The Kronos is a

music workstation A music workstation is an electronic musical instrument providing the facilities of: *a sound module, *a music sequencer and *(usually) a musical keyboard. It enables a musician to compose electronic music using just one piece of equipment. Origi ...

manufactured by

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, th ...

that combines nine different

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

sound engines with a

sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sam ...

, digital recorder, effects, a color

touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...

display and a

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mu ...

. Korg's latest flagship synthesizer series at the time of its announcement, the Kronos series was announced at the winter

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

in Anaheim, California in January 2011. Much like Kronos' predecessor and Korg's previous flagship synthesizer workstation, the

OASYS OASys is the abbreviated term for the Offender Assessment System, used in England and Wales by Her Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service to measure the risks and needs of criminal offenders under their supervision. Initia ...

, Kronos is basically a custom

software synthesizer A software synthesizer or softsynth is a computer program that generates digital audio, usually for music. Computer software that can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed now allow softsynths to accomplish the sam ...

running on an

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...

x86 processor and operating system based on the

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, whi ...

kernel with RTAI extensions; it includes 9 different sound engines which encompass the entire range of Korg synthesis technologies. The Kronos X was introduced in July 2012 with OS version 2 and the Kronos 2 with OS version 3 was announced in November 2014 (marketed as "new Kronos"). Updated versions have more memory and new factory sounds, but otherwise have similar hardware based on the

Intel Atom Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of IA-32 and x86-64 instruction set ultra-low-voltage processors by Intel Corporation designed to reduce electric consumption and power dissipation in comparison with ordinary processors of the Intel Co ...

processor series, so older models can be upgraded to the newer specs with user-installable OS updates and sound banks. As of 2022 Kronos is an

end-of-life product An end-of-life product (EOL product) is a product at the end of the product lifecycle which prevents users from receiving updates, indicating that the product is at the end of its useful life (from the vendor's point of view). At this stage, a ...

Sound engines

Like its predecessor, the

, the Kronos has multiple sound engines: 1) The SGX-1 Premium Piano sound engine uses continuous (not looped) stereo piano samples sampled at eight velocity layers per key to produce a

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...

-styled "German Grand" or Yamaha-styled "Japanese Grand" acoustic grand piano; an optional

Bösendorfer Bösendorfer (L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is an Austrian piano manufacturer and, since 2008, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. Bösendorfer is unusual in that it produces 97- and 92- key models in addition to instrum ...

-styled "Austrian Grand" sound set is available. The samples are directly streamed from the internal

solid state drive A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data Persistence (computer science), persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the Computer ...

by using VMT (Virtual Memory Technology). This synth engine didn't exist on Korg Oasys. With the release of Kronos 2, SGX-2 Premium Piano superseded the SGX-1 sound engine. SGX-2 adds modeled string resonance and support for soft pedal samples and 12 velocity layers per key, making possible a new Bechstein-styled "Berlin Grand" soundset which is factory installed on the Kronos 2. Older Kronos models receive an OS update which includes the SGX-2 engine. 2) The EP-1 MDS Electric Piano sound engine offers four models based on specific classic Rhodes electric pianos and two based on

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

pianos, with software control over hammers, tines, reeds, and mechanical noise elements. It also simulates amplifiers, cabinets, speakers, and effects associated with those historic electric pianos. This synth engine didn't exist on Korg Oasys. 3) The CX-3 Tonewheel Organ engine is carried over from the

Korg CX-3 The Korg CX-3 is an electronic clonewheel organ with drawbars that simulates the sound of an electromechanical Hammond organ and the Leslie speaker, a rotating speaker effect unit. The CX-3 was first introduced in 1979. Two models of the CX-3 ...

modeled tonewheel organ released in 2001 (not Korg's 1980 CX-3 based on octave-divider technology). The CX-3 engine models a classic tonewheel organ, including rotary speaker effects, vibrato and chorus effects, and tube amplifier. Nine hardware sliders on the Kronos' control panel function as organ drawbar controllers. This synth engine first appeared on Korg Oasys. A significant upgrade to this engine was made in November 2013 with OS 2.1 which improved both the organ model and the Leslie speaker simulation, and was accompanied by two extra banks of organ patches. 4) The HD1 High Definition Synthesizer, which Korg first introduced in the

, uses

sample-based synthesis Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be contrasted to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. The principal difference with sample-based synthesis is that the seed waveforms are sampled sounds or instruments ...

and wave sequencing to generate sounds from the multisamples stored on an internal

. The capacity of the built-in preset PCM ROM is 314 MB. 5) The MS-20EX Legacy Analog Collection models an expanded version of the original Korg MS-20 semi-modular monophonic analog synthesizer originally released in 1978. This engine is basically an update to the version released by Korg in their "Legacy Collection" software. It is also found on Korg Oasys as part of the LAC-1 engine. 6) The PolysixEX Legacy Analog Collection models an expanded version of the 6-voice Korg Polysix analog synthesizer produced by Korg from 1982-3. Similar to the MS-20EX, this engine is also an update to the version in Korg's "Legacy Collection" software, and can be found on Korg Oasys as part of the LAC-1 engine. 7) The AL-1 Analog Synthesizer models analog

subtractive synthesis Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis in which partials of an audio signal (often one rich in harmonics) are attenuated by a filter to alter the timbre of the sound. While subtractive synthesis can be applied to any source audio ...

, with a range of modeled oscillator waveforms, filters, hard sync, analog-style FM, and ring modulation. This is another sound engine passed down from the Korg Oasys. 8) The MOD-7 Waveshaping VPM Synthesizer is capable of classic FM sounds and has import compatibility with

Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980 ...

SysEx formatted sounds. The MOD-7 engine also combines Variable Phase Modulation (VPM), waveshaping, ring modulation, samples, subtractive synthesis, and modular patching to create a wider range of sounds than would have been possible on a classic Yamaha DX-series synthesizer. This synth engine first appeared on Korg Oasys. 9) The STR-1 Plucked Strings engine creates sounds derived from the physical properties of struck or plucked string sounds. This sound engine is well-suited for creating sounds like guitar, harpsichord and clavinet, harp, and bell sounds, as well as other sounds based on the physics of a plucked string but not directly related to any known instrument. The STR-1 was first released as an expansion to the Korg Oasys.

Other capabilities

There are 61-, 73-, and 88-key versions of the Kronos, with the latter two employing graded hammer action keys, and the former synth action keys. The Kronos has a 16-track MIDI sequencer combined with a 16-track 24-bit audio recorder. The recorder can record up to four tracks simultaneously. 197 effect types are available. They can be applied as 16 internal effects, 12 insert effects, 2 master effects, & 2 total effects. In addition to these effects, a separate 3-band EQ for each track is available. Kronos features the Kay Algorithmic Realtime Music Architecture, or KARMA, a complex arpeggiator that generates complex musical phrases in realtime based on the input of a performer. KARMA was developed by Stephen Kay and first appeared in the Korg KARMA keyboard workstation. Kronos is capable of sampling audio and has full sample editing functionality. Sample import and export are supported. Import sample formats supported include Korg,

Akai Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produ ...

SoundFont SoundFont is a brand name that collectively refers to a file format and associated technology that uses sample-based synthesis to play MIDI files. It was first used on the Sound Blaster AWE32 sound card for its General MIDI support. Sound ...

, WAV and

AIFF Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange ...

files. Kronos sounds can be computer edited using Kronos editor software. Kronos can also be integrated within a computer

digital audio workstation A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software program on a laptop, to an integr ...

as a software plug-in.

Notable users

* Kiefer (musician) * Robert Glasper * Ilaiyaraja *

A.R.Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

* Adam Blackstone *

Arca (musician) Alejandra Ghersi Rodríguez (born 14 October 1989), known professionally as Arca, is a Venezuelan musician and record producer based in Barcelona, Spain. She initially began releasing music under the name of Nuuro. After attending the Clive Dav ...

* Felix Cavaliere ( The Rascals,

Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band is a live rock supergroup founded in 1989 with shifting personnel, led by former Beatles drummer and vocalist Ringo Starr. History and description Since 1989, Starr has toured with fourteen variations of the b ...

) *

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

Tom Coster Tom Coster (born August 21, 1941) is an American keyboardist, composer, and longtime backing musician for Carlos Santana. Early years Detroit-born and San Francisco-raised, Coster played piano and accordion as a youth, continuing his studies ...

Jae Deal Jae Deal is an American composer, arranger, music producer, and orchestrator in various genres including pop, gospel, and hip hop as well as a Professor of Music Production, Music Technology, and Hip Hop Music & Culture at the USC Thornton School ...

(Janet Jackson,

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

) * Eldar Djangirov *

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

* Gary Barlow * Spike Edney (

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

) *

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He becam ...

Russell Ferrante Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band founded in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. History In 1977, guitarist Robben Ford, for his first solo album, recruited keyboardist Russell Ferrante, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer R ...

Ike Stubblefield Isaac Larry Stubblefield (June 7, 1952 – June 20, 2021) was an American musician, who performed with a wide array of artists on Hammond B3 organ. Musical career Born in Toledo, Ohio, Stubblefield started his career in 1968 playing keyboard ...

* Mike Finnigan * Guy Fletcher (

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and per ...

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

) * Eloy Fritsch *

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

* Jem Godfrey * Larry Goldings *

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

Tuomas Holopainen Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen (born 25 December 1976) is a Finnish songwriter, record producer and musician, best known as one of the founders and the leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that hi ...

(

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka N ...

) * Bob Katsionis (

Firewind Firewind is a Greek power metal band formed in Thessaloniki in 1998. The group is currently signed to Century Media Records and was originally a small project created by guitarist Gus G. to showcase his demo, ''Nocturnal Symphony'', in 1998. ...

, OUTLOUD) *

Jeff Lorber Jeffrey H. Lorber (born November 4, 1952) is an American keyboardist, composer, and record producer. After six previous nominations, Lorber won his first Grammy Award on January 28, 2018 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for ''Prototype'' ...

* Chris Lowe (

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo ...

) * Simon Mavin ( Hiatus Kaiyote) *

Lyle Mays Lyle David Mays (November 27, 1953 – February 10, 2020) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and member of the Pat Metheny Group. Metheny and Mays composed and arranged nearly all of the group's music, for which Mays won eleven Grammy Awa ...

(

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) * Frank McComb *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

( Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour) *

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(

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out o ...

) * Kurt Ader ( KAPRO) * David Sancious (

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

) *

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* Çağri Tozluoğlu (

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

) *

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

* Erick Pastrano *

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Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

(

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talent ...

, ARW) *

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Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis ( el, Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek-American composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthan ...

* Christina Hizon * Sean Scholes *

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Time line - Models

# 2011 Original Kronos - 2GB RAM, 30GB SSD # 2012 Kronos X - Doubled the size of the internal memory and SSD. # 2015 Kronos 2 - Major redesign including gold plated sockets, new generation Intel CPU, etc, top of keyboard casing, ventilation mesh, OS V3 (including SGX-2), famous songs library # 2016 Kronos 88 Platinum Limited Edition - Identical to Kronos 2 but with platinum color # 2017 Kronos 88 Gold Limited Edition - Identical to Kronos 2 but with gold color # 2017 Kronos LS - Kronos 2 with light-touch keyboard (only 88), 14 lbs lighter than Kronos 2 88, OS v3.1, sunburst side panels # 2019 Kronos Special Edition - Identical to Kronos 2, includes EXs21 Italian F from Korg Grandstage and EXs272 KApro Showcase sound libraries, red/black finish # 2020 Kronos Titanium Limited Edition (61 & 88) - Identical to Kronos 2, includes additional EXs library (TBD). Brushed aluminum finish with ebony real wood end cheeks # 2022 EOL

References

{{Portal bar, Electronics, Music, border=yes Kronos Music workstations Polyphonic synthesizers Digital synthesizers