M3 - Totally worth it!

Don Audio Labs · Post by **Don Audio Labs** » Sat May 11, 2013 4:24 pm

So i have been toying around with my new M3-88 and man, this machine is just beautiful!

I'm more a hobbyist "producer" (big word...

) than a keyboardist (you guys never fail to impress me) and there is so much inspiration directly at my fingertips. Love it!

Whoever came up with the idea of being able to hit the pads for chords while you are searching the library for a sound... You Sir are a genius! Makes it so easy to find stuff that will sound great in your piece of music.

My main reason for buying into this hardware was to get as far away from DAW-assisted production as possible seeing how my daily job completely resolves around computer systems and information technology.

I've had some mild success in this field with my Electribe EMX, Korg R3 (sold) and the Akai MPC1000 but the M3 really makes me feel confident that i won't have to touch my Computer for a long time... at least when it comes to Music.

So far this has been an excellent (although complex) ride!

Just wanted to share this to you guys real quick!

Bald Eagle · Post by **Bald Eagle** » Sat May 11, 2013 4:53 pm

Good to hear that you're enjoying it. The deeper you get into it the more you will love it.

Pcode · Post by **Pcode** » Sat May 11, 2013 7:52 pm

I have M3 88, and i find the built quality better than korg kronos, and it sounds better.

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Sun May 12, 2013 2:24 pm

Pcode wrote:I have M3 88, and i find the built quality better than korg kronos, and it sounds better.

It sounds better? Interesting.

Bald Eagle · Post by **Bald Eagle** » Sun May 12, 2013 2:44 pm

michelkeijzers wrote:
Pcode wrote:I have M3 88, and i find the built quality better than korg kronos, and it sounds better.
It sounds better? Interesting.

Sound is a subjective thing ... There are some pathes that do sound better. The M3 is underrated. Kronus is not the best and the end of all synths.

Don Audio Labs · Post by **Don Audio Labs** » Sun May 12, 2013 3:01 pm

I'm not going to say that either one sounds worse or better in general because - as Bald Eagle said - sound is a subjective thing but i do want to point out that the M3 can use up to 320MB of Sample Memory and within this limitation can sound pretty much anything you like... It's not only a rompler but also a sampler after all.

So as long as precise sampling and careful engineering can get me sounds like this 300MB Piano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfYBVCLEfUk
i'm not too concerned about any sound quality issues or if i need X GB's of unlooped waveforms.

It's about playability and expression and to be honest, some of the Kronos sounds are lacking playability, at least when compared to the gigantic tech specs that board is boasting.

Now if we talk about the various sound engines in the Kronos... that's a whole different story and hands-down impressive (if only for non-oasys people).

Although i used some numbers above i'm actually not a big fan of this marketing talk about how many MB's or GB's of PCM-ROM you have in your devices. Most smash hits from the late 80's all the way to the late 90's used machines that had less then 16MB of RAM / ROM or often only a few KB's.

It's all about maxing out the tools you have.

Pcode · Post by **Pcode** » Sun May 19, 2013 6:17 am

M3's play-ability is far superior than most workstations, I absolutely love this machine... Sound quality is superb, the pads , the joystick, screen as xy controller, the ribbon controller, it all comes together so well. and it's easy to replace parts in this system. I only wish it had a bigger RAM chip available and a 64 bit VST.

Pcode · Post by **Pcode** » Sun May 19, 2013 6:20 am

Bald Eagle wrote:
michelkeijzers wrote:
Pcode wrote:I have M3 88, and i find the built quality better than korg kronos, and it sounds better.
It sounds better? Interesting.
Sound is a subjective thing ... There are some pathes that do sound better. The M3 is underrated. Kronus is not the best and the end of all synths.

I so called "downgraded", from KORG Kronus, I am happier with this keyboard, what a beautiful machine... It just works, in ways, I think. Love the feel of it's 88 key keyboard.

Stipes Vigilo · Post by **Stipes Vigilo** » Sun May 19, 2013 7:25 pm

They are quite different.

I prefer the Kronos for most things (Especially the pianos and electric pianos). And I hate the acoustic pianos on the M3 (subjective I know). I like the brass better on the M3 though.

Pcode · Post by **Pcode** » Mon May 20, 2013 5:23 pm

I don't like the original M3 piano but the Xpanded version that you load is beautiful (resonance is awesome), Kronos Pianos are big in size(SSD based) ,have "extra noises" musically not relevant.

Stipes Vigilo · Post by **Stipes Vigilo** » Mon May 20, 2013 6:10 pm

Pcode wrote:I don't like the original M3 piano but the Xpanded version that you load is beautiful (resonance is awesome), Kronos Pianos are big in size(SSD based) ,have "extra noises" musically not relevant.

Lol, I actually preferred the non-expanded pianos of the M3. It was after I updated to the expansion that I started looking elsewhere (and in fact, that was when I bought a Motif XS rack). Completely subjective - M3 has a beautiful attack but the decay is never right to me. Kronos and Motif have the pianos that keep me playing.

Bald Eagle · Post by **Bald Eagle** » Mon May 20, 2013 6:47 pm

Stipes Vigilo wrote:
Pcode wrote:I don't like the original M3 piano but the Xpanded version that you load is beautiful (resonance is awesome), Kronos Pianos are big in size(SSD based) ,have "extra noises" musically not relevant.
Lol, I actually preferred the non-expanded pianos of the M3. It was after I updated to the expansion that I started looking elsewhere (and in fact, that was when I bought a Motif XS rack). Completely subjective - M3 has a beautiful attack but the decay is never right to me. Kronos and Motif have the pianos that keep me playing.

The original M3 piano sample library (M3 EX-USB-PCM04 V1 Stereo Piano) can be downloaded from the Korg website.

Stipes Vigilo · Post by **Stipes Vigilo** » Mon May 20, 2013 6:59 pm

Bald Eagle wrote:The original M3 piano sample library (M3 EX-USB-PCM04 V1 Stereo Piano) can be downloaded from the Korg website.

I do have that and it auto loads with the other three on start up. Its just much of my love for that board changed after that 'improvement'. It officially belongs to my wife now and she loves it. I love still certain things about it, just not the pianos as much anymore. I do all the programming in our family though, so I'm still very much hands on with it. And I find the horns, basses and some of the strings to be superior in it. Plus the Radias EXB has a character that the Kronos doesn't quite match.

The other thing is that the pianos (all of them) are great in context with other sounds but the 'improved ones' only made me want a better solo piano.

Pcode · Post by **Pcode** » Mon May 20, 2013 7:33 pm

Piano sounds so nice...

http://youtu.be/wXMc8usS4Sk

http://youtu.be/oeUN0W3WI0o

http://youtu.be/eWqgzsg_peo

Pcode · Post by **Pcode** » Mon May 20, 2013 7:37 pm

...and this is my music, non made using M3 as I just got the unit.. http://www.youtube.com/user/Muuuzzzi