Dada,
Also, dont assume your taking a "step up" in a board just because it costs more money....in many cases, its just a difference in supply and demand....dont get me wrong, there should be a differnce in quality between a 500.00 and a 1500.00 board....thats a given....but to think you would "step up" for 300.00 more i think is inaccurate....just my opinion....
keyplayer
Keyplayer,
I'd like to point out to you,that while I do agree sound quality is subjective from one person to another,there is the matter of what you are actually getting,when you choose the Korg M3.
I also agree that you do not always get what you pay for and the Alesis Ion exemplifies this.
The Alesis Ion as wonderful build quality,sounds & features that cannot be had with other synths costing twice as much as the Ion.
The advice your giving Dada is good common sense,but I do have my reasons for stating that the Korg M3 is a step up(perhaps he may decide it's not right for him)but nonetheless-it is in fact,a step up in terms of technology and I should have explained this in detail.
First & foremost,what sets apart the Korg M3 from other workstations,is that the M3 shares the same sound generating chip as the Korg Oasys(which is the most technologically advanced workstation synth ever created) and there are Oasys sounds included in the M3's 256MB of ROM.
I own the Korg Triton Extreme and I bought it for it's authentic acoustic sounds,flexible controls & exceptional synth sounds & the Korg M3 has advancements beyond the Triton Extreme-as my keyboard is the M3's predecessor.
Dada mentioned that he wanted good acoustic sounds,synth sounds & recording capabilities & the M3 delivers in all these areas quite admirably.
The M3 has a very usable amount of manual controls on the face of the board for sound manipulation,as well as possesing many filters,lfo's,crossfades & 4 velocity zones per oscillator,giving you an immense array of layering & sound sweetening potential.
I myself,do love the quality of the pianos of the Kurzweil,as well as the powerful V.A.S.T. synth engine on the Kurzweil K-series workstations,but I did not mention Kurzweil to Dada,because thier cheapest workstation that they make,is a 61 key & it's $3,000-so I figured it was out of his price range.
Dada,
Based on my several years of workstation eXperience,as well as research on analogue modeling synths and now actually owning a analogue modeling synth,I would like to mention that in general,you will not find an all-in-one workstation that will provide the best of both worlds & there will always be compromises and even though the M3 does a fair job of this,it's still not the Korg Oasys & it's not an analogue modeling synth.
The Korg Oasys is the ultimately,the most complete,self contained all-in-one recording studio,providing you with all the benefits of virtually all the other keyboards out there,but it's at a price of $8,500
It has a 16 track sequencer,8 track audio recorder,a 10.4" lcd screen,4 synth engines,a vast sound library-as well as flexible compatiblity with sound files of many other brands,an amazing amount of manual controls & a built in cd burner.
If you're on a budget like I am,the best way to get great workstation features,as well as all the user friendly controls,manipulation capabilties & lush warm analogue sounds-you'll have to buy seperate keyboards to achieve this if you want to stay at $3,000 or below.
Again,this is why I mentioned the Korg M3,as this is a decent alternative & the best all-in-one solution I could think of in this price range.
If you don't mind the idea of having two different keyboards,then I would suggest that you consider buying a Roland Fantom for it's recording capabilties & if it turns out that you are not happy with it's sounds,then buying a second keyboard such as the Alesis Ion or a Clavia Nord Lead 2X would be a kick-ass combination that I am sure you would be very happy with(provided that you are able & willing to spend a total of $3,000).
Just some more food for thought & I hope all this has helped you out more.
Good luck in whatever you decide & do your research!
Elwood
