Product: Korg M3 61 Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 10/16/2007
at 09:50pm
by John G
Ease of Use
:9
Having just bought an M3 yesterday, this review will have to be in broad brushstrokes for now...
The front panel is logically laid out, and the color screen is crisp and detailed. The fact that the owner's manual is 228 pages would imply that it's not going to be too much of learning curve.
Getting to the various menus and functions is pretty intuitive.
Having the drumtracks with it's own dedicated button is very cool.
Features
:9
The Karma function is off the hook, just amazing.
The drumkits - are in your face, wonderfully sampled, easily tweaked and sound great.
Fx - haven't tried many yet, but they all seem to be good so far.
Key action - excellent. It's sort of a cross between a standard synth and a weighted action, leaning more towards the synth end.
The sequencer is also a standout- 480 ppq really does help to capture all the nuances, and has a comprehensive editing suite.
Although there's no on-board storage or way to save your sequences, you can use the USB ports (1 & 2) to save to separate media.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:10
The sound is the reason I bought the M3. Adjectives that come to mind are: clean, big, dynamic, detailed, and clearly a cut above the usual sample-playback fare.
The joystick /switch / ribbon controller / sliders - if you can't find a way to get a dynamic expressive sound from the above choices, it ain't Korg's fault.
One test of a sound's integrity is to listen to it with the fx switched off.The M3's sound set stands on it's own merits regardless of whether or not they're heard wet or dry, and is really noticeable in Combi mode.
The "Enhanced Definition Synthesis" lives up to its name, and the plethora of sound shaping / editing options means creating your own sonic palette is going to go way beyond what the competition offers.
The sounds really do have an Oasys-like quality to them, and the realism of certain categories of instruments is as much due to this enhanced definition synthesis as it is to how they've been edited,tuning, use of effects,etc. The drum tracks, (with 500 + prerecorded patterns)are excellent, and there's lots of room to save user-created patterns.
Reliability
:9
Just got it, but it seems to be well built. The module's viewing angle isn't adjustable, but it's not getting in the way, either.
Having owned other Korg workstations,I'm pretty confident this board will be at least as reliable as earlier models.
Customer Support
:No Opinion
Haven't talked to anyone yet.
Overall Rating
:10
Again, this is more of a sketch than a finished painting in terms of a review - but after A / B -ing this board with the competition, it became clear in a matter of minutes that this is the workstation to beat. It's going to make its way onto a LOT of CDs, and the expandability options, as well as the pristine sound quality will keep it there for a long time to come.
Product: Korg M3 61 Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 09/29/2007
at 01:49am
by John Gould
Email: bethjohn1 at pcisys<dot>net
Ease of Use
:8
Having just bought an M3 yesterday, this review will have to be in broad brushstrokes for now...
The front panel is logically laid out, and the color screen is crisp and detailed. The fact that the owner's manual is 228 pages would imply that it's not going to be too much of learning curve.
Getting to the various menus and functions is pretty intuitive.
Having the drumtracks with it's own dedicated button is very cool.
Features
:10
The sound is the reason I bought the M3. Adjectives that come to mind are: clean, big, dynamic, detailed, and clearly a cut above the usual sample-playback fare.
The "Enhanced Definition Synthesis" lives up to its name, and the plethora of sound shaping / editing options means creating your own sonic palette is going to go way beyond what the competition offers.
The Karma function is off the hook, just amazing.
The drumkits - are in your face, wonderfully sampled, easily tweaked and sound great.
One test of a sound's integrity is to listen to it with the fx switched off.The M3's sound set can stand on its own merits, regardless of whether or not they're heard wet or dry, and is really noticeable in Combi mode.
Fx - haven't tried many yet, but they all seem to be good so far.
Key action - excellent. It's sort of a cross between a standard synth and a weighted action, leaning more towards the synth end.
The sequencer is also a standout- 480 ppq really does help to capture all the nuances, and has a comprehensive editing suite.
Although there's no on-board storage or way to save your sequences, you can use the USB ports (1 & 2) to save to separate media.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:10
The sounds really do have an Oasys-like quality to them, and the realism of certain categories of instruments is as much due to this enhanced definition synthesis as it is to how they've been edited,tuning, use of effects,etc. The drum tracks, (with 500 + prerecorded patterns)are excellent, and there's lots of room to save user-created patterns.
Reliability
:8
Just got it, but it seems to be well built. The module's viewing angle isn't adjustable, but it's not getting in the way, either. Other Korg products have been reliable.
Customer Support
:No Opinion
Haven't talked to anyone yet.
Overall Rating
:10
Again, this is more of a sketch than a finished painting in terms of a review - but after A / B -ing this board with the competition, it became clear in a matter of minutes that this is the workstation to beat. It's going to make its way onto a LOT of CDs, and the expandability options, as well as the pristine sound quality will keep it there for a long time to come.
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