Which one?

Myles · Post by **Myles** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 2:41 am

ik this is probably asked all the time but i just cant decide on these beautiful keyboards!

basically im looking at the m3,m50 and oasys.

iv played piano for years now. i purchased the r3 about a year ago and love it but now i want a full workstation. what do you guys think i should get. and i do record music.

heres one of my songs
http://www.purevolume.com/WereProbablyNotZombies
any feed back would be nice too haha.

CfNorENa · Post by **CfNorENa** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 2:56 am

Simple. If you can afford an Oasys, buy that. If you can't afford an Oasys, but can afford an M3, buy that. If you can't afford either an Oasys or an M3, but can afford an M50, buy that. Full stop.

Myles · Post by **Myles** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:41 am

so oasys? i have enough. but im not havin any luck finding where to buy one

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:58 am

Oasys has been discontinued for a while now. If you find one it will more than likely be used which means you'll have ZERO warranty.

I'd go M3.

-Mc

Sina172 · Post by **Sina172** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:19 am

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 11:41 am

I actually have to agree with Sina.

It is a question of budget only.
The M50 is a cut down version of the M3, so unless you're specifically looking for a lightweight instrument, then the only other factor that should stop you from getting an M3 is cost.

Similarly, the OASYS is purely unbeatable. Sure the Sequencer on the M3 is much better, but people have been using the sequencer on the triton (very similar to on OASYS) for years with no problem.

The OASYS shines best as an All In One solution - You could probably go to a gig with that and nothing else. Similarly you could complete a whole album without any outboard gear... something thats only been possible with a computer up to this point.

In the OASYS you're getting a sampler, an organ, a virtual analog synth, plus the option to add FM, the Legacy MS20 and PolySix... Physical Modeling.

And again the M3 was based off the OASYS. So unless price is an obstacle, the OASYS is the clear winner.

Of course, If you do get the M3, I recommend that you get the EXB-Radias too.

Gargamel314 · Post by **Gargamel314** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 10:13 pm

Wow... yeah if money's not an issue, go with the OASYS. if you just look through the comments people make in the OASYS forum, generally people are a bit miffed that it's no longer being developed anymore but are still head over heels in love with it. I love my M3, but if i could have afforded an OASYS, i would definitely have gotten one of them!

Your best bet is through eBay, it's discontinued, but recently enough that some stores still have them. You just have to do some searching around on the net. Good luck!

Randelph · Post by **Randelph** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 6:02 pm

17 and 45 pounds (M50 76 and 88 key)
38 and 58 pounds (M3 76 and 88 key)
56 and 71 pounds (Oasys 76 and 88 key)

Yeah, if you don't need to gig with it and have the money for it the Oasys sounds amazing. I suppose there's plenty of gigging guys who are used to 70-80 pound 88 note boards though.

The other factor is ease of learning- along with the lack of a sampler, isn't the M50 easier to learn than the M3 or Oasys?

Myself, I was leaning towards the M50-61 for its lightweight portability and price (around $900), but when I realized I could get an M3 for $1300-$1400 (once I sold the free digital recorder that was being given away), the decision was easy: I didn't like the flimsy feel of the M50 keybed, and couldn't get past it that there was no microphone/audio input.

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 7:26 pm

A quick view from a gigging musician:

I gig several times a week and bought an M3-73 to replace my aging Triton Pro (76 key). The M3 is amazing. It really is. The more I played with it however, the more I thought what features I really needed when playing live and the M50 was a better fit for what I needed LIVE. I then bought an M50-73 as well and find it the perfect synth for gigging, complimenting my Triton Pro. The two main reasons I still gig with the Triton Pro is it has 10 years of patches on it and am unable to replicate them all on the M3/M50 and there are a couple patches where I need all 76 keys.

*BUT*

If I could only gig with one synth, it'd either be an M3 or M50, depending on if I needed the additional features of the M3 or not (but leaning towards the M50). The extreme lightweight of the M50 is great and something that should be considered.

My M3-73 never leaves my home studio and the additional features make it a much better fit for recording.

Notes:

I do not use any samples live.
I'm not a heavy user of aftertouch.
I wish the M50 also had the X-Y pad like the M3 had.
I wish the M3 shared the M50's powerful arpegiator along with having the Karma.
While some people complain about the M50's keybed, not only did I get used to it, I really like it.

-Mc

ksounds · Post by **ksounds** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 8:27 pm

A unique feature of the M3 that I love is the ability to detach the module and take it with me. This is particularly handy when it's possible to leave the (heavy) 88-note keybed at the gig site and have a very easy load-out after performing.