HELP - EXB-MOSS Opinions with Korg Triton

Ricoche · Post by **Ricoche** » Mon May 10, 2010 2:18 am

Hi there,

I'm curious about whether investing in an EXB-MOSS board would be worthwhile or just plain crazy. I have heard that the presets are ok and to really get great sounds you need to program quite a bit with it.

Here are some things that make me reluctant to buy one or simply make me an idiot for thinking about one in the first place.

1. I see them on Ebay now for $650-700 dollars. Too expensive for what you get? Seems like it. ( Original price was $480 if correct ).

2. It seems ( if you have the space ), that people recommend a Korg Z1 instead due to the fact that it's cheaper, has a few more bells/whistles, and sounds different..better?, plus you get two MOSS boards and more Polyphony.

3. I already have a Roland JP-8000, JP-8080, Juno 6 & 106, SH-201, the new SH-01 GAIA, plus a Yamaha A1nX, CS6R, Motif ES Rack with two PLG150-AN boards, and a Korg Prophecy / MS2000 combo. Sorry! I'm not trying to show off gear here, but rather trying to outline what synth capabilities I already have. Thus an EXB-Moss might either be redundant or simply not necessary given my Synth gear already. Perhaps I am suffering simply from a bad case of GAS!

I guess I'm wondering if others with similar gear could compare what the EXB-MOSS board is similar to. I know it's very unique and perhaps one of a kind, but is it really in that many mixes on the radio or in the clubs? I think the Synth VA part I may have covered slightly with the Prophecy and MS2000. I am not really in need of the "VL" or "Instrument" aspect of the EXB-MOSS board, so I probably don't need it.

In any event, I've decided to keep my eye out for a reasonably priced EXB-Moss and will definitely do some more "listening" research. I like the fact that it's small and easy to throw in the Triton Classic, but with heavy programming and limited polyphony (6) compared to my other gear, I probably should let it go and move on. Note that the Juno 6/106 and MS2000 are similar in Polyphony but I got all three for the same price of one used EXB-MOSS in Japan. Crap that MOSS is green and expensive...grin!

Any thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Jim

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Mon May 10, 2010 2:55 am

I've had the EXB-MOSS for over 10 years and I never use it. Seriously. It has a bug that never got resolved where if you go into your Triton's global settings and transpose up or down and while your synth will, your MOSS will not. My band plays down a step so I couldn't use MOSS live if I wanted to. So I never really explored it. It's powerful, but I honestly never use it.

There's one for sale here locally for $450 and I considered buying it just to flip it.

-Mc

Ricoche · Post by **Ricoche** » Mon May 10, 2010 3:10 am

Thanks for the reply MC.

I have found through my research about this board that most agree it is a very nice sounding component, however, most don't use it very much for various reasons. I'll most likely put it on my list of things to keep an eye on, but I don't think I'll actively pursue getting one until the need arises.

For $450 I'd probably get one, but not for $700 like I see on Ebay right now.

Thanks again.

Jim

McHale · Post by **McHale** » Mon May 10, 2010 4:00 am

the full moss keyboard (Z1) - pretty awesome. The MOSS card, almost as awesome. It's powerful as hell and most people never explored it's full potential. It's not just a VA, it does so so so much more. I'm still glad I have it because of it's potential, I just never did anything with it. I still have many of the stock patches loaded.

If I had to buy a replacement Triton today, I'd pass on the MOSS even at $450 (which is what I paid for it new 10 years ago).

-Mc

jmi · Post by **jmi** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 9:03 pm

Hi,

I found this old topic wheras I was about to ask similar questions and others about the MOSS board. I really wonder about its added value to the Triton Classic, compared to EXB PCM in particular.

1. So what does it exactly bring ? 13 new OSC and 128 programs ? not possible to imitate these programs with the default sounds of the Triton (I mean without MOSS) ?

2. When installed, does it change anything to the Programs menus ? I guess not. So what's the fundamental difference with an EXB PCM board ?

I must say I own two EXB PCM for which I read a lot of good things, yet I am a bit disappointed, and I don't want to be so with the MOSS if I buy it one day because its price is still quite high.

Thanks in advance
Jmi

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:52 am

The MOSS board has its own memory bank with 128 programs. They are not interchangable with the Triton's "normal" memory banks. You can combine the two engines in combis though, as you might expect.

The MOSS has an entirely different architecture and is basically a new synthesizer in your synthesizer. It is not based on samples at all but on various "oscillator models" such as Virtual Analog, Plucked String (physical modeling) and Woodwind/Brass (again physical modeling). So from the programming side, you get entirely different parameters to tinker with, and they change in part for each oscillator model (the filters, envelopes and lfos stay the same for all models, but there are far more than in the normal Triton engine). If all you usually do is browse presets, you will mainly notice a difference in the way the sounds respond - there is no sample switching so especially the acoustic modelings have an interesting and pleasing dynamic response, even if they aren't entirely realistic.

Contrary to most comments above, I use the MOSS every time I turn on my Triton Extreme. For every gig I have at least a few patches coming from there. I wouldn't want to do without it anymore. Where many of the Triton's patches now sound dated, a good synth patch is still is a good synth patch and the MOSS is so flexible that it never disappoints me. It is also quite complex and you will really have to take the time to learn it to get the best from it. Even if you're just into the VA part. It doesn't really come with many club-ready patches, also because it's trying to showcase 13 oscillator models (including strings and woodwinds) in just 128 programs. But if you sit down with it you can get great results for modern sounds too. I've nailed the sounds for California Gurls, DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again and Tik Tok, to name a few.

Oh, also, the filters really kill, compared to the ones in the regular Triton engine. That is something you will never change with an EXB-PCM.

I would say if you don't have a VA yet, it's worth it. If you're really interested in physical modeling, it's worth it. If you do have a VA but want to bring something to the gig inside the handy package of the Triton, it's worth it. If none of the above, or you just don't want to program very much, don't do it.

jmi · Post by **jmi** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:14 pm

Thanks for the feedback. Actually I rarely programmed sounds because it's not very convenient to use the touchscreen instead of knobs ... Not sure that programming the MOSS is easier, but I find interesting to have two synths in one to create a little diversity without adding a new keyboard, but it seems it's not really designed to create any "acoustic" instruments : brass sounds nice, guitars as well, but pianos for example are not that much.

I will think again about it. Actually, I've just seen there was a forum dedicated to it, that I'm gonna read then