KORG adds vintage sound libraries to KRONOS and NAUTILUS

KORG's June 24 update for KRONOS and NAUTILUS owners makes a familiar promise to vintage-keyboard players: keep the classic colors on tap without adding another heavy piece of hardware to the rig. The new Kelfar Technologies package is billed as a Premium Vintage Solo Collection, and it brings EXs96 Monomusica, EXs186 Vintage Organs & Synths, and EXs187 Vintage Analog Dynamics into one workstation-ready set.

The sound list makes the intent plain. KORG's same-day library update also includes EXs340 Kelfar Hybrid Strings, while the Kelfar bundle copy leans hard into analog-style leads, expressive synth tones, classic organ textures, and warm retro dynamics. Kelfar describes EXs96 Monomusica as a vintage-sounds library for KORG NAUTILUS and KRONOS, and says it uses analog physically modeled sounds, which puts the emphasis on playable character rather than simple sample recycling.

That matters most to players who need old-school timbres in active use: film scorers layering a solo line over a cue, pop programmers chasing a convincing lead patch, and live rig builders who want organ and synth colors available from one keyboard. The appeal is practical as much as nostalgic. A KRONOS or NAUTILUS owner does not have to hunt down, maintain, and insure a separate Minimoog, Oberheim, or Hammond-derived setup to get those textures into a session.

KORG has also kept the platform itself in motion. On its KRONOS page, the company says it planned a Soundpack for previous KRONOS and NAUTILUS owners in the second half of 2025, a sign that these workstations are still being treated as living ecosystems rather than closed-end instruments. KORG also notes that EXs340 Kelfar Hybrid Strings supports both Equal Temperament and non-Equal Temperament tuning systems, a detail that widens the range from retro color into more experimental territory.

The timeline behind the keyboards gives the update extra weight. KRONOS was announced at Winter NAMM in January 2011 in Anaheim, California, and NAUTILUS followed in November 2020, with shipping expected in January 2021. Fourteen years after KRONOS first arrived, KORG is still selling the idea that vintage character belongs inside the workstation, not only in the used market.