Any Korg Kronos Users Here?

[bitflipper]

I have just joined the ranks of Nord Stage 3 users.

For the past 7 years, my primary instrument has been a Korg Kronos. I still love that thing, but it's a back-breaker when it needs to be moved. It also requires a lot of pre-gig preparation because it doesn't lend itself to quick changes in a live setting. The NS3 has only a small subset of the Kronos' capabilities, but it's designed for live use and that's what attracted me to it. I like being able to easily add compression on the fly, for example. Sure, it lacks in-depth compressor controls, but that's a sensible compromise. I think the NS3 will be able to do almost everything I need it to do.

Now, as a new user I've been watching videos and reading posts here to get up to speed on the NS3, and have noticed that an awful lot of Nord users also have a Kronos in their setup. You'll hear somebody extolling the virtues of the NS3 and casually mentioning they also have a Kronos. My question, then, is why is that? My plan is to replace the Kronos for live use. Should I be re-thinking that plan?

[Guynextdoor]

I actually replaced my Kronos for an NS3 but mostly because of the LONG boot time. Already had the Kronos lose power during rehearsal and once during live performance. Couldn't let that happen again.

[bitflipper]

I hear ya. I've had my power cut off a few times, once during a performance by a drunken bar patron and once right before we were supposed to start, when the guitarist decided to move some extension cords at the last moment. Had to tell some jokes, and I am not much of a joke-teller.

What did you do with your Kronos? Keep it for studio work, or sell it?

[Nordlicht]

I'm using my Kronos mainly as a preset machine

It doesn't make much fun to tweak sounds or even to program them from scratch on the Kronos - not intuitive at all, compared to the easiness with the Stage (although the latter has of course limited possibilities).
Also the "eternal" booting time often leads to the fact that I simply switch on the Stage when I want to fiddle around and have some fun.

But I'll keep him as a giant sound archive.

[bitflipper]

Absolutely agree about the Kronos being no fun to program (although I've had worse, e.g. anything Yamaha ever made), but I do have 7 years' worth of tweaks stored in it. I could continue to use it as a big ROMpler.

However, my feet are planted in two separate worlds: recording and live performance. In the studio, the Kronos' 60GB is trivial compared to the 2TB of Kontakt libraries, Omnisphere, Keyscape, etc. that I use for composition on PC. So I don't really need it for recording, except perhaps as a MIDI controller. My plan is to replace the Kronos with the NS3 for live performance, which I'm 95% convinced can be done. If so, it would make my expensive Kronos kind of a white elephant.

Hence my question for the NS3+Kronos equipped folks: what should I do with the Kronos? Keep it for sentimental value? Continue to use it live for the few things the Stage can't duplicate? Put it on Craigslist? Donate it to a school for a tax deduction?

[neomad]

Sold mine a few years ago. A great piece of gear with fantastic sound (the best pianos and e pianos in hardware), but for me, not totally suitable for live performance (heavy and requires a lot of customization) and crazy booting time.

[Helpmepleasee]

You can always sell it and get the 61 key version (unless that's what you have.) They make quite a mean 2 tier combo when used for live use. I used Korg Krome up top for a while for its weight appeal. On to Modx6 up top now, which when mastered, is a knock out punch when linked with the Ns3. You mentioned you have kontact as well? You can always link up your laptop and run it through a controller and use the extern of the Ns3 to control it. Then it can be layered, split, or combined with the panels A and B on the stage. Endless possibilities there. (I currently do it with my stage, modx, and logic). Ultimate set up for you: Ns3, Kronos, and Kontact, using the kronos as the controller. There isn't anything you can't do.

[Winds]

I actually replaced my Kronos for an NS3 but mostly because of the LONG boot time. Already had the Kronos lose power during rehearsal and once during live performance. Couldn't let that happen again.

Wow during live that must have been a nightmare

[Kaffimusic]

Soundwise, yes, that´s one point, the NS3 has some weak spots. But in general I think it´s a good idea to have something in store when sht happens and you have a gig the next (or same) day. The NS3 is not immune to failures. And sometimes a livegig in front of you without a working instrument is no pleasant situation.
If the Kronos is the right one for that, it´s up to you to decide. Maybe one day there is something else that catches your interest and can substitute or complement your live instrument, when the Nord is not ready to go or sufficent. There are also other powerful and not-so-heavy instruments on the market.
Uhm, some that boot faster than a Kronos. But I guess that is not so difficult to achieve.

[anotherscott]

I actually replaced my Kronos for an NS3 but mostly because of the LONG boot time. Already had the Kronos lose power during rehearsal and once during live performance. Couldn't let that happen again.

An uninterruptible power supply can also address that problem.

have noticed that an awful lot of Nord users also have a Kronos in their setup. You'll hear somebody extolling the virtues of the NS3 and casually mentioning they also have a Kronos. My question, then, is why is that? My plan is to replace the Kronos for live use. Should I be re-thinking that plan?

There are two different questions here: The benefits of using two keyboards, and the benefits of the second keyboard being a Kronos.

Even assuming you can actually get every sound you want out of one keyboard, the benefits of using two keyboards include:

* the possibility of having a hammer action better for piano-playing, and a non-hammer action for better organ/synth playing

* the ability to keep playing if a board fails (even as reliable as things are, sometimes things do fail, or get dropped, or have someone spill something into them... you never know)

* the ability to play different sounds on different keyboards at the same time, which can save setup time (you may need to spend less time setting up splits on your one keyboard), and also eliminates the problem of "running out of notes" for a certain part and/or accidentally crossing into the "wrong" sound while playing a line.

If you're pairing the Nord with something, it is common to look for something with some sonic strengths where Nord is weaker. The weakest area for the Nord would be sampled sounds other than those in the piano section, at least in part because the Nord limits those sample sets to single velocity layers. So for a companion board, people may choose something with stronger strings, brass, winds, etc. Kronos would be a possibility there, though there are lots of other good choices. You may make this choice based on whose sounds you like best, what other features or sonic capabilities you might like, travel weight, budget, or possibly just what it is you already own. But Korg, Yamaha, Kurzweil, and Roland all make nice companion boards.