Korg owner, but looking at Yamaha

[Lenster]

For many years I have used various Korg synths. Currently I have a 2 Korg set up for live performance / gigs. The old and trusty TR which still has solid piano and synth and string sounds, and for being 10+ years old it is a real champ.
Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the M50 which being about 7 years old, suffers from the notorious freeze.

I have found that the best remedy to prevent freeze is to pick it up off the stand and let it fall back down with a SLAM, a few times fixes it, much to the horror of my band mates. Still it might freeze up whenever it wants - in the middle of a tune or between tunes - no rhyme or reason requiring a reboot mid-song. Alas, I am tired of this "feature" and I fear that this rough treatment may eventually kill it some night.

So I have been on-line and store checking the new Korg models, with the idea of replacing the M50.
After the sticker shock, I start my criteria for thinning the field of candidates. One being brand, price range and weight, and finally user reviews. It seems that Korg's qualtiy level has dropped as I have experienced with my M50. I was getting stoked about the Krome until I read about the crappy key bed and build quality. I thought this was "the one" to have for live gigs, light moderate price, easy to navigate. Kronos models although pricey and heavy, have features that I won't use for the money.

I am not a huge fan of Nord as I prefer to scroll and use already-built patches instead of creating and saving.
Not a huge fan of Roland, I have owned two in the past and found them not as easy to navigate in a live situation and some of the sounds were not as rich.

So I am looking at Yamaha with a keen eye. Their S70 XS seems to have all the things that check my boxes except for weight and price. Okay I can bend a little on this. Seems to be easy to navigate and has awesome sounds. Second Yamaha choice would be MoXF6, but there is probably a learning curve to navigation.

All brands have a good way of connecting to DAWs and that is not a primary must-have, as I only do that stuff on occasion.

So my question to you here in this forum, Can a Korg-spoiled old dog find his way in the Yamaha world for live gigs?
Has anybody done this? or have recommendations? Thanks. - Lenster

PS I am a big fan of Unrealbook/iPad with usb Midi controls which is what I intend to continue using.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

The only Yamaha experience I have is with some of their PSR-E4xx models, so I can't help on choosing between the S70 XS and the MOXF6. Both appear to have some pretty impressive specs, although the price of the MOXF6 looks more attractive to me! On the other hand it sounds like the S70 XS has the better keybed of the two. Either one probably has a bit of a learning curve.

 

[CowboyNQ]

I was getting stoked about the Krome until I read about the crappy key bed and build quality. I thought this was "the one" to have for live gigs, light moderate price, easy to navigate. Kronos models although pricey and heavy, have features that I won't use for the money.

Howdy - I've sort of gone the other way over the years. I used to gig Yamaha/Roland but these days I'm pretty much 100% Korg. Not really by design, it's just kind of ended up that way due to modern Korg 'boards meeting my gigging requirements.

Don't believe what you're told about the Krome's build quality. My little 61 key unit is absolutely bullet-proof. It's survived heat/cold/dust/having a friggin' bass guitar dropped on it without as much as missing a beat. I've had it coming up to three years and I gig with it in two bands. Plus it sounds amazing, and is incredibly versatile. I think some people confuse "weight" with "build quality".

However you can believe what you're told about the Krome's keybed. It's not fantastic - neither is the weighted 88 one. Not a deal breaker for me because everything else about the Krome is great - but it might be for some.