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My thoughts ......
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Backpool
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:22 pm    Post subject: My thoughts ...... Reply with quote

I got to think I could live with 'transpose' not being the primary button function on the new i3 which i see they have dedicated to 'octave' as primary for some odd reason ( transpose being the shift option )

But last night watched a J.See Youtube tutorial vid. Which was a real turning point in my buying decision

I really liked the idea it has dedicated chord buttons which are individually programmed but discovered these are NOT programmable by user ???
Korg have pre programmed it with IMHO some very odd chord choices .....just out of the blue !!!

Whats the thinking here? anybody have any ideas?? Unless these maybe become a programmable option after an update ..... i think this board will be off my buying list .

Pity really .... it has a lot going for it in other ways... I suppose like all boards, you can never have everything just how you would like.

Keith
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Musicwithharry
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am re-posting my comments from yesterday on the i3, since I bought one and it was delivered yesterday. I posted it in another topci in the global forum, but having it copied here will allow more people to possibly read about the unit in this topic...

My i3 was delivered today and I spent many hours with it. It is a nice keyboard, especially considering the price vs. features.

It has octave buttons but no Transpose buttons.

It sounds good and I made about 15 different Sets with it because I am going to use it (hopefully) Saturday night as the bottom keyboard of my rig (which right now is the Korg PA700, Korg M50 and maybe my Ensoniq VFX). I am going to do a MIDI test with it tomorrow.

Thus far, I am happy with the keyboard. The sounds are good, although the piano sounds like the older pianos in the Triton series, and the Microstation/PS60/P50. It is a little thin around the C5 notes, but full everywhere else.

I like the idea of the 3 Upper/1 Lower option from the PA series, but with 64 voices of polyphony, it will drop notes. I would think that 2 Upper sounds is about the limit - at least for me.

The EFX are nice too, but with only 2 stereo EFX for the main sounds and 2 stereo EFX for the backing track sounds, there is a bit of a limitation when trying to make believable lead guitar sounds. An external EFX box in an AUX send on a mixer will help with this.

I will likely not use the Lower split sounds, and I intend to use this as a full keyboard and really not an arranger (although I am considering using it as a backup for the PA700 if it ever breaks).

The unit is LIGHT. VERY LIGHT. Easily held with one hand. THat back-saving feature is pleasing Smile

I am not sure about the coating for the keyboard though. Taat soft touch coating has a habit of getting sticky when it ages. I know this because the volume knob on my trusty Alesis M1 Active 320USB monitors had the same coating and I had to scrub that stuff off after about 10 years of ownership. I am hoping it does not happen with the i3.

I am the type of guy who keeps keyboards/synths for years. Evidence of this is my Ensoniq VFX-SD (made in 1989) and my Roland E-09 (that I got in 2006).

My overall impression of the i3? Considering what it is, it is a versatile keyboard. It works well, the action is typical for a lightweight board like this . It is battery powered, but I doubt that I would use that feature. The screen is bright, clear and provides what you need to see what is going on (mostly). The user interface, considering the LCD screen, is nice, especially when you learn the functions with hitting buttons and turning knobs...

With regard to the sequencer, I have not used it and so I cannot comment on it too much. The same applies with the Audio recorder and MIDI file player.

For my use as a bottom keyboard that triggers other MIDI devices in addition to its own internal sounds, it is a good board.

Maybe the price could be a bit cheaper, but I think that it is better than the EK series 'even though the EK has speakers) and for me, it provides a 5-pin MIDI output allowing for legacy MIDI hookups without a computer.

Grace,
Harry
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Backpool
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So whats your take on the 'chord' dedicated buttons ... will you be making use of them Harry ??

Keith
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Musicwithharry
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Backpool wrote:
So whats your take on the 'chord' dedicated buttons ... will you be making use of them Harry ??

Keith


Keith,
Probably not. I would rather play my own chords. The only issues I found with the Chord Buttons is that you cannot program your own and that you have to go through them in order to know what they are before you start using them.

My old Korg M50 has 4 buttons too that you can use for chords. You can either use the chords Korg put in them, or you can program your own (with velocity if you like). I messed around with them, but found the Chord Buttons pretty much useless for me.

I was going to post another update, as I wanted to see how the 5-Pin MIDI output worked and I can report that it works just fine. It seems as though the main sound (Upper 1) transmits on Channel 1, the Upper 2 sound transmits on Channel 2, Upper 3 transmits on Channel 3. I am thinking that the Lower will transmit on Channel 4, but I am not sure in that.

I have the i3 MIDIed up in my studio and I am talking to a few different synths now and using the 'Keyboard Sets' I made yesterday and the main piano/ep/organ/synth sounds are always on Upper 1. It plays well with my other gear.

In fact, with my live rig, I might even be able to turn OFF all Upper parts except for Upper 1, since I would be triggering a Pad sound from another synth anyway. This will increase polyphony for Upper 1 and give you the 64 voices that the i3 claims to have. You will likely not have any note dropouts that way.

I am still happy with the i3 thus far. The big test will be Saturday night when my band does its outside gig.

Grace,
Harry
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Backpool
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 12:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Harry..for your interesting reply! Hope it works well for you at weekend.
I use an EK50 hooked up to my Yamaha arranger..I do like the fact I can save the set lists for 40 different upper voices ( 50 I see on the i3 ) great for using on the fly...and with the octave change and split function you can actually double this using the board in 2 halves ...a great supplement to a single board IMHO as some of the sounds/voices on the the EK are stunning just as they will be on the i3..

Best regards and glad you're happy so far ....sure you will find some more interesting stuff to report on .
Keith
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Musicwithharry
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Backpool wrote:
Thanks Harry..for your interesting reply! Hope it works well for you at weekend.
I use an EK50 hooked up to my Yamaha arranger..I do like the fact I can save the set lists for 40 different upper voices ( 50 I see on the i3 ) great for using on the fly...and with the octave change and split function you can actually double this using the board in 2 halves ...a great supplement to a single board IMHO as some of the sounds/voices on the the EK are stunning just as they will be on the i3..

Best regards and glad you're happy so far ....sure you will find some more interesting stuff to report on .
Keith


Oddly enough, the i3 makes a better Oscillator Sync sound than ANY of my other Korg synths in my possession. It is vital on a couple of songs the band does and for some reason, the i3 can make one that sounds pretty good (with the use of EFX) than the M50, Kross, PA700.

Until I get an analog synth that can truly sync its oscillators in the fashion truly needed, I will be using the i3 for it..

Grace,
Harry
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Mitzie
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 14, 2020 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Musicwithharry wrote:

I am not sure about the coating for the keyboard though. Taat soft touch coating has a habit of getting sticky when it ages. I know this because the volume knob on my trusty Alesis M1 Active 320USB monitors had the same coating and I had to scrub that stuff off after about 10 years of ownership. I am hoping it does not happen with the i3
Harry


My Philips Electric Shaver is coated in this rubbery finish. When it goes 'sticky' the trick is to wipe it down with a watery solution of bicarbonate of soda (or baking power -sodium carbonate)

I'm tempted to buy one but I think I wouldn't gain much except for more synth' sounds and EDM styles over my trusty EK-50 ?
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Musicwithharry
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 15, 2020 4:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mitzie wrote:
Musicwithharry wrote:

I am not sure about the coating for the keyboard though. Taat soft touch coating has a habit of getting sticky when it ages. I know this because the volume knob on my trusty Alesis M1 Active 320USB monitors had the same coating and I had to scrub that stuff off after about 10 years of ownership. I am hoping it does not happen with the i3
Harry


My Philips Electric Shaver is coated in this rubbery finish. When it goes 'sticky' the trick is to wipe it down with a watery solution of bicarbonate of soda (or baking power -sodium carbonate)

I'm tempted to buy one but I think I wouldn't gain much except for more synth' sounds and EDM styles over my trusty EK-50 ?


The sound engine on the i3 is identical to that of the EK-50L. It also has all of the styles of the EK-50.

The main differences are that the EK has speakers, the i3 does not. The i3 has a sequencer and chord feature (see above posts) and the EK does not.

For me, the big thing was that the i3 has a 5-pin MIDI output, the EK does not.

The i3 is LIGHT. When in a case, it does not even feel like the case has anything in it. I wish ALL of my synths were that light...I bring my PA700 to band gigs (and to all of the nursing home gigs I do) and I even bring out my trusty Ensoniq VFX to the bigger gigs. The VFX is the heaviest keyboard I have for gigs. I do have a Lowrey/Kawai digital slab piano and that is 50 pounds, but it stays in the studio at all times. The i3 is lighter than my Korg Kross and the Kross is light as well...that says a lot.

The i3 is worth the purchase, in my opinion. If it were cheaper, I would say it is a no-brainer to get it. Even at $599 USD, I think that it is a good purchase if it fits what you want to do.

I think that I am going to recommend it to some friends who also play (one of them bought my extra M50 and I help her program it from time to time when she gets stuck). I think that it would make a good bottom keyboard for her too...


Grace,
Harry
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Mitzie
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Harry for your informative posts about the i3 -Very interesting !

Do the accompaniment/style buttons tell you the chords in the display? Albeit the preset style chords cannot be changed?

Thanks
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Musicwithharry
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mitzie wrote:
Thanks Harry for your informative posts about the i3 -Very interesting !

Do the accompaniment/style buttons tell you the chords in the display? Albeit the preset style chords cannot be changed?

Thanks


The chords do show when you are playing. If you are in full keyboard mode, they will show. Sometimes they are wrong because of inversions and really hard chords not in the chord table, but mostly, they are fine.

When you are in Chord Mode, the chords will show as well. The biggest problem with Chord Mode is that you cannot program your own. You are limited to the ones that Korg feels works best for the style that is selected.

Grace,
Harry
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Mitzie
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks again Harry for the info'.....so in Chord Mode, the style plays chord progressions ? So Korg must have had certain dedicated songs in mind for which they are intended ?

Casio on their CTK7000 series had a similar, feature years ago, but were dedicated to specific songs and which the chords could be changed
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Musicwithharry
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mitzie wrote:
Thanks again Harry for the info'.....so in Chord Mode, the style plays chord progressions ? So Korg must have had certain dedicated songs in mind for which they are intended ?

Casio on their CTK7000 series had a similar, feature years ago, but were dedicated to specific songs and which the chords could be changed


There is a certain amount of that, yes. For example, there is a style called Magic. It is based on 24K Magic from Bruno Mars. It has the chords mapped out that the song uses. Most of today's songs do not use 8 chords, so there are other chords in there as well.

Other songs are the same way, but I imagine that the chords that Korg programmed are rather generic and would fit a bunch of other songs too. For the song styles patterned after specific songs, I think that those chords are first and then more generic chords in the rest of the chord slots for that style.

It would be neat for Korg to publish a sheet that has the chords listed that they are using instead of having to hit each button to see what chord it is...

With the Coronavirus pandemic taking place globally, it is affecting me, personally, at home. I play at nursing homes for a living and ALL of my customers/clients are on lockdown until at least the end of March and probably beyond. I am out of work until the restrictions are lifted at those facilities.

With that said, I will be spending a lot of time in my studio writing/programming/etc... my keyboards. I will spend more time with the i3 beyond what I would normally use it for during this time.

Grace,
Harry
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Mitzie
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 17, 2020 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Harry
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larry125



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Musicwithharry wrote:
I am re-posting my comments from yesterday on the i3, since I bought one and it was delivered yesterday. I posted it in another topci in the global forum, but having it copied here will allow more people to possibly read about the unit in this topic...

My i3 was delivered today and I spent many hours with it. It is a nice keyboard, especially considering the price vs. features.

It has octave buttons but no Transpose buttons.

It sounds good and I made about 15 different Sets with it because I am going to use it (hopefully) Saturday night as the bottom keyboard of my rig (which right now is the Korg PA700, Korg M50 and maybe my Ensoniq VFX). I am going to do a MIDI test with it tomorrow.

Thus far, I am happy with the keyboard. The sounds are good, although the piano sounds like the older pianos in the Triton series, and the Microstation/PS60/P50. It is a little thin around the C5 notes, but full everywhere else.

I like the idea of the 3 Upper/1 Lower option from the PA series, but with 64 voices of polyphony, it will drop notes. I would think that 2 Upper sounds is about the limit - at least for me.

The EFX are nice too, but with only 2 stereo EFX for the main sounds and 2 stereo EFX for the backing track sounds, there is a bit of a limitation when trying to make believable lead guitar sounds. An external EFX box in an AUX send on a mixer will help with this.

I will likely not use the Lower split sounds, and I intend to use this as a full keyboard and really not an arranger (although I am considering using it as a backup for the PA700 if it ever breaks).

The unit is LIGHT. VERY LIGHT. Easily held with one hand. THat back-saving feature is pleasing Smile

I am not sure about the coating for the keyboard though. Taat soft touch coating has a habit of getting sticky when it ages. I know this because the volume knob on my trusty Alesis M1 Active 320USB monitors had the same coating and I had to scrub that stuff off after about 10 years of ownership. I am hoping it does not happen with the i3.

I am the type of guy who keeps keyboards/synths for years. Evidence of this is my Ensoniq VFX-SD (made in 1989) and my Roland E-09 (that I got in 2006).

My overall impression of the i3? Considering what it is, it is a versatile keyboard. It works well, the action is typical for a lightweight board like this . It is battery powered, but I doubt that I would use that feature. The screen is bright, clear and provides what you need to see what is going on (mostly). The user interface, considering the LCD screen, is nice, especially when you learn the functions with hitting buttons and turning knobs...

With regard to the sequencer, I have not used it and so I cannot comment on it too much. The same applies with the Audio recorder and MIDI file player.

For my use as a bottom keyboard that triggers other MIDI devices in addition to its own internal sounds, it is a good board.

Maybe the price could be a bit cheaper, but I think that it is better than the EK series 'even though the EK has speakers) and for me, it provides a 5-pin MIDI output allowing for legacy MIDI hookups without a computer.

Grace,
Harry


Thanks for the info Musicwithharry Smile . Do you think it's worth the price?
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Musicwithharry
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

larry125 wrote:


Thanks for the info Musicwithharry Smile . Do you think it's worth the price?


Larry - if you know what you are going to use the i3 for, I do think that it is worth the price. It would be MORE worth the price if it were a lower price, but I do not see a problem with it being $599.99 . It packs quite a punch for the price and provides a level of quality that you will not find in Yamaha/Casio/Roland for the price.

My live setup has changed a bit, but the i3 will still be in the rig, but more as a secondary sound source/keybed for other sounds and maybe layering to other boards...
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