Korg Forums

marems79 · Joined: 09 Feb 2016 Posts: 2

Hello everyone! I'm a newbie here, and I'm just getting back into synths again after about 15 years. I am currently in the market for a new (to me) board, and I currently am looking at a karma or m50. I messed with a karma back in 02' and instantly fell in love with it. Never tried out an m50 but I have seen them in action on YouTube and like what I saw and heard. I'm wondering which one will be the better board for trance/techno music. I understand that the karma is a pretty sweet arpeggiator and in a league of its own. Which one?? Thank you!

Synthoid · Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2016 5:19 pm Post subject:

Neither.

Look for a used Korg M3. It has the KARMA features... plus it's way more advanced than the original red Karma keyboard. It also offers better build quality than the M50 and red Karma. Sounds a lot better too.

I've had mine for 8+ years and still enjoy using it both in the studio and live.

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M3, Triton Classic, Radias, Motif XS, Alesis Ion

csteen · Platinum Member Joined: 09 Dec 2006 Posts: 792

I would have to say the M50 is far better because it too can run Karma with a software purchase. It has the upgraded sound engine and ram from the Karma also. The M3 is better still but will set you back over a thousand dollars also.

Synthoid · Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:35 pm Post subject:

csteen · Platinum Member Joined: 09 Dec 2006 Posts: 792

What is a bargain would you say?1300? 1400? How much more for a used kronos?? If money is not an issue, than a used Kronos would be a far better choice. However if you are trying to stay under say 700 bucks the M50 Karmafied would be the ticket.

Synthoid · Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 3:33 pm Post subject:

Yes it depends on the budget. You can usually find the Korg M3 61-key on eBay and Craigslist for $800 and up. I definitely prefer having Karma built into the keyboard. I had Karma software for my Triton, but it was a lot of extra work.

Of course if money is no object, go for the Kronos.
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M3, Triton Classic, Radias, Motif XS, Alesis Ion

marems79 · Joined: 09 Feb 2016 Posts: 2

Thank you for all the replies everyone! I am starting so see lower priced m3's on eBay in the $800 range, still kinda higher than my budget allows at this point. Is the arpeggiator in the m50 pretty sweet? And I see that to karmafy the m50 it will run me $200.

voip · Platinum Member Joined: 27 Nov 2014 Posts: 3777

The Karma software for the M50 runs on a PC/Mac, rather than on the M50 itself.

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csteen · Platinum Member Joined: 09 Dec 2006 Posts: 792

Ovidius · Joined: 15 Mar 2011 Posts: 26

If you are considering Karma, you could have look at other software arpeggiators (although I am not sure how advanced they are - it is thing I would to look at in near future).

I haven't used Karma with my M50 as it did not had a demo (and the screenshots on poster that came with M50 seemed too old school), but you can look at other software arpeggiator alternatives like Squaredheads Nora (you can get also stripped down version of it called Nora CM for free with an issue of Computer Music magazine) or WaveDBA Liquid Music.

If they are capable of sending various arpeggios on different MIDI channels, this is what you could use with Korg workstations in Combi Mode to add some notes.
However, if you are looking for in-the-box solution with no hassle, get a keyboard with Karma built in. Smile

Also, look for demos due to different audio quality. Personally, I would prefer sound of M3 over M50 (probably due to DAC design - listen to comparisons on http://alfredoblogspage.blogspot.cz/2012/04/korg-pa500-dynamic-range-improvement_04.html where DAC is fixed for Korg Pa500 or http://alfredoblogspage.blogspot.cz/2012/11/my-korg-r3-that-exceeds-in-sound-quality.html for same fix on R3).
IMHO keybopards you should listen to are Korg Trinity (very lively sounding, also quite cheap these days), Korg Triton Extreme (not other editions) and M3.

Also, M3 allows you to use custom samples, M50 does not.