Korg Trinity Plus

Software version 2, which makes the touch screen refresh faster, if I recall correctly. The Trinity is very easy to use, thanks to the huge screen, which started the current trend of large touch screens in synth workstations. The screen displays plenty of parameters at a glance, which can then be selected by touching and the values manipulated by the slider, data encoder, plus/minus keys, numeric keypad or (when entering note data) the keyboard itself. The touch screen GUI itself may not hold a candle to the more current offerings (iPhone), for instance scrolling is performed using a traditional scroll bar in the right side of the window, and the physical screen itself using resistive technology, it sometimes misses a touch.
Obviously, the above applies only if you are already familiar with the usual synth workstation concepts (s+s synthesis, sequencing, MIDI etc). This is a rather complex beast, especially the effects routings can be a bit complicated at first. But when you get the hang of things, you do not need a programmer or patch editor software because everything is so straigtforward using the touch screen itself.
The manuals (four or five of them!) are more like catalogues of all the features in this synth rather than more goal-oriented "this is how to..." type of stuff, as usual for Korg.

Polyphony is 32 voices (+ 1 voice for the Solo Synthesiser), which was kind of a bummer even when the Trinity was released back in the mid-90's, when competing offerings had 64 voices. Each patch in the sample + synthesis engine consists of one or two voices (digital oscillators playing back a waveform from the onboard sample ROM), each of which is fed to dual multi-mode resonant filters. Resonant digital filters were a first for Korg here, and altough I would hardly call them 'analog' or 'warm' sounding, they are extreme versatile, even offering multiple filter routings. You have some matrix modulation as well (dubbed 'AMS' for Alternate Modulation Source), but this is not available for some destinations.
I have understood the later Triton does not have as powerful synthesis system as the Trinity, because they wanted to get the polyphony up for competitive reasons. Also many people have said that the Trinity sounds better, altough I have not compared them directly.
The effects section is very powerful even today, and remains very useable and flexible in multitimbral mode, because you can run multiple insert effects (up to 8 mono or 4 stereo) in addition to global effects (modulation and reverbs) in addition to a 2-band shelving master EQ. Effects quality is very good for a synth (excluding the hall-type reverbs, which are quite metallic and ringy) and the effects algorithms have plenty of parameters and real-time control for expressiveness.
The build in Solo Synthesizer in the Trinity Plus is basically a built-in Korg Prophecy with some very minor differences. Having owned a Prophecy before, I must say the one inside the Trinity sounds much better (better D/A converters probably?) and the Trinity user interface completely removes the complexities of programming this hugely powerful monosynth. The Prophecy still remains perhaps the most powerful and versatile monosynth of all time, IMHO, albeit the quality of its analogue modeling may have been surpassed since.
Expansion capabilities have probably been talked about in the other reviews. Suffice to say that they are no longer available. The Trinity V3 version replaced the Solo Synthesizer with a 6-voice version of the Korg Z1. Not sure if this option could be installed to the original Trinity Plus, though.
The onboard secuencer is good on paper (16 tracks, 480 PPQ, event edit, graphical track display) and superficially resembles Master Tracks Pro, which was my favourite in the early 90's, but falls short in many aspects, which is a shame because the large screen could really have been used to build a very user friendly and powerful sequencer here. Pattern-based sequencing sucks especially, because you cannot name the patterns (up to 99 of them in a song), and when you want to use them on the tracks, you have to remember the pattern numbers and then manually enter the start and even end bars where you want to put them (the sequencer of course won't tell you the length of the patterns, even though it very well knows this). So I have mostly given up using the onboard sequencer in favour of a DAW. The sequencer can import SMF files from a DOS-formatted disk, but since my computer does not have a disk drive, this feature is also left unused.

Sound quality is very subjective of course, and the Trinity, representing mid-90's technology, has been surpassed in the sample+synthesis department long ago. That being said, if you forgive the rather small 16-megabyte sample ROM (by todays standards), the Trinity sounds very good, especially if you don't strive for especially realistic acoustic simulations but rather think of it as a pure synthesizer. Especially pads, leads and bright bell-type sounds (and basses, thanks to the Solo Synthesizer) are very very good even today. Strings are rather good as well. The piano sound was a complete joke even when the Trinity was released, so don't bother with it. Most of the preset patches utilise LOTS of effects and almost consistently a very large bass and treble boost on the master EQ, which makes them sound extremely hyped. This is standard for Korg since the M1, and once the effects are bypassed the patches may fail to impress... (the powerful effects section partially remedies this). Of course the presets have been dated for over a decade now, so program your own :) The basic sound quality overall is very bright and digital (cold) and can be hard to mix, and can be a bit hard to program to sound good, lots of fine tuning needed (in contrast to some synths which just always sound good, if maybe not 'right' for the purpose).
As for the types of music the Trinity is well suited to, I would say pop, R&B, dance. It can be used for rock as well (many bands have), but as I mentioned the very bright basic sound may be too much for some genres.
The keyboard is manufactured by Yamaha, I believe, and is of the 'better' synth weighted type, altouhgh not the best I have played (Kawai K5000 and E-mu E4K take the title here). At least the keys react very consistently to velocity and aftertouch and have been reliable. The Trinity also offers the traditional Korg joystick (two axes of control) and a pressure-sensitive ribbon controller and two assignable on/off switches . The value slider can also be used as a real-time controller, which is nice since it is the only controller which retains its position once released :) The two buttons can be programmed to lock the ribbon or joystick. So there is plenty of possibilities for expressive real time control, especially since the Alternate Modulation Source scheme allows the controllers to be routed to the synthesis engine in many ways.

The Trinity is generally very well built, with a metal enclosure (although the end caps are plastic). One would think that the large screen is very suspectible to damage, and it being broken would leave the synth quite handicapped, since many operations rely almost exclusively to the screen functions. But the screen in my Trinity is virtually scratcless.
One of the keys in my Trinity was broken, when some idiot at a gig hit it with a Shure SM58. Guess which one won :-/ But this cannot be seen as a flaw in the build quality of the keyboard, and the key electronis kept working after the mishap, even though the physical plastic key was shattered.
I have an issue with the output jacks, though. They have obviously been connected directly to the circuit board, and the outputs of my Trinity behave erratically for some time every time after the synth has been transported.

Have not contacted them. They do not seem to have a very good reputation, though, and the lack of availability of the once-marketed expansion options cannot be seen as a plus. I guess they want you to buy new stuff instead.

If it was lost or stolen, I would probably hunt down a 76-key version (perhaps a V3 even). For me, this is a keeper.
They can be acquired quite cheaply now, and it still is a very professional instrument, which can still sound like a million bucks, if programmed correctly. Of course it may lack the immediacy of the more recent knob-laden synths, but the touch screen makes the Trinity very fast and straightforward to use. The Solo Synthesizer is really great here, with lots of expressive sounds not really achievable any other way (the Prophecy and Z1 come close, of course).

Editing patches is fairly easy. The touch screen definately makes this much easier than the standard 2line 20character curser editing of other synths. Everything is laid out very logically, so once you get used to it, you'll have no problem navigating. I've never really looked at the manuals. I don't really believe in reading manuals (except for Mackie's, but then they started to suck). The presets are decent, but really go places with this synth you need to edit patches or download/buy patches.

The Trinity has a huge number of expansion capabilities and features. For a full list, check out their website, www.korg.com. I wouldn't recommend using the sequencer, though. It's hard to do very comprehensive editing at all. Of course, I'm used to using Cakewalk Pro Audio, and the sequencer in the Trinity is no Cakewalk. It's still nice to have, though. I can dump midi files from cakewalk to a disk and playback songs live from the Trin's sequencer.
The efx of this synth, while no Lexicon, are still terrific. They surpass the quality and power of any other synth's efx I have ever seen. I never use outboard efx on for my any of my Trinity's sounds, the built-in efx do the job perfectly. While polyphony may seem lower than the competition at 32, I've never had a problem of running out, and I often use this as my sole keyboard in the mix, running 16 tracks simulaneously. No built-in sample playback, which is slightly disappointing. It'd be nice to route samples through the Trin's powerful efx.

On first glance (or in this case, listen) the Trinity seems best suited for New Age, with it's shimmering pads and huge efx. However, with editing, it can be used effectively for many styles of music. I write almost exclusively techno and industrial, and it does a superb job. I can get clangy dark industrial sounds and bright punchy techno sounds, it's just a matter of being a good enough patch editor.

I bought this used, and at first I was worried, because the touchscreen seemed faded on the right edge, but it hasn't gotten any worse in the two years I've owned it.
I've had it crash on me when I've been dumping sys-ex data from my computer, but it's just a matter of turning it off and back on again.
My only hesitation about using it in a gig is that the screen redraws are soooo slow. But if you plan ahead, that shouldn't be a problem. Just don't try to do sequence editing or muting/unmuting on the fly.

Never dealt with Korg directly. One of Korg's USA distributor head honchos is on the Trinity mailing list, and he's always very responsive and friendly.

Terrific sound, it moved my music to a whole new level. I love the filter section, you can do wonders with shaping sound and adding real-time modulation effects. I haven't played around with the Triton, so I'm not sure if I would replace it or buy a Triton if it were stolen...

I own 2 Korgs the 01w/fd and the Trinity Plus with the Prophecy settings added. Also the trinity has been upgraded with HDR-Tri and Pbs-Tri, thats hard drive and Flash Rom. I am happy with the presets on the 01w but other than the organ sounds on the Trinity I haven,t used too many in a live situation. I play in a band that does cover tunes so in trying to find sounds that compare to the original tunes I search the Trinity first but almost always go back to the 01w. I have much better success making comb. mixes on the o1w, also sequencing and editing is easier. First piece of advice "Newer isn't always better" The 01 has a feature that the trinity dosen't. If you hold down the "up" "down" and "value" keys you can scroll through the programs,combos and all of the editing selections, it's great, but the Trinity requires you to push the button for every step. Why did they take a step backwards?
With the Trinity upgrade I can record audio tracks, edit and sequence with them, but it is tedious and the manual,though basically helpful, dosen't tell you everything so ya got to experiment. I'm not into sequencing for live performance so I use it mainly for learning new material. I give the 01w a 10 compared to the Trinity a 7

The polophony on both keyboards is great I've never had any notes cut out on me from being too thick a sound. Both keyboards have touch sensitive,velocity sensitive keyboards, but the keys aren't weighted to give a better feel. I'm so used to playing them though that that feature doesn't matter. Both keyboards have two (2) full effects units and I am very happy with them. The effects are easy to set,change and get the desired results with.
As I said earlier I've upgraded the Trinity already but don't fully understand what good the Flash Rom does for me. The Hard Drive(external) is useful. On the 01w/fd there is a slot for pcm and program/seq cards. Right after I bought the 01w I bought a set of cards which gave me the "Best of M + T" . That wasn't really needed because the keyboard has enough basic sounds to meet almost every need.
Both keyboards are full MIDI compatable and they are Workstations so I can transfer MIDI files to the computer by disk or directly. However both are Standard MIDI and a lot of MIDI downloads are General MIDI so the playback dosen't always sound right.
To sum it up , the sequencers,effects and MIDI capabilities are excellent but sometimes tricky.

The Trinity Plus has some great sounds and some useless ones too. I like the organ sounds a lot especially the BX-3. There are many to chose from and you can get a pretty good leslie effect with a little tweaking. One noticable difference between the two boards is the output volume. The 01w/fd has awesome volume potential, I usually only set it around 2 on the slider, but the Trinity has to be set way up , around 8 just to keep up with the 01w. I always have to keep this in mind in live performances especially when I'm using the 01w to control the Trinity.
Reaction to my playing...........they are very responsive. I have the leslie effects on both set up to work on key pressure so I can start and stop the effect without stopping playing.
My most used piano sounds come from the 01w/fd although the Tri. has some good ones. Horns and horn mixes--01w/fd. The Tri. has one (1) good sax. Strings, especially Analog Strings are great on the 01w , the Trinity also has Analog Strings but is weak compared to the 01w. I think maybe Korg has spent too much time making the "latest and greatest" keyboard and they are slipping in the sound quality dept. Their older keyboards have the best sounds the newer ones have the latest in technology but not always the most desirable "instrument" qualities. My first synth was a Roland D-20 , had beautiful sounds but the sound cut out if you played too many keys or too thick a sound. Still I would like to have one of them again.

Both instruments are very reliable. I've carted them around in the back of a pickup for years, in all kind of weather with no heat back there( I do have a cap) and never had a problem, they are just a little slower when they are cold but fine when they warm up. I did have the solder connections on the outlet jacks on the 01w/fd break but it was an easy repair and that was after a few years of live use.
I don't have any backup keys but don't feel I need them.

I dealt with Korg through Sam Ash Music store to get the Trinity + upgraded. It took forever to get the parts, they told me three weeks and two months later I was still waiting. I got to know the sales rep in Sam Ash pretty well and he tried his best to hurry things up . Korg , in Melville N.Y. just dragged their feet. Noproblem to get the keyboards serviced locally, just getting parts from Korg.

If lost or stolen I would miss the 01w/fd more than the Trinity for its live performance usefullness. I would miss the Trinity because I've put a lot into it and it is kind of unique. I would definitely shop around and check them all out before buying again, but I'm not unhappy with these two. I don't think I'd go the workstation route on another keyboard though, I don't need to carry a recording studio to a gig just a great synth.
I've been playing keys for over ten years, before that rythmn guitar,so I have a lot of gear, amps,mixers,PA system, an American Strat and a VOX Folk Twelve string which i've had since the sixties.
I think I've covered some of the things I like or hate about the keys but one other thing about the Trinity is the touch face screen, I thought that was a nice feature when I bought it but it can be frustrating on stage. Sometimes I make the wrong sound change because the touch screen dosen't respond fast enough or goto the right location. If the band goes from one song right into another I have to play catch up. You might want to consider that if you're always in a live situation. I should have.
Both keyboards help me make music and the sounds inspire me to do original stuff at home. I do wish they had some preset drum loops like the Roland D-20 had. They have Drum sets ( alot of them) but you have to sequence the drum scores yourself.
One other thing I'd like to share, if you are in the market for a keyboard,I thought Korg was the best but Roland and Alesis make some good stuff worth checking out. Ask, what am I going to do with this, use it live, do sequencing, studio work or just fool around with it.
You want versatility but not too technical (unless your more interested in tweaking than playing), good basic sounds not too many spacey sounds. Don't get one that only has the "fad" sounds of today because they'll pass and you'll have an outdated keyboard. You can always edit basic sounds to make them fit the music.

I sold this unit, not because I didn't like it but so I could afford a Korg Triton (I already own a TR Rack). It had software version 2.1 before I sold it. The presets are great and I brought some extra banks of sounds from Korg. A very capable all rounder for all differnt styles of music. As for any synthe without dedicated controls, a computer patch editor is a plus. But the Trinity's large screen and great operating system makes this quiet unnecessary! It is one of the best laid out synthes I have ever used. The manuals (all 5 of them are not too bad). The quickstart manual is good for beginners. The Trinity is one of the best looking synthes around!!!!

Nice unweighted keyboard action, much like that of my Korg T3 and Z1. It is not mushy which is good and has a little bit of weight behind it. The Trinity is 32 note polyphonic- this pissed me off right from the start and I rang the Australian Korg distributors 'Musiclink' to complain about this- John Grant (product specialist) made a good and valid point by saying that the amount of processing power for the effects and high quality samples mean't that polyphoy was sacraficed for overall sound quality- I reckon he is right because when I compared single and dual oscillator sounds with other bits of gear in my studio (JV1080,S4PLUS,WavestationSR etc) it sounded alot fuller and fatter! This is the truth. Still I did wish it had more than 32 notes of polyphony (33 if you add the prophecy board and 38 with the Z1 moss board). When using it as my only sound source, the lower polyphony didn't really make any difference to using a 64 voice unit such as the JV1080 or S4plus because the latter instruments often require 3 or even 4 oscillators to acheive what the Trinity can do with 2 oscillators. The effects are by far the most comprehensive of any keyboard or module (except perhaps the new Korg Triton which I now own). You can have up to 8 'size 1' mono insertion effects of 4 'size 2' stereo insertion effects as well as 2 master effects and overall 2 band EQ. It took a little while to get used to the schematics of setting up the insertion effects on different tracks of a sequence but the huge touchview LCD made things really easy and logical. The effects quality is outstanding and I can honestly say that the Trinity (and Triton) is the only instrument that I have played where you have the freedom to use effects flexibally in a multi-timbral enviroment (I understand that the new Novation stuff is also flexible in this regard). I brought a Tinity Plus (with prophecy expansion board and I would have upgraded it with the Z1 moss board had I have not sold it for the Triton. You can add 8 MB's of sample flash rom which allows to to load in Korg and Akai sounds. I didn't buy this as I felt it was way overpriced for what it offered ($1,200.00Australian- A joke) You could buy a 2nd hand Akai S2000 with that money and get a full blown sampler!!!! At least it didn't lose your samples when you switched the Trinity off. A 4 track hard disk recorder option was also available which makes the Trinity unique in that it is the only keyboard based workstation that allows you to incorporate 'real' sounds into your compositions. I never got this for the same reason (overpriced for what it offered $1,000.00 Australian plus whatever else for a hard disk). You would be better off spending a bit more and buying a 2nd hand Roland VS840 or Korg D8 and hooking it up with the Trinity for 1000% more flexibility. An overpriced SCSI option is also available (this comes as standard with the HD recorder however). A disk drive is on board for storage (GOOD). The keyboard responds to velocity and channel pressure (aftertouch) and their is the usual Korg joystick plus a nice ribbon controlloer and 2 switches for some real time control (pity there are no real time knobs but this has been fixed on the Triton). There are 4 outputs but the output routing scheme is very inflexible- this however didn't conern me too much as the internal effects structure was so flexible that I was able to get a good sounding mix from within the Trinity without having to do much external processing and EQing at all!! it is able to receive on 8 zones in combination mode and is 16 part multi-timbral. A disk set up for general MIDI use can also be loaded for those people requiring general MIDI- not me thankyou very much!!!! It has a 16 track 80,000 note sequencer than can store 20 songs and 200 patterns. It is quite are flexible hardware sequencer and easy to use. It has a ppqn of 192 which is not bad for this type of sequencer (my T3 sequencer is only 48ppgn!) It's best feature is the ability to

I was not initially impressed the first time I played the Trinity! However, this is because it was demoed to me through a shitty sounding 'MONO' comba amp in the music store!!!!!!! Later when I went back and checked it out properly, I was blown away by all the sounds. I can honestly say that there is no particular area that the Trinity is weak in when compared to other high end sample based synthes- I could get really picky and dish the acoustic piano- It is not that realistic but it is a very PLAYABLE SOUND! I wouldn't use it to record solo piano with though. The electric pianos are all fantastic, as are the organs (both hammond and pipe). I LOVE THE STRING SOUNDS- these are way better than the ones in my orchestral expansion board in my Roland JV1080. Basses (both electric and synthe) are excellent as are the percussive and bell sounds. With some editing, the choir sounds really shine as do the overall pad sounds. Drums are superb- both acoustic and electronic and finally Korg have allowed us to set up velocity switches between drum samples in a kit- GREAT! Guitars (both acoustic and electric) are nice, particularly the nylon string and the 'parker guitar'. I give the Trinity a full rating based on the fact that it is sonically such a versatile synthe- superb multi-band filters with resonance (FINALLY KORG SMELT THE COFFEE!!!!) really help generate some awesome voices. GREAT!

The only problem I had with it was when one of the keys popped out. Other than that is has worked faultlessly up until I sold it. The person (who is very legit) who brought it off me experienced hassles with the disk drive and power supply dying- It looked as though I was being shifty and selling him a busted peice of gear BUT THAT DEFINETLY WAS NOT THE CASE! I think 'Murphy's Law' came into practise here!!!!!! My rating is for the hassles experienced by the new buyer.

Musiclink Australia (Korg distributors) are excellent. They have been most helpful each time I have dealt with them.

If I had money to burn, I would not have sold my Trinity to buy the Triton but would have used both boards. Whilst the Triton is the 'new and improved' version of the Trinity, there are some waveforms inside the Trinity that do not reside in the Triton which I miss. If I held on to the Trinity and it got lost or stolen, I would buy it again. In comparing Trinity and Triton, the Triton does fix up a number of (Very Small) operating system annoyances that I experienced with the Trinity such as the slower screen redraws and the output implementation. The Tritons 62 note polyphony and slightly improved effects system is welcome as is the decent sampling capabilities, dual arpeggiators and slightly improved sequencer. If you are a Trinity owner who is thinking of upgrading to the Triton 'just for the sake of staying up to date', my advise is to hold on to your Trinity unless you really need the extra features of the Triton. Sonically, they both sound very similar (if not the same). The Triton has the edge in the variety of drum samples but I actually prefer to play the Trinity's acoustic piano sound. If you have not brought either of these boards, then by all means go for the Triton. The main point I am stressing here is not to upgrade your gear just for the sake of it if what you are presently using is working fine and most importanly 'SOUNDING GREAT!' I loved the Trinity and actually regret having to sell it (to buy the Triton). It is the first keyboard since the M1 and T series which actually made me stand up and take notice that there indeed was something released that sounded better than anything else.

I am using software version 2.0. If you really want to know, the presets sound great, but all presets suck anyway; make your own sounds. Be original. That brings me to the next point. Editing patches is a total breeze. Options clearly laid out, huge graphic envelope generators, etc. Totally great. The manual is for reference, not tutorial.

Polyphony is a little low at 32, but I never run out. I like the keyboard action; it's not as good as a K5000 action, but it's still good. The built in effects cannot be matched by any other synth currently made. It has expansion capabilities, but they are basically worthless. The sampling option is inflexible and has very little memory, and the HD option sucks compared to real Hard Disk recorders. The only usable options are the Flash ROM, SCSI port, and ADAT interface. Fully MIDI implemented. Any one action anywhere can be sent out to some other device or routed internally to control whatever. The on-board sequencer is the most userfriendly hardware sequencer in existence. Sixteen tracks with huge explodable touch sensitive panpots and sliders. It rules.

Yeah, some instruments are realistic, but, with the exception of drums (which sound incredible) who the hell wants to use real sounds anyway? I prefer to use the purely synth sounds, which are excellent. This synth would work well for any style of music, especially techno, industrial, and fusion/spacerock. It is very expressive due to the joystick and ribbon controller. Velocity and Aftertouch can be set to be very sensitive if needed. Sounds great, the sound quality is absolutely CRYSTAL clear.

I think about the touch screen in 10 years, and it sorta scares me, but so far the thing has been extremely reliable. I have used it at gigs without a backup.

Hmm. Not the best ever... not the worst.

If it were stolen, I'd probably buy it again. It's capabilities as my masterkeyboard are awesome. I use it to drive a Mono/poly through a Kenton Midi/CV converter. It is slaved to my E-mu sampler. Wish it had more realtime knobs, but don't we all wish that about every synth?...

Because of the large touch LCD screen, using the Trinity is a breeze. Additional value wheel, slider and +/- buttons in conjunction with the virtual pots and faders makes editing extremely easy. You can get going with tons of great sounds out of the box. Killer drums, smooth basses (from upright to analog-types), horns (the horns of the Plus's Solo section are way cool), and of course those fat, rich, warm gooey spacey sounds that Korg has been very good at making since the M1.

I wasn't trained on piano, but I prefer the action of this synth to any other on the market, especially Roland. The built-in effects are AMAZING. There are 100 in all, running the standard gamut and then some. In the Global mode, you can assign individual drums to different effects (I like to put distortion and a sub-oscillator on the kick and tempo-flange the hihats!) I use the on-board senquencer for live performances with excellent results. It's great, and once again, the big LCD screen puts it all in front of you, so you can see the whole picture. I wish the polyphony was 64, but oh, well...

It sounds GREAT and would work well for ANY genre of music. Four-to-the-floor techno and trance fans would like this synth a alot, (especially the Solo synth option) but musicians from any background could easily work it into their setup. Mod-wheel, joystick, assignable pedal input - expresiveness? Hell, yes.

I use it live A LOT and have never had a single problem. It's built like a truck.

I bought mine in Japan (where I currently live) and the service staff I have dealt with have been more than helpful. I registered when I bought it and as soon as OS 2.0 came out, they sent it to me.

I would DEFINITELY buy this synth again! The only other one I even considered buying was a K2500, *until* I turned the price tag over on that thing. With all the expansion possibilities (Flash ROM/Sample Playback; (it can directly import AIF and WAV files with this option!) hard disk recording, etc.) you can't go wrong. I happen to like the silver color, but I did see a few black ones here in Tokyo.

Some incredible presets. Very expressive instrument with interesting sound shifts across velocity, and sustain. No need for add on effects as its all built in. Patch editing is not bad if you read the manuals and understand the theory. The prophecy analog part is a bit challenging due to its complexity, but can be rewarding.

Polyphony (32?) is good but not as good as other products, however this is not much of an issue if you like the sounds. Voice stealing is transparent (as opposed to say a JV-880 where you can easily hear it drop out). Built in effects are ABSOLUTELY UNRIVALED and can be individually applied to channels within the mix! Analog synth (prophecy) is a tweakers dream and can easily and convincingly mimic mini-moog and other dream vintage sounds. Amazing expansion, incl HD recorder, sample playback, etc. Touch screen LCD, 4 way joystick, pressure and posn sens ribbon controller, programmable buttons, expression pedal and external controllers. Super simple on board sequencer ez to use with large lcd touch screen.

In my opinion the best keyboard available for expressiveness available, given the internal prophecy unit. Synth keyboard is rather typical, improves with the 88 key weighted controller if you can afford it.
Superb unit for fusion, cosmic space music, techno, or ambient new age type stuff. Nice samples including percussion, basses.

used for studio only, can't say - but its never broken.

software update installed flawlessly by dealer, that improved interface speed dramatically.

Absolutely, it makes music. Considered K-2500 but nothing can touch the imbedded prophecy and effects - this thing can be directly mastered!