should I fork out for an m50?

[ferchis]

I don't know... well, to be honest, I DO know, I love it, it sounds great actually, but the thing is I've just sold my sp250 piano and really miss the 88 hammer action keyboard, so I wanted to sell my tr 76 (which I haven't used that much) and replace both with an m50 88, the things is...

is it really worth the money? is it a keeper in terms of use and reliability? will I have sounds for MANY years to come? (I'm concerned about the lack of sampling...)

or should I just go for a tr88? I don't know!!!! I'll be getting exactly the same synth I had, of that I'm aware, but I'll have the 88 keybed. though I'm not sure if it is as good as the m50 (it's not the same mechanism, is it?)

I want to use it for prog rock mainly, and the touch screen, the piano sounds and the bigger/newer samples rom is what calls me towards the m50....

any opinions!!!????

thanks!

[CfNorENa]

M50-88 owner here. Best weighted action keyboard I've ever played. And the general consensus (there are always dissenters, of course) is that the M50 synth engine is superior to the Triton. Even a glance at the specs would lead you to conclude the same.

I can't speak for the 61- and 73-key versions. Those do seem a bit flimsy to me. But the 88-key version is robust and still relatively light. You could definitely gig with it. In brief, yes, I think it is a "keeper," and unless you have very specific ideas about how a given sound (e.g. organ) is supposed to sound, as a preset, then you're almost certain to be in love with the M50-88.

I say go for it!

EDIT: as to whether it's worth the money, there I think there can be no debate at all. The M50 must be the greatest value-for-money workstation ever.

[ferchis]

yeah, I know, it's U$S 2500 here in Argentina, which really pisses me off!!! In the States it's u$s 1800, isn't it? what a bummer...

I don't know over there, but it's a huge investment here!!

thanks cfnorena, that's exactly the use I want for it: to play live and to record in studio. that's why I want it for MANY years to come. I know that some other synths (fantom, korg m3, motif) are top dogs in the workstation field (mainly because of sampling), but they're next to impossible here as prices go, that's why I fell tempted by the m50

by the way, if I were to get the m50 and still wanted to find a way to play back sounds (not samples of instruments, but any kind of effects, such as someone talking or the sound of wind) in the middle of a song, what woudl you recommend I could use live? a kaoss pad?

thanks!

[mocando]

by the way, if I were to get the m50 and still wanted to find a way to play back sounds (not samples of instruments, but any kind of effects, such as someone talking or the sound of wind) in the middle of a song, what woudl you recommend I could use live? a kaoss pad?

thanks!

I'm looking forward to get a MicroSampler the moment I can. I think it will be a perfect combination to my M50. I can use it as a controller to extend the M50 sounds, or load up some nice mellotron sounds for my Genesis songs.

I have a 61 key M50 and I can say is tons of fun. The sound engine is awesome, specially the effect processor. Love it more every day.

Saludos

[andersborg]

Take a look at Korg SP170 too, if you specifically need a good digital piano for a low cost. It also does organ and some other instruments: http://korg.com/Product.aspx?pd=565

[EvilDragon]

SP250 and M50-88 have THE SAME keybed, RH3 graded action.

So you wouldn't lose a thing, you'd just gain more features. Go for it, it's worth it

[ferchis]

Take a look at Korg SP170 too, if you specifically need a good digital piano for a low cost. It also does organ and some other instruments: http://korg.com

thanks andersborg, but you see, I've JUST sold my beloved sp250, there'd be no point in buying another digital piano, that's why I'm looking for a 88-note synth to have for a looooong time

I'm decided for the m50, the thing is... I still need to sell my tr!!!!!

[nitekatt2010]

M50-88 owner here. Best weighted action keyboard I've ever played. And the general consensus (there are always dissenters, of course) is that the M50 synth engine is superior to the Triton. Even a glance at the specs would lead you to conclude the same.

I can't speak for the 61- and 73-key versions. Those do seem a bit flimsy to me. But the 88-key version is robust and still relatively light. You could definitely gig with it. In brief, yes, I think it is a "keeper," and unless you have very specific ideas about how a given sound (e.g. organ) is supposed to sound, as a preset, then you're almost certain to be in love with the M50-88.

I say go for it!

EDIT: as to whether it's worth the money, there I think there can be no debate at all. The M50 must be the greatest value-for-money workstation ever.

I am an M50 88 owner too and got a great deal on it. I haven't played the 61or 73 note models, but the 88 has a great keyboard action. The keyboard is a bit heavy, about 46 lbs, but it's manageable
with a good case with wheels.

The M50 has a lot to offer and is very user friendly for live gigs. I'd say go for it, try it out and see for yourself if this is the right keyboard for your needs

[Gargamel314]

is it really worth the money? is it a keeper in terms of use and reliability? will I have sounds for MANY years to come? (I'm concerned about the lack of sampling...)

...or you could just save up for an M3-88. May break the bank but it's def worth the investment... and you get lots of sample RAM to play with too, along with some other invaluable features

[mcbaldwin]

I've got an M50-88 and love it to death. Great touch, good synth sounds, interfaces well with Kontact and Protools.

For me it's the perfect keyboard.

--Mark

I don't know... well, to be honest, I DO know, I love it, it sounds great actually, but the thing is I've just sold my sp250 piano and really miss the 88 hammer action keyboard, so I wanted to sell my tr 76 (which I haven't used that much) and replace both with an m50 88, the things is...

is it really worth the money? is it a keeper in terms of use and reliability? will I have sounds for MANY years to come? (I'm concerned about the lack of sampling...)

or should I just go for a tr88? I don't know!!!! I'll be getting exactly the same synth I had, of that I'm aware, but I'll have the 88 keybed. though I'm not sure if it is as good as the m50 (it's not the same mechanism, is it?)

I want to use it for prog rock mainly, and the touch screen, the piano sounds and the bigger/newer samples rom is what calls me towards the m50....

any opinions!!!????

thanks!

[ferchis]

last minute update!!!

I've just bought it!!!! now I have to wait for sth like 2 weeks to get it!! I'm extremely excited!! can't waittttttttt

[Rishat]

Congrats man... Good luck for the weeks you have to wait to get that monster!!

[CfNorENa]

I've just bought it!!!! now I have to wait for sth like 2 weeks to get it!! I'm extremely excited!! can't waittttttttt

Congrats! You won't be disappointed. Now, some advice. Download the manual and read it all. Then watch Rich Formidoni's youtube videos. Then read the manual again. You'll NEVER has as much motivation to read through the manual as you do right now -- as soon as you've got the M50, you'll want to PLAY, not read. So read up now, and hit the ground running!

[kanthos]

Slightly better suggestion: read the operation guide only, and use the parameter reference when you need more detail about a particular feature or to see what options you have. You'll probably learn better by getting a good overall picture of what the M50 can do and focusing in on particular series of tasks, which is what you'll get out of the operation guide. The parameter reference isn't really useful for reading straight through unless you want to be overwhelmed.

[ferchis]

yeah, cheers guys, you've been most helpful. I've already downloaded the last OS 1.1.0 and the latest midi driver (this is the one I need to use it with the usb cable, isn't it?)

btw, I know this utterly off topic, and doesn't belong here, but do any of you boys know how to route the midi information coming from an EZdrummer track in sonar 8 prod edit into audio? I mean, I've got EZd running within the sonar 8 environment and choose the grooves there and drag and drop them to the track view, but if I want to play them back IN THE TRACK BOX/SECTION, nothing comes out, UNLESS I make the EZd show up AS A SINGLE STEREO TRACK, which is so disappointing, since I wanted to have all 8 tracks so I can later edit them separately...

I asked this at the vsti forum, but no one has been able to help me

any ideas?