How tough is M3-73 for gigging? (And compared to Kronos?)

yeloop · Post by **yeloop** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:14 am

Hi Guys,

I've been asking a fair few M3 vs Kronos questions here of late... I have been lucky enough to trial both at home (I have a great local music store!) - I had a Kronos 88 and an M3-73.

The first Kronos had problems with the keybed (three loudly-clunking keys!) and the second one had a weird squeak coming from the pitch bender.

This led me to think that the M3 might be a more reliable option, and overall it felt tougher as well. The metal end panels make it feel like it's built like a tank, as do the metal parts around the pitch bender. By comparison, the knobs on the Kronos all feel cheap, the end panels are made of very flexible plastic, and in general it feels like it's built to a price in terms of physical construction.

Now I have the M3-73 at home, I am slightly having second thoughts, as when I set it up, the whole frame had a bit of flex because of the modular design.

I'd love to know of any M3-73 or M3-88 owners who have gigged regularly with their M3 (not 61 owners so much, as it has plastic panels and a different body construction anyway...).

How has your experience been? Has the M3 been tough for transporting and setting up/packing up frequently for gigs? Does its body structure feel looser and more creaky/bendy with age, or does it stay reasonably tight and stiff even after being moved a lot?

And any M3 come Kronos owners... how do you think the two compare from a durability perspective?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!

Cheers,
Mike

(PS - I realise that the Kronos also has benefits such as the various analogue synth engines, SST, etc - however the M3-73 I have here is half the price as it's the last boxed one at the store, and with the balance I am looking at a Prophet 8 for my analogue needs...!)

hammondcuni · Post by **hammondcuni** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:50 am

I gig with Korg M3 73 about 5 times a month. Not very practical for gigging in my honest opinion. This is the only keyboard I personally set up and tear down. Theres just to many parts to deal with when you have to tear down in a hurry for next band to set up or vice versa. But if you do it yourself and not the roadies you will be OK. I have been using it about 16 months and theres nothing loose on it. Other than that the sliders,knobs, joystick and keys are very solid. Maybe in another year I"ll stop babying it and see how it holds up.

yeloop · Post by **yeloop** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 7:10 am

hammondcuni wrote:I gig with Korg M3 73 about 5 times a month. Not very practical for gigging in my honest opinion. This is the only keyboard I personally set up and tear down. Theres just to many parts to deal with when you have to tear down in a hurry for next band to set up or vice versa. But if you do it yourself and not the roadies you will be OK. I have been using it about 16 months and theres nothing loose on it. Other than that the sliders,knobs, joystick and keys are very solid. Maybe in another year I"ll stop babying it and see how it holds up.

We're a fairly new band, so when we gig we do setup / pull-down ourselves.

I feel like all the individual parts of the M3 are very solid (the metal end-panels, the sliders, the way everything fits togethers) compared to Kronos, it's just the fact that it is modular and the whole thing feels a bit less rigid because of that. If you hold it at either end and twist gently, you can feel the whole body of the instrument twisting slightly (and creaking a bit) - will this mean it gets worse over the next few years of transporting, setting-up, packing up...?
Or is it still very tough and durable, and nothing for me to worry about?

I'll be interested to hear the thoughts of other gigging M3 owners!

yeloop · Post by **yeloop** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 9:41 am

I should add... I did look at the Roland Jupiter 80, which has way more toughness than both the M3 AND the Kronos - solid metal ends, body built like a tank...

I couldn't get excited by the sound though. This synth is really for synth sounds and organs only (it sits on the upper layer of my rig), so all the supernatural acoustic stuff on the Jupiter wouldn't be of much benefit to me!

J.Q · Post by **J.Q** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 1:46 pm

3+ years of occasional gigging with M3-73, no problems so far. Just get a hard case for your M3 and you'll be fine.

IMHO M3-73 is a bit heavy to be dragged around - especially with a hard case, but I really like the keyboard so I can tolerate the little extra weight.

drama1 · Post by **drama1** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:38 pm

I've said this on numerous times on this forum, I think the M3-73 is a great gigging board. My reasons are, I really like the C-C configuration, semi-weighted keyboard, I can achieve smooth sound transition using Karma scene buttons just an inch above your left fingers. The majority of sounds I use are bread and butter sounds and I have compared the Kronos and M3 side-by-side and my ears just do not hear enough of a difference to make a change currently. Kronos sounds better, no doubt, but the audience will probably not perceive that much of a difference. I have the radias exp board installed so I can get plenty of analog type sounds if need be. I have been gigging probably 4-10 times a month depending on summer fests. The m3 has never let me down. I don't baby it by any means. It looks road worn for sure, but like I said it has never let me down. I hope I'm not jinxing (sp?) myself here. Have two big jobs this weekend. A big thing for me is the weight of a board. I use a semi-soft case with wheels. Between both it probably weighs 50 lbs. I'm a 98 lbs weakling so carrying around a weighted board is not going to happen.

BrendanG · Post by **BrendanG** » Sun Jan 01, 2012 11:43 am

Re build quality for gigging

I've been gigging with the m3 for almost a year along with my x6 and although it is up to the job and I've no plans to change it it's far from perfect,
The x6 feels so much stronger than the korg and easier to carry using its end lugs.
I also have the m3 61 and this isn't half as easy as the x6 either.
The bad point about the m3 is that when removing it from its case to put onto the stand you have to really push hard on the end bits as though you are trying to make your two hands meet each other because the end bits are designed to pop off in your hands so you can fit further modules into its body and lifting the m3 lightly gives them a chance to pop off resulting in a dropped keyboard.
Also. The hook holding the module in the down position sometimes may not be tight enough and if it drops down the module will lift up and knock you on the head as you place it on the stand.
That can be quite annoying.
Other than these build points I've had no reliability issues at all.
A Great board

guillex · Post by **guillex** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:02 am

I am a musician who plays at least one day weekly, during the last 7 years.
I had lot of keyboards before, Korg and none Korg.

Sometimes I use the "bread and butter" sounds, and sometimes I program exactly what I need, due to I am capable of doing it.

Kronos is the best workstation made by korg, after the Oasys, of course. However, the building quality, the weight, and most of all the price, made me doubt before I took my decision. On the other side, was the Korg M3, wich has trigger pads, x/y motion screen, and Radias, plus a better quality construction.
Finally I bought the M3 61 expanded with radias, wich it is a MUST for the M3.
Also I am traveling a lot, and sometimes I just take the Module, and gigg like that with a cheap midi controller. Is not so fast to take out the Module from the M3, as I would have like. However, the procedure is very simple.

Korg M3 expanded+Radias+SKB Bag with wheels= The perfect tool for live!

Don't forget that the M3 has sampler, and vocoder also!

gnbutt · Post by **gnbutt** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:00 pm

My M3-73 is in and out of my studio into a Gater travel bag once or twice a week for gigs and band practice. It has worked perfectly since I bought it, never had a problem. I had heard that the print on the switches can fade with frequent use, i put magic tape on the ones used most often. It has been loaded and unloaded, banged around, set up, set down, and once even was knocked off the keyboard stand by some jerk. Set it back up and presto, no problem. I am very impressed by KORG's production of this unit, it's been perfect for live use. It does not like cold weather, I let it sit and warm up before turning on.
Built like a tank, like my old Hammond B-3 and certainly one hell of a lot lighter to lift around !
GNB