Korg Triton or Yamaha MX61?

[Arpangel]

OK, starting sessions again next week, and I need to get this keyboard situation sorted out, at the moment I don’t have a a dedicated hardware keyboard that I can really call versatile like my DX7 was, something that can be a jack of all trades, studio, gigs way out sounds etc.
I’ve got lots of what I call "bits and pieces" but nothing that I can bond with as a one box instrument.
I’m not looking for it to do everything on its own, I’ve got a few pedals I’d like to use with it to boost its abstract capabilities, but it has to be solid, versatile.
So on this basis I’m looking at secondhand Triton's, for which I have lots of my own sounds on floppy discs, or, a new Yamaha MX61, which sounds cool, and has some good bread and butter sounds, Rhodes etc, but it’s more expensive than a secondhand Triton, and not so well built.
As usual just running by you folks for some last minute oppinions.

[BJG145]

I've lived with both, and I wouldn't naturally have put you down for either.

[sonics]

I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it again, you really need to check out the Yamaha MODX+. The FM-X engine alone would be great for you, surely?

[MarkOne]

I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it again, you really need to check out the Yamaha MODX+. The FM-X engine alone would be great for you, surely?

I reckon this would tick an awful lot of boxes for you Tony, all the FM goodness you clearly love, and a fantastic sample based engine too, great sound sculpting options at the touch of a finger.

And at a shade over a grand pretty good value too. Bear in mind, back in 1985 the DX7 was £1500 - Something imprinted on my mind as I just never got that amount together to buy one. That's the equivalent of nearly £4.5K in today's money

[BJG145]

…hah, yeah, I would have been around 18 and dropping heavy hints to my parents. Didn’t happen.

[adamburgess]

Out of maybe 30+ keyboards I've had over the years, I love my little Korg i3 (2020 version) for school shows/open mics/jams/duo gigs. Paid for itself on one gig.

Plays lovely. Weighs nothing. It can be converted into a Keytar quite easily Sounds better than my Triton and M50. Feels nicer than my Arturia Keylab 61 mkII.

Only downside is recalling patches without names. So you have to remember them as an A1 or C4 registration, for example.

Given the choice between your two, the Yamaha is lighter and possibly better sounding? The 61 Triton is still quite a big beast in comparison.

[tea for two]

Yamaha PSS780 from 1989.
2 OP FM doddle to edit to make own sounds, store 5 edited sounds.
5 track melody recorder sequencer make instrumentals pdq.
12 voice polyphony.
Pitch bend wheel.
Line out, MiDi in out thru.
Lots of fun.

Drawbacks : mini keys, not velocity sensitive, edited sounds and recorded instrumentals lost when powered off could keep it on battery power.

http://www.crumblenet.co.uk/keyb/pss-780.html
http://weltenschule.de/TableHooters/Yamaha_PSS-780.html
https://manualzz.com/doc/838715/yamaha- ... r-s-manual
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TGaJrTqsX ... BzcyA3ODAg

[Arpangel]

I've lived with both, and I wouldn't naturally have put you down for either.

I wouldn’t have put me down for either, "either"



But, age is a strange thing, and it’s changed my wants and priorities, by the bucket load.
The thought of programming FM makes me think that I’d rather try and work out the value of a mobile phone package, it would be a lot less stressful.
I have about 60 of my own FM patches I made on my DX7 loaded into FM8, I need nothing else.
I had a Triton for awhile, and found I could get across what I needed to on it with no restrictions, no FM? so what? it wasn’t an issue, in fact, a lot of the preset sounds were cool, and I made a few of my own just fiddling with the knobs.
I use a lot of external effects, so any keyboard in theory will do now, as I normally process anything out of all recognition.
The key points are versatility, build quality, a very good keyboard, that’s about it, sound is not top of the list, on that basis I think the Triton has it on build, and keyboard, but the MX has it on lightness and range of presets, lightness and compactness being major points these days.
MODX is too much money, and I don’t think it’s easy to use, and that glowing knob irritates the hell out of me, I know you can turn it off, but it’s so naff.
adamburgess, that Korg i3 looks interesting, simpler than the MX, cheap, lots of decent presets, but can you edit things like envelopes and filter? also not sure about the electric pianos, the MX has some really good ones.

[The Red Bladder]

You can get cut-down Tritons and 19" rack Tritons. The Triton was designed to be the base keyboard which a muso would use most, with other, more exotic keys for doing weird things on. Add an MS20 and maybe a Prophecy and you got all the oddball stuff, plus regular sounds.

[Johnsy]

You can get cut-down Tritons and 19" rack Tritons. The Triton was designed to be the base keyboard which a muso would use most, with other, more exotic keys for doing weird things on. Add an MS20 and maybe a Prophecy and you got all the oddball stuff, plus regular sounds.

I bought a Triton when they first came out. As a guitarist, it's the only serious keyboard I've ever owned. What I really wanted was the 6-voice (and 6-part multitimbral) MOSS expansion board (essentially an onboard super-Prophecy), but I couldn't afford it at the time. I told myself I'd get it later, but of course I never did... mostly because the need for a keyboard like that (for me) pretty soon evaporated in the face of the computer revolution, and I ended up selling it on.

Looking now, I see that you can buy the keyboards themselves for substantially less than you can buy one of the few EXB-MOSS boards that seem to be available. I wonder how many Tritons have changed hands a few times and perhaps have the MOSS board without the seller even being aware of it. (They fitted from the underside IIRC - though it's been a long time, so don't quote me on that - , so I don't think there was any obvious outward sign that they were fitted or not. And you'd only look if you happened to know there was something to look for.)

[sonics]

I have about 60 of my own FM patches I made on my DX7 loaded into FM8, I need nothing else.

The MODX+ can load all your DX7 sounds, and adds four faders for easy editing.

MODX is too much money, and I don’t think it’s easy to use, and that glowing knob irritates the hell out of me, I know you can turn it off, but it’s so naff.

The "Super Knob" is a very useful multi-parameter control. The sounds have overlap, which is perfect for live use, the 61-note version is very light, it has external A/D as well as a multi-channel USB interface. It makes the MX look like a toy keyboard IMO.

That's it, last try, over to you!

[N i g e l]

Korg's OPSIX can read DX7 stuff too.

[Arpangel]

Korg's OPSIX can read DX7 stuff too.

Points taken about the MOD X, can it load DX sounds from an original DX7 Midi dump?
I don’t think the Opsix has all the bread and butter pianos etc.

[N i g e l]

MOD X, can it load DX sounds from an original DX7 Midi dump?

the key process is dooing the conversion on the webapp

https://faq.yamaha.com/sg/s/article/000023461

woody piano shack ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPIzX-fyzYo

[Arpangel]

MOD X, can it load DX sounds from an original DX7 Midi dump?

the key process is dooing the conversion on the webapp

https://faq.yamaha.com/sg/s/article/000023461

woody piano shack ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPIzX-fyzYo

Thanks for that, but it’s all too much, and the MOD-X looks way too complicated, that’s a side of my life I really don’t want to go back to.
All I need is a simply keyboard, that I can muck about with the presets.
I have two banks of DX7 sounds on both my Mac's, in FM8, if I can’t use them live it won’t be the end of the world.

[tea for two]

it’s all too much, and the MOD-X looks way too complicated, that’s a side of my life I really don’t want to go back to.
All I need is a simply keyboard, that I can muck about with the presets.

I'm picking up the yammy pss780 I mentioned earlier £25 from near Bow church. You are welcome to have it.

[Arpangel]

it’s all too much, and the MOD-X looks way too complicated, that’s a side of my life I really don’t want to go back to.
All I need is a simply keyboard, that I can muck about with the presets.

I'm picking up the yammy pss780 I mentioned earlier £25 from near Bow church. You are welcome to have it.

Thank's muchly TFT, but I had one a few years back, and gave it away!
It was fun, but I never used it much.

[Arpangel]

I’ve ordered the MX61, it should be here tomorrow.
I can’t think of anything else that’s so versatile at a reasonable price, and portable, that also has really good piano and Rhodes sounds, the Rhodes is particularly good.

[BJG145]

Great, I'm sure you'll enjoy that as a giggable all-rounder. Look forward to hearing what you do with it.

[Arpangel]

Well, it’s here, and it’s alright! loads of good sounds, very very good for the money.
I’ll give a full review when I’ve had it for ten years, that’s the only guarantee I can give that it won’t be returned next week!

[Arpangel]

Pssst? Is their anyone there?
It’s still here.
It must be good.

[Eddy Deegan]

I like Yamaha stuff a lot as a rule, especially when it comes to how it sounds, and the MX has a good pedigree insofar as it's related to the Motif family so I'm not surprised you're happy with the sounds!

Coincidentally a friend of mine has one of the new Montage M models (specifically the M6). I was very impressed with it and am seriously considering replacing two or three of my synths with a single Montage M8x at some point going forwards.

We'll see. The main point I'm making is that pretty much anything with a Motif pedigree is good stuff IMHO

[adrian_k]

Pssst? Is their anyone there?
It’s still here.
It must be good.

This is the ultimate accolade. I must buy one!

[tea for two]

There is a single Mx61mk2 in cex 2 years warranty £375 purchase online only.

SY85 and W7 were the last Yammy workstations I had around 2001.
That's when I thawd to gingerly tread water in pcs daw.
I dream of some manufacturer ASM pleeeease bringing out a 37key battery operated all singing dancing sampler workstation mic in hi-z in with a breath controller talk box type thing built in.

[Arpangel]

I like Yamaha stuff a lot as a rule, especially when it comes to how it sounds, and the MX has a good pedigree insofar as it's related to the Motif family so I'm not surprised you're happy with the sounds!

Coincidentally a friend of mine has one of the new Montage M models (specifically the M6). I was very impressed with it and am seriously considering replacing two or three of my synths with a single Montage M8x at some point going forwards.

We'll see. The main point I'm making is that pretty much anything with a Motif pedigree is good stuff IMHO

It’s good, what more can I say, I have no reason to send it back, it does all I wanted and a lot more, that I may or more likely, probably won’t use.
The actual keyboard is a lot better than I thought it was going to be, the Rhodes sounds are fine, absolutely fine, they have that Yamaha quality that I like. Plus, it has some really nice ethnic sounds, and some reedy organ-ish things that are a very welcome bonus.
This is going to be a studio board, gigging, jams etc, it’s fine, nothing else to say, and it’s great actually having an "instrument" again, that’s also very light (unlike my DX7) that won’t strain my ageing legs.
Eddy, if I had the space, an overriding yearning for a better keyboard and hadn’t lost all desire to program "anything" I’d have got the Montage, but it would be wasted on me, totally, nice board though.

I dream of some manufacturer ASM pleeeease bringing out a 37key battery operated all singing dancing sampler workstation mic in hi-z in with a breath controller talk box type thing built in.

Can we make that a 49 keyboard, ands some built in speakers please.