Members DiegoE Posted January 20, 2006 Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 Hello, this is my first post to this forum although I've been a reader for quite some time now. I'm a songwriter and keyboard / piano player from Argentina. NAMM is here and looks like the big 3 will continue to be Triton Extreme, Fantom X and Motif ES, and then there's the Oasys in a league of it's own be it for price or features, whatever comes first. And nor Yami or Roland seem to want to go and fight on that arena, at least short term ...Now it's time for Korg and Yami to fight on the Roland Xa arena, and they'll do it with the MO and the TR ... or the new X50 ... And what about us ?, the ones who were waiting for something to replace the Tritons, Motifs and Fantoms ? I guess Korg fans were waiting for the new thing to replace the Triton, a workstation based on Oasys sounds, maybe with Karma 2, and maybe with a few audio tracks but not 10' touch screen ? More ROM, etc (I've seen a thousand wish lists ....) maybe on the $3 to $4 or even $5K price range ... So, to the point, if Korg would release such a workstation, then WHOM would they sell the Oasys to? Thist is, to my understanding, the "marketing" reason why Korg didn't come up with what some (most?) of us were expecting. Regarding Roland, the Fantom X has been recently expanded with the audio tracks (now with version 2 around)... I don't have a decent explanation for Yamaha ... maybe the reason is that the Motif ES is still a great piece and it's still selling great ... I don't know ... In my opinion, it was about time for something new within the price range of the big 3. But we will not see anything new until one of the three decides to make the first move. When will it happen ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NuSkoolTone Posted January 20, 2006 Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 Originally posted by DiegoE But we will not see anything new until one of the three decides to make the first move. When will it happen ??? Well let's hope for summer Namm, or that OS 1.5 or something Transforms the Fusion into real competition. Is the meantime, my wallet is PARKED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DiegoE Posted January 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 I hope you're right ... I still own an old X3 and use it mainly to control my computer and soft synths, but I'm really into buying a workstation for songwriting purposes and live playing ... the software thing is great but to me is not very inspirational ... it's great for arranging and recording, but for songwriting I plan to be back to the hardware. So, I was waiting before cashing out some money for one of the big 3 (actually Extreme or Fantom X were the chosen ones ...), I thought NAMM would be the answer ... I don't think I'll wait another 6 months under the risk of witnessing this same trend again ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members G-bus Posted January 20, 2006 Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 I think the workstation concept has been dying, particularly since softsynths & software based recording has really taken off. Of the current workstations, the Motif ES is the best out there right now, as far as I'm concerned. I've been on the fence about buying one, though. I'm holding off for awhile, because if Yamaha comes up with something new, I'll probably be all over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NuSkoolTone Posted January 20, 2006 Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 Originally posted by DiegoE So, I was waiting before cashing out some money for one of the big 3 (actually Extreme or Fantom X were the chosen ones ...), I thought NAMM would be the answer ... I don't think I'll wait another 6 months under the risk of witnessing this same trend again ... Well, if you have the funds I would recommend the Fantom X for the workstation ability and a Motif ES rack for the sounds. To me that is the bang for buck combo that will cover just about everything. I own an original motif and if nothing is announced by summer Namm that might be what I'l do myself. Personally, I refuse to support the Triton and encourage Korg to keep peddling it in it's many forms. It's 6 years old now I believe. To go a step further I feel it's just an evolution of the Trinity with more Polyphony and a better sequencer. SO now we're talking 11 years old at its core. I do like the korg "sound" for what it is though. I have an 01/W for that myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DiegoE Posted January 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 I hear you man ... and I have to agree with you, Korg has been around with Trinity / Triton sounds way too long ... But when I seat in front of an Extreme and start playing I feel inspired, more than with the Motif ES although I know many of their sounds are better.I thought about going with the Fantom X / Extreme set up, although I would like to check this new Micro X from Korg too, it should not be expensive and would still give me access to Korg sounds and great Combis... I could still go for the MO8 and the Extreme 61 ... that wouldn't be bad at all .... and less expensive ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NuSkoolTone Posted January 20, 2006 Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 Diego, sounds like you're on the right path. Whatever makes you WANT to play is the way to go regardless of "politics". Fantom X and the X-25/X-50 or a MO8/Extreme 61 would both give you PLENTY to work with. I would just say to wait for the new Korg spinoffs and see how cheap they are. Also remember since this stuff is getting kinda old, there's always Ebay! Deals-O-Plenty I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DiegoE Posted January 20, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 Yeap, all of these you mention are great option, it all comes to feeling inspired and be able to make good music. I still have to wait for some more time until my budget is ready to make the move, in the meantime I will wait to hear the new ones as soon as they're out there. Thanks for your input ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members swandiver Posted January 20, 2006 Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 Just out of curiosity, even if the Fusion is somewhat lacking in the qulity of its samples (as many have claimed, although I haven't tested it myself), given that it has several fully editable, multimbral, high-polyphony sythesis types all available simultaneously, why aren't more people serously considering it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KarnEvil19 Posted January 20, 2006 Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 I've gone the combo route myself, having a Fantom X7 and Korg Karma. I'm thinking seriously of getting a Motif ES this year for the pianos and percussion. Any combination of those would give you a superb synth combo. The Fantom has the weakest filters, and there are some times that I just can't get them to do what I want. My main gripe is getting a Moog sound out of them takes some serious effort, but they sure aren't wimpy. You can get some monster Moog basses out of them, screaming leads, and lush, expressive pads, and the pianos are very close to what you can get on a dedicated piano or Motif. The synth engine is configurable, giving you some of the sound making power of a Kurzweil, and the Roland sequencer is about the best this side of a PC. You don't get quite the flexible effects processor that you do with the Motif or Triton/Karma, but they're excellent. And the rom sounds, especially with the wonderful SRX rom boards, are superb. The Korgs give me the rest of what I want. More wonderful rom samples, better filters, and the awe-inspiring MOSS synthesizer. Along with that are the huge effects processor with up to five inserts of fantastic quality, and the frighteningly powerful KARMA GEs. I can't leave out the Alesis Fusion, which is looking better by the day. Just as a synthesizer and hard disk recorder, it brings a monstrous level of sound creation potential to the table. If you have a Motif, Triton, Karma or Fantom, get one of the others with expansions and you won't be lacking a thing this side of an analog synth. I think this lackluster NAMM actually makes it easier to make a decision for the year. And even if the Next Big Thing comes out this summer, any of those would either be good enough on their own that it wouldn't hurt to keep them, or be valuable enough to trade or sell to help you get the next wondersynth. And with all the technology available to these companies, you know that the stuff to come will be heavenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike Conway Posted January 20, 2006 Members Share Posted January 20, 2006 And what about us ?, the ones who were waiting for something to replace the Tritons, Motifs and Fantoms ? I think that a lot of people are just suffering from Gear Acquisition Syndrome (G.A.S.) and should be happy that there isn't another new workstation appearing at every NAMM. Personally, I hate buying a new keyboard, just to see a new and improved version come out in 6 months. I would rather have a company support the current one, as much as possible! even if the Fusion is somewhat lacking in the qulity of its samples (as many have claimed, although I haven't tested it myself), given that it has several fully editable, multimbral, high-polyphony sythesis types all available simultaneously, why aren't more people serously considering it? People respond to hype and first impressions. I think that both the Fusion and the OASYS are works in progress. That is a good thing, because they will only get more powerful. Personally, I like workstations that have alternate synthesis modes and can load 50 megs of samples in 10 seconds! (FX are usually in short supply, so the 16 processors on the the "O" sucked my credit card in. ) I think that over time, you will see the Fusion becoming more of a classic contender. The polyphony is amazing. If Alesis adds some more physical models, upgrades the VA and makes new sample soundsets available - you will have a killer board. Another example of a work in progress, is the Virus TI. It was known to be incredibly buggy, at first, but Access is constantly updating it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cruel_Hoax Posted January 21, 2006 Members Share Posted January 21, 2006 Originally posted by swandiver Just out of curiosity, even if the Fusion is somewhat lacking in the qulity of its samples (as many have claimed, although I haven't tested it myself), given that it has several fully editable, multimbral, high-polyphony sythesis types all available simultaneously, why aren't more people serously considering it? It just doesn't sound particularly good. It has only four knobs. Maybe I'm a tone snob (make that probably) but I was hoping for more. Yeah yeah, I understand that they've got to keep the Ion viable, but spending R&D dollars on a less capable VA engine rather than simply putting an Ion under the hood seems like a step backward to me. I do love the concept, however, on paper. Too bad that paper doesn't inspire me. I played the Fusion and the PolyVolver, both for the first time on the same day, much to the detriment of the Fusion. The DSI just inspired me to hang out and play, tweaking all the while, while the Fusion just made me say, "Hm. Thought this would be more intersting," over and over. -Hoax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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