I'm looking for a new keyboard but am unsure of which one to get. Both the Korg M50 and the Yamaha MO8 look good but i was wondering if anyone who has experience with either could tell me about the quality of these boards. I'm also open to other suggestions on good keyboards in the $1500-2000 price range.
Korg M50 or Yamaha MO8
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Both are mid-range workstations, and a "light" version of the flagship versions of each brand (korg M3, and yamaha Motif).
neither has a sampler option so they are thesame when it comes to that too.
The M50 has a huge touchscreen display + 16 part combis, while on the MO you have a small display and only 4 part combis.
On the other hand - MO has tons of buttons so it really makes it easy to navigate.
I owned a Motif ES a few years back (which is identical when it comes to the button layout) and I never had any trouble with finding my way around the keyboard.
Basically, it's down to what you need. Korg has better pads/synths/ambiental sounds, while the Yamaha has WAAAAAAAAAAAAY better pianos and acoustic instruments in general.
If you don't mind the piano sound - I would have to recommend the M50 (88 key version ofcourse). If you want a great piano, then go for MO.
Oh, one more thing... I barely ever needed to tweak sounds on the Motif... you just
turn it on and play - all sounds sound great.
But in any case - you should go and try both them out and see what you like.
My preferences always end on just a few types of sounds: Pianos, pads/ambiental, rhodes and hammonds... i never use anything else.
neither has a sampler option so they are thesame when it comes to that too.
The M50 has a huge touchscreen display + 16 part combis, while on the MO you have a small display and only 4 part combis.
On the other hand - MO has tons of buttons so it really makes it easy to navigate.
I owned a Motif ES a few years back (which is identical when it comes to the button layout) and I never had any trouble with finding my way around the keyboard.
Basically, it's down to what you need. Korg has better pads/synths/ambiental sounds, while the Yamaha has WAAAAAAAAAAAAY better pianos and acoustic instruments in general.
If you don't mind the piano sound - I would have to recommend the M50 (88 key version ofcourse). If you want a great piano, then go for MO.
Oh, one more thing... I barely ever needed to tweak sounds on the Motif... you just
turn it on and play - all sounds sound great.
But in any case - you should go and try both them out and see what you like.
My preferences always end on just a few types of sounds: Pianos, pads/ambiental, rhodes and hammonds... i never use anything else.
Skipp, thanks for the info on those keyboards. I just have a few follow up questions. I know you said that the Yamaha has way better paino and acoustic instrument sounds, but are they at least decent on the Korg, or do they sound noticably flawed? Likewise, though the pads and synths on the Yamaha are not as good as those on the Korg, do they still sound good or of at least average quality? I use both acoustic sounds and synths and ambient sounds so I want a board that can do both at least passably.
Also could you explain what you mean by 4 part and 16 part combis.
Thanks again.
Also could you explain what you mean by 4 part and 16 part combis.
Thanks again.
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Combis (aka Performances on Yamaha) is a place where you combine, split and layer several programs (sounds) at once.
For example - you put a pad and a bass on the bottom half of the keyboard, and a piano + strings on the upper part.
Each program/sound in a combi/performance will take 1 spot. The M50 can use
up to 16 programs at once - while the MO can use only 4.
Depending on how complex you want your combis - this can be a major issue.
And about the pianos... like I said - it's a very personal opinion for every player, and
you will be best off if you just tried both keyboards out. My opinion is that the M50
piano is a major improvement over the Triton series, but still it comes nowhere near the ones on Yamaha keyboards.
One more thing I noticed is that the new pianos from the ESD synthesis (the one found on the M50 and the M3) do not cut out in the mix at all.
If you play live in a band this could be a concern for you. I tried the factory pianos
on my M3 in 4 different bands on 4 different amps and every time i got the same result - it didn't cut through the mix at all - no matter how much i turned up the volume.
All i would get was massive noise instead of the clear piano sound. That's why i stick to my CP33 when it comes to Piano sounds.
But if you'll be playing at home - don't even take this as a concern
Pads on Yamaha keyboards are not "creamy" or lush as much as the ones on Korg.
So they won't blend in the background so smoothly as the ones on the M50 would.
So if you want deep, fat, creamy pads/motion synths... you will need to dig into programing on the yamaha.
Same goes for every acoustic sound on Korg
For example - you put a pad and a bass on the bottom half of the keyboard, and a piano + strings on the upper part.
Each program/sound in a combi/performance will take 1 spot. The M50 can use
up to 16 programs at once - while the MO can use only 4.
Depending on how complex you want your combis - this can be a major issue.
And about the pianos... like I said - it's a very personal opinion for every player, and
you will be best off if you just tried both keyboards out. My opinion is that the M50
piano is a major improvement over the Triton series, but still it comes nowhere near the ones on Yamaha keyboards.
One more thing I noticed is that the new pianos from the ESD synthesis (the one found on the M50 and the M3) do not cut out in the mix at all.
If you play live in a band this could be a concern for you. I tried the factory pianos
on my M3 in 4 different bands on 4 different amps and every time i got the same result - it didn't cut through the mix at all - no matter how much i turned up the volume.
All i would get was massive noise instead of the clear piano sound. That's why i stick to my CP33 when it comes to Piano sounds.
But if you'll be playing at home - don't even take this as a concern
Pads on Yamaha keyboards are not "creamy" or lush as much as the ones on Korg.
So they won't blend in the background so smoothly as the ones on the M50 would.
So if you want deep, fat, creamy pads/motion synths... you will need to dig into programing on the yamaha.
Same goes for every acoustic sound on Korg
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I haven't played the Yamaha, so I won't offer an opinion there.
However, if your suggestion is "if piano is paramount, get the Yamaha, otherwise get the Korg" then I would question why he would necessarily want the 88 key version. If piano is secondary, maybe he could get by with the 73 key version, cheaper and lighter, and better action for some non-piano sounds (especially organ).
(Of course, that option doesn't exist with the Yamaha, which only comes 61 and 88... but if the thing that tilts him to the Yamaha is the piano, then yes, he'd presumably want the 88 anyway.)