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Hi all,

i need to find out a quite light synth (better, ROMpler) to bring around quickly for gig and rehearsal w/o moving all the time more than 10kg of keyboard as with V-synth, Waldorf Q or M3.

i mainly need piano, strings, pad and synth lead, i do not need very very good sounds, but at least decent to play along with guitar, bass and drum.

also budget is not very high (propably i will search in used gear).

so the obvious choice was among X-50 and yamaha MM6. what do you prefer and why? is there anything else in the same range?

thanks!

It's probably a matter of taste, but I would go with the X50. In my case, I really wanted 76 keys so I went with a cheap used Roland A33 controller + a microX and couldn't be happier with my setup.

I tried the MM6 -- from what I recall, the piano sounds were very good, but I was disappointed by some of the other sounds, like the organ. The X50 appealed to me a lot more in terms of UI, size/looks, sounds etc...

I *think* the MM6 has a built-in sequencer, though, which the X50 doesn't... that may or may not matter to you.

thanks, yes i forgot it: i don not need sequencer, usually we do not use any playbacked part, so it doesn't matter.
mainly i search something almost ready off-the-shelf but can give some capabilities of sound design

X50 has all you require from what I read. And very good sounds indeed, it's a Triton after all.

And for the sound tweaking capabilities, and the multisamples offered, the price/value factor is sky-rocketing. CD supplied integrated software is pure love.

Not to mention the incredible lightness. People complain about the keyboard feel, plastic build etc etc, but I gigged it half a year, and absolutely no problems.

I've been gigging happily for over a year now with my
X-50. Bought a spare, because I wasn't convinced of
the road-worthiness of the unit, and I always travel
with spare power supplies...but have no complaints, and
it weighs less than my CAT. Can't beat a deal like that.

LS

Pads (perfect), Strings (midrange), Leads (very good)= X-50
Piano=Yamahas were always better at it

I've owned a couple of CS1x's and a CS2x, which use the same AWM2 sound engine as the Motif and MM6 and I don't think you could go wrong with either. The CS1x has some incredible strings, which is why I bought a second one a couple of years after I got rid of my CS2x. The X50 looks to be more portable though, so it will probably come down to which one works better for you. I certainly don't think you'd be disappointed with the sound of either, so I didn't vote in the poll.

khortoom wrote:Pads (perfect), Strings (midrange), Leads (very good)= X-50
Piano=Yamahas were always better at it

Ditto.
+ Organs are fantastic

Moved from Motif 6 to Korg X50 because less gigging, more home use, which meant less need for sturdy, well-feeling keyboard and good piano sounds and more for interoperatability with computer and diverse sounds with a lot of character.

Had I kept playing live a lot, today I would have gone for a MM6, though, because of the feel and the piano sounds.