KORG Kronos Successor Confirmed! Not What I'd Hoped For Next

Korg basically "broke ranks" with Roland and Yamaha by putting AT on a workstation in this price category. One can speculate on why. Kurzweil taking market share? AT (especially Poly AT) starting to get a lot of talk? Also, they have ridden the OASYS technology investment for coming up on 30 years now. Their investment in the RPi platform looks to have a long and diverse lifespan now in front of it. My guess is we see one more round of OASYS based kit after this while all the engines/features/libraries are being migrated in the next few years.

Had i been an owner of Kronos, i never would've upgraded to Nautilus, there is absolutely no reason to do this, Nautilus looks like a downgrade to Kronos with the lack of knobs/sliders too. Nautilus being the successor to Kronos makes no sense, they would need to come out with something different for that. Now, the interesting thing is what Yamaha is gonna do with their successor to Montage which they will reveal hopefully quite soon.

I donf care what Kirg says. The Nautilus is not a Kronos sucessor. Disappointed 😞

I blame roland and yamaha for this. Korg does not have to release a true succesor to the kronos because the competition is not there. Korg needs competition to push them to develop. Keep milking as long as you can

As a long time user since release of Kronos 2, it’s crazy that nothing else comes close after all these years in terms of a hardware workstation. This board feels like it will be with me forever. In fact, I’ve just purchased my first sound pack, KAPro Showcase and my Strings patches have been given a new lease of life.
The reality is, hardware synths just aren’t as popular these days as computer based/VSTs and all. So the demand for Korg to bring out a proper successor isn’t really there.
If a new updated Kronos comes, I’ll be the first name on that list without a shadow of doubt.
Thanks for the video

Korg Nautilus - FlaggedShip Workstation

I would have loved a Kronos successor with the basic shell of the PaX5 shell (a fold-able screen, 16 pads, ... a 16-64 step button sequencer), and an improved GUI that doesn't require all the menu diving of the old Kronos.

I heard that yamaha owns a percentage of korg, allegedly. But this makes no sense, these companies have lost all common sense.

It seems that Korg had no real interest in a successor to the Nautilus, which uses older technology and an EOL fan-less motherboard, and have instead invested in their line of professional arrangers. I am not sure what their sales are of the professional arranger keyboards yet Korg has an extensive line of them. You seldom see them online or in people's studios.

I have wondered lately if Korg has spread their engineering teams too thin as they have released quite a few half-baked and flawed products that have been marketplace flops and had to fire sale their inventory. The Prologue 16 with its tuning problems, the SQ-64 with its horrible version 1 firmware and the Drumlogue. I would have never released the Drumlogue out to production with the issues that it has.

Right now the market place for electronic hardware instruments is more competitive than ever but at the same time facing cost pressures from the low end from software based instruments and AI. Behringer is spraying the market with cheap Moog imitations that are flying off the shelves. Moog just sold out. Groove Synthesis is in the game with a $5,000 synth. ASM Hydrasynth is a new player. Several new UK manufactures are in the business. Yamaha is reloading. Makes me wonder just exactly what Korg's game plan is to survive.

Musicians are pretty loyal to their brands but rock their boat too many times and they will jump ship.

I for one will not be getting a NAUTILUS from toys are Us , I will just have to get another Kronos 2

I can’t afford a PA5x, the nautilus is too stripped down for me.

The Korg was almost in the sweet spot. I was almost a steal with EVERYTHING it was capable of, now I can hardly find a used one anywhere.

People grasping onto the Kronos, are basically clinging to a few, cheap/lame, added controllers. The screen is smaller, on the Nautilus, but the whole interface has been reworked so one screen is used, vs. one screen for multiple functions. (ie. pan and volume are together, but mute and midi channel share another). I've programmed a midi controller, (Novation LPK MK3 Pro), to make up those differences and it has the added functionality, of dynamic slew volume and pan, (which can be recorderded, with the Nautilus sequencer), and per synth, specific controls. Also, the iPad app adds way more, multitouch screen options, (ie. Mixer, arp, sequencer). Kronos did have dedicated controls, but they are basically interference, if you are using it as midi controller, for other synths, and if a single slider dies, (making the whole unit a log in the studio), there is a bill to pay, to get it fixed, out of warranty. Kronos definitely had Karma, but 4 sets of programmable drums and dual arp are a fine replacement... but yeah, Karma might be the biggest loss.

I bought an original Nautilus 73 once the price was dropped quite substantially and happy with my purchase at the the new more realistic price considering it's slightly reduced feature set compared to the Kronos. These new AT models for me are again far too expensive since they add on around £600 onto the overall price. I read that the original Nautilus responds to AT via another keyboard so for the same sort of money you could get a Komplete Kontrol instead and have the advantages of direct access to another eco-system at the same time. Korg in my opinion let themselves down badly with their marketing strategy as getting the Nautilus to simply link up to a windows PC via USB a major hassle if you own lots of MIDI gear due to their crazy USB/MIDI driver. Every other board I own is plug and play, sadly not Korg

Glad I purchased the Kronos X 88 back in 2013 I think. Haven't looked back. 🎹😊

I think the Nautilus AT would be an OK keyboard if nothing else existed, but its a terrible indictment on Korg legacy for innovation. I come at this as a former Korg sales rep and music producer who has owned and used korg since M1 through to Kronos. Multi layer velocity sensitivity has been with us since 01W and is equal to the function of after touch. I would often program 4 layers across 127 increments of velocity depth to get the exact same outcome of after touch. Along with combi and performance patch edits, you could assign effects chains and triggers to get the same outcome. They've launched after touch to compete with Roli Seaboard who really are innovating, but who are crap at distribution. You can't get lumi or roli where I live in Australia. I always look for inspiration from korg. You hop on a combi that blows your mind, then you create. I found Kronos boring. Nautilus is worse. The last truly innovative board was probably M3 and Triton. In fact I'm out shopping for old boards and definitely not interested in last two iterations. More likely to get Trton and M3 and lumi and seaboard or nord. Using ableton and logic pro with vst. Definitely interested in 88 rh3 hammer master controller with after touch. But love the vector x y controller style on korg and hate controller wheels.

Seems to me, Korg Kronos 2 was a really great machine, then they released the Nautilus.. Good name, not so great a machine. Meanwhile, the Kronos was hard to find. Weird. I turned away from workstations, but I still wonder..

Great video!

Bring the faders back and 73 weighted keys

I hope it is a similar situation with the M3. That was supposed to be the Successor of the Triton (Flagship), but the Oasys was around as well, but at a very restrictive price. At the end they did the Kronos and the M3 was displaced as "flagship". I like Korg, I hope they don't fade away in terms of quality and innovation.

This is the flagship. Its basically a kronos with a krome screen. Its not bad at all. Remember that kronos has an SSD drive for yhose piano patches and other sounds. Nautilus has it too. The design tho is like krome to me tho, with metal tho instead of plastic. But every time i see a nautilus online, i always think its a krome at first.

I think KORG is moving towards smaller, less expensive synthesizers in the entire lineup. Too bad. I loved the OASYS.

I have a Kronos. Have tried the Nautilus. Not at all impressed. The only synths I've ever held onto have been my Korgs, but I won't be buying a Nautilus.

I guess the new Kronos for me is Montage M

Now the new Yamaha M has all the goods that the krones had. kinda sad , the price for the Natales is right on but looks more like my krome EX.
If korg does come out with a new keybord to keep up with the new yamahaMx, it's going to be -----hell just give us the Kronos back V3

NO ☹ KORG Bring back the KRONOS

Except for some updated samples, especially on the pianos, the Nautilus is basically a 2014 keyboard, only worse. At around $2K, it doesn't compare with a 6K Monatae M or Fantom 8. So if this is Korg's "flagship", than they've basically thrown in the towel on tehe high-end workstation market.
I really hope that they have a true Kronos successor that moves the game on. But the Nautilus isn't it.

nautilus cant beat a kronos 2 - 88 keys. this is why almost no one sells a kronos 2 like me. its a monster compared to the cheaper maded nautilus

Hi. Good video. I stepped up to Nautilus from Krome and it's perfect for me. I was always clumsy whenever I played Kronos. Kept hitting the vector stick. It was very frustrating.

Upon its release I believed that Nautilus was a replacement of the Krome line. But I now think that it might take a spot between the Krome and Kronos replacements.

I anticipate that there might soon be a Nautilus "EX" model and possibly a few special editions before the true Kronos successor launches.

Nautilus (And HD-1) will probably be relegated to the mid-range bracket and likely this will enable Korg to launch a rebranded model line that fuses the features of Krome and Kross extending the relevance of EDS-X as the budget synthesis standard and give their entry-level products features not readily available in that segment.

What I anticipate of the new Kronos successor (shall we call it Olympus?):

Greater storage capacity with a potential online library model similar to Nord where free lifetime updates are available to "Olympus" users. Possibly even with the option to import Korg Gadget/Korg collection assets directly into the "Olympus".

The rest of us will likely still have to buy our sound libraries.

I think Korg will be the first to launch tight wifi/bluetooth integration with mobile devices and that "Olympus" will also have more defined scripts resulting in tighter DAW integration. This might open up the possibility for editing parameters from a tablet.

We might see those Vox style slider controls adapted to the "Olympus".

Polyphonic after touch will likely be the standard by then so that's a given.

KARMA 3?

Likely the majority of front panel controls will be touch sensitive/capacitative.

The screen might also get a massive upgrade. I think they've refined the TFT screen as much as it can be.

I think that the screen will likely be able to tilt, maybe in a way that pays homage to the M3.

About the screen, I think it's going to take up more real estate and I expect to find a KaossPad style screen mode from the M3 or, preferably, a newly designed vector dial such as Yamaha's Super Knob but probably more understated/elegant.

Maybe HDMI out like on the PA Series.

Infinite polyphony for most sound engines?

Maybe faster boot times?

I'm trying to be conservative but some of my predictions are a bit wild.

I have even wilder predictions concerning cosmetics/features that might be novel but they're a little out there.

I'd love a Krome 61 replacement with similar weight and form factor but a better keybed action. My Krome is 2012 release date but still very capable. I had a Kronos 61 but found it too big and heavy for my liking.....but hell it was good.

Very much doubt Korg will bring a successor to the Oasys lineup. The havn't developed on it ever since the first Kronos came out. They use the tech in the downgraded Nutilus and Grandstage series mainly to milk the tech as long as they can find suitable hardware that don't require any major software updated. They focus primarily on smaller cheaper Synths today.

I even dare to doubt that they will ever do a 5+ grand Workstation again apart from their arranger lineup.

Still holding my breath to see if Korg will release a New Kronos! Nautilus looks nice, but it's just not the same as my old Kronos 2 88! Karma was fun and creative. AT was included, and not an after thought or money grab! Knobs, sliders, and more buttons made things more intuitive and quicker. All that was lost in the value Nautilus series.

Korg is looking for a new revenue generating source. So AT but no PAT? That's lame. Behringer even has a PAT synth now. Korg is always dragging their heels on innovation, taking existing technologies and repackaging, sometimes dumbing down in the process. Their flagships are always pricey and aimed at a niche market of professionals who can afford the investment.

PS- pun intended. They're spending a boatload to developed the PS-3300.And it's going to cost tens of thousands of dollars to buy. Great set of priorities Korg. I can't wait until Uli clones the Kronos. With extras.

I still using Kronos I own three I will always use them

For me it’s not what I thought it would be

While I do not own a nautilus. I could tell the Korg put more finishing touches on the sounds , they seemed better the kronos. I do think nautilus is esthetics are not as nice but look at the price.

its not a kronos w, its a big downgrade, piece of plasric shit. dont compare it with the kronos/oaysys

To me, it's like saying; "The Honda Accord has been discontinued." "The Honda Civic is the new flagship. That's what this feels like with Korg! I just cannot accept this.
In the meantime, I hope my first generation Kronos will continue to serve me well and may it not just stop working some day soon. It's been such a blessing to have and use it. I was just looking forward to a new version of the Kronos, that would be at least a little more advanced yet, on top of what it already still has been.

Korg has dropped the ball.. there's no replacement to be had, propably never. Only alternative is roland Phantom series as it is...

Better to keep your old Kronos with the great Karma then the Naughtylus without.

I can promise you Korg is working on something to replace the Kronos - and it isn’t the Nautilus.

I don't are if the Nautilus is their flagship keyboard because that's all they have, I also love and have the KRONOS 2 both in looks and power and Nautilus looks more like a toy to me, they left many things out hardware wise but the only thing that makes it better is more sound libraries out of the box.

It's odd that they would call it the flagship when the Kronos is still better in my opinion. Will wait and see what will be there actual Flagship will be in the near future.

Well i own an Oasys -Triton-Karma-Kronos --No Nautilus Nope got great keys already

Nautilus73 keybed is cheap-feeling, especially relative to its price (and probably equally cheap to produce). Its action doesn't have enough action. But Kronos 73 keybed might have suffered from being too fidgety, too complex/complicated/troublesome (and costly). That's why Korg might have decided to back up and punt, and laughingly refer to the Nautilus as its "new flagship." Plus, Nautilus has the worst by far shell in the history of keyboards. You literally have to wear thick leather gloves to tote that thing around. It could be used as a weapon if you could manage to sling it, due to its gripping edges being so sharp. Who on Earth would design such a thing?

But the designers at Korg need to earn their keep (salaries) so I guess they just ignored the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," or they would've just stuck with the 01/W keybed (and shell), which is very nice when the aging felt is replaced to tone down the clunk. But that keybed is remarkably simple and easy to work on, and doesn't feel cheap.

So Korg is kind of stuck in purgatory right now, scratching their heads. Not a good look.

But if you can live with the Nautilus keybed (without AT) it has nice pianos (the litmus test), and in its defense, the keybed is incredibly quiet. Meanwhile, someone needs to come up with a good 73-key controller (3 octaves above and below middle C) with an 01/W keybed. The Studiologic's (Fatar's) offering in that variant is too heavy/stiff. Your fingers get a workout if they're not used to playing serious piano quite often.

But if a real new Korg flagship is being developed, look for it to cost an arm and a leg when it's released. So you may have some deciding and thinking to do where Korg is concerned.

If Korg made a new flagship workstation I wouldn't want it any way. They have a bad reputations at leaving things abandoned, undone and unfinished. They don't hardly ever support the expensive workstations that they make. The Kronos could have been brought up to date with a few programing updates but they never cared. The keyboard has bugs that they never bothered to address. It has basic features that could have used better streamlining but they'd rather pretend it's not broken. The sampler and Sequencer were outdated even when this keyboard was new and are two major features people find too cumbersome to fool around with.
It's even worse now considering all the options out there. The Keyboard has no daw support and korg made it difficult to expand the synth by adding new sounds. They're expensive like $300 just for a new piano sound when compared to sound libraries software offers that add vast amounts of new features and sounds for far less that. Korg just gave up on it all. It's a bad feeling dumping 3-4 grand on a keyboard that a company abandons. The NAutilus is just the watered down cheaper manufactured version of the Kronos with the same unfixed and unaddressed issues. At this point people have leaned on Roland and Yamaha for workstations. Korg put themselves out of commission.

The official version (end of Kronos production) was caused by a chip (components) shortage, however if we approach to this fantastic instrument from a different side, we will se the computer (based on linux) with some hardware extras. I am pretty sure Korg could adopt completely different mainboard, the key-bed RH3 is used in Nautilus, so it is still in production. IMHO it was huge step back (downgrade) - no karma , no AT (in the first gen) , no modulation strip, no sliders, smaller display etc. If you do not know what was the problem - it's easy , Kronos was (and still is) expensive (even from the second hand). I was lucky because purchased K2 88 very soon before Korg announced its was discontinuing production (earlier I used K1-73) . I can say , I was thinking (initially) about Nautilus however it's specification s changed my mind.

I originally wanted a Kronos but it had already been discontinued and couldn't find one second-hand since everyone wanted to hold on to them. So I got the PA5X-88 even though I never used the arranger functions. The PA5X has served me well for the past 14 months both with its built-in sounds and as a MIDI controller to pull in plugins from Mainstage3 (since most of my work is live improvisation, I do not use a DAW unless I'm doing long-winded compositions). I was about to replace the PA5X with a Nautilus AT 88 ,but found and bought an AS NEW Kronos2 88 and I'm SOOOOOOO HAPPY! Christmas is early this year !! At the risk of rick-rolling ... dear Kronos2 I'm "never gonna give you up!"

I would expect it to sound a little more analog and in-depth, especially for modern-era boombap/gfunk. They just sound too digitalized and not 'cool' or make my ears go, like, What am I hearing? Like the 1980s synths do.

Kronos and Nautalis are both crap. Many of the sounds are too muffled, not fx'ie enough, work great as solo pieces or cheesey orchestrations (non-realistic), but suck for boom bap and multipart music. Also, if you are going to compose an orchestra or something more luxury-sounding, just hire a real orchestra/played instruments.

I don't care about a sequencer; we just need a 16-part multitamberal synth with nice drums, sfx, pianos, epianos, and cool effects/knobs that can be automated via cubase/protools like the old MicroLogic AV/Emagic days. Ugh. Every industry has fallen off since 2001. VSTs all sound the same and lack the dynamics you get with real analog synths like moog, true rhoads, etc.; no decay of elections. I really dislike music production these days. Plus, its a pain to fiddle around on the computer to browse for sounds, especially when you have 5000 sounds; you only need 1000 to compose things in your head. Once you get too many sounds, when you fall asleep at night, you cannot compose tracks in your head. That is why real bands that play real instruments do so well; they can hear the instruments in their heads, and they only have a few of each instrument type. Not overwhelmed with choices.

Just give me a modern Korg Triton Studio 88, and we are good, so we can resurrect Slim Shady. Please 🥺

Plus, stop making these keyboard 61/73 keys; unless you make oriental music or specialize in lead sounds with pitch bend, no one has any use for that; if you want anything less than 88, just get a rack at this point and use a controller.

Again, all these companies or any company does now days is create cash grabs—they don't strive to make great products. Very few companies make good products these days. It's like this for every industry pretty much. Sad.

So does that mean Korg have dropped Karma???

There’s a rumor of a new Kronos 3 being unveiled at namm, with potential details released soon.

Watch Namm