Korg KRONOS VS MOTIF XF

[anotherscott]

Brass is weak in both tbh, but to my ears I like the Motif a bit better

Much of the best brass in the Kronos is in the EXs3 library, which comes standard on the Kronos hard drive, but does not automatically load (or at least not all of it), so it's possible you may not have heard some of the better brass. (Kind of like what Nord does with their free downloadable sample library, Korg provides more sounds than can possibly fit in memory at once, so you don't necessarily hear all its best sounds out of the box... though unlike Nord, it doesn't take much time to unload some sounds and load in others, and you don't need to hook up a computer to do it. Korg now also permits you to install an extra gig of RAM so you can keep it all loaded. The only downside is that the initial boot then takes a few minutes, compared to the quick boot of the Nord.)

I also prefer some of the electro-mechanical keyboard models in the Yamaha too.

That's always subjective, but I think the EPs in the Kronos are way better than what's in the Yamaha. In fact, I also think they're better than Nord's!

The Kronos and Motif XF are both great boards, each does some sounds better than the other, and people, obviously, can even disagree about which one does which sounds better, so that's personal preference. Other than sounds, there are some practical differences, like the 61 and 88 key Kronos are much lighter than the comparable Yamahas, and Yamaha offers an unweighted 76-key version while Korg offers a weighted 73-key version.

[alphadynamic]

I also think they're better than Nord's

Shock! Horror! As you say all subjective.

[anotherscott]

I also think they're better than Nord's

Shock! Horror! As you say all subjective.

Well, if it makes you feel better, I prefer the Nord Grand Imperial to the much touted 4.7 gb Korg sampled pianos!

[anotherscott]

If you didn't like the M3, I think you probably won't like the Kronos, because for the "natural" sounds you're looking for, I think they are very similar. The Kronos "rompler" engine is very much like the M3. The Kronos adds separate dedicated engines for piano, EP, FM synth, assorted VA synth, clonewheel organ, etc., but for the things you're talking about, those extra engines won't make a difference (except maybe for some new kinds of pads from the other engines). I think that, in general, natural acoustic instruments is an area where Yamaha tends to excel.

The other suggestions here have also been good... Instead of the Roland Jupiter 80, you could also look at the forthcoming Jupiter 50 which has all the same sounds. And instead of the Kurzweil PC3K8, you could look at anything in the PC3 line, which will also have pretty much all the same sounds. The K series mostly adds 128 mb of user fillable sample RAM. If you don't need that, you may still find some non-K versions at lower cost (PC361, PC3, PC3X), or the slightly scaled down models that still have the same sound set (PC3LE 6, 7, and 8).

Part of this is also related to which Nord you get, since you probably want to end up with one weighted action and one non.

[tom_menlo_park]

I actually didn't really like the Kronos. I was going to go for a 2nd full 88 - and looked at the Stage 2 for that. My first board is a Motif 8 - one of the 2nd generation ES series with a LAN card and 1 gig ram. However, I looked at the Stage 2 88 and thought I really needed something more portable - like the compact 73. However, then I just wasn't happy. My real bind wasn't the pianos or the action. The Yamaha gave me everything I needed for the pianos, and great action - it was the organs I was having an issue with - and I thought the compact 73 with the lighter touch and the organs would solve that. It didn't. I went with a Hammond XK3C, and with the MIDI smarts of the unit, began using the bottom manual as a controller for virtual instruments off of my Mac. Then the synth quandry. Again - it was back to the Nord for the solution, and I looked at the Wave as a possible replacement for an old PPG 2.6. I just didn't like the Lead - but loved the Mellotron stuff. But, I played an Access Virus TI2 - which is so perfect, that it made the choice obvious.I bought a Virus. Then the 3rd quandry - I now had/have 3 great keyboards, but I just want one to take with me when I drop in to play whether it's here in San Francisco, or visiting. Again - back to the Nord Stage 2 Compact - which should solve those issues - but it's the same price as a Yamaha Motif XF 7, and it doesn't have the full workstation capabilities. So, I just bought my 2nd Motif - a new XF7 with 1 gig of flash RAM and a LAN card. BUT - for sheer portability, ease, and for the 2nd synth when I'm traveling, the next one will very likely be the Nord Compact. Unless I get an Infinite Response with that phenomenol touch, and use it and a MacBook Pro along with the XF7. So why am I in the Nord users' forum? Am I just an jerk? Sometimes. I'm actually a fan of the Nord.
Even though I don't own one, I think they are great boards, and everytime I have had to make a decision on a purchase, it has always been between a Nord and something else. I do think a Stage would be the best choice for an all-around board - and would have been my first choice if I hadn't really needed the full recording and sequencing capabilities of my original Motif. Even though I'm now using both Cubase and Logic Studio, the sequencing of the Yamahas is very powerful. I think a great combo would be the Motif XF8 and the Nord Stage 2 compact. What a great pairing that would be. If I was not partially reliant on hardware keyboard recording and needed just one keyboard for gigging or just playing, and didn't have the space or the cash for multiple boards - probably the Stage 2 Compact with a Macbook pro and some VSTs.