spiff, verb, make someone or some thing attractive, tidy or stylish

By now, you’ve heard and seen the Korg Kronos SE (Special Edition) with the new love it or hate it paint job. I hope it looks better in person than its pictures! The Kronos SE adds the Italian piano which first appeared in the Korg Grandstage.

It also adds a sound library from Kurt Ader (KApro). The KAPro library includes orchestral strings, brass, woodwinds and choir. That’s a boost for the Kronos; I felt that Kronos orchestral instruments were somethat flat, lacking the expressiveness of Yamaha’s high-end offerings.

Korg also spiffed up the Krome. The Krome EX workstation increases PCM storage to 4GBytes. New samples include a refreshed piano, so-called “ethnic instruments,” and EDM synths and drum kits. [I guess a sound is “ethnic” only if it comes from someone else’s musical culture. Country western music is ethnic. 🙂 ]

Expected USA prices for Korg EX are: $1,049.99 (61 key), $1,249.99 (73 key) and $1,649.99 (88 key). Current models (non-EX) are heavily discounted to clear room for the EX. If you dig vanilla Krome, you can get a good deal right now.

As other punters have noted, Korg needs to get its groove on to compete with the new Yamaha MODX. The EX spiff buys time while Korg prepare a more substantial response.

Even the baby of the Korg family has gotten a new paint job: the Korg Kross Special Edition. There are four color choices: grey-orange, grey-blue, grey-red and grey-green. [Click image to enlarge.]

Now, this is color! These colors convey fun! I especially like the grey-blue. Damn, that looks nice. Also, be on the lookout for the Korg KROSS 2-61 pure white limited edition.

BTW, the term “spiff” in retail-speak is slang for a sales bonus. Often, manufacturers (or employer) directly pay a bonus to a salesperson for selling a specific product. Beware pushy salespeople!

Take a tour of the Krome and Kronos architecture.

Copyright © 2019 Paul J. Drongowski