8. The price was 249.

       After installing, I was thrilled to death to play the Berlin piano……. WOW, WAS I DISAPPOINTED !!!

       The other sounds are real nice, so I have to say it was a 50/50 happy to upgrade not happy. Another thing is if you purchase the upgrade, you’re going to need 3GB of RAM, or you won’t be able to boot with all the KSC Sample Data. You’ll have to choose which sound libraries will load. Now I’ve got a new purchase to make. More RAM, and do that Install.

       Overall the Korg Kronos is a kick ass machine with amazing sounds, and I have no real complaints other than that Berlin Piano. I was expecting a masterpiece piano patch, and all I heard coming out of my speakers was an average sounding, not big and warm sparkling, acoustic piano. Too bad. That was a big let down for my money. However the other sounds I acquired certainly made up for it.

       My other complaint is that the screen, though nice, is annoying to work with bc you have to lean over your Kronos to see it clearly, and I would’ve been much more pleased had they used a top tilting screen like the Fantom so you can sit upright and view it nicely. I hate leaning over it, especially when I spend a lot of time sequencing in it.

15. Chuck, there will always be a new model in the wings. The gains are almost always incremental, so the smart move, which I learned over several years, is to max out what you have in the Now. Up the memory, install the latest OS and then roll. Buy a few third-party sound sets and build a solid library. Kid Nepro now offers Kronos sounds, for example. I bought several Triton patch sets and by the time I’d sculpted them for a while, I ended up with a great base set and a personal set. A synth is a seed you plant, not something set in stone. If you can max out the use of a Kronos, you’ve reached Hans Zimmer territory and its time to have a totally different discussion anyway! Make sure what you buy is currently supported enough to get you through that initial window of opportunity. The rest is up to you.

    1. 16 Midi Tracks? 16 FX? LOL… no need to be Hans Zimmer to max out the use of a Kronos pretty quickly!

       1. The more the merrier of course, but I want to hear some tracks from people, who insist that they need much more, than 16 parts(actually, I don’t want hear). I know, that there are great examples, when a skilled composer makes even richer arrangement than that, but there’s 16 audio tracks for those moments, when you want to pretend being a composer.

          1. Just try editing the MIDI events on a Kronos and you will not touch the sequencer again. I stick with my M3 XP instead. Any sane people will buy a decent masterkeybed and a computer these days. All the wires and stuff can be put in a nice wooden or metal box and secured with the same technic Korg uses inside its metal box aka plastic strips. For 3000,- you can build an amazing workstation without any of this Roland, Yamaha or Korg oldgear oldies stuff (btw. I am 49).

             1. Hi. Really would like your help. See thing is, I bought a kronos 88X – but due to a personal financial need, I had to sell it some 5 months ago. Now I’m ready to go again and splash out some cash. Btw, I’m 48.
                I am really considering all options – especially the one your comment adheres towards. So any Chance please you could advise me I quite like the idea of obtaining the monster workstation in soft form you speak of for the £3000 budget. I also need a controller keyboard. As I’m piano based player 88 more weighted is kind of important. I’d be really grateful for a chat, if you don’t mind calling me or indeed I would gladly call you please email to swap numbers. [email protected]. The only kit u have is an i3 laptop. Is this big enough? Probably not. Was looking at Komplete, but your experience and advice would be invaluable. Much appreciated. Thanks. Patrick

       2. !6 midi 16 audio tracks with 16fxon each. track ay one time.

       3. 16 midi 16 audio tracks with 16 fx on each. track at one time.

16. Thank you for your input.

    But your answer to my question would be “no”, then?

    I still don’t understand whether you would be able to get these new Kronos sounds onto an older Kronos or Kronos X. I’m not as interested in purchasing 3rd party sounds. Thanks.

    1. Well, part of the deal is doing some research. Between Korg’s own site and this one, http://www.korgforums.com/ you can probably learn that easily enough. You’re right to ask, as backwards compatibility is never a sure thing. As for 3rd party sounds, sure, learn the base set first. Just keep in mind that there are several ways to collaborate. Alchemy is a superior synth, but a key aspect that raises its value to me is the number of contributing sound programmers, such as Junkie XL. A few of the patches and loops have led me to some great fun above the more standard uses. Just make a small note of it for later. Buying outside patch sets caused my old 01W to just keep growing and growing…. Hulk like Synth Madness.

    2. yes you can and willbe able too.

17. It’s not quite a apples-to-apples comparison of tech-obsolescence of computers to workstations.

    Workstation keyboards are kind of semi-isolated systems that don’t fall prey to the software that breaks with each OS or hardware that can’t run newer OS’s.

    The Kurzweil K2xxx series was a good example of workstations that held their value pretty well, and remain very functional tools.

    As for this Korg, it appears to offer a pretty nice set of sounds & functions to make it desirable & useable. The screen looked a little crammed (i.e., there really doesn’t look like there is any wiggle room and it looks “fiddly” as they say). If you really can use your nail, that would help. Does that mean it senses pressure and not skin capacitance (or whatever an iOS device does)? That’s a plus. I’m glad there are hardware faders since the screen faders look teeny. Though the hardware faders are also tiny.

    If the faders (as suggested above) are cheap, that is a shame. And I agree that Yamaha seems to do better (generally) with making hardware that feels more rugged.

    I understand that they are struggling with pricepoints & profit margins, but it is always a shame when they compromise on build quality and still make such an expensive beast.

    1. Just don’t update your OS and software and you have the same as a Korg workstation. All this woo woo about computer being inferior because they get better and can be updated blows my mind. Go make music with your typewriter. It may be IN tomorrow.

18. Kurzweil are usually quiet about it (the way Steinway and Rolls-Royce are quiet about it) but their VAST technology can be used to build just about any synthesis process inside the keyboard on the fly. Kind of like the routing in Casio’s severely underrated VZ-1. It’s like the Flowstone Synthmaker built into FL Studio (I think Reaper has the same kind of thing? It’s like Synthedit only humongously more powerful) that lets you build your own synth from modules and parts. VAST can do anything the OASYS and Kronos can do. Instead of being majorly ROMplers which is what the Korgs are, the Kurzweil is a virtual synthesis environment. Sure, it’s a sampler and a ROMpler, but also a VA, an analog, a modeling system, PCM, FM, AM, granular, vector, wavetable, anything you take the time to design. Of course, Korg claiming to be the most powerful is just promotional copy. It’s not a legal definition so no one can take them to task about it. But a Kurzweil costs half as much and I think is more versatile. I like them both; I have a Kurzweil K2VX and an OASYS-PCI. People should remember that claims of “most powerful” are often accompanied by smoke and blue mirrors.

19. the synth engines are still great. i love the stability, routing and modulation options. i don’t want a work station. i’d buy a module in a heartbeat that let me use keyboard, trackpad, on my laptop screen or tablet or hdmi screen and like korg’s nanokontrols to work with. give it a num pad and enough controls to make navigating fun.

20. It’s really stunning how much vitriol Saxifraga still has for the Kronos after owning it for a while and not getting along with the OS. As a frequently gigging musician I can only say the Kronos is by far the best board out there at this time when it comes to flexibility and sound quality. I completely agree that I would choose it over computer based DAW in a studio situation. Although a decently powerful DAW ($1000? seems conservative) with a high quality controller ($800), DAW software ($200-$600) and, say, Komplete ($500-$1000) is also quite an investment so the comparison isn’t quite as clear-cut as is pretended here.
    But really where the Kronos shines is in being able to take softsynth quality sounds on the road in a single convenient package. I have use MainStage, Forte and Cantabile and none of them are as bug free, hassle free or coherent as the Kronos.

    I don’t think this “version 2” is a particularly huge upgrade which is why they offer the same OS to current Kronos owners. However, Kronos has been around for four years almost. Yamaha brings out “new” Motifs in less time, with zero upgrades for the older models.

    As for the engines being derived from Oasys, that’s true for the most part (they’re significantly enhanced and in some cases entirely new, but the point stands), however not only do all hardware AND software manufacturers do this, but it’s not even a bad thing if it sounds good. I still use the Waves Renaissance plugins and love them. I still like Z3TA+ and the original Ivory piano plugin. Many people still use B4 II. It’s a silly complaint. Korg offers NINE of these engines in a single board where most companies offer ONE, and then the suggestion is that they should offer nine NEW ones every few years?

21. Meant to say I would choose a computer DAW over a Kronos in a studio situation. Hope that was clear.

    1. a couple of years with DAW`S and i find it is very easy to create crap quickly. would rather learn how to make half decent music than how to plug wires in and set up input configurations

22. One USB cable is real nice and saves running cables all over.

23. I’m not an expert about previous models specs, but isn’t here one major improvement: string resonance modeling for pianos. This is something that should be there at least with gigalevel pianos to add realism. Does it come to olders models as well with update?

24. I’ve had the fortune to own nearly every “production workstation” synth in the last 30 years. The last incarnation of my now defunct studio included, but not limited to, a Yamaha Motif XF and the first Korg Kronos offered. I could easily A/B the two for comparison. The Motif XF has much better rubber knobs, better sliders (more like a mixer style), more robust buttons, real pitch and modulation wheels, and an overall much better build than the Kronos.

    However, the Kronos has a much bigger and better touchview screen and GUI compared with Motif’s crummy screen. I’m only speaking of hardware here for those who can’t read. The Kronos is by far and away much more powerful than the Motif.

    However, the Motif XF sounds more thicker and the quality of patches seemed more usable for me, in fact better than any workstation I’ve ever owned in 30 years. In addition, I had a Triton Studio fully loaded. It was one of my oldest and longest synths I’ve ever owned. It became obvious that the Kronos and the Motif had much, much better sound quality and much better effects than the Triton Studio.

    Soooooo……. here’s what I did: I put the Motif on the keyboard tier and the Kronos on the second, and MIDI-ed the Kronos piano through the Motif XF. It became clear that I enjoyed playing from the Motif XF8 than through the Kronos 73. The Kronos RH3 is just TOO SPRINGY for my fingers’ taste. Once again, the Motif hardware (the keyboard itself) was much better than the Kronos. I know, it’s personal.

    I am a huge Korg fanboy, even at 60! I’ve had all the Korg workstations since the M1. I just felt that the Kronos was not ready for the market hardware-wise. With this new incarnation of Kronos, the third in less than four years, is normally unheard of in the workstation industry. I believe because it’s been such a huge success for Korg that they can afford to keep pumping out new versions with minimal improvements. Hell, the auto industries puts out a new model every year! So keep ’em coming, Korg!

    I suspect, or at least hope, that perhaps Korg has made some hardware improvements on the Kronos 2. For instance, I have not read any one talking about the partial screen on the top/back. Perhaps this screen helps ventilate the CPU while at the same time lets the fan runs slower and QUIETER. This was an issue with some owners, but I was never bothered by it. No manufacturer wants to hang out its’ dirty laundry, so perhaps other hardware aspects of this incredible workstation have been improved, too.

    Outside of hardware, I still like the sound quality and the patches better on the Motif XF. I think the new Berlin piano, and some of the other minor improvements on the Kronos will win me over this time around. Like they say, “The third time’s a charm”.

    Cheers,
    Paul

25. Overall looks pretty good, I like the bigger touch screen. However I think they should of take a cluster computer approach like some people do ( see this websites for an example what can be done with cluster computing http://likemagicappears.com/projects/raspberry-pi-cluster/ ). Finally they could of add floting touch screen technology to the instrument)

26. The cluster computer approach is interesting, but there is no company, nationally or internationally, that’s going to give the masses everything at once – that’s not how markets work unfortunately. Besides, technology is ever changing.

    However, with this third incarnation (my word for the week, lol) Korg should have included a faster processor, especially since everything on version 3.02 is touch and drag now. Speed counts, inside the studio and in the gig performance.

    Either way the buyer has to decide if the flavor of the month/year will meet his need(s) and for how long he can use it, if price/performance ratio meets his financial needs, and how long until the next flavor comes around.

    Cheers,
    Paul

27. Just two updates:

    The Korg Kronos 2 screen is not bigger than the previous two models.

    I just read that the fan can be controlled in Global Mode. That seems risky to the unit for me. If the CPU is being maxed and the fan is on low, can’t that put a heat load on the motherboard? Why didn’t Korg just put on a heat regulator? Am I missing something? Where’s the rationale in having it software controlled by the user. I don’t want to be fiddling with that. I never have had to monitor that on workstation in the last 30 years. Any feedback?

    I mentioned about the “screen” on the back of the Kronos to help cool the guts, but from a closer look, it’s not a perforated screen – just screen-like for looks. It looks great, but doesn’t appear to have any function. Any feedback?

    Thanks,
    Paul

28. Is the mesh on the rearside a hint for a fanless model?

29. Korg did a great design job on this and it plays and sounds great.

30. First, most of u all started out on software.second,you were never musicians before. Third, I see that most of u are arrangers that just drag, slide ,copy, and paste songs together. The kronos is soft ware inside of hardware. If u are not familiar with korg triton sequence set up,then u don’t know wat u talking bout.For example, on kronos I can produce a song that will make the average studio engineer or musicians ask , who’s on bass?, who’s on drums,?who’s on keys,?or what studio did you all record this song?.and wen I tell them “there’s no band, and I layed it all down on keyboard (kronos). They all reply U DID ALL THAT ON A KEYBOARD? And they turn and look at all that CPU shit they bought over the years and feel kinda stupid.the moral of this true story is, use wat best fits u. Or use hardware and software.the kronos is basically both .but, like I said the kronos is state of the art keyboard that can always be updated .

31. I always read reviews on products I am interested in.some of yal folks bitch about nothing. They remind me of that one kid growing up that was taking karate classes but always got his ass kicked in a fight.in other words, u want all them sounds and memory plug ins etc but can event put it to use.one guy said,” I can do all that with my laptop and controller keyboard”. Guess wat dummy ,u don’t really need a laptop with kronos but if did, it can be hooked up.

32. I have a Kronos 88 (Original incarnation) as one of my two master keyboards. The other is an Alesis Fusion 8HD, which might be considered a forerunner to the Kronos – in that it has several different synth engines on board and internal HD with unlimited capability for sounds, and also exceedingly high polyphony counts.

    The Fusion was probably the best platform with the poorest sounds out of the box. But it is a true monster once one knows how to design sounds for it.

    The Kronos, in my opinion, is another matter entirely. Now, all these reviews and comments here in this thread as subjective, of course. But for me, the Kronos is by far the best synth I own and have ever owned, when it comes to having a workstation. Its out of box sounds are unparalleled, and it’s got well enough power to be able to manage very complex compositions without going to outboard instruments. I agreed with the comment about the enormous depth of workstations, and this one is certainly one I will be learning about for many years. However, my own studio has many other synths and modules that are controlled by either the Kronos or the Fusion. I find that the Kronos is superb for “plays well with others.” With my Access Virus TI, and the Kronos going, there is some amazing musical chemistry, for the Access does certain things that the Kronos would need to be tweaked to do. Even my Quadrasynth Plus gets in on this, and other boards too.. and for me, the thing that makes the Kronos the true center of my rig is its pianos and its drums. Nothing else I have matches this machines’ richness.

    Although I do very techno and electronica influenced music, I prefer very natural and realistic pianos, and Kronos has everything beat that I own. The actual runner up is surprising – it is a Proteus 2500, with the piano that is onboard. While far behind the Kronos grands, this “Dynamic Grand” on the P2500 blends the best. I was able to get absolutely nowhere but annoyed with the Fusion’s grand, and although I have other great modules, their pianos always sounded fake. Kronos does the job for me superbly.

    I disagree with the notion that any instrument is the final solution to all musical wishes. For example, I find that (at my present low level of knowledge) the Kronos used for a “song in a box” still sounds a little limited. I do not believe it has to, like I said, it’s probably because I do not yet know how to tweak sounds to my liking. But this instrument is truly stupendous in an ensemble with one or two other good boards, and if I had to limit my existence to two and only two, Kronos would be one, and the Virus TI would be the second.

    Great job, Korg!

33. workstations are not the most powerful synthesisers out there. No matter what they do, who uses it and how, it’s always gonna sound shallow and cheesy. Some times there’s no oomph, the harmonics are too confined and the sound is too shiny, others the sound is not shiny and it sounds like a clean fart. Very clean and shiny, do not want. Everyone loves distortion and drive, these things are just not for powerful synthesiser work. If you wanna fuckup your sounds, you can’t do it with this. Pianos and other orchestral stuff are mind blowing of course, but for synthesisers, all those never ending parameters are all the wrong ones.

34. Just got my new Krono 2 88key working and it’s great.

35. Some of the best sounds ever. Probably the worst operating system ever developed!

    1. have you tested it pal?
       @Davidpun

36. I am having the hardest time figuring out what workstation is for me. I have a yamaha Montage 8 coming in the mail, but then I happened to realize that it is not a sequencing workstation ( No Song and Pattern track recording). And that it was designed to work as an interface for a DAW. Well since I have never used a DAW, I am not sure if I want to learn a whole new style of creating music. I have only owned a Motif ES which has Song and pattern track recording which is how I like to create my music. That being said, I am diligently searching for a new and updated unit that is as easy to create with as the Motif ES, which has an onboard sequencer for songs/patterns etc. Does anyone know about the Montage and why I would want to just wait for that to come? And what synth workstations would be recomended that are kick ass, most user friendly, and comes with amazing power, and has an onboard sequencer. I can only read so much about different synths before I just get stuck in wondering what the hell I should do and ultimately feel delighted with my choice. If anyone can take the time to respond I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you