Triton Extreme vs M3

[uriahsmusic]

I was really upset when I went to GC in Houston to try an M3 and didn't find the sounds to be necessarily better than the extreme. What am I missing? Someone wants to buy my extreme and I thought I would move up and get an M3 but It didn't wow me at all. I also felt the action was wimpy.

[Christian Baum]

Yeah? So?

Matter of taste, I guess... For me, the M3's keybed is one of the best around (synth action), personally, I never had any better ones so far. The sounds are great, too, but I never compared it to its predecessors.

Best regards,

Christian

[BasariStudios]

Same here, best Korg Keys i've played so far...as for the synth,
ages ahead any Triton...in anything...soundwise too.

[uriahsmusic]

Same here, best Korg Keys i've played so far...as for the synth,
ages ahead any Triton...in anything...soundwise too.

For example...do the pianos sound better?...or the strings and horns?.....what sounds better to you.... that tube in the extreme kicks!....

[sani]

I would say it in the following way:
at least for me, neither the sounds, nor the action would be a reason to switch.
We had recently a short discussion about the action and count me to those who doesn't think that the action is something special.
With the sounds, well, there is nothing wrong with the sounds on the M3, some are definitely improved over the Tritonline, you can hear that a lot of them sound well without needing effects to sound acceptable. But the problem is, that the TE also has a vast variety of good sounds. Regarding strings, there are some identical strings on the M3 and TE, but you can hear on the solo violin that it's a new sample which was not on the Triton Classic, but the TE is surely good in that aspect since it has all the multisample from the orchestral exb.
The reason for buying the M3 would be the number of parts in the combination, the eq per channel, the ability to use stereosamples on a single oscilator, the expanded controllers (8 sliders, touch screen, 8 knobs), bigger sample ram, faster loading times, the ability to change the program inside of a combination and maybe some others which I can't remember right now.
The keyboard action and sounds themselves are IMHO not a reason to switch from an Extreme to M3.
And then, since the M3 is about 3 years on the market, I wouldn't switch to a M3 right now. I would wait for the next keyboard. I guess the step from a TE to the new model after the M3 will be - logically - a bigger step up.

[Gargamel314]

For one thing, the M3 that you tried out, did you get to try out the EX1-4 libraries? The M3 I tried out didn't have any of the expansion data loaded at all, the retailer had told me they had lost their EX1-4 USB drive. This made a big difference to me, as I missed out on hearing a lot of the programs I was interested in. These would be in the beginning of bank I-A (the piano volume), and also bank U-E for programs and combinations (Brass and Woodwinds). Most of the M3's acoustic sounds are a little brighter and have more detail than the Triton Extreme's. I'm sure your ear is accustomed to the Triton Extreme, and messing around with the M3 is a bit of a shock, also. I remember when the M3 first came out, it took me a while to really want anything to do with the M3, but now, i don't miss my Triton Extreme at all. The EX libraries made all the difference in the world to me. Before the Xpanded version came out, I really didn't want an M3 at all, and was totally content with the Triton Extreme. But after the M3 Xpanded came out, it seemed like a perfect replacement for the Triton Extreme.

The M3's keybed action is extremely different to the Triton's. It's much quieter, but pay attention to how much resistance it gives you. If you notice, it's even more than the Triton's, and doesn't shock your fingers when the key hits the bottom (when i say shock, i mean the impact when the key hits the bottom of the keybed). It also has great aftertouch sensitivity. It's generally a much much quieter action than the Triton line's.

For what it's worth, the pianos, strings and horns are a GIGANTIC improvement over the Triton Extreme. Again I point to the EX1-3 libraries for the piano and horns. While I do miss the Triton Extreme's separate string parts (14 violins, 10 violas, 8 cellos, 4 basses), to my ears, the M3 blows the Triton Extreme out of the water in terms of acoustic sounds... they just all sound a lot brighter, and can take some time getting used to. The M3 has a tube also, it's just not a integrated physical component, it's done digitally, but it has the exact same effect as the Triton Extreme's ValveForce. Anyway, good luck maybe you just need some time to get used to the sounds of the M3... or maybe it's just not for you. Like someone said earlier, it's totally a matter of taste.

[Synthoid]

The M3's keybed action is extremely different to the Triton's. It's much quieter, but pay attention to how much resistance it gives you. If you notice, it's even more than the Triton's, and doesn't shock your fingers when the key hits the bottom (when i say shock, i mean the impact when the key hits the bottom of the keybed). It also has great aftertouch sensitivity. It's generally a much much quieter action than the Triton line's.

I still have my Triton and prefer the M3 keybed--definitely higher quality.

[uriahsmusic]

These were really great answers!...I'm gonna check into those missing banks

[kanthos]

The M3 is arguably better overall (in my opinion, it is), but it sounds a bit more 'sterile' and less 'warm' out of the box than the Triton line. This is, at least partially, due to the M3 trying to sound more realistic for acoustic instruments and also due to the ever-changing nature of the sounds that are used in popular music.

[McHale]

IMHO:

Keys:

I still prefer the Triton Pro (Yamaha) keybed. The M3's is a close second but I prefer the Yamaha simply because of the plastic-y feel. My fingers don't slide off during fast runs. They do on the M3 (but not on the M50).

Sounds:

For real instruments (brass, woodwinds, keyboards, organs, etc), the Triton Extreme doesn't hold a candle to the M3 (or M50). It's just not close. For analog-like sounds (pads, leads, noises) and some organs I still prefer my Triton. The M3's filters are too "polite" and clip when you start to create an aggressive patch. The Triton's never clipped.

If I had to choose between the M3 and Triton Extreme, I'd take the M3 for so many reasons it's hard to explain them all. For starters, the Triton Extreme is WAY out of warranty. The M3 has an XY KAOSS-like pad feature which is VERY cool. RADIAS kicks all other's ass.

Would I buy a Triton Extreme today? Absolutely. I love the Triton line and the Extreme is the cream of the crop. Would I choose it over an M3? Nope.

But I'd buy both.

-Mc

[BasariStudios]

And yet noone mentioned KARMA...lol.

[McHale]

KARMA, as cool and complicated as it is, is far less useful to me than a programmable arp. So for me, it's a negative. For others, it's a huge huge plus.

If Korg had allowed Mr. Kay to include the code to allow programming simple arps (or converting sequences or RPPR to KARMA patterns, KARMA would be a huge asset for me. But Korg hasn't allowed it for some reason and at this point in the product lifecycle, I doubt it's coming unless they plan on a Expanded 3.0 OS. Which I'm sure they are not.

-Mc

[dimitris]

For me is waste of money to go from Triton extreme to M3. I think it's better to keep the extreme, switch brand if necessary and waiting to see the improvements over the next KORG model... when it comes out!

Regards,
Dimitris

[dimitris]

...as for the M50 don't you dare selling your Triton Extreme to buy it!!!
BIG MISTAKE!!!

[drama1]

For live performance, the M3 with its Karma is the only way to go. I used a TritonPro fully loaded for ten years and absolutely HATED the cutoff of sound when switching combi/programs. With Karma this is achieved without a hitch. I go from piano to organ to strings to pad without any cutoff of sound. I just wish Korg would release more expansions.