Yamaha EX5 or Yamaha MM6 which one to buy?

[muso1563]

I am looking for a used keyboard for my son, he is 13 and plays piano and keyboard by ear quite well.

I already have a Yamaha Acoustic Piano and a Kurzweil PC3X which we both play on.

I have seen a used Yamaha EX5 and also a used Yamaha MM6, the MM6 is about $150 dearer.

He likes piano but also keyboards as well, I am assuming the MM6 would have the better piano sound but with 61 keys it would be limited. I also like the action on the EX5 as well as the extra octave, I am not sure if the action on the MM6 is good or just plastic.
I owned in the past a DX7 and a Korg M1 both of which had great action and feel...same key bed I think, the keys have a rib underneath unlike the cheap plastic feeling actions. I had a Korg Triron LE 76 and the action was so cheap and nasty it was virtually unplayable to me, the Korg X5 and N5 was the same and I am wondering if the MM6 is a cheap/nasty keyboard or is it really good?

I guess what I am asking is it better to by an older high end model (EX5) or a newer entry level model (MM6)?
We just want to jam on it and have fun, he will probably get more into the editing than I will.

So EX5 versus MM6 or even if I find one MO6, any tips and opinions would be much appreciated

 

[b3maniac]

The MM6 action feels loose and inexpensive. I don't know about the EX5.
I would look at the MO6. Don

 

[muso1563]

Thanks Don, I may even consider an old Motif Classic or if I can afford it Motif ES

 

[082071]

Hello. I don't know if you made your decision yet & bought a keyboard. I can tell you from experience that the EX5 is actually more powerful then the MO6. Like the MO6, the EX5 has 128 not polyphony, sampling & sampled instruments. The EX5 comes with several acoustic modeling, FM syntheses, analog modeling, etc boards built in. The more expensive MO series (even the latest & most expensive models) dropped these features & offer them as add-on expansion boards! To buy an MO6 & all the expansion boards that are already on the EX5, would cost at least 2X the cost of an EX5! I have a MO6 & it's actually cheaper to just buy a used EX5, (which I will soon do) rather than buy all the expansion boards. So basically, the EX5 can do almost everything that the MO6 or MM6 can do, but that MO6/MM6 can not do what the EX5 can do. I think you'd have a lot more fun with an EX. You can find some information, specs & comparisons at this link. I just hope I caught you in time, before you bought an MO6 or MM6.

http://tweakheadz.com/reviews/review-motif-family.htm