Is the M3 abandonware?

[Synthoid]

IMO you should buy a workstation or any piece of equipment based on what it can do and not what it could do after updates.

Exactly!

We didn't get free sounds or OS updates (after purchase) with most keyboards back in the 70's and 80's. People expect WAY too much anymore.

[botega]

Thats how i got with my exGf at the time...what she could do in the future...
and...she couldnt do anything...so the point is as X-Trade said, i buy it for what
is now and not what it will be tomorow...and of course updates are nice but as
i can see for now there is no need for anything on the synth...at least fixing
and i am 100% sure of it...unless they come up with some new features.
As for the Sound...if it was all Empty with not a single sound i wouls still buy
it (even better for me) since i dont use almost a single sound from it.

there are some things that can be improved and be added to this synth
it is not as perfect as you claim it is... for me for example, the fact that you cannot autoload samples is a big drawback and a pure waste of time in a live situation when i need to setup everything quickly, it is a basic feature that should have been taken under consideration in the first place

you can say many things about Yamaha and they do make you pay like all the rest do... but Yamaha Motif XS can run 2GB Memory Expansion for samples, of course has the autoload function...the recording directly to USB drive feature, not to mention an ethernet communication directly to computer and a way better effects system then M3 has...(VCM) i own both and love both but each has its own advantages and disadvantages
and they both have room for improvement for future updates.

[Synthoid]

they both have room for improvement

Well, this is true.

[Daz]

.The M3 isn't an OASYS...there are no promises of continued development.

The Oasys got a handful of updates (no continued developed), but still remains "eighties' tech" (apologies to the history channel) in comparison to the M3 when it comes to actually making music. The Oasys only SOUNDED like an $8000 instrument, it was crumby to actually use in any real productive way. The brief 'continued development' just gave you new software instruments that you couldn't really use except in a trivial way.

Enjoy your M3 ! It really did receive a great deal of *meaningful* updates to *important* aspects of the product that Korg failed to address on the Oasys. It was definitely not 'abandon ware' IMO.

[spinoria]

I think Korg should learn some great things from Kurzweil and Virus.
My Virus TI is 4 years old and they are still providing sounds and OS upgrades with new features and possibilities.

Also Kurzweil have some good things in almost all there K and PC3 series. The K-series all was backwards compatible with the previous version and upgrade made easy since you always could take your favorite programs and combinations with you to the next one.
The PC3 will also have this possibility soon and that would have been great if the M3 somehow could have been compatible with the Triton-series. I have many faouvorite sounds in my Triton Extreme that i miss in the M3.

Also I still missing more expansions. I don't mind paying for them but I hate the fact that Korg has abandoned the M3 and is probably working on the next workstation insted.

[Synthoid]

The K-series all was backwards compatible with the previous version and upgrade made easy since you always could take your favorite programs and combinations with you to the next one.

That's because Kurzweil keeps recycling the same old waveforms--some with horrible aliasing. While I enjoy playing my K2661 once in awhile, it doesn't have a whole lot more in the way of new features vs. the older K series. It doesn't have anything even close to KARMA (its arps are a joke), no touch screen, no USB, an ancient GUI, and while some people practically worship VAST, it ain't very user-friendly.

[mocando]

There are three things at play here:
- Issues that could be fixed with a software update,
- Issues that would need new hardware or a different synth and
- Features that are designed that way on purpose

I think Korg updated the OS enough to iron out most of the glitches and bugs. And it included new features as a bonus, which neither of the owners where expecting.
Now, having more processing address space to run 1Gig of RAM requires a new CPU, so not possible to update by software.
And finally, for example, the ability to autoload samples, I strongly believe that KORG didn't make it work that way because of performance considerations. Having to wait for the samples to load might take a long time that will render the bootup time extremely long. They could also make it a global option that people might turn on and off at will.

Another issue that many have been complaining and annoyed by from years is the fact that switching combis creates a mute, making it very annoying when performing live.
Now, I've been consider that it may happens that way because effects must be reset, and so the next combi in line might have a totally different effects set, and it will create a distortion that I can hear, for example, on my Wavestation when switching from one performance to the other while holding a chord. So KORG designed the "muting" or effect reset behavior on purpose.

Anyhow, returning to the point at hand, I feel very happy with the software version my workstation have, and, as many have already said, I believe I still can't master not even a 30% (to mention just an imaginary number) of the features already included on it.

But removing the wish list is not necessary. We don't hurt anyone by wishing. Besides, it's free...

[chilly7]

Don't want to piss off Korg, but Yamaha Motif Xs supports 2 GB of memory and even thou it's stock sampleas are at 16bit 44 khz and it has it's own sampler thet can recordup to at 16 bit 44khz, it can load other samplese and work with theam up to 24 bit 48 khz that is real cool so u can have real hight quality sounds that will beat up any moder workstation at this time

[X-Trade]

Yes, the OASYS also supports up to 2gb of samples I believe. The point is that nothing can be done about it now without a different hardware design.

I would also like to point out that just last year, KORG updated the Triton Extreme to fix a bug (which is apparently still in other older Triton series workstations). The Extreme was discontinued, but the M3 is current. If there are bugs I have no doubt KORG will attempt to fix them.

Expected behaviour and additional features though, are anyone's guess. But as I said, you should not expect them. Be surprised and pleased if you do get them.

Also, the wishlist isn't useless. Even if the features don't make it into an update, KORG has before and probably will look at the wishlist when designing future products.

[BasariStudios]

Wel all ask and want and everything and everything is justified, i am with you...
but one question to all of us, no insult meant but an honest question:
How many of you mastered at least 10% i cant go any further but at least 10%
of what M3 can really do...honestly any synth but in this case M3.

Why i ask this is...being a popular guy in the Net Music World all over the forums
and also being a third party develloper i get contacted by 10s of musician a
day, every single day, from every single corner and language of the world,
by e-mail, phone or forums...i will honestly say that 9 out of 10 after having
the machine (whichever) for at least a year still dont know how to change a
simple Effect on a Sound, forget everything else, there is even those that dont
know how to lower the Volume on a track in Combi. Why i get on fire sometimes
is that those same people ask for features that sometimes I or Xtrade, or
KidNepro, or Synthoid and few others in here cant even Master or have hard time.
I am not showing of nor any of my friends in here, i am just being real.
Also many said about 2 GB RAM on MOTIF...i challenge ANY of you in here
to prove to me who of you USES the 2 GB and i also challenge ANY of you
that actually know how to Sample into the MOTIF or does Sampling.
Sampling is not what is in every day language to get a Voice created somewhere
else Load it up on the Motif and then fixed the FX...its SOMETHING else.

1. Why ask for features that you will never use or never learn?
2. Why 2 GB RAM when you need a lifetime to Load those 2 GB.

The wishers in most cases are people with the folowing questions:
1. How do i make my keys to sound always the same when i press hard or soft?
2. How can i make my strings in Combi to be a bit lower?
3. Why when i go in Combi FX are not in there?
4. How can i decrease the Reverb on my sound?
5. How can i bring my sound one octave lower?
6. How can i Load a Sound?

Yes, those are valid questions and i am not making fun, once i was asking
how to turn my synth on but those same people also ask for this:

1. We need more features in Global.
2. We need more FX Processors on this synth.
3. We need better FX routing.
4. We need more FX Processors also.
5. We need more layers.
6. We need a better Sampler and Bigger RAM.

Now if you look at those 6 questions and these 6 NEEDS you will see that
everything is a WALKING contradiction to its own self.

There is also few of us in here (names already mentioned above, maybe forgot some)
that never ask questions, only respond...first of all the only people i ask
questions is the devellopers themselfs cuz only THEY can answer to my
questions or our questions, people like Jerry Kowarski, Stephen Kay and others.
One of my questions looks like this:
I would appreciate if you can help me with this:
Its the Real Time-Bend Off GE which can be found in Bank
2048-2175 under number 42 in Bank 16 of Preset GEs.
The GE itself has 2 empty slots for 2 more RTPs to be added,
is there anything that can be done to this GE to be Muted/Switched
off per Scene if possible instead of playing non stop in any Scene?
Or any tricks?
I bet that probably 90% in here have no clue what i just said
The point is, WE never ask for anything...( i am not saying is wrong
we should ask we pay for it but sometimes we cross all limits and we demand)
and then even disrespect. Yes when things get horible we stand up, there
were 2 OS updates due to ME only and my REBELION to KORG directly,
on M3 2.04 and on PA 2.01...i found few major bugs that noone else did
and i got really crazy in here, KORG was about to shoot me but they fixed it.
As i said above, this is not an insulst to anyone above nor a direct comment
to anyone above, we all have the right to ask for something cuz we paid for
the instruments but i think its better if BUGs get fixed first then asking for
new BUGFULL features as it was the case with first OSs on M3 and PA.
As i said in few posts, sometimes Injecting Reality in here is a good thing,
no matter how angry, arogant and agressive i sound to you...which is NOT the case.

Thanks for your time.

And the rest of it...XTrade said it all above.

[botega]

BasariStudios you sound cocky i don't have much more to say except that it's not good for business ...

[sani]

you can say many things about Yamaha and they do make you pay like all the rest do... but Yamaha Motif XS can run 2GB Memory Expansion for samples, of course has the autoload function...the recording directly to USB drive feature, not to mention an ethernet communication directly to computer and a way better effects system then M3 has...(VCM) i own both and love both but each has its own advantages and disadvantages
and they both have room for improvement for future updates.

botega,
it simply happens that you miss something on the M3 which is already included on the motif xs, but let's be also honest and look about what the motif is missing since the first version.

In first place, using 2Gb is possible, but not supported from Yamaha, however, truth is that Korg made a big mistake in putting such a small sample ram on the M3.
But on the other side:
not even such a simple thing as setting the right polarity for your footswitch is possible on the motif. You have to use the right pedal or you have to buy another.
Did yamaha changed it? No, they ignore this.

They have great arpeggios. Do they have a tap tempo function for accommodating the arpeggio or bpm based effects to live tempo?
No, they ignore the requests since day one.
6000 absolutely useless arpeggios if you play live and want to spice your music up by occasionally triggering the arpeggios to the rhythm of the drummer.

They finally increased the memory slots for the performances. But you still can use only 4 patches per a performance. It's less than what you had on the M1 22 years ago!
There are 8 sliders, but only 4 patches in the performance mode.
Using the song mode is a desperate workarround. What happens when you fill up the 64 songs? You have to use the pattern mode. What has pattern mode to do with making splits and layers? Than you have 64 another combinations across two different modes. Than you have to use the master mode to connect all that mess into one mode.
And you are still limited to 128 memory slots. Barely more than what you had on the M1 22 years ago.
And Korg puts all this mess together into one mode where you can split, layer and control outboard gear and at the top, you have about 1800 memory places. 12 times more than what you have on the motif if you want to achieve the same.

Effectsection on the motif is not really better, it is different. You are limited to two effects. Maybe enough for you, but als maybe not enough for somebody else.

And I didn't even touch the limited sampler functions on the motif without the cross fade loop function, one of the most important function for creating clean loops. And what about akai and soundfont compatibility? They even removed the akai compatibility.

So, it's useless to point out what the motif can. The motif can something what the M3 can't and the opposite is equally true.

[kimu]

uuhhhh never known of such motif big big limitations.... i tried the XS when thinking of getting the M3 (coming from Trinity) but never felt comfortable on it

[botega]

sani
i am not a yamaha fan... i know the motif's limitations well since i had my first classic motif and many things you have pointed out are true!
like i said in my first post, each synth has its thing and that's why i love using both and many others.

regarding the Effectsection, since i never use the motif's hardware sequencer i don't care having only two insert effects per track, i use it mostly for live application and the results speak for itself - VCM compression and EQ are simply work better in PA system for me
in my studio i'm using only waves, uad and powercore effects.

regarding the 6000 useless arpeggios... thety are totally useless lol! but you can create your own arpeggios if you like i prefer KARMA!

you can plug in a tap tempo midi device and you'll have a tap tempo feature if you like

korg EXB 256 looks like a marketing trick, it cost a lot here while simple
1gb dimm sdram pc133 cost a lot less...

go roland!!!..... LOLzzzzzzz

[ozy]

"Is the M3 abandonware?"

Mine is, recently.

When I come home I find chewed furniture in my studio,

and pools of pee around the mixer,

she's got erratic and barks at kids.