I will be buying an M3! but few questions...

[bkboy]

after hearing the 512 sounds from a friend's keyboard, i figured m3 has some great deep synth architecture, and the screen is easier to look at. in fact i am planning to go to GC this weekend and buy it! BUT...i have a few lingering questions that require honest answers:

1) i am one of the original critics of the m3 chassis design and build quality. the 'cheese' factor appeal doesn't bother me as much, because in the end its the sound that matters...and m3 sounds great...but how about the quality of paint/ink on buttons? did korg issue any new engineering revision to use better paint or laser etch text for new batches of m3?

2) how do you clean the surface (paint makes dirt fairly visible)? the 8 trigger pads for karma and the chassis surrounding the screen and controls and the mounting board? i never owned any keyboard with m3's porous material...so please advice!

that's about it. i am selling my TE...i decided to get m3 because its hard to find good sound library for TE anymore, and i need many good acoustic instruments...and ofcourse DAW control that TE totally lacks.

[Voltan]

there have been some posts about button text wearing off... I'm not sure how that story ended but it seemed to only happen to a couple of people

I've been using mine a lot (and I mean like a couple of hours a day at least) for 5 months now and there's no sign of any text wearing off

[khol]

I have a 73-key version and have no issues with dirt and texture falloff or anything like that (yet i might add).

Like everyting it collects dust, but i clean it every two weeks or so. No problem.

The buildquality of the 73 and 88 key is more metallic than the 61-key version. I tried the 61-key in the store and it did feel more plastic and "fragile". Not sure if im right there, but it was my experience with it anyway, so i bought a 73-key and it felt more durable.

Right or wrong... i dont know.

I do however appreciate that extra octave when playing so i dont regret my choise.

[GregC]

1)after hearing the 512 sounds from a friend's keyboard, i figured m3 has some great deep synth architecture, and the screen is easier to look at. in fact i am planning to go to GC this weekend and buy it! BUT...i have a few lingering questions that require honest answers:

2) i am one of the original critics of the m3 chassis design and build quality. the 'cheese' factor appeal doesn't bother me as much, because in the end its the sound that matters...and m3 sounds great...but how about the quality of paint/ink on buttons? did korg issue any new engineering revision to use better paint or laser etch text for new batches of m3?

3) how do you clean the surface (paint makes dirt fairly visible)? the 8 trigger pads for karma and the chassis surrounding the screen and controls and the mounting board? i never owned any keyboard with m3's porous material...so please advice!

that's about it. i am selling my TE...i decided to get m3 because its hard to find good sound library for TE anymore, and i need many good acoustic instruments...and ofcourse DAW control that TE totally lacks.

1) sure took you long enough

2) you have seen the 61 vs 73 answer. As you should be able to figure out there are possibly thousands of M3's in use as we speak. Many of which are approach 8-10 months of consistent use. Where is all the caterwauling about the button text ? 1 or 2 folks ? C'mon. Getoverit, Internet warrior.

3) Porous material ? M3 made of sponge ? Please. Temper the hysteria.
How do you clean your dishes or car ?

[stumppi]

I have a question, too.
Does M3 have a vocoder by itself or do you need to buy a radias to have a vocoder?

And can you play, for example, an electric guitar through your m3 and record it with computers recording systems?

[khol]

Yes, the M3 have vocoder, but the EXB-RADIAS vocoder is better (as i understand it).

Yes, you can plug a guitarr to the input of the M3 and then record on your computer.
And even better.... you can use M3's builtin effects and apply them to the guitarrsound.

[KorgSinceTheM1]

....how do you clean the surface (paint makes dirt fairly visible)? the 8 trigger pads for karma and the chassis surrounding the screen and controls and the mounting board? i never owned any keyboard with m3's porous material...so please advice!

I posted a surface cleaning topic here;
http://www.karma-lab.com/forum/showthre ... eadid=9845