While I have been a musician for over 30 years the Korg M3 was my first exposure to a fully-integrated “workstation” keyboard, and with that thought in mind, I was expecting it to be a daunting experience.
What I actually found when I started playing the M3 was a very logically laid out piece of equipment that is so much more than just a piano/organ type of keyboard, although it does both of those jobs extremely well, thanks to the EDS (Enhanced Definition Synthesis) sound engine which shares its technology with Korg’s flagship OASYS keyboards. The semi-weighted 61 note keyboard with expressive after-touch made playing a breeze. There is an impressive selection of excellent sounding pianos, organs, and many other instruments available in the 1,024 EDS program slots that are now available in this new and improved keyboard.
Where the M3 really shows itself is in the extra functions it offers, such as Open System Sampling, a very well featured sequencer, a Drum Track function which also allows live playing via the eight pads underneath the color touch-screen, and the special modes that the M3 can operate in, such as KARMA, which allows for real-time music generation with very controllable levels of feel. The Touch-Screen mode is effectively a KAOSS-style interface allowing a degree of parameter control with visual feedback that is very intuitive and useful.
The M3 has all of these features and many more that are beyond the scope of this quick review, but I warn you… once you start exploring the capabilities of this instrument you’d better start thinking of excuses for your significant other as to why your “quick five minutes of playing” turned into a 3-1/2 hour session that went into the small hours of the morning!
