Korg Kronos 3 61 Arbejdsstation

Korg Kronos 3 61 — The Flagship Music Workstation Returns

This 61-key music workstation is the third generation of the instrument that redefined what a single keyboard does on stage and in the studio. Nine independent sound engines, a 16-track sequencer, and a full effects rack live inside a tour-ready powder-coated chassis. Players access thousands of sounds — concert grands, tonewheel organs, analog-modeled synths, and physically modeled strings — without switching presets. The 61-key version targets synth and organ players who want portability.

What Sets the Kronos 3 61 Apart

The enhanced SGX-2 Grand Piano engine now includes four pianos — Berlin Grand, German Grand, Japanese Grand, and the new Italian Grand — captured with non-looped stereo samples. The EP-1 MDS Electric Piano engine uses Multi-Dimensional Synthesis to recreate six classic tine and reed electric pianos without looped artifacts. Rotary speaker modeling, amp modeling with overdrive, and vibrato/chorus that responds to joystick control are all found in the CX-3 Tonewheel Organ engine, which models the original 1980 Korg combo organ down to tonewheel instability.

Nine Sound Engines with Generous Polyphony

Each engine is a complete synthesizer with its own arpeggiator, filter architecture, and modulation matrix. Polyphony ranges from 40 voices on the STR-1 and MS-20EX to 200 on the CX-3, and the system dynamically allocates processing power between voices and effects.

• The SGX-2 Premium Piano engine offers 100 dual-stereo voices, which is equivalent to 400 mono voices for layered piano arrangements.
• CX-3 Tonewheel Organ: 200 voices — full drawbar stacks with rotary speaker
• HD-1 PCM engine delivers 140 voices with low-aliasing oscillators and full-bandwidth multimode filters

Natural Touch Action and Hands-On Control Surface

The 61-key model uses the brand's Natural Touch semi-weighted action with aftertouch, built for speed and agility. A four-way joystick handles pitch bend and modulation, while a ribbon controller and Vector joystick add further expression.

• Keyboard: 61 keys, Natural Touch semi-weighted, velocity and aftertouch sensitive
• 203 mm TouchView display with SVGA 800x600 resolution and adjustable brightness
• Pedal Inputs: Damper (half-damping supported) plus assignable switch and pedal

Production Tools Built Into the Workstation

Set List mode hosts 16 color-coded touch-screen buttons per song, giving instant access to presets, combinations, and sequences.

• Effects: 16 onboard processors (12 Insert, 2 Master, 2 Total) with 197 effect types
• Onboard sequencer captures 16 MIDI tracks + 16 audio tracks at 1/480 resolution across 200 songs
• Storage: 120 GB internal SSD with approximately 3 GB PCM RAM

Built for Stage Performers, Producers, and Sound Designers

This workstation is the right choice for working keyboardists who need one instrument covering piano, organ, synth, and production. Touring players benefit from the 14.2 kg chassis, 60% faster startup, and Smooth Sound Transition that eliminates dropouts when changing patches. Sound designers can dive into nine engines, from the semi-modular MS-20EX to the waveshaping MOD-7, with assignable modulation routings.

The Korg Workstation Legacy Since 1988

The company created the keyboard workstation category in 1988 with the M1, and the Kronos line has been its flagship since. The original debuted in 2011, followed by Kronos 2 in 2014, and this third generation arrives with a reengineered architecture and 256 new programs.