Korg Triton Extreme 88

OS v.1.0.2 currently; I am thinking of upgrading to 1.0.5 due to some issues, like: sometimes some parameters do not apply immidiately until I do save / load operation, or: full CF >=2GB compatibility; had hung note once (not sure if the reason is OS version though).
The non-Classic-base Triton presets are taken from the collection of expansion boards built into TEX. So instead of talking about base Triton ROM I would say something about EXP boards selection IMO: Vintage Archives is a very good choice; I would narrow "Trance Attack" selection and put it into "BEST" for the entire "Pianos/Classic Keyboards" expansion. The presets are good enough to experience what the device can do; could be less of these aggresive techno things which do not really fit my taste (but the thing is fat, as they say). The sound palette is wide and I think it should satisfy everyone to some extent.
Editing patches is very intuitive and fast; the touchscreen is a champion here. No need to use any external applications for this purpose. The manual could be better in its clarity but I don't use it much; for me, the manual is a result of compromise between musicans and sound designers - which means unfortunately no tech things I am really interested in.

The keyboard action is good enough for me (fast) althought I am not into piano action simulations; I am not a piano player and I grew up on synth actions; my perfect choice would be 88-keys synth action. It feels fine comparing to some competitors but the real problem in TEX is with digital dynamics (velocity curves); there is no curve covering full 127 velocity range. According to my tests, the most dynamic curves are #4 (75 velocities), #5 (85 velocities), #6 (95 velocities) and #7. However the only wide enough and applicable for piano would be #4 (sure, #3 feels nice too but it is less dynamic). 75 velocities is enough? No. Hence my attempt to extend the dynamics in software to the full dynamics. Maximum 96MB of RAM memory isn't a lot so if one wants to program something big (like a piano), use the capabilities of Triton engine carefully and do not rely on samples alone. I bought it mainly as MIDI controller and I cannot complain in this place, besides these facts: ribbon controller is unstable in the range limits (let's call it: it is where it becames "pressure-dependent"), and the key dynamics issue which I already discussed.

It was a pleasant surprise to hear it for the first time at home (I had no chance to test it before purchase). Althought I could await such quality for the price, I never thought I will use TEX sounds in my music so frequently. The aftertouch is very dynamic and I use it very frequently (though not so easy to use on weighted action). Althought it sounds very good, I give 8 for the dynamics.

I can't really depend on it. At the time when I purchased it (over half year ago), it had broken two keys and the INPUT LEVEL potentiometer was mechanicaly damaged (it is exposed and hence prone for damage in 88 version) . Having trust to the seller, I mostly blame DHL courier for the damages (a lot of money gone for safe transport but they simply didn't care). Careful soldering the potentiometer into the MB was required. Then, there was loss of wire contact in joystick and had to open the cover again and fix. I never move it from studio. The person I bought my TEX88 from had unpleasant experience with his damaged TEX61 unit (plastic ends in 61/76 are very fragile)

I dealt with the official Korg support only regarding software bugreports; they were very fast in fixing their software. Never asked them for support when had problems with TEX. But I have to say one more thing: a current distributor of Korg in Poland is terrible: I am awaiting EXP-2 since half year! The person with damaged TEX61 unit I mentioned had yet worser experience with them; too long to wait for new parts.
I give 8 as Korg has probably nothing to do with distributor's incompetence.

I would never buy it again due to the average dynamics. What I bought - in my measure of importance - is mainly a keyboard action plus controllers (number / precission) rather than sounds. I chose it after long research for masterkeyboard which unfortunately are very rare nowadays.

Software version 1.03. The presets are VERY good, my only complaint is that there are too many of them dance-music-oriented. The patches are very easy to edit and the interface is very user-friendly. The touch screen is great, just like all the menus. I like the manuals too. I think Korg does a great job in "Ease of use", better than Roland and Yamaha.

The specifications can be found on Korg??s site. It has all you expect from it??s price: USB, a great keyboard action, Compact Flash, so many controllers, etc. I use the sequecer a lot, and I think it??s a very good one. A thing I think awesome is the 5 insert effects - you don??t loose quality in COMBI and SEQ modes. Speaking of COMBI, I love them. And the valve. I reaaaaaally likes it, it really adds some "punch" and warmth, althoug it does not make your digital keyboard BE a analog one.

The general quality is pristine and the instrumet would work great for any kind of music. I just think the piano, brasses and drums could be better. This synth sounds a lot better than a Fantom X and can be compared with the new Motifs. Some sounds are better on the Motif, other on the Extreme. The effects are superb, never seen nothing like this.

I can depend on it, no problemas. It just could be lighter!

I am from Brazil (forgive my bad english). 2 years after I bought, some buttons started to fail, but this happens in every keyboard, I guess...Still didn??t tried the customer support here.

If it were lost, I would buy it again, but I would prefer the 61-keys...mine is too heavy. The price is ridiculous, but in my country that is the way it is...too many taxes and the importer is crap. Have it for 2 years, got a Roland XP-30 too. I compared Extreme with Fantom X and Motif ES, and choose the Extreme because it sounds better for my taste and style, and because I really like the valve, the look, the color, the touch screen and all the features Korg delivers. I always liked Korg gear. I wish it had a better piano.

Using version 1.0.2
I'd give 1/2 the presets a 10 for quality of sound. Some sound pretty fake, but there's still enough there to find just about any sound you are looking for.
On screen menus are pretty easy to navigate through if you have previous experience navigating browser tabs on a computer, otherwise could be a HUGE learning curve. If you have a theoretical music background, most of the layouts seem logical and the learning curve is not too bad.
Manual is like an encyclopedia and just as enjoyable to read. I find it easier to learn the basics with one of the aftermarket DVD videos... then it's easy. Save the manuals for serious reference when you need to do something specific.
I give it a 9 for having to punch through several layers to sometimes get where you are going. Older equipment isn't a functional, yet what you need seems to be easier to access. A plus for offering MORE than one means of accessing the same functions for some things.

I have the 88-key weighted keys and wouldn't have it any other way. Keys are as nice as you could ask for and never experience any hang-ups or odd sounds on certain keys (uniformity is excellent). Some tones are a bit tricky to get used to as the sensitivity can be a bit of a surprise on some sounds. I've expanded the memory all the way and tested each memory stick. (Total expansion cost was about $60 for the upgrade, used, silver memory - sellers insist the gold lead memory is far superior, but so far I haven't had any problems with the cheaper stuff.) Trying to guide what you are saving to memory is a bit tricky and it's not always obvious where you put what you just recorded to review for playback. Memory management and ease of use could be better. I've tried upgrading the MOSS, as I didn't get it with my unit, and that seems to be one hard unit to come by for less than $300. Someday, I hope to get a board for a good price I'm still looking! My favorite features are using the arpeggiator in live mode. I could use a few extra hands -- I'm glad it's on dial knobs and not fully digital. Ease of setting tempo is nice and easy too. Accessing the pre-loaded programs / tones is easy but time consuming. I find it easier to move the sounds I like to use to an empty area for easy access. Layout of the preloaded tones seems to make no sense and is random. I'd give this a 10 for quantity of options and multiple access routes, but dock this section because access is sometimes difficult (time consuming) and not logical.

Others claim the piano sound is SUPERB on this unit. I think I would disagree when comparing it to the Yamaha Motif8. I have played them side by side and the Yamaha seems more realistic. The grand piano tones sound the best of the piano sounds on the Triton and organ tones are very realistic. Having said that, overall synth goodies to play with are far superior on the Korg than the Yamaha, thus if I were looking for a piano and not a synth, I'd buy a piano, so picking this over the Motif8 made the choice easier (the valve-force tube drive made the choice easier, too). As for other sounds, acoustic sounds are well-done on the woodwind instruments, particulary the flute and saxaphone sounds, the breathiness is quite realistic. Brass tones sound very real in the mid and tenor ranges, and the drum tones are quite realistic at all ranges, but the snare sound is not as good as the tom sounds. Bells and cymbals and timpani sounds are very realistic. I'm quite disappointed in the quality of bass tones, IMHO NONE sound good, they sound completely unrealistic, even when playing with redefining the tones. The old-style synth tones do not seem as nice as they were on the old-style Korgs. ALL of the pre-loaded MOSS tones are well-developed and unique enough to make worth the investment. Creating your own new songs / tones is a chore, but offers ability to add depth all in 1 unit without having to save to other devices and patch back into the unit. This unit seems to favor use where techno-dance would be preferred (not my preference). Soundtrack and effects sounds are full of variety. Many tones cater to specific stereotype sounds which give a good place to start for further editing. Overall effects are full of variety and useful, but difficult to find exactly what you are looking for due to the overall number of effects available.

If you had your setup saved on external media (flash card or other?) I'd trust it to work fine. It would take experience to set up to work well with amps for all the tones you might use. Different tones need to be adjusted to flat output. (Some tones are extra soft, some blow your speakers away you wouldn't want any surprises by hitting a button and blow out your ears accidently). The external casing of the unit itself seems extremely durable. It is more reliable than my other keyboards. Negative issues: This thing is HEAVY, HEAVY. I can't load it by myself. If I were gigging with it, I would consider keeping this unit at home / studio, and travel with a 76-key or 61-key unit of the same model. The weighted 88-key version is 65 pounds WITHOUT the case and cables. My case adds another 35 pounds to that mix -- at least my case is on wheels. It is NOT something I can set up on my own and I would not recommend anyone try to unload it alone. The size of this instrument makes it something you must move in a truck or trailer (61.5"X24.5" case size although flight case capable, it definitely would not fly well without extra baggage cost and possibilty of handling damage).

UNLIKE everyone else whose NEVER had to try to contact Korg for support (YES, their products are EXTREMELY RELIABLE OVERALL) I have NEVER, EVER been able to get ANY support out of them even when desperately trying. It is virtually impossible to contact the manufacturer, although you might be able to work through an intermediate company. (That was not possible for me to do, since I bought my unit mail order from a small mom & pop dealer 2500 miles away.) There isn't a way to contact them by phone, and email support cycles you back to a Korg authorized reseller and NOT to Korg Mfg. Years ago I also tried to contact Korg for some accessories to purchase for a recently discontinued model and got ZERO response on that as well.

ISSUE: Korg never sent me the freebies which were supposed to come with my unit (MOSS Board) I bought new from an authorized dealer. The dealer helped me out by refunding me the value of the freebie stuff, but it still pisses me off I couldn't contact anyone at KORG. I DID get validation for registering my unit, which gave me a double warranty period, which I haven't had to use yet.

Good thing their stuff is as reliable as rocks, because you won't get to contact a real person to solve your problems.

I have played keyboards / piano as an amateur for 20 years, with moderate skills, I haven't played regularly since 1993 -- I'm hoping to get back into it. I play for my own pleasure, and sometimes to teach. Currently I own 3 synths (Korg and Casio are others) both are 5-octave units, 1 with full keys, 1 with 1/2 keys. I also play electric and bass guitar and some woodwind instruments, but synths are my favorite.

I think I stole this unit. I bought it basically NEW (a demo) about 6 months after initial release and paid about $1450 under retail price. Well worth a few scratches and nicks on the body. A year later, still a good deal. And it turns heads. People are always asking how much I'll sell it to them for, after a year, I point them to where they can go get their own as I don't want to part with mine.

I compared it to the Yamaha Motif-8. I WANTED a weighted key 88-key unit. Not all music stores carry multiple brands with that option, so didn't have other brands to compare against besides Yamaha.

I'd always consider buying another Korg. I'm really happy with the durabilty and quality they put into their products. With the fan following KORG has, it assures I will have a support network available for any questions I may ever have for years to come -- I can STILL find info / patches about my Korg DS-8 today, almost 20 years later.

I wish this unit had better menus to access the various tones and they were organized more logically, such as being able to touch-screen type in a tone name and have it pop up instead of SEARCHING and SEARCHING for it. Touch screen menus are a big plus, as is the ability to access many features via more than one method. I wish I would have gotten the MOSS board that should have come free with it, KORG never sent!!! I wish I could find a decent stand for it (still working on making one.) ONE big DISLIKE: This thing is TOO heavy to be portable.
BEST LIKE: IT's easy to spend HOURS playing with this unit and still be impressed by its capabilities -- for that it was worth the $$$ spent.

For what you think it's worth, short and sweet...i've been a full time pro since 1978, have gigged with whatever the "state-of-the-art" keyboard was at every point in time during the evolution of modern keyboard technology. I first started gigging (was 16)when the ultimate set-up was a Rhodes and a mini-moog, adding a clav a little later. arps,crumar string machines, wurlies, Prophet 5's and Oberheims, Yamaha electric grands and dx7's, mirage's and d50's kurzweils and motifs. i've either worked with or investigated 30 years worth of keyboards. and i'm known around this town for the quality sound of my patches -- only because I guess I'm more into tweaking and sound programming than most (100% brilliant, blow my ass out of the water in every other way) professsional keyboard guys around here. But I do really know what I know, and I think I'm the best resource -- what is as close to a "bottom line" resource there to use as you might see fit.

So (and the whole point of all of this) is to say just one thing to ya'll: IMHO, this is the first keyboard I've ever gone to work every night that I can't find a thing wrong with, every sound is absolutely musical, musically connected to the keyboard, delightful controller surprises on every patch, and most importantly: I simply don't get the criticism: the piano sound in this thing is absolutely friggin fantastic. i've had every gen of tritons, but with the utterly useful tube in the "Extreme" series, the new samples and freshened programming...this is the keyboard i've always waited for, for the first time I feel like I'm playing a real instrument no different from what the sax guy gets to play -- a real instrument -- without any compromise. it's the first time I don't feel compromised by keyboard technology, the very first time. i simply can find nothing wrong with this generation Tritons, the thing is way beyond phat and juicy and so f##ing RIGHT. nuff said

My unit came with 1.05. Was very intuitive to use, but perhaps because I've owned a lot of Korg gear. I like that there are a number of ways to alter parameters, etc... the wheel, sliders, shortcuts although this does take time to familiarize, it will be worth the time in efficiency. I'm going to give a 10 here because of the control implementation, although "ease" of use will take a bit of a learning curve.

I've not yet had time to adjust many programs, combi's etc or delve into the great effect possibilities, and so just as an initial run through of presets, I'm very pleased with what I'm hearing and can already envision types of music compositions this instrument will make possible. I also own Sonar, Dimension Pro and some other soft synths, and with the Triton's sampling capabilities, the possibilites are nearly endless.

Manuals, tutorials? The included DVD is a great start, makes reading the manuals much more intuitive.

I think the name EXTREME says it... it has just about all expansion capabilities that I can think of at this range of an instrument. Would like to have seen it ship with more sample ram, but on the other hand, it's USB and flash card interfaces are exceptionally nice, and were a selling point for me in so far as expandability goes.

I had a relatively easy time setting the synth up as a USB device on my computer system and the transfer of data is a breeze. I haven't tried mixing down to CD yet, so cannot rate that area of functionality as yet.

I read a lot of equipment reviews before deciding to go with the Triton Extreme. A good piano sound was a very important factor to me, and I'm not dissapointed. I do hope to tweak some presets yet and come up for a given sound, but I see that as project based and right out of the box, I have no qualms about the expressiveness of the piano sounds. I've played piano for 30 years and the 88-keys feel comfortable to me, especially nice for glisses. There's more a velocity / aftertouch range choices than with previous keyboards I've owned, so you can if you want, style the keyboard's touch to more organ-like for sustained patches. There's enough sound, variety of styles, arps, beats, etc to satisfy almost every genre for quite some time. With the ease of patching in effects and tweaking parameters, you can easily come up with sounds no one can say are "canned". Some of the combis just invite you to start composing!

I would say dependability will be as great on this board as all my other Korgs have been. I used to gig with the T's and the OW1 was my workhorse synth, and never ever a problem. I shouldn't say this, but way back when I first had my DW8000, I had set it behind my SUV to load my sound system, forgot about it, backed out my driveway, heard a "THUMP". Had no time to inspect as I was heading to a gig, but when I powered it up, played perfectly. Don't try this!!!!

I will not be gigging with the Extreme 88, it's for studio setup only, much too heavy for me to take out.

As a KORG owner/user since the DW8000, never needed product support. I find the KORG website very informative and forums as well these days are a great boon to end users.

Since the DW8000, I've owned played all the T-series, ProX, O1Wfd which i kept for 18 years and only parted with recently to get the Extreme 88. So I'm extremely happy, no pun intended, to now own the magnificant musical instrument. I think Korg has done a great job in feature enhancements and still keeping users familiar with parameters and internal workings from previous products. Kudos to that.

This keyboard which I've only had a couple of weeks, is simply outstanding, both from ease of operation to the sonic qualities. I think it will serve my needs for years to come.

The Triton Extreme has all the sample ROM that the Triton Studio has, plus some additional. It includes all the sample ROM from all the add-on boards Korg made for the original Triton plus some. That said, the musicians I play with think the Extreme sounds better than my old Triton. This is true even when I am not using the stereo tube stage, which the older Triton does not have, or using the same patch from my old Triton.

The Triton has lots of functionality and a small screen, which makes it necessary to have lots of multi-level screens and menus. Working within this constraint they have done a great job of making everything as easy to work with as possible, but it can get a little confusing.

The keyboard comes with a very good introductory DVD. If you are interested in more advanced programming, I'd recommend getting the same guy's (David Willis) Master Series DVD tutorial (sold separately). You can find everything in the 342-page "Parameter Guide", but it will make a lot more sense after you watch the DVD. Note: the Master Series DVD is really oriented toward the Triton Studio and does not include information about the tube functions, but everything it does include is stuff you will want to know about the Extreme.

In addition to the printed Parameter Guide, there is the User Guide, which works well for simple operations, but does not include what you need for anything more complex.

You'll see the spec that it has 120-note polyphony, but this is for single-oscillator sounds, of which there are few. When used as a keyboard the realistic polyphony is 30 notes, and when used as a workstation it is 60 notes.

The built-in effects (5 insert, 2 master plus master EQ and a stereo tube stage) sound great. Lots of the canned sounds do not make full use of them.

It can expand the RAM, but you really don't need to do this for almost anything you want to do. When I got the keyboard I thought I would get an external disk drive, but instead I got a compact flash card, which stores all my custom samples, somgs, unused sounds, etc. If you do a lot of recording non-Triton sounds into tracks in the Triton (i.e. vocals, guitar), you may need the disk drive, but most will not.

Virtually any MIDI message can be sent to anywhere, even to effects. Good MIDI implementation, but no "reverse mapping" of parameters, which I had hoped for.

The on-board sequencer works very well. 16 tracks. On my old Triton I did an entire film score using it. It is at times not quite as easy to use as Cubase on a computer, but this is mainly because you are trying to do something complex on a small screen.

With the huge number of sounds loaded into the instrument, some are bound to be clunkers. A surprising number are very good. The concert grand piano is quite good, as are many of the orchestral sounds. I'm not as impressed with the guitars, except the distorted ones, which are really good. If you work with the on-board effects you will find it rewarding.

My old Triton has been 100% reliable and the new one as well.

Never had to get personal support, but on the old Triton Korg has been good about releasing upgrades to the operating system that fixed early problems. Korg includes a list of authorized service centers and the one repair I ever had (a sprung key) was easy and inexpensive.

I would replace it immediately. Since I got my first Triton the only electronic keyboards I've used have been the Triton and a Roland JP-8000, which is a good complement.

I want to give this a 10, but it is a bit complex if you want to use advanced features. But the basic operation is very easy. Personally, I wanted a keyboard that can do everything, and will be a good investment for years to come. It could take years to master everything. Given the complexity, the touch screen interface makes it about as easy as it could be. (88 keys, version 1.0.5)

Features are listed on the web site, but in short, the Triton Extreme has everything. Reading through the manuals, I am just blown away by all the possbilities. It can route sounds to multiple outputs and control effects based on key velocity. You have all the functionality of the old patch cords right there on the touch screen. The sampling is very powerful. Honestly, it's worth the extra money because you won't need to buy anything else.

I found most of the sounds to be excellent. It's got everything - piano, strings, synths, drums, and sound effects. If you don't like a given sounds, there are thousands of parameters that can be modified. The 88 key weighted version is amazing, close your eyes and it's just like the real thing. Expressiveness is incredible with velocity sensitivity and all the controllers which are user assignable.

I've never had a problem with a Korg product. This thing is very solid. It's a bit heavy (especially in the box) but at 62 pounds one person can move it.

I bought from a dealer, and the support has been excellent. Korg also seems to be very customer focused.

I would defintely replace a lost unit, it's worth more than what I paid, imho. I spent a lot of time looking at the competition, and while personal preferences may vary, I just can't think of any negatives on the Triton Extreme.

Very easy to use once you get the hang of the operating system.
The touch screen makes things very quick and alot easier.

This is a fully weighted keyboard and as a piano teacher i was very impressed with the action as i only really like playing a piano when playing piano repetoire.
It has many effects (different types of reverb, delay, compression)
you can add more RAM though ive connected a 300gb hard drive to it via usb to save samples.
i control my rack using the midi controlling features (you can send bank msb and lsb and program change).
theres also a 16 track sequencer.
Theres even a built in valve which adds warmth.

Most of the instruments are very realistic some sounds are okay but good after editing slightly.
you can use this keyboard for any style of music.
it responds well to touch and has after touch which can both be edited.
there are ALOT of sounds and you can sample sounds.

i can defonatly depend upon this keyboard and i am using it on tour. if i could afford it i would buy a backup lol perhaps if they release a rack version of it i'll get that.

havent used the customer support yet.

if it was lost id defo get another one if i could afford it otherwise i would just cry lol and would have to go back to my yamaha 9000 which is sitting in the corner in shame.
i own a roland XV2020 with srx 6 which i use via midi with the keyboard.
i love the action and the expressiveness of the sounds and all the features, only thing i hate about it is that when u change patches the sound cuts off from the last patch if a sound is still running.
i chose this between motif es and a fantom. this one came tops in sound and feel.
it helps me make alot of music, has loooads of sounds and 16 track sequencer.

I'm going to dock the Triton 1 point in this category. The reason is because there is soooo much loaded into this thing, the shear volume of stuff can make it a little intimidating. Once you dive into it though it soon becomes instinctive in it's operation. Funny thing, I actually got out of the store without the manuals because I bought a flight case at the same time so we packed it up in the case and all the manuals were still in the shipping box. So I had the thing for 3 days with no manuals. Surprisingly enough I was able to figure out how to do most rudimentary tasks without the manual or quick start guide. Well, at least it got much easier as soon as I figured out that the display was actually a touch screen, (duh). It was nice of them to point that out, "Touch View" is printed just above the upper left hand corner of the display.

Keep in mind this is a real sythesizer; it's architecture is such that you can start with any of it's 962 multisamples, stored in RAM and start programing your own sounds. I was goofing off with it just to see how wild it would get, I came up with some crazy stuff I named "Hells Kitchen." Unbelievable patch. If you are not familiar with synth programming you will be a bit lost. Fortunately the manual does pretty good explaining what each feature on each page does. Albeit, the discriptions are very brief and a little knowledge of synth programming goes a long way. I'm not that experienced with synth programming so it must be fairly easy to program because I came up with some pretty cool stuff so far.

You get four manuals; The quick start guide(not necessary), The operation guide (a must have), A parameter guide (this is your Triton bible), and a voice name list (40 pages of factory loaded presets and key by key list of each sound generated by each of the 50 preloaded drum kits).

160 Megabytes of preset PCM ROM containing 962 multisamples and 1,175 drumsamples??? Unprecidented for any synth, let alone the fact if you can't find what you are looking for in there, put it in there. Just record it and save it to a compact flash memory card.

The presets are phenominal, excellent work. I was a little surprised that the Wavestation "Prophet Horn" preset was strangely absent. I love that sound for a smooth lead synth. No biggy, though. I managed to program my own Prophet Horn sound in about two hours. I'm still a little slow.

You can read up on all the other features in other reviews and at the Korg.com site. But the on feature that truly stands out on the Triton Extreme are the FX. This baby has virtually 7 fx processing units in it. Actually it is just loaded with lots of fx, anything you want and you can layer 5 via the insert feature and 2 more with the master control. The routing options are pretty cool to. You have the option of sending the insert straight to the output or you can daisy chain them together. Obviously Korg understands that FX make or break a good synth.

The coolest feature on this thing has to be the arpeggiator. It is so easy to use and no matter what program or combination you are playing it is there. All you got to do is hit a button on the console and it starts ripping mind bending arpeggio's. You don't like the one it's playing? No problem just pick another from it's factory loaded list of patterns, 489 in all.

Let's talk about the Piano's first. From reading the reviews, this is probably the most controversial subject concerning the Triton Extreme. First of all if you are a keyboard player looking for the most realistic sounding piano for under $3000 don't buy a Triton Extreme. Remember this about the Triton Extreme, it is still a two oscillator synth. If you want a multi-sample many layer piano with resonating cross-fades don't look here. This is a synthesizer not a virtual piano. It features a nice concert piano but as you can easilly tell by taping the keys at varying velocities that it is still only two samples that make it up. The only resonate cross-fading that comes through is what made it through the microphone when they origianlly recorded the sample they use, (and that will be damn little). All that said, the Pianos sounds great. I especially like the Power Piano. A little boost from the Valve Force technology and it is ready to rock.

You Piano purists are probably working for Yamaha with a hidden agenda to make the point that your piano is better. It may well be, but I don't need to get one... I've got a Triton Extreme.

I wanted a great synth and I am not disappointed. This thing has all the gritty analog sounds from the past in it and a whole host of really well done samples of great organic accoustic sounds. The horns are right on, the bows are incredibly realistic. Nobody, and I mean nobody does strings better than Korg. I have an Ensoniq ESQm that does pretty good in the dirty sound and strings department, but it might just get retired. The basses are very good, some are a little disappointing but I've recently discovered that they are very tweakable and I've been able to make some of the weak bass presets sound very stong. Sometimes it's EQing and sometimes it just needs a better FX added.

The Expressiveness is awesome. At first I found some of the expressiveness cumbersome on some of the presets. Then I discovered all of it is very adjustible. There is a global velocity seting to adjust expressiveness overall and of course each preset has different expressive controls via the joystick, ribbon controller, after touch etc. If you want to control a glide with a knob rather than the joystick you can do that. You can set a switch (button) to toggle the portemento on and off or glides only when you hold the button down. Very cool!

My favorite part of this synth is it's incredible layering. You can stack up to 8 programs into what they call a "combination preset." And each layer can be assigned to either play whay you play or trigger a sequence, such as a drum pattern or sound fx. You have full control with mixing, arpeggio's, EQ, FX, etc. If you have a favorite synth or drum module in your studio just set one of the layers to control an "external" source via midi. Very cool!

It's a Korg... nuff said.
Seriously, it is built for the road. Even though it is a full-blown workstaion I thought it was very prudent of them to not install a CD-RW or Hard Drive. These are fragile devices and probably wouldn't take the shock of extensive transportation. If you are going to play a synth in a band you have to be able to take it out of the studio on the road. The Triton Extreme looks and feels like it is up to the task. Heavy sucker. Get a roady.

N/A

First of all... this keyboard isn't gonna get stollen. Cause they guy won't live long enough to take it. As you can see, I got a real sweet deal on this board. I think they wanted to make room for the Oasys on the floor. I had been looking at the idea of getting soft-synths to do what I wanted to do, but when I saw the price on this baby I walked out of the store with it. I couldn't see spending about $600-1000 on a bunch of software to do what this thing can do and have the real deal. Now that I have it, I know those soft-synths just can't recreate what I have.

I realize that the competition is pushing synthesizers to be open ended in their architecture these days and soon the Triton Extreme will be considered a thing of the past. The Triton Extreme is likely to be the last of it's kind, a real synth. The new synths are going to be virtual synths, software installed into a hardware package that will allow the user to install the type of synth they want. Full studios with keys, or supersynths.

But for me... I'll keep my Triton Extreme until I can't do what I want with it. Hard to imagine that though. This thing will do everything including scratch your balls. Don't believe me? Just turn it up loud and rip off one of those awesome earth shaking bassy synth sounds in the low register. If you don't feel a tingle... you are dead.

I'm using the 1.0.4 version.
The presets sounds very rich in expression and strength. Sincerely I've never needed to edit any patch, but one single case (a lead distorted synth), because 1344 progs+1256 combi are enough for me! :)
This is the swansong of the glorious Triton's family! (but why deep blue electric?)
In each case this workstation is quite simple to use, also for a guy who spent 23/28 years on a piano like me, and because of it, totally unexperienced with electronic stuffs...
The manual is quite exhaustive

The keyboard (88 keys)is like butter under my trained fingers. I licterally can fly on it!:)
The effects are very versatile and they sound good. I found them very easy to use.
My baby needs no expansions: she has everything i could desire!
I don't use the built-in sequencer. I prefer to use the pc to record my works

Sincerely i don't use the dance sounds, but I find these so beautiful! I have to find a way to use them...
From sounds to effects it's all made excellently.

28.7 kg, what a pain! I need a slave!!! It's definitively unbreakable! And she is more faithful than a woman, and lighter...:)

I think that it's useless to compare a workstation with another one. Each one breaths the air of who created it. It's stupid to compare a Korg with a Kurzweil or Roland or Yamaha or Gem, because of the different concept from which they come. I'm satisfied of my choice, but my search for the definitive arsenal of sounds will conduct me to buy something different, the next time I'll buy a keyboard. Nothing more to say.