Looking to buy a new synth.

[Alucard]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a new synth. I used to have a Yamaha S03 which was great at first, but then moved on to a roland JV-1080 with the orchestral card. Sounded GREAT for what i need synths for.

I'm not sure how familiar everyone is with the genre but I play power metal in a band so I don't exactly need crazy/strange synth sounds. Mainly harpsichords, strings and a good lead sound.

I've never had a workstation so I have no experience, I was wondering what my choices were. I've sold my JV-1080 and the Yamaha DX7IIFD I had been using to control the JV, got tired of having to bring the very heavy DX7.. PLUS the JV module and all the cables.

So I've been looking at the Korg M50 which seems brilliant for the job, but I've just found out about the MOX6, It's only a bit more expensive and the m50 is like 3 years older. Then there's also the Juno Di/Gi and kurzweil PC3, And I dont know if i should be spending less money though, as I was fine with the old Yamaha S03, it was just the sounds, they werent that good. I've looked at the Korg x50 but it looks hideous to me and so does the yamaha MM6

Note: Keyboard action and build quality are definitely not a priority. I would also be needing to switch patches/programs quick on a live situation. Though for this, I'm considering the Behringer FCB1010.

I also purchased a Roland Lucina which was a HUGE dissapointment, being used to the S03 and the JV1080, I thought a keyboard this modern (lucina) would at least let me combine two patches. I cant even play a simple harpsichord+strings patch...

 

[Oyst3h]

The M50-61 and the MOX6 are pretty much the same price here in the UK. Which one is better is really a matter of personal preference. Yamaha traditionally have a reputation for being good at sounds of real instruments like harpsichord and strings, whereas Korg have a reputation more for "synth"-type sounds.

I'm surprised that you didn't like the S03. I've never played one, but generally Yamaha's AWM2 synths of that generation were pretty good. The fact that the S03 didn't impress you suggests that you should listen to an MOX6 before buying one - it may be that you just don't like the "Yamaha" sound.

The Juno Di is cheaper than the M50 and MOX6 (at least it is over here) - it's actually rather light and cheap feeling, and may not be a great choice for regular gigging. The Juno Gi is more expensive and only really adds some rather entry-level workstation-like features (song recorder, computer interface, etc) for the extra money. The Juno Stage is perhaps a better option for live use than either the Di/Gi if you want a Roland.

The PC3 series is a big step up - they're heavy, well-made, workhorses with a decent set of sounds, and a very powerful digital synth engine. Not easy to use, though, compared to the Japanese-made synths. Some fairly basic operations like setting up layers and splits involve some tedious button-pushing and navigating through menus to set up.

None of them are really workstations, though. To me, a workstation is something you can use to record an entire track without connecting to a computer, and none of the above are really geared up to do that - but nor is that what you're describing that you're looking for.

At the end of the day, get whatever you enjoy playing, and can find locally at a decent price, with some sort of service backup.

 

[Alucard]

Thanks for your reply Oyst3h. It's not that I didnt like the S03, that was like 4 years ago, I remember i just wanted to move on to a better sounding board, back then I paid like $400 for it, I see they cost $199 or so, thats used on guitar center, maybe I should give the s03 another chance.

UPDATE:

Ok so I finally bought a Korg M50. It seems good for what i need it for but honestly I thought i'd be a lot more impressed with the sounds. I'm gonna be tweaking it a lot but I can already tell, the harpsichord for example, was far better on the JV-1080 (orchestral expansion) than the korg m50's will ever be. This keyboard does have a lot more features and functions but considering the fact that you can get a jv-1080 for around $150 and the korg m50 is around $700, I would recommend people with similar interests as mine to buy the JV-1080 instead.