One thaught, some words...

guillex · Post by **guillex** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:30 am

Ok here I am, writting something that I was thinking during many months...

My first synth was a Korg, as also my last one it is, an M50...My first korg was Korg N5EX. I had it during 4 years, and It was used at live, reharsals, etc...

My doubt...I really think that some of the sounds there, sound more, REAL and naturall than the M50..I know guys that the M50 can handle doble PRGS in a combi, and that it is much more modern, IFXS, etc etc...but really, after the N5ex, Ive passed trough a Trinity, a TR, and really I can't stop thinking on that..

Im not saying that the N5EX is better than the M50, or than the korg tr, trinity, etc...Im just saying, that after changing the technologies, some patches of some old keyboards, still sounds GOOD!!

Most of all, they sound naturall at live, with rock bands....on my experience, here, other musicians, not keyboard players, prefers old keyboards...

M50 is an excellent product....just I wish I could have some extra money to buy again some old digital synth...

Regards!!

guillex · Post by **guillex** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:07 pm

41 views, and nobody write nothing...

kikedeolivos · Post by **kikedeolivos** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:34 pm

I've also had a Korg X5 and an X5D and sounds were punchier and "ready to go" then the ones in the M50. You can't just be 24x7 tweaking and tweaking to get somewhere near to the place you wanna go.

I think Korg made a big mistake with this keyboard, reason they abandoned ship with its support 18 months ago. No one from Korg chimed in to talk to users in THIS end during that period. When they were in the need of selling this unit, Jerry and Rich would log in frequently...

Korg's milestones were, IMHO, the M1, Trinity, Triton and CX-3.
I would never ever buy a Korg synth again, as I stated before, I felt "abandoned" by the company.

billbaker · Post by **billbaker** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:08 pm

Guillex -

It's not a bad post, but you are asking for users with a Specific (N-series) to M50 history if they were disappointed.

If you don't get an answer try a different approach.

? What classic synth will you buy again?

? What gear do you regret selling?

? What was your biggest / worst gear buy?

BB

guillex · Post by **guillex** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 4:57 pm

billbaker wrote:Guillex -

It's not a bad post, but you are asking for users with a Specific (N-series) to M50 history if they were disappointed.

If you don't get an answer try a different approach.

? What classic synth will you buy again?

? What gear do you regret selling?

? What was your biggest / worst gear buy?

BB

Hi! Thanks for your answer. First of all, I am not looking for an answer, is just that I'm tired of watching post with lot of views but no comments.
Second, I'm speaking about old Synths, in general, and not exactly about N5.
About your reply, well you know I regret of selling my korg N5EX, cause during that 4 years I made sounds, for Rock bands, that I am still missing them...but well
My worst gear, mhh was not a KOrg, If not an M-audio, lot of break keys, bad done, etc...
I would like to buy the N5EX again, and also a wavestation!!!! such a great keys compared with the M50...Anyway, I don't regret of buying the M50, It's my best synth, and the main, but I would like to have that extra tools...

kimu · Post by **kimu** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:40 pm

i had a trinity V3 (the one with moss) for 10 years, and i think that string sounds were better on trinity even in patch without moss...

Crystalmsc · Post by **Crystalmsc** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:47 am

kimu wrote:i had a trinity V3 (the one with moss) for 10 years, and i think that string sounds were better on trinity even in patch without moss...

Trinity's strings are still my favorite even today.

kimu · Post by **kimu** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:55 am

true words...

guillex · Post by **guillex** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 4:13 pm

I miss some Hammond Organs on the N5EX, but the leslie emulation It's better done on the M50.

Also I played a Korg Trinity during some months, and yeap, such good string sounds!!!!!

Yatrix · Post by **Yatrix** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:02 pm

...got impression that factory sounds of M50 are a bit... over proccessed.
And it is well known that too many of processing destroyes sound waves.

Let say if there is a sample named same as it was on old keyboard then we can assume it remains the same and after switching off all these numerous modern reverbs, delays and maybe after setting OFF factory EQ it should return to the quality of sound as it was before.

Have no old model to compare but would be interesting to hear if it works... if works

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:32 pm

My thoughts on this (which I have iterated elsewhere before) -
Korgs newer workstations are fantastic as far as workstations go. Most of their new products are very 'precise' and almost 'scientific', everything does exactly what it says it does.
The sounds themselves sound more like recordings of the real instruments
Sounds on Korg's older workstations and synths just sound like a synth trying to sound like those instruments.

Basically, the M50's sounds are studio-ready and are great for more modern, upfront sounding, recording-based composition. They make great commercial sounding sound - you could use them to score films or make jingles for ads. Not necessarily so great for live performance where normally fidelity is lower on the list of priorities.

I'm not saying one sounds better than the other, but I prefer the more modern sound because I spend more time recording than playing live (for now anyway). The sounds really sound like recordings of the real instruments from a professional studio. Those longer unlooped samples with less compression and other effects built into the multisample are much more realistic, leaving things like compression and EQ and distortion to the actual insert effects means the notes interact better with eachother and again it makes it sound like you have played the instrument in the studio.

If you are playing in a rock band as a keys player or a synth player then realism is low on the priorities. What you really want is a synth sound which approximates. They generally have fat chorus effects for example on the strings to widen and to cover the fact that the loop length is relatively small, static, and uninteresting on its own. The bottom end has more punch too for some reason I can't explain.

From another perspective, I recently got a KARMA workstation and I just find that the sounds kinda sound like they are stuck in the 80s and 90s, really deep and boomy with tons of unnecessary reverb. Its kinda painful on my studio system to listen to some of them they are so overproduced.

ego somnium · Post by **ego somnium** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 2:13 pm

[quote="X-Trade"]

Korgs newer workstations are fantastic as far as workstations go.... .
The sounds themselves sound more like recordings of the real instruments
Sounds on Korg's older workstations and synths just sound like a synth trying to sound like those instruments.....

.... The sounds really sound like recordings of the real instruments from a professional studio.... it makes it sound like you have played the instrument in the studio.

Hi X-Trade,

Sorry for butchering your post

but I just wanted to highlight what for me was a pertinent point you were making, with regard to the progs/combis sounding like real instruments.

I agree entirely that (certainly some!) of the sounds are extremely realistic. And I know that this is a little off topic, but your post has prompted me to post something that has been floating around in my head lately, which is this: any recordings I've come across of people using an M50 seem to lean towards sounding like a synth, ie the board players have chosen synth basses, or synth leads, or slowly evolving synth pads etc.

Now I'm not saying that by any means I've listened to every piece of music on the internet that has been made on an M50, and I wouldn't like anyone reading this to think that it's a criticism - it's not, it's merely an observation I'm making. Everyone is of course free to make whatever music they want with their boards, BUT, I'm just a little surprised, in light of the fact that the sounds are so realistic, that I haven't come across more recordings of "real" instruments, ie piano/strings/horns/woodwind etc.

Any thoughts on this? Is it just me? Am I looking in the wrong places?

Brendan.

Jazzd1 · Post by **Jazzd1** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:40 pm

My first workstation was a Korg X3 which I still have and my last board is the M50. There are sounds from that board I still miss and prefer such as the gospel organ, a distorted guitar which I can't remember the name and there were a lot of patches from the combo sounds. This board will never get old with me. However I still love my M50 and all that I can do on it.

NightOrchid · Post by **NightOrchid** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:24 pm

I like threads like this.. ahh the good old days.. when a bug fix was a tin of wasp killer and a Patch was for your bike tire.

My first synth was a Yamaha SY77 coupled with a yamaha RY7 , greatest synth ever made, not too many sounds and simple to use.. I liked the algorithyms.

The biggest mistake i ever made was selling my Motif XS6 and buying an M3 and even worse, an M50. Thees 2 Korgs have boring lifeless sounds out of the box.. got better with the XPanded, but.. Im saving for a new Motif, which is great because the XF is out, so XS is dropping.

Best Korgs I ever owned were the Trinity, X5D & 01/W. It seems that after the Triton ran its course, Korg just couldnt care less about buyers anymore.

The saddest end to this story is.. Ive lost interest in Music compsition for now.. Im just not inspired by the M50 or M3 anymore, its not advancing or being upgraded or new stuff coming.. its just dead.

Maybe we could make some open source community fixes

Oh well
Night

guillex · Post by **guillex** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 1:06 am

NightOrchid wrote:I like threads like this.. ahh the good old days.. when a bug fix was a tin of wasp killer and a Patch was for your bike tire.

My first synth was a Yamaha SY77 coupled with a yamaha RY7 , greatest synth ever made, not too many sounds and simple to use.. I liked the algorithyms.

The biggest mistake i ever made was selling my Motif XS6 and buying an M3 and even worse, an M50. Thees 2 Korgs have boring lifeless sounds out of the box.. got better with the XPanded, but.. Im saving for a new Motif, which is great because the XF is out, so XS is dropping.

Best Korgs I ever owned were the Trinity, X5D & 01/W. It seems that after the Triton ran its course, Korg just couldnt care less about buyers anymore.

The saddest end to this story is.. Ive lost interest in Music compsition for now.. Im just not inspired by the M50 or M3 anymore, its not advancing or being upgraded or new stuff coming.. its just dead.

Maybe we could make some open source community fixes

Oh well
Night

OK after reading your answer, and the previous ones...I have some somethings to say...

I think that soon, will be more and more obviusly that the most famous brands (yamaha, korg, roland, kurzweil, nord, etc...) should focus in conecpt keyboards, for example: For live (korg ps60, Sv1), for midi/production studios (midi controllers), Arranger and composition, etc etc...but, I think that is not the same to play in a hip hop band, or Hardo Rock...and truely speaking, my M50 is a great keyboard, but it have a lack of personallity...

Nord, instead of selling global keyboards, had reach this personal thaughts, and it's clear when you see the Electromechanicals all in one, or the Nord lead, or Nord wave...I think that Korg should do that...

THe Sv1 is a good attemp, but it's too expensive, and truely speaking is not so complete like the electro nord 3....By sure, soon we will see a SV2, and I hope it will more advanced on the hammond emulation...

I still miss the PRGU 95 of the Korg N1, N5, and N5ex....