Kore 2

majnun, really well said.

i didn't even note the pro's of dongles, ha.

31hz

 

It is just a software upgrade.

 

Oops. Read the fine print:

"Grace period for free upgrade starts 4/1/07. KORE units registered before 4/01/07 do not qualify for a free upgrade."


Wonder what the h/w and s/w upgrade prices will be for us early adopters?

 

Ew:

I would have to say that Kore 1.1 may work on my machines for a while, but then strange things happen while I'm playing. Program irrationality, freezing and crashing sometimes. Sometimes the user pages don't seem right.

I can see where Kore may work for you. As for me, I am a musician and an end user. It has to work right, and be steady all the time. I don't have the experience to handle programming system's problem related issues. How can I expect to gig with it if it's not as dependable as my hardware gig rig?

Best,

Peter.

 

Musik Messe, Frankfurt Germany: Native Instruments announced KORE 2. Features include fast browsing; 500 built-in instruments (with 8 variations each), and 150 FX. KORE 2 ($449, July release) is a killer soft-instrument with a dedicated hardware controller that utilizes the best sound engines from NI's synth line. The new KORE 2 controller will not have audio I/O. Right now you can pick up the original KORE, that does include audio I/O, at the price of only $279.49, saving you 50%, and receive a FREE upgrade from NI to the KORE 2 software that includes the 500 new instruments and 150 FX. KORE must be registered after April 1st to get the free upgrade.

Ha,Ha! I paid £320 for Kore 1 - now I have to pay for an upgrade!

People now can get Kore 1 for £140 in US and get Kore 2 upgrade free!

This has really p*****d me off !!!!

I will never buy a version 1 product from NI ever again!

 

Welcome to the Kreemed Kore Klub.

Peter.

 

It would be a total disgrace if NI charge for a Kore 2 update ESPECIALLY FOR KOMPLETE USERS - ok I owned Komplete 2 and upgraded for free to Komplete 3 with the Kore 1 deal -- but to pay for some of the sound engines which I already have again is just not on - I have spent a lot of money on NI products in the past but it seems this time if they charge they will be perceived as down right greedy and only p**s off long term loyal customers.

I did think that NI dealt very well with the Komplete Kare 2006 mess-up, I hope they have the same wisdom again for early beta-testing Kore 1 users.

 

I bought Kore1 2 weeks ago (like some of you here) and sorry, this thing is still buggy and crashed my setup a few times: far from satisfactory, even with 1.1

Now I read that those that register Kore after April 1st get the free software upgrade but the idiots that got it a couple of weeks ago don"t!?

There'd better be an elegant solution for us loyal customers (I own all of NI stuff, except the DJ stuff)....and frankly, if the new hardware works better than the ist version, then I also think that we should have a major discount when buying it (and the Kore 2 software for free...)

 

Hello moderator -

I'm rather new to this forum, (just bought Kore 1 and got a free Komplete 4 upgrade since I'm a Komplete 2 owner). I haven't used it yet because I have a Mac Pro (still waiting for Komplete 4 - was supposed to be shipped 2 weeks ago) so I can't comment on its functionality. I am seeing hundreds and hundreds of prople, mostly professionals like myself, stating that Kore is not the 'Universal' controller it claims to be, because of one problem or another, although it seems to work well with NI products. By you saying that it has been stable on your machines, do you mean with 3rd party apps like MOTU, Spectrasonics & Pianotek? Reading these posts and watching them play out reminds me of Phillip Morris saying, "We see no connection with tobacco and lung cancer" to protect their liablilty. It would sadden me if this is the case here, because I would truly love for Kore 1, 2, or whatever to be an awsome tool that I can/ should expect from N.I.

JP

 

Hey Pete ! Long time.....

I haven't read the entire forum - I feel it'd be too depressing. I'm hoping NI will get it right with Kore 2 and if it's effective and un-buggy, maybe I've found something to use my shop-coupon on. Than would at least ease the aggrivation suffered with Kore 1. But now for the REALLY important question: "Will the rubber feet on Kore 2 STAY on??"

Peace,

Dave

 

Geez. I couldn't agree more. WHY should NI give Kore 1 users a FREE Kore 2?

Yep. I know. The product had problems. For SOME folks.

Yep. I know. It was a 1.0 product and, *horrors!* there were some bugs and teething issues. Well, bleeding edge and all.

Yep. I know. NI were their own worst enemy when it came to communicating with us. (No pithy response there. They just plain were.)

But come on folks.

NI made as good as any company I've seen on this stuff. They gave out coupons. They gave out freebies. They kept promises (late) on updates.

It can be argued that they don't "owe" us sh*t at this point on this particular point EXCEPT to learn from that debacle, move forward in a better way, keep trying to pump out great product, and to play straighter.

(What bothers me is that they have NOT reined in the over zealous marketing speak that sets them up for failure. Don't "sell" me; just lay out the facts and I'll decide. But I digress.)

Some folks here seem to have an amazing sense of entitlement.

(Yep. I know. "My hard earned cash entitles me to....")

Peace,
George

 

Hi Dave:

Howdy! Couldn't agree more. I've been using my hardware rig live. I tested Kore 1.1 several times in several different configurations hoping to use it for live giging. Unfortunately I found it too unstable. The rubber feet is an important question. A drop of Gorilla glue worked on mine. It's very hard to get metal to stick to a rubberized surface.

Best,

Peter.

 

Greets, George !

100% agreement with everything said ! My NI issues started when they 'misplaced' my upgrade until after the deadline for the free DVD tutorials and it all went downhill from there. I never did get the DVD's due me. However......I DID (finally) get Komplete 4 with Akoustik Piano and FM8.......I DID get Massive for FREE........I DID get $180.00 to spend at the shop, even though 3rd party software for under $500 has all but disappeared. Bottom line: I feel I was more than reasonably well compensated for all the aggrivation and mistreatment I suffered. Besides, I had a GREAT run of venting in the forums and NI was (and is) NEVER at a lack of material to complain about.

"I had no shoes and complained - until I met a man who had no feet." There are war stories out there far worse than mine but I just can't be convinced that NI should give me "free everything" just because I'm greedy and cheap.

Like I was saying to Pete, I'd be content to spend my $180 on Kore 2 if it works since, like most everyone else in this forum, I've got the entire NI catalog. SOMEONE is going to try to integrate Kore 1 and Kore 2 into a dual-controller configuration. THAT I would PAY to see !!!!!

Good reading you guys again !

Peace,

Dave

 

Well - i think they use the same solution as they used to fix the audio engine. there will be no rubber feet....;-)

 

Then why are NI bringing out version 2 after such a short space of time? Are you seriously telling us you believe that Kore 1.1 is reliable enough for live gigging?

 

My guess is that they misjudged the market. A lot of sales have been to studios who don't need the audio interface side, and who don't want the additional bandwidth overhead. Most of the issues with CPU usage and the like can be attributable to the audio driver as far as I can tell. Personally, I haven't had those issues.

I've used it that way, and I know a number of people who gig with it daily without any problems. So, yes I do.

ew

 

I dunno... I'm happy. Nobody seemed to notice that from what I can tell, Kore 2 will allow you to use Kore as a multi instrument. Audio aux's and MIDI channels will allow me to use Kore like I wanted to in the first place; as a way of bundling all the synths and samplers etc, in a song, so I can transfer it between DAW's.
I love Live for performance, and remixing etc. but Logic, Digital Performer etc. are still miles ahead as far as MIDI and composing workflow. Kore 2 looks like what I personally wanted kore 1 to be.

Beyond that, the hardware looks less feature rich, so no great loss there. I bought Kore 1 knowing it couldn't output multiple audio channels and MIDI tracks, so I don't feel particularly let down that there will be a charge for 2.

Oh, and being able to use Reactor sequencers on ANY synth or effect in Kore, that alone is a HUGE selling point for me, since 99% of the DAWs out there don't allow MIDI from one soft instrument to another.

 

Re: Kore 2 for free for Kore 1 buyer (today)

Very funny - I paid about 450 Euros for the update/upgrade to the buggiest hardware in my studio = Kore 1 + Komplete 4 on Feb 28, that's 5 weeks ago (remember? NI made the 28th the final possible date, so we who got sucked in - No upgrade path left after Feb 28!" - can't say "we got it a few weeks ago, no: NI can now say oh but that's two months ago!) - I have since then tried my own (and a friend's) Kore on two Macs and one brand new XP and have seen nothing but clicking and stuttering, kernel crashes, system freezes, every now and then a pristine note or two, and mostly a lot of expensive silliness.

And now Kore 1 for 200 Euros in the US and they get the Kore 2 upgrade for free?!

NI - you lost me here! Please do some explaining, or even better: back-pedal at once, and keep me and the rest of us by making good on our loyalty.

 

Re: Kore 2 for free for Kore 1 buyer (today)

Uh, my mistake...
Paid SEK 4995, that makes about 525 Euros, not 450...
xdc
no longer a happy ni camper

 

Re: Kore 2 for free for Kore 1 buyer (today)

I'm sorry to hear that ... i have bought Kore & Komplete a couple of weeks ago and my experience has been quite the opposite of yours. I never expected to use it seriously as an audio interface since i've never really seen any USB audio interface work without clicks n pops. And not surprisingly, when i tried it out, it cracks n pops, and in Cubase SX3 i get regular 'Spikes' at a couple of sec intervals. I would say that the audio interface portion of the Kore is as it is unusable, as i expected.

So mostly i use Kore with my Firewire audio interface and i got to say i have none of the problems you mention at all. I had a single crash (when i was editing around in a Reaktor Ensemble) but other than that i use it nearly every day for at least a couple of hours without any showstopper problems. I think it's a huge lot of fun and has given back some immediacy to my creative process which in itself is worth the money for me. Everyone i make music with who tried it out here with me loves the thing. And it really DID change the way i'm thinkin about sounds. A bass is a bass, no matter if it's from the Pro53, Reaktor or the CS80V ... i know i'm a real victim of NI marketing here, seems like i've been brainwashed already ; )

I can finally get to all my soft synths in a very fast manner when i just want to play/jam around, sound design or listen to presets. I don't have to fire up SX, load a load of instances, configure midi trax, etc to just play. When working with Kore as a plugin i can finally easily control and automate parameters. I could do the control befor, but i never did a lot cause it was a lot of work (mental and finger work), with Kore it became second nature quite quickly.

The only couple of really annoying bugs i found are in the VSTis not in Kore (Battery and Kontakt are a bit flakey in places).

I still haven't really started to look into the deeper levels of Kore like live presets and synching so my positive evaluation is a bit biaised. Now that v2 is around the corner, i'm holding off on diggin deeper and saving/converting my own Kore snds, since the way the software works will change quite a bit (for the better i think). In all fairness (and again this is just my opinion), i got to admit that NI has come through on promises with other pretty good 'new' software concepts, even if it took them a very long time. I'm thinking of Traktor especially here, which used to be a great 'proof of concept' and is now a really nicely matured (and finally useable) tool. I just like the way NI does software, love their snds, and personally don't mind if the software changes around concepts, if that makes it better.

Btw. i paid only 208€, so maybe that's why i'm a bit more positive about it