Korg M3 vs. Extreme and Motiff XS

[sada10]

I am curious as to what peoples opinion is when comparing sound quality of the new M3 vs the Extreme and the Motiff!

[mattsmusicstudio]

Motif XS has best sounds, but is the hardest of the 3 to operate.
The Triton Extreme and M3 are easier to use. The M3 has more features than the Extreme

[elwoodblues1969]

Originally Posted by sada10

I am curious as to what peoples opinion is when comparing sound quality of the new M3 vs the Extreme and the Motiff!

As an owner of the Korg Triton Extreme,I wish to point out that the sound quality of then Extreme is surpassed only by the Kurzweil K2 series.
Not even the Korg Oasys which retails for $8,500 has better preset programs than the Triton.
While the Oasys has advanced editing capabilties and the convenience of an all-in-one studio in a single unit-IT DOES NOT HAVE BETTER SOUNDS UNLESS YOU SPEND HOURS TWEAKING THE HELL OUT OF IT.
It's been my experience that if a keyboard has exceptional quality presets-particularly with an authentic piano sound,then you've made a wise choice.
Hands down,the Kurzweil K2 series has more impressive sounds,an unrivaled sound library and if I wanted to upgrade my studio further,I would get the K2600XS,upgrade my cd burner,upgrade my pc and have a better set up than the Oasys for about $1,500 less than thew Oasys.
As for the Korg M3,it is an overpriced,ugly hunk of hype.
The Roland Fantoms to me are very disappointing for thier price tag.
Don't take my word for it,check out the Kurzweil website and listen to the audio demos for yourself-you won't be disappointed.
If you shop around,you will be amazed at how reasonably priced Kurzweils can be.

[DAS]

Originally Posted by elwoodblues1969

As an owner of the Korg Triton Extreme,I wish to point out that the sound quality of then Extreme is surpassed only by the Kurzweil K2 series.

Actually the output electronics of the Oasys are quite a bit different from the Triton. You can place them side by side and they sound different. I happen to think the Oasys sounds a lot better, even on roughly the same sounds, but...well, again, there is more to this than meets the eye.

[supermanrulez]

First off the post by elwoodblues is entirely subjective and opinionated and I absolutely disagree with just about every opinion he stated. Its not factual and represents one persons opinion. As a someone who has worked in studio frequently and has a strong working knowledge of the current keyboards. I had a Triton Extreme for 3 years and upgraded to an Oasys. Why because the sounds are so much better, the keyboard can do infinitely more than the Triton Extreme and simply put it beats the Triton Extreme is just about every facet of the game. You don't find people down grading to the Triton Extreme, instead the upgrade to the Oasys. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand why. If you venture to Ebay see for yourself how many people are selling of their Triton Extreme's, why? because they are upgrading to something better, the M3, Motif XS, Oasys ect. This is a fact not an opinion.

The demos you'll be listening and in fact doctored and edited to sound as good as possible to entice you to buy the keyboard. It's a common practice in the industry. I know because I've done it in the past for manufacturers.

Your best bet is to listen to things for yourself. When you do you'll see quickly how fast elwoodblues doesn't hold water. I've been able to play multiple things side by side for years. I've listened to the sounds, compared the features and made conclusions based upon research and my own direct experiences. In the end I realized, nothing and I mean nothing compares to the Oasys. It is truly a unique keyboard and it is deeper and has more options than anything out there, bar none.

Your question that you asked originally is real hard one to answer. It based upon an opinion and its hard to create a factual base for it. IMO the Motif Xs sounds better for acoustic and general bread and butter sounds. The M3 sounds better with loops and dance type grooves. Good luck and I want to re-iterate to try everything for yourself and make up your own mind.

[iamironman]

When I read the post suggesting the Triton Extreme sounds better than the Oasys, I laughed my a$$ off. I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn't April Fools Day.

[elwoodblues1969]

Originally Posted by iamironman

When I read the post suggesting the Triton Extreme sounds better than the Oasys, I laughed my a$$ off. I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn't April Fools Day.

Allow me to clarify my opinions on these keyboards.In the Extreme/Motif/Fantom price range,I think the Extreme has the best sounds.
The Oasys is in entirely different price range and that the Oasys's presets don't sound any different to me-I did point out that the sounds are better due to the editing capabilities.I do however,think that the Kurzweil has got Oasys beat-soundwise.I personally would rather sink 5K in a K2600XS,than 81/2K in an Oasys.
What is the b.s. behind stating that it is a fact that the Motif is better?
So let me get this straight,if someone works in a pro studio-they reserve the right to claim that thier opinions are factual?
Some of you people are so damn touchy about the Oasys-as if,the Oasys is the "holy grail" of keyboards & how dare anyone not show devout praise towards the best keyboard in the universe.
So,the audio demos are doctored on the Kurzweil website?Prove it.Show me how full of s**t I am.Show me how G****mn stupid & ignorant I am.
Go ahead,laugh your a**es off,because I am not listening to anyone who states that its a fact that the Motif is better than an Extreme.What,you think it is a fact that Yamaha is better than Korg because a handful of people are trading in thier Extremes for a Motif?
Yeah,since I still love my Extreme & since I will never trade it in,then yes,I am opinionated,but I am not telling anyone what is fact or not.
One of the aspects of these forums is for people to seek suggestions,opinions & recieve opinions,but instead-in certain instances,someone always feels compelled to suppress other people's opinions.Even when someone conveys an opinion with alot of conviction,it is still just an opinion.
I have owned several Korgs & followed Kurzweil for years.
I have listened to the Yamahas,Rolands & I made the Extreme my choice.
I have tinkered with the Oasys in GuitarCenter,listened to demos & have visited Oasys forums and my O-P-I-N-I-O-N is that the Oasys,even with all of it's features is still overpriced.

[shadowcompany]

As I read your post it sounds like your having a difficult time with the opinions others have shared. I think the opinions and information provided by superman was very relevant and I think he clearly outlined things. I think most people will easily agree that the Oasys sounds better than the Triton Extreme and for the record I agree that the original statement was funny. Everyone is entitled to an opinion though. The fact that demos on websites are doctored is something that is an accepted fact since numerous employees over the years from various manufacturers have openly admitted the practice. There are also studios which have worked on prettying up demos for manufacturers and maybe that is what superman was referring to with his comment. I think some people are touchy about the Oasys just like they are with every other keyboard. There are many keyboards for all of us and this gives us a choice in what we buy. To answer the question by the original poster, I agree with this opinion of supermanrulez; "The Motif Xs sounds better for acoustic and general bread and butter sounds. The M3 sounds better with loops and dance type grooves." I recently sold a Triton Extreme as well to fund an upgrade. I sold it on Ebay and was amazed at how many were available. What pissed me off was how much I think it hurt my overall sale price.

I may have a unique perspective on the whole Oasys subject. I was of the opinion that the Oasys was way overpriced for the money your spending. I always thought you could get better value spending your money separately on different things to do the same things as the Oasys. I had a friend who needed to sell his Oasys as he needed cash. He was having a hard time selling locally so I told him I could sell it for him on Ebay. He agreed and bought the Oasys over. Fortunately his initial asking price was too high and I was in possession of it for a month until it sold. I got to play around with it for over a month. During this time I began to really understand exactly how powerful and truly unique the Oasys is. Its different and more powerful than anything out there and can do so many things its mind-blowing. My point is that it was only through getting a chance to get to know the Oasys and playing it first hand did I really understand and see the value of it. The experience changed my opinion and I realized that only through experiencing the Oasys first hand that I was able to compare it to all the things I was using. I decided to sell my Kurzweil 2600, Korg Karma and Triton Extreme and a few soft synths to get the Oasys. I have no regrets as my sound is better and and I'm only dealing with one board and one computer hookup that can do everything I could do, more, and do it better. Its funny because had I not had the experience with the Oasys I never would have changed my mind or known any better.

[Rohn101]

Interesting discussion. A few opinions of my own to chime in here. Both the M3 and Motif XS are good boards. You should really play both do your own research and get the one thats best for you. I personally really liked them both in my brief experiences and think they both can do the job. I am also going to agree that the Oasys sounds way better than the Triton Extreme. I know everyone is entitled to an opinion but to me its like saying I'd rather date Hillary Clinton over Pamela Anderson or something along those lines. I also don't think anyone said Yamaha is better than Korg. People are simply stating opinions at the request of the original poster who asked for them. I don't anyone's opinion are being suppressed or that anyone is trying to do so. Instead what I saw were valid counterpoints and different opinions stated to a post which made sense to me. I also could find anywhere on this thread where someone stated it was a fact that Yamaha sounds better than Korg? I only saw a comment which said people are selling their Triton Extremes to upgrade to something else. If you look on Ebay and other places that sell keyboards it is easy to see this is factual. People always upgrade to new models. This has been the case for years. The manufacturers even acknowledge it and encourage it, some even do this with special incentives. I just didn't see anything wrong with it and instead found information which supports the position.

[Slovenec]

Great discussion here However, I too believe that each of us has their own personal preference when it comes to these keyboards and nothing is 'bad'. I also agree that the Oasys' sound is a big improvement of the Triton series. I played an Oasys88 extensively the other day and upon close inspection (and comparing other keyboards side by side) you could here how 'open' the sound of the Oasys is- there is practically no annoying aliasing in the top ranges etc. The drums are particular stand outs on this instrument- they really do sound 'organic' even playing them from the keyboard itself (as opposed to using a MIDI drum set up).

The M3 and Motif XS are both lovely sounding instruments. Me personally- I've grown a bit over the Korg 'sound' and the M3 (and Oasys) certainly sound 'Korgish'!!!!!! (of course afterall they are Korg's!. However, as stated above, I feel that Korg has greatly improved the overall 'quality' of the sounds.

I'll also mention that Korg still can't touch the Yamaha instruments when it comes to 'acoustic instrument realism'. Whilst the Korg's have some much improved guitars, basses, drums etc, the Yamaha's still win out in this area. I however prefer Korg for all those great synth sounds and all those great combinations (up to 16 ways splits and layers now). Because I'm used to Korg GUI's, I felt right at home in front of the Oasys and M3 and could get into sequencing a tune and assigning fx etc right away. Those touchscreens are also the best GUI out there. However, if I chose a Motif XS, I'd no doubt learn to get around it sooner rather than later because it seems to me that their large colour LCD and GUI is a big improvement over the older Motif ES series. I also love those 8 sliders and knobs (this beats the Korg M3 with those 8 short sliders- although Korg also has that real time touch screen controller capabilities like the Kaoss Pad).

I also played my mates Fantom X7 last week and he showed me how easy it is to get around that instrument. I also really like the Fantom's sounds. However, If I was forced to buy one of these instruments and had a gun pointed to my head....... I'd go for a change and get a Yamaha MotifXS. I love all those great real guitars, basses, drums, pianos and even the brass is great (and I generally hate brass sounds in keyboards). Saying that, I also really like the acoustic piano in the Korg M3 as well as it's EP's and organs. The M3's keyboard action is also superb, although the MotifXS's action is no slouch either.

I'll be interested to see how Roland will react when they finally replace their Fantom X series. I'm sure they realise that they need to upgrade the amount of fx useable at once (only 3 insert fx is a bit flimsy in 2007). Also more than 4 knobs for real time control. Anyway all the instruments I've listed from the Oasys to the Fantom X are superb and we as keyboardists are the big winners! .

[Diametro]

It all comes down to personal preference, what you can afford and how much hardware you want surrounding you ...

If you can't make decent music on any of these boards, despite personal perferences for one manufacturer's sound or another, there's a problem ... and it isn't the synth.

[guitarguy777]

The triton extreme was a total let down for me, it did not have any new sounds in it, all they did was put the expantion cards in it that you could have put in the triton classic the drums sounds are the same drums that are in the classic triton the only improvement was the usb, the tube and the inline sampling
other than that that is the worst upgrade I have ever heard.

[Atlas5]

Originally Posted by Diametro

It all comes down to personal preference, what you can afford and how much hardware you want surrounding you ...

Personally I prefer to have one of each. Not because one sound better than another, but because I have gear lust.

The Motif XS sound is well suited for a Rock & Roll band situation, although with a full band the phrase (motif's) are not of much use....

The Fantom X sound is good for support sounds.

The M3 sound is bright & excited, great for leads.

The Oasys has only one fault, I cant afford it.

The Fantom G would be ok if I could afford, cant trade in the Fantom X per the forums the "G" is great but does not replace the "X".

My personal goal is to own as many music make toys that my wife & creditors will allow.

[supermanrulez]

Originally Posted by Atlas5

The Motif XS sound is well suited for a Rock & Roll band situation, although with a full band the phrase (motif's) are not of much use....

I think its important to clarify something about this statement. First off if you look at the total sales of workstations the Motif XS is clearly the best selling workstation keyboard. The sales numbers aren't even close either. This means the majority of people who have purchased a workstation two years ago or less are using a Motif XS. So I'm not sure the majority of new workstation buyers would agree with this statement.

Secondly almost all the major awards shows, oscars and stuff like that are using the Motif XS. These shows have access to get whatever they want for their live performances (with a full band) and they get the Motif XS. Another very strong endorsement from people in the know who have any choice they want. When you see these shows using the Motif XS with such regularity, this is a very strong indication this is what the standard is. The Korg Triton was the standard a few years back but it appears the Motif XS is now in that position.

In my recent recording sessions both on the production side and the performance side, many musicians are requesting/using the Motif XS for the sound quality. I have been to quite a few live shows and done some soundwork for acts that come through from time to time. Many of the keyboardist I talk to have or plan to get the XS. I ask them why, and I get generally the same response, sound quality and how it sounds in live performance.

[DAS]

Originally Posted by supermanrulez

First off if you look at the total sales of workstations the Motif XS is clearly the best selling workstation keyboard. The sales numbers aren't even close either.

On what are you basing this information?