Is the M50 still worth getting?

oj9 · Post by **oj9** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:38 pm

Hi all,

Being new to whole 'keyboard crowd' I figured a forum like this could be useful. Basically, I am just starting out and need a synthesiser for my church worship band and maybe for use in my music courses. Currently, I'm an avid piano player (Grade 5 in the UK if that means anything to you) but diverting into this new scene!

I've done a bit of investigation and looked around - I'm still a teen and my parents are very much involved in this decision and they don't want to pay too much but nor do they want to buy me an awful product that won't last long.

So I found the Korg M50.

Everything about it looked great - price, interface (although I may be at a loss with no 'favourites' as I have seen mentioned on the forum) and of course the sounds, but I realised it is a fairly old product and some users have had issues with freezing and the 'plasticky' feel to it. So I went into the music store and asked if I could try one but they said they didn't sell it any more because it was too old (to which they directed me to the Yamaha MOX6.)

So my question to you today - is the M50 still worth getting? I can't see there has been too much progression in the 3 years but equally I do not want to buy something I will regret within a few months.

Many thanks!

Synthoid · Post by **Synthoid** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:58 pm

oj9 wrote: I went into the music store and asked if I could try one but they said they didn't sell it any more because it was too old (to which they directed me to the Yamaha MOX6.)

To my knowledge, the M50 is still being manufactured and is a very good keyboard. Definitely make some phone calls and shop around so you can play it as well as the MOX6. The M50 is a lot easier to navigate and program vs. the MOX6.

Just a side note: I use a Korg Triton with our worship band and it's going strong after 10+ years and still sounds great!

There is an additional point to consider however. Casio just introduced a new contender to this game... the XW-P1, which will pack a lot of great features into a 61-key synth. It's due to be released in a couple months and should sell for about $499 US.

Website:

http://www.casiomusicgear.com/home/index.html

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 8:30 pm

I used only the sounds of the M50 while owning a Triton Extreme.
The keybed does not have aftertouch and the controllers are not as fancy as the Extreme (or regular Triton), it has no sampling an dprobably some more features it doesn't have but the sounds are 'a step' up.

kimu · Post by **kimu** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:56 pm

+1 for the M50

very good sounds and you can load all the sounds from the Xpanded M3 if you want.

touchscreen is a better way to navigate then yamaha buttons/alpha dial, even it is usually recognized that yamaha synth have better acoustic samples than korg for piano, brass and winds. korg is really strong in synth, pads and strings imo.

sequencer, drum track and arpeggiator let's you have lots of fun with the m50

anyway if you use it for church maybe you need something more organ-oriented?

Synthoid · Post by **Synthoid** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 10:02 pm

kimu wrote:anyway if you use it for church maybe you need something more organ-oriented?

Depends on the church. Most offer contemporary worship services that don't call for a lot of organ sounds.

nismology · Post by **nismology** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:23 pm

The M50 is great for the money, if you can stretch, it would be better to buy a used Korg M3, because the build quality is much better.

I played an MOX8 in a music shop recently and absolutely hated the user interface. I could never live with it. The M50 has a lovely big touchscreen, and is a dream to use. It only takes about 2 weeks to learn your way around. I personally think the M50 generally sounds nicer than the MOX. The MOX has a slightly nicer piano, but the M50's piano isn't bad by any means.

Don't even bother with the Rolands in that price range, unless you desperately need audio recording.

Yatrix · Post by **Yatrix** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 6:49 am

Organizing of favorites is not a problem at present. You can reorganize patches with Aldan Librarian or PCG Tools.
Also, recommend to visit my site (see signature) and download free collection of organ patches.

csteen · Post by **csteen** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:10 am

Hmm, just checking out you software, and am curious to learn more about the drum maker, and the arp maker. This is the first I have heard of this.

Could you perhaps explain these features.
Also, The sample master file? Are those 1600 programs combis ect all different.
Why in hell have I not noticed this software before lol. I am intrigued.

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:30 am

Yatrix wrote:Organizing of favorites is not a problem at present. You can reorganize patches with Aldan Librarian or PCG Tools.
Also, recommend to visit my site (see signature) and download free collection of organ patches.

As Yatrix already said, his app can do the job.
I created PCG Tools so in my signature you can find more info about it (and you can get a free copy by sending your email).

Both apps are a bit different so I should suggest to use the best of both worlds.

Yatrix · Post by **Yatrix** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:47 am

Here is not enough space for explanations on AL...
Please, download complete guide and demo soft (incl. the master file) as well.

oj9 · Post by **oj9** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:51 pm

kimu wrote:anyway if you use it for church maybe you need something more organ-oriented?

Not really. It's more upbeat and contemporary. From the practises I've been too it's mainly pads/strings and some keyboard sounds.

What about software and interface? I've read about it freezing on this forum ... and if I got it I would probably get it second-hand ...

michelkeijzers · Post by **michelkeijzers** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 6:17 pm

oj9 wrote:
kimu wrote:anyway if you use it for church maybe you need something more organ-oriented?
Not really. It's more upbeat and contemporary. From the practises I've been too it's mainly pads/strings and some keyboard sounds.

What about software and interface? I've read about it freezing on this forum ... and if I got it I would probably get it second-hand ...

I never had it frozen, one time after moving the display didn't work anymore but after reconnecting the connector it never stopped working.

And if you are a bit careful about the adapter cable nothing can go wrong. I have used it at about 10-20 gigs and about 150 rehearsals.

rajarshi_sl · Post by **rajarshi_sl** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 9:06 am

its been almost a yr since i got this keyboard.....i have thus managed to get some knowledge about the functionalities,&deficienciencies of this keybd

let me get down in2 the details of these:

the good things:

1.the price....almost half the price for the same interface of korg triton that used to come at twice the price of m50 some 6 yr. back.this means this is almost korg triton at the price of m50.

2.the sounds and expandibility......sounds are marvellous in areas like piano,e.piano,organ,e guitars,strings,synths,pads....however weaker in world/ethnic section.....even old korg gears like triton,tr,01w are truly no bigger than m 50 in terms of those sounds in which m50 is good at.....plus m50 boasts of waveform that were previously contained in m1 and wavestation....

percussion sounds are really good....i think korg packed wavedrum samples and grooves in m50....ethnic percussions and grooves are all very fascinating and realistic.....the variation while playing a particular pattern is handled internally and doesnot need any fill-in button to be pressed.....as they might do on an arranger.

expanded m3 samples are amazing and can be loaded into m50....available for free from aldan library website.polyphony is 80....mox has only 64 and will coz notedropout....but yamaha people will hide that issue of course at showroom while promoting their product......roland gears like junodi and gw8 are in 120 range!!!!!!!

overall the sounds have in them a kind of punch that is the trademark of korg

3.the effects...........

5ifx-------->2mfx---------->1tfx

lavish use of fx.....it is just another guitar processor like korg toneworks when it comes to guitar modelling

loads of classical distorsions ,amp modelling....cabinet selections etc.....also some mindblowing enhancer,compressors,reverbs,delays,chorus,modulations(tremolo,vibrato,leslie........).....all these recreate some authentic sounds to the last detail.guitars in fact(also organs,pianos,sax do really come alive!!!!)

all16 timbres can routed to any of these fx(5ifx+2mfx+1tfx).above all all fx (s) stay enabled in seq mode while recording....in roland gears like gw/ maybe prelude,fx on a particular tone are rendered inactivated in seq mode!!!!!!

4.large lcd with touchscreen interface....... a decade ahead in terms of technology with respect to mox and junos that still feature tiny lcd of 1980s(these days scientific calculators come with much more advanced display)

5.external speaker compatibility......unlike korg and roland, yamaha gears sound worse on 3rd party outputs....this is juat my personal opinion....yamaha sounds good on yamaha make speakers only....

6.the sequencer..... i wont go into details of this....but i can tell u that it is probably for the seq that people buy korg keybd....it is just as good as any computer software.....

7.half damper compatible at this price
.....some very costly yamaha psr s and yamaha digital pianos are not even half damper enabled.

8.four way joystick........this a korg patent and none other manufacturer can give u this in at least say next 1000year.....laying ur left hand on this joystick will make u feel like a king.....i hate those ugly wheels....and this joystick is programmable and of very high resolution type with a long travel indeed unlike roland's 3 way joystick which has a very short travel.i have used yamaha wheels,roland 3 ways on xp60 and korg 4 way joy on m50 and to me m50 joystick is the best.

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the bad things:

1.inability for the lack of physical buttons,to call up favourite sounds on the fly....need to struggle with lcd during fast performances.....

2.a percebtible delay or abrupt tone cut off during prog.change(same is the case with roland gw/juno and yamaha psr s910)

3.some combis made no sense to me....i dont know what to do with them.....styles may be good in certain circumstances(as u wd expect from arranger.....mox has that kind of capability with on the fly fill-in/arpeggiator changes)

4.weak indian and ethnic tones(asian voices largely):santur sitaar,sarod,esraaj,sanai,flutes,iktara all are amazing when it comes to roland.....keep in mind yamaha is equally weak in these too.just check out tajmahal flute patch on roland xp 60....u will be blown away...

5.freezing and capacitor issues....these are getting increasingly reported in korg forum

6.keybed...i like the keybed coz its seems slightly more weighted compared to yamaha mo or roland gw but the black keys seem to have a shorter travel by 3 or 4 millimeters to me!!!!

7.midi files wont playback properly as korg doesnot provide rolandgs/yamaha xg licence .for practicing u might need to play along a midi file

8.with no external audio handling capacity there is no possibility to input or plug in ipod or guitars to jam along.although this is no major issue if u have a mixer.mox(yamaha) and juno come with ext audio input.

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my personal opinion is that since u r switching to synth from piano for the very first time......better get a second hand flagship workstation like yamaha motif xs or roland fantom x.......it would cost u less and give u all the features that are deficient in midrange workstations like m50,juno,mox......but the problem is people who have these old flagships would never agree to give it to you...

akmon · Post by **akmon** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 12:31 pm

Excellent review man, like S.O.S. lol

Pincho Paxton · Post by **Pincho Paxton** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 4:54 pm

I have only had my M50 for a few months. Sometimes when you get the sound mix right it sounds like a CD playing in the background, and you can forget that you are the one playing the song. It is getting the mix right that removes the digital grain. I got the keyboard to make music for my computer games, because that is my hobby, making computer games. It sounds really good.

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Is the M50 still worth getting?

Is the M50 still worth getting?

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