Hi All,
I watched dozens of videos and demos and decided that the M50 looked and sounded like a great instrument.
After months of searching I have found a Kong M50 88 for sale over here in Western Australia.
I'm going to look at it / try it tomorrow, and I am wary of the freezing issue. Please can anyone offer any advice on what I should look out for, and what tests I can do, to make sure the instrument is in operating as it should ?
With any luck and if it all checks out, as soon as I get it home, I intend to purchase the Karma tools.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Suzanne.
M50 Purchase - What to look out for
Moderators: Sharp, X-Trade, Pepperpotty, karmathanever
The M50 is a useful keyboard, and relatively light for an 88 keybed. Whilst there have been some reported issues, there are quite a few contented owners out there.
I've found there is often a measure of excitement and anticipation that can cloud clear judgement, so calmly take a look at the overall condition of the keyboard. Are the keys all sitting level and undamaged, are there any knobs missing, do the control knobs turn smoothly, do the buttons work, are the volume and value sliders OK, is the display scratched? If yes to any of these, do the faults seem consistent with the age of the keyboard and the asking price?
As a suggestion if possible, take a decent pair of headphones or earbuds, with a 1/4" jack or adaptor and, for earbuds, a 1 metre extension cable, since the headphone socket is on the rear panel of the M50. With a piano Program selected (e.g. Program A000, M50 Grand Piano) play every key at several different velocities and ensure that the sounds respond appropriately, and that the sound is good, and the key action is OK. There's no harm in asking the owner of any known issues.
That should be sufficient to pick up any serious problems, and you would soon know if there is a freezing issue. Again, ask the owner if they've experienced freezing.
The Krome has many similarities to the M50 and is, effectively, the M50's successor with, arguably, a better set of sounds, so worth considering if the M50 causes any doubts when seen in the flesh.
.
I've found there is often a measure of excitement and anticipation that can cloud clear judgement, so calmly take a look at the overall condition of the keyboard. Are the keys all sitting level and undamaged, are there any knobs missing, do the control knobs turn smoothly, do the buttons work, are the volume and value sliders OK, is the display scratched? If yes to any of these, do the faults seem consistent with the age of the keyboard and the asking price?
As a suggestion if possible, take a decent pair of headphones or earbuds, with a 1/4" jack or adaptor and, for earbuds, a 1 metre extension cable, since the headphone socket is on the rear panel of the M50. With a piano Program selected (e.g. Program A000, M50 Grand Piano) play every key at several different velocities and ensure that the sounds respond appropriately, and that the sound is good, and the key action is OK. There's no harm in asking the owner of any known issues.
That should be sufficient to pick up any serious problems, and you would soon know if there is a freezing issue. Again, ask the owner if they've experienced freezing.
The Krome has many similarities to the M50 and is, effectively, the M50's successor with, arguably, a better set of sounds, so worth considering if the M50 causes any doubts when seen in the flesh.
.
