Korg Forums

[Lisandro91]

At the moment I've got a tr...but I'm going to buy a new keyboard soon....wich are the main differences between the extreme and the m3?

[lcmorley]

Lots and lots.

Firstly, Extreme has loads of patches to choose from (1500ish I think), whereas the M3 is still in its infancy when it comes to patches so there are a lot less.

There are 160MB of samples on the Extreme in comparison to 256MB on the M3. Less samples, but much higher quality, hence the reason for the increased memory.

A program can contain upto 4 layers of samples, as opposed to the 2 layers of the Triton.

M3 has 16 track combis in comparison to the Triton's 8.

M3 has more effects to offer, as well as an extra total effect which can be used to apply any effect, and not just the tube as on the Extreme, which of course the M3 does not have.

The M3 has Karma 2 built in which is the same implementation as that found on the Oasys.

Thanks to the Karma implementation, the M3 also has a lot more realtime control possibilities than on the Triton models due to the addition of the control surface. You can also control volume levels within sequences using the control surface which is also very useful.

M3 has a Real Time drum track, so you can have a groove going on in the background when you are playing away.

M3 has an X-Y pad which acts as a Kaoss pad which is invaluable as far as I am concerned.

M3 is expandable upto 256 MB in sample memory, which is still fairly low by todays standards, but is alot more than the Tritons 96MB. Also, I don't think that the M3's memory is split into 16MB chunks as with the Tritons, so you are able to load one sample that is able to take up the entire memory.

M3 has a colour touch screen.

If you are interested in a synth action keyboard as opposed to the 88 key hammer action, the M3 has a far better synth action keybed than the Tritons. (This is however fairly subjective as I am sure you will read on this forum).

You can have the Radias expansion on the M3. Whereas, some people still love the MOSS expansion on the Triton.

M3 has EQ settings per track whereas Triton is a global setting.

Can't think of anything else for now as regards the M3. But hope this helps.

My opinion would be that if you are looking for pure patches, then go for the Extreme, but if you don't mind waiting for patch development in the coming years, then go for the M3 as it has a far better sound, and when you start playing with those sounds, you will be amazed!

The M3 is still very young, and from seeing the amount of development Korg have been putting into the Oasys, I am sure the M3 will receive some top notch developments in the future!
_________________
Music is the stuff Dreams are made of!!!

Please checkout my music at www.soundcloud.com/lcmorley

My Gear History (from 11 years old until now):
Yamaha PSR-31, Technics KN1000, Technics KN5000, Technics KN7000, Korg PA-80, Korg Triton Classic, Microkorg, Korg Triton Studio, Alesis Ion, Korg Legacy Collection, Korg Triton Extreme, Roland Juno D, Access Virus TI 2, Korg M3, Korg Oasys, Roland TR-8, Korg Kronos 2 88 Platinum.

[GregC]

I have both

they are definitely different instruments.

The M3 synth engine is new, many of the instruments are much improved, the touch screen is significantly improved and Karma 2 is in a world of its own. The M3 has controller features ( pads, for example) that are excellent

and the M3 has a lot of potential which lc mentioned
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Kronos 88. MODX8
Achieve your musical dreams
https://soundcloud.com/user-898236994

[Voltan]

[lcmorley]

[Lisandro91]

Ok, thanks...The only negative point...is that the m3 is too young at the moment...so there aren't really good patches when you buy it...

[Voltan]

Well - yeah, that's probably the only disadvantage

[lcmorley]

I don't think that you should rule the M3 out based on the limited amount of patches.

Believe me, if you spend a bit of time with it, and start editing some of the patches, you will be amazed by the results. Especially if you get the Radias expansion.
_________________
Music is the stuff Dreams are made of!!!

Please checkout my music at www.soundcloud.com/lcmorley

My Gear History (from 11 years old until now):
Yamaha PSR-31, Technics KN1000, Technics KN5000, Technics KN7000, Korg PA-80, Korg Triton Classic, Microkorg, Korg Triton Studio, Alesis Ion, Korg Legacy Collection, Korg Triton Extreme, Roland Juno D, Access Virus TI 2, Korg M3, Korg Oasys, Roland TR-8, Korg Kronos 2 88 Platinum.

[Synthoid]

[Trinity2112]

Also worth mentioning is the sequencer resolution:

192 - Extreme
480 - M3
_________________
Current Korg Lineup: Kronos 61, Oasys 76 · M3-61/RADIAS · Trinity Plus/HDR · 01/WFD · 01R/W · X3R · M3R · Wavestation EX · Wavestation SR · Triton Rack/MOSS · Z1EX · TR-Rack · Karma · D3200 · iM1 · iWavestation · iMono/Poly
Other Synths: Berhinger Deepmind 12 · iProphet · Moog Model D
Dearly departed: X3

[bkboy]

m3 has a ugly white/grey chassis with crappy material that tends to absorb dust and is hard to wipe off, while the triton extreme had a nice blue chassis, text outside button perimeter, and very easy to clean and look nice.

cheap plastic crap on the m3 coupled with foam like panel with text-printed buttons, make the m3 a lot less durable han the extreme. plus the idiotic idea of separating the module from the keyboard (when the keybed is not sold separately) makes it look like an arranger workstation (just add 2 cheesy speakers on the cheap white plastic L/R sides).

[Voltan]

[GregC]

[kid_nepro_2002]

In my view, the EDS chip on the M3 is what set's it apart from the Extreme. It just makes "everything" sound better. The added effects and KARMA 2 are also a big plus.

While there have been many flames about problems with the M3 keyboards, I have not noticed any about the M3m. I happen to own the M3m and I'm very happy with it. Been running it hard for about six months and it's been very reliable.

Any other "m" owners out there? How are they holding up?

Proton

[Synthoid]