Looking for a substiltution for my keyboard

[elsonandhistrumpet]

(ah dang, the typo - I mean substitution)

Hello people,

I'm currently looking for a lighter alternative for my Yamaha MO6 and I was just wondering if the fellow softies here have any suggestions. My MO6 is really too heavy for me to lug around every time I jam, even though I really, really like the sound it has inside (except for the choir voices).

I've been looking at two keyboards of late - the first being Korg's X50, and the other is Korg's M50. Both appeals to me because it is light. However, yesterday, I went to a shop and played with an M50, only to realise that it doesn't sound as good as my MO6 (or maybe because I'm not too familiar with a Korg, so I'm not sure how good the sound can get)

I'll be heading down to another shop to look at X50 to see if I like the sound, so I was wondering if any of you people can suggest other keyboards that can match my MO6, and yet still be lighter than it. My budget is around the X50 - M50's range.

Alternatively, I was wondering if the sound of an M50 can be tweaked to sound at least close enough to an MO6.

Thanks much in advance,
elson

 

[Oop]

Hello there,

There are a few options you can try. You can probably invest in a smaller unit like Roland's SonicCell and then use a cheap lightweight MIDI controller to play your sounds. Rack versions of ROMplers should be easy too, but it depends on the level of menu editing you need. Racks are a bit difficult to edit on the fly. Yamaha has the Motif ES and XS racks.

If I'm not wrong the MO6 is based on the Yamaha Motif engine and the Korg X50 is based on the Triton engine. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Since these are ROMplers, they are sample based and the sonic quality is directly related to the sample RAM programmed by Korg or Yamaha. So, while layering with effects you should be able to tweak the bread and butter sounds, if there is a sonic signature you like with the MO6, it'll be difficult to replicate that.

Korg MicroX is an even smaller version of the Korg X50.

Although, with a bit of sampling and programming knowledge, you can carry your MO6 sounds and setup around on a laptop and a MIDI controller. Give Roland's SonicCell a try, you might like it and it is very portable.

Good Luck.

 

[elsonandhistrumpet]

Hello Oop,

I thank you for the suggestion. I've never been exposed to stuff like that so I'm pretty intrigued by the idea (although the price attached to the sonic cell is way over my budget - 2k?).

If anything, I wish I knew more about sampling and programming, haha. I'm pretty clueless.

Once again, thanks much!

 

[carboxymoron]

Check out the Roland Juno series (Juno D or Juno G) for something in the same range as the Korg X50/M50. Each brand has certain unique quality to their sounds that is hard to describe like Oop mention, you'll just have to try and see how it works for you if you're used to Yamaha. You should be able to recreate some sounds with enough tweaking or at most, using some third party samples/patches if it supports...

 

[Cheez]

What type of sounds do you usually use on your MO6?

 

[elsonandhistrumpet]

Oh thanks man. I've not been checking out Roland because I don't know anyone who uses it, nor have I used it at jamming studios. But I checked it out, and the weight's good, but I'm not too sure if I'll be satisfied with the sounds.

I usually use the piano, strings, brass, pads and combis. Unfortunately, MO6's choir sounds aren't as fantastic as I'd like it to be, so if the keyboard has good choir sounds, on top of the others, then it'd really be a massive bonus. That said, I'm not really into lead synths and those weird electronic stuff.

Thanks much in advance,
elson

 

[kongwee]

Yamaha got good sample for "acoustic" instrument. Other than that, for sound design see which one is more comfortable. I favour Roland as it is easier swim through all the function. But Roland is very limited in effect for Juno class. Only three effect engine(excluding master effect)can be used for your entire performance preset.

 

[elsonandhistrumpet]

Yeah, that's why I got the MO6 after much deliberation, but the weight is a massive turn off, especially when I don't drive. I've been roaming other forums as well, and apparently there was one which compared Roland's Juno, Yamaha's MO6 and Korg's M50/X50, and most of them prefer Korg and Yamaha to Roland. Since, I've only used Yamaha keyboards, I don't really know about other keyboards, but I heard the X50's selling like hotcakes.

 

[elsonandhistrumpet]

A big thank you to you guys for your suggestions.

I ended up getting a KORG M50 because I heard the voices from the M3 can be transferred in. Hopefully I'll grow to like it.

 

[bongman]

Yamaha MM6 ?
Roland Juno G ?
Korg M50 ?

a MIDI 61-key keyboard controller and a sound module ?

 

[elsonandhistrumpet]

bongman: Thanks for the advice. I've gotten the m50.

I've practiced with the m50 using my earphones and it sounded fantastic, but...

When I brought it to the jamming studio, I'm not sure why but it felt as though the sounds from the m50 lacked colour. I'm not quite sure how to describe but it just sounded very plain. Could it be because I only played it through the L/mono? Or does the problem lie with the amp itself. I know I'm off the topic already, but I'll be very glad if I could get help here. (I could repost this as a separate thread if you will).

I've read up online and the general idea I gathered was that an amp, since it is an amplifier itself, merely increases the volume but sound quality is compromised as a result. I'm no whiz but I was wondering if there are ways to work around this problem? Or have I misinterpreted entirely?

Please advice!

Thanks much,
Elson