hey guys, im new and barely getting in to this.
so first off, id like some help in finding a pretty good/decent workstation/synthesizer.

now what i would like to do (or try to do? haha) is make some music- this will be my only one so id like to be able to record/make music within the workstation itself. ill want to play hip hop, electro, and 80s ish melodies.

so, here are my options from a local recycler-
-KORG TRITON LE 61
-Korg Trinity Xpro
-Korg X50 61-Key
-Roland Fantom XA
-Yamaha PSR S-500
-Yamaha MM6

they are listed for around 500 each. ive been doing research all day but i figure itll be best to have some opinions from real musicians.
im open to all opinions.

thanks in advance guys

Hi,

The Korg X50 doesn't have an internal sequencer so that one is out.

The Triton LE has a sequencer but is not the easiest to get around on.

The Trinity is good, but for the type of music you are interested in I think there are better choices.

The PSR-500 is not a workstation, it is an easy play keyboard that has a number of built-in styles but you really can't create your own sequences from scratch and the sound-base isn't going to lend itself to your style of music.

The MM6 I am not too familiar with so I can't really comment.

The winner in my opinion hands down is the Roland Fantom XA. A very good sequencer, great sounds especially for the style of music you are doing, sampling, good display, etc.

Good luck in your search. If you decide on something else please let me know who is selling the Fantom as I would be interested in it. Thanks.

Dave

------------------
Wm. David McMahan
LearnMyKeyboard
JazzItUp Band

I'd be thinking either the MM6 or the Fantom XA. The MM6, if I'm correct, has many of the sounds of the Motif series, but I'm not certain that it's sequencer is a fully featured workstation sequencer.

Probably ( and of course this is my personal taste ) I might favor the Fantom for pure synths soounds vs the MM6. All I can base that on is that I have a Motif ES, and I like the acoustic instrument sounds more than the synth sounds in it, enough to the point that I recently added a Korg M3, mainly for it's synth voices and the karma features.

I demoed a Fantom a few tinmes and thought it also had better synth sounds overall than my ES does.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Zoot

how about the Korg Karma?

the fantom was a spam ad...

Well, I have a Korg M3, which has the second generation karma features and I love it. The disclaimer of course is that there is no way to add user arps or in Karmaspeak GEs on my version ( yet ), but there is a software made by Stephen Kay for the original Karma that is supposed to do the trick. That said, on the M3 there are enough useful phrases and variations that I could not ever possibly use them all up.

As far as I remember from demoing the original Karma, the synth sounds were very good, and I remember comparing it vs the Roland and Yamaha offerings at the time and thinking that I liked the Karma best...by far, for these sounds. The karma acoustic sounds for me fell well short vs the other two.

I'm never owned one, so I am only going by what I remember. Your best bet might be to have a look at the forums at http://www.korgforums.com/ and see what the owners actually say. BTW, The M3 is my favorite board that I've ever had, but it is a leap forward from what I remember about the Karma.

Zoot

You're looking for the workstation that best fits you.., so off the top I'll say the X-50 probably won't please you for the use as a "workstation". Although the X-50 has some great Korg sounds.., what it lacks is the ability function (on it's own) as a workstation. The X-50 is a performance synth with no sequencer.. Any sequencing done on the unit will need to be done via a software app or external hardware sequencer.

The MM6... This is ABSOLUTELY not a workstation.. DO NOT fall into the bullcrap HYPE that Yamaha has dished out on this unit. The Yamaha MM6.., IS NOT a workstation. This keyboard is so limited in many functions that I can't believe Yamaha even calls it a synth. A synth would at least have one of the most basic and common features on a synth which is PORTAMENTO.., the MM6 does not have this feature. At the CORE the MM6 is nothing more than a Yamaha PSR.., without speakers. It's an arranger keyboard.., DON'T LET ANYONE HERE try to tell you different. I've persnally got confirmation from Yamaha that the MM6 is made in the EXACT same factory as the PSR line. Also the patterns on the MM6 are not patterns.., they're styles that utilize auto accomp. Yamaha called them patterns so the board would not be associated with arranger keyboards-nothing more than just a marketing gimick. The voice editing is a joke. Its got the same low quality control knobs from the DJX series..., AND the MM6 has NO user voice storage. Every tweek you make has to be stored into a "Performance" This is a classic arranger keyboard feature. The sequencer on the MM6 is a joke.., its in NO WAY a real sequencer. It's 8 tracks (strickly linear) with NO loop recording and NO post song editing. To do any real recording with the MM6 you have to use the software that ships with it..., BUT that again brings up another HUGE problem. The moment you start stacking tracks it won't take long to blow the poly out as the MM6's poly is only 32 notes (yet another classic low end arranger keyboard feature of Yamaha's) It may have some Motif Flavored sounds, but you'll without a doubt find quite a few of the lower quality sounds from the PSR line as well. It's just not worth the money IMO..., and if you want that dedicated workstation this board will fall seriously short.

Now the Korg Trinity, Fantom XA, and the Triton LE are ALL workstations. They have full synth functions with indepth voice editing.., offer sample loadings, and fully loaded sequencers. I think any of those three would make you happy .... HOWEVER.., of those three the TRINTIY would be considered quite dated by today's standards. Taking into consideration of up to date specs in terms of sound quality and features (and the most bang for your buck).., the Fantom XA would stand out of all the budget (little brother workstations) the Fantom XA is the closet thing to its bigger brother you can find. It has the same 128 note poly, allows voice expansion via expansion boards, the sampler comes STANDARD (the Triton LE's sampler has to ordered separately) The XA is truely a baby Fantom X. The others have severly stripped their budget models down.

Also the S-500 is not a workstation either... It actually shares quite a few things in common with the MM6 (obvious thing is it too is an arranger keyboard..., don't get me wrong arrangers are not bad keyboards as they can be very useful writing tools, but the S-500 is not). The S-500 again has limited 32 note poly.., absolutely NO voice editing options, the same very limited 8 track sequencer from the MM6 with no loop recording or post song editing..., its doesn't even have basic Midi In/Out jacks (only USB). Again with the S-500 any real recording will need to be done via software..., which then you'll have to find the instrument defs for it or write them yourself..., and once you start stacking tracks on it again it won't take long to blow the poly out.

Squeak

**Also VERY IMPORTANT..., if you like to write and play hip hop, and electronica DO NOT BUY AN ARRANGER KEYBOARD. Some of the upper end pro arranger are extremely nice. They're some of the best keyboards on the market IMO..., BUT arranger keyboards are NOT voiced for modern styles of electronica. They lack the sound set for this music. They also DO NOT have the preset drum kit to "properly" match the styles. Depending on how you like to record..., the arranger keyboards recording platform IS NOT user-friendly for electronica. What's very popular in these styles is having gear that allows you to "pattern chain". The arrangers sequencers aren't bad, but are not very intuitive for writing hip hop, club, dance, ect. Reason is you have to create a STYLE.., it's not hard but creating a user style has restrictions that you have stay within so that the style will work properly with the auto accomp feature. Again.., arrangers are very nice keyboards (especially the pro models), but these keyboards are really designed for the OMB (One Man Band).., who play more traditional and classic styles of music such as jazz, big band, rock, blues, country, gospel, and so on.

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 09-12-2008).]