Finally, a comparison of synthesizers from different manufacturers, which is not about saying only negative things. Each synthesizer is a great instrument. I have a Roland Fantom 7 and a Nautilus 73 and I used to have a Yamaha MODX8. Each has outstanding features. I recently bought the Nautilus 73 and it is a very good synth. It has everything a Music Workstation needs. I didn't like the Korg Kronos for a long time because I didn't have a chance to explore its possibilities. I only had a cursory look at the musical instrument store. The Nautilus videos convinced me and I really like it. Because they love making sounds, like the AL-1, Polysix, MS-20. MOD-7 STR-1 offers fantastic options, as does the Fantom Model Expansion Jupiter 8, Juno 106, JX8p, and SH-101, as well as N/Zyme with the Zen-Core engine. MODX offers great acoustic sounds that are the best on the market. All three synths are outstanding, and if you're lucky enough to have all three, you're a lucky man.
Has the same polyphony as montage and nautilus, but you need to learn how to layer sounds since lots of Roland Pad and synth sounds take a lot of polyphony.
I like the Nautilus sounds the most but it looks 30 years old and weighs a ton. If only korg would make something more like the Fantom and Modx with buttons and pads....61 key under 10 kg!
Sir, excellent review. I’ve owned a Kronos 2 73 since it was introduced. Love the hammer action (I’m an acoustic pianist so this is important) and the sounds are fantastic. I use lots of splits/layers w/expression pedal when playing live with praise & worship band, but also playing solo keys when grand piano would awaken family. Only occasional but very basic synth/sound design (as I love the existing sounds). But…even after years of playing Kronos, I find the under interface very challenging and non-intuitive. After taking a few weeks off from Kronos, it’s like I have to re-learn everything. I spend a lot of time reading the pdf manuals, but even those are not the greatest. After that explanation, my question is if you think I might benefit from changing to a different platform. I still have my Yamaha MOX6 that I played for years. Upgraded to Kronos because kept running into limitations when using complex splits/layers and the MOX6 interface was horrible. Kronos interface much better but still far from good. I use sequencer occasionally (mainly for practicing), but again it is not intuitive and difficult to use for simple parts recording. Maybe a Roland Fantom would be preferable? Price is not a concern. My primary concerns are good hammer action keybed, ability to perform complex splits/layers, good performance mode (akin to set lists on Kronos), simple and intuitive user interface, preferably ~73 keys. Thanks!
I love comparisons like this, but it's a little confusing when you list 3 models in the comparison and you are including other models in your video comments.
Hey there, I hear you have room for one more to stay at your place and take care of those lovely keyboards, I'm volunteering. 😅 Jokes aside, you have an incredible setup there that covers almost everything. I heard you mention something about the Yamaha sound being "3D, full cinematic", what did you mean by that? I want to love the Korg (because I think it's a good mix of great acoustic stuff and synth stuff), but the pianos from the Kronos (and evidently the Nautilus) didn't convince me the way the Yamaha pianos do (and do well in busy mixes), but they are much than Roland's while the EP's on the Korgs are delicious compared to the Yamaha's offering, but I'm curious what you think?
I like the Italian grand piano on korg, but definitely, the grand piano on montage is super realistic. As far as multi dimensional voices on montage, it's expression of how the super know works in conjunction with both AWM and FMX sound engines and mix those voices multidimensional like (according to yamaha) and you are right, I have more room, I've already put an order for new montage and a kurzweil k2700, also I pre-ordered the nautilus 88 with after touch, it's a bummer that it came out right 2 weeks after I bought mine, anyway I'm going to sell this one on reverb after receiving the new one with AT and since I got this one with huge discounts from Sweetwater (around $2100) probably I wouldn't loose too much 😀
@@synth.s I see. I really like how brand-agnostic you are, it helps bring a balanced perspective and for the fact you've been playing longer since some of us have been alive is a big one! 😄 I really do wish we had some affordability road to get these keyboards, where I'm from they are quite pricey and the stores here don't have credit like options, except your traditional credit card. Since I'm already here (and a sub'r), plans to get the Nord, or is that not in the road map?
@tonylancer7367 I like nord piano sounds, but it's a bit overpriced. In my opinion, however, it's the greatest stage piano with a perfect and flawless workflow for any musician who gigs on stage.
Sad to say it's been a little disheartening seeing Korg step away from innovating in the flagship game. Seems after OASYS, the m.o. has been to reuse those same exact sound engines inside progressively cheaper hardware. If you have an oasys, there's almost no compelling reason to get any other korg releases, other than maybe physical portability (oasys is massively big, so i did snag a 63key m50 for running around, as it is feather lite) The few extra tones and patches weren't quite enough to justify the move to kronos for me, and the nautilus seems more or less a rebadge. I gotta say, the newest montage has sound that is definitely next gen. Roland always seems ok, but I've never found any "wow" sounds from them, and for me their actions are slow and heavy, but i get that this is strictly a personal preference. The latest Montage action is amazing though, and the polyphonic aftertouch is definitely a great feature few others offer. Hope Korg revisits the game with a truly innovative offer. Also, i don't know too many folks that still produce in the workstation alone. Except for very special circumstances, almost everyone has access to some form of a DAW and will have a much easier time intuitively using it, than composing in a proprietary sequencer/multitracker embedded in their keyboard. So other than providing some sampling memory for user recorded/uploades samples, i don't care if all future flagships are "synths only" without a built-in "multitrack recording" features. Today that's about as necessary as including a casette-tape player in your car's stereo...
Roland fantom is a workstation/synthesizer, and yamaha Genos is an arranger. These are two completely different keyboards for different purposes. If you are a one man band and want to play on stage for entertaining, then Genos is your cup of tea. Otherwise, if you are playing with a band or you are into music to compose and sound designing, then Fantom is your best solution.
@tomstubbs1 That's a good budget mixer with 48 channels around $2800. If you don't need that many channels, you may go with Yamaha Tf1 or Dm3 or peavey aureus .Those are 28 channels, and around the range of $1800
As I mentioned in the video, The Roland fantom has the best keybed since it's a Wood-Hammer action, and both Montage and Nautilus keybeds are almost at the same level.
Kronos is still the best machine out there. But it has such a complex and steep learning curve that most people are not interested in putting the effort to learn programming it. However once you master it no other synth comes even close. I guess Kronos was just too much complex for the majority of people and Korg had to simplify it creating Nautilus. Karma the smart arpeggiator of Kronos, has a software of its own created by Karma Labs, if you know how to use it it is almost having AI in your music creating live with you, it is so deep and powerful like a Pandora's Box but very complex and hard to learn. I have my Kornos X for over 10 years and I am still learning about it. But, one thing is for sure, not going to sell it! Roland for me, as usual is overpriced ant not worth the money they ask for and Yamaha is great in everything they do.
Finally, a comparison of synthesizers from different manufacturers, which is not about saying only negative things. Each synthesizer is a great instrument. I have a Roland Fantom 7 and a Nautilus 73 and I used to have a Yamaha MODX8. Each has outstanding features. I recently bought the Nautilus 73 and it is a very good synth. It has everything a Music Workstation needs. I didn't like the Korg Kronos for a long time because I didn't have a chance to explore its possibilities. I only had a cursory look at the musical instrument store. The Nautilus videos convinced me and I really like it. Because they love making sounds, like the AL-1, Polysix, MS-20. MOD-7 STR-1 offers fantastic options, as does the Fantom Model Expansion Jupiter 8, Juno 106, JX8p, and SH-101, as well as N/Zyme with the Zen-Core engine. MODX offers great acoustic sounds that are the best on the market. All three synths are outstanding, and if you're lucky enough to have all three, you're a lucky man.
They are all indeed great synthesizers, and as consumers, we are lucky that they have these too many great choices.
Great comparison! Each one with their qualities!
I love Yamaha but would have them all if I could.
😱 da pra comprar um apartamento com o que vc tem de teclado..... 🎉 muito top..... Parabéns e sucesso🏆💪
Amazing video. Very informative. Im thinking about getting the Fantom 8 but i keep hearing about polyphony issues. Have you encountered this?
Has the same polyphony as montage and nautilus, but you need to learn how to layer sounds since lots of Roland Pad and synth sounds take a lot of polyphony.
@@synth.s Thanks for the reply. Im looking to buy one for sure now
Very Informative Thank You 😄
For to complete setup You have to buy Kurzweil K2700 workstation and Ketron Event, Roland E-a7 arrangers 😊👍
I'm planning on a kurzweil and a Roland Rd2000
I like the Nautilus sounds the most but it looks 30 years old and weighs a ton. If only korg would make something more like the Fantom and Modx with buttons and pads....61 key under 10 kg!
Sir, excellent review. I’ve owned a Kronos 2 73 since it was introduced. Love the hammer action (I’m an acoustic pianist so this is important) and the sounds are fantastic. I use lots of splits/layers w/expression pedal when playing live with praise & worship band, but also playing solo keys when grand piano would awaken family. Only occasional but very basic synth/sound design (as I love the existing sounds). But…even after years of playing Kronos, I find the under interface very challenging and non-intuitive. After taking a few weeks off from Kronos, it’s like I have to re-learn everything. I spend a lot of time reading the pdf manuals, but even those are not the greatest.
After that explanation, my question is if you think I might benefit from changing to a different platform. I still have my Yamaha MOX6 that I played for years. Upgraded to Kronos because kept running into limitations when using complex splits/layers and the MOX6 interface was horrible. Kronos interface much better but still far from good. I use sequencer occasionally (mainly for practicing), but again it is not intuitive and difficult to use for simple parts recording.
Maybe a Roland Fantom would be preferable? Price is not a concern. My primary concerns are good hammer action keybed, ability to perform complex splits/layers, good performance mode (akin to set lists on Kronos), simple and intuitive user interface, preferably ~73 keys. Thanks!
Both Roland Fantom or New Yamaha Montage M Series are excellent choices, especially Montage m8x, since it has polyphonic after touch.
Thanks!@@synth.s
Magnifico.💪💪💪💪💪💪
1.Roland, 2 Korg, 3.Yamaha
I love comparisons like this, but it's a little confusing when you list 3 models in the comparison and you are including other models in your video comments.
Hey there, I hear you have room for one more to stay at your place and take care of those lovely keyboards, I'm volunteering. 😅
Jokes aside, you have an incredible setup there that covers almost everything. I heard you mention something about the Yamaha sound being "3D, full cinematic", what did you mean by that?
I want to love the Korg (because I think it's a good mix of great acoustic stuff and synth stuff), but the pianos from the Kronos (and evidently the Nautilus) didn't convince me the way the Yamaha pianos do (and do well in busy mixes), but they are much than Roland's while the EP's on the Korgs are delicious compared to the Yamaha's offering, but I'm curious what you think?
I like the Italian grand piano on korg, but definitely, the grand piano on montage is super realistic. As far as multi dimensional voices on montage, it's expression of how the super know works in conjunction with both AWM and FMX sound engines and mix those voices multidimensional like (according to yamaha) and you are right, I have more room, I've already put an order for new montage and a kurzweil k2700, also I pre-ordered the nautilus 88 with after touch, it's a bummer that it came out right 2 weeks after I bought mine, anyway I'm going to sell this one on reverb after receiving the new one with AT and since I got this one with huge discounts from Sweetwater (around $2100) probably I wouldn't loose too much 😀
@@synth.s I see. I really like how brand-agnostic you are, it helps bring a balanced perspective and for the fact you've been playing longer since some of us have been alive is a big one! 😄
I really do wish we had some affordability road to get these keyboards, where I'm from they are quite pricey and the stores here don't have credit like options, except your traditional credit card.
Since I'm already here (and a sub'r), plans to get the Nord, or is that not in the road map?
@tonylancer7367 I like nord piano sounds, but it's a bit overpriced. In my opinion, however, it's the greatest stage piano with a perfect and flawless workflow for any musician who gigs on stage.
How about the Cinematic/Orchestral sounds?
Nautilus has one of the best string voices.
Kronos 2 is the greatest workstation that's ever been. 🤘😁
It really is!
Sad to say it's been a little disheartening seeing Korg step away from innovating in the flagship game. Seems after OASYS, the m.o. has been to reuse those same exact sound engines inside progressively cheaper hardware. If you have an oasys, there's almost no compelling reason to get any other korg releases, other than maybe physical portability (oasys is massively big, so i did snag a 63key m50 for running around, as it is feather lite) The few extra tones and patches weren't quite enough to justify the move to kronos for me, and the nautilus seems more or less a rebadge. I gotta say, the newest montage has sound that is definitely next gen. Roland always seems ok, but I've never found any "wow" sounds from them, and for me their actions are slow and heavy, but i get that this is strictly a personal preference. The latest Montage action is amazing though, and the polyphonic aftertouch is definitely a great feature few others offer. Hope Korg revisits the game with a truly innovative offer.
Also, i don't know too many folks that still produce in the workstation alone. Except for very special circumstances, almost everyone has access to some form of a DAW and will have a much easier time intuitively using it, than composing in a proprietary sequencer/multitracker embedded in their keyboard. So other than providing some sampling memory for user recorded/uploades samples, i don't care if all future flagships are "synths only" without a built-in "multitrack recording" features. Today that's about as necessary as including a casette-tape player in your car's stereo...
Hi brother, i am confused, i like to buy Yamaha Genos or Roland Fantom 8, can you tell me your expertise suggestion
Roland fantom is a workstation/synthesizer, and yamaha Genos is an arranger. These are two completely different keyboards for different purposes. If you are a one man band and want to play on stage for entertaining, then Genos is your cup of tea. Otherwise, if you are playing with a band or you are into music to compose and sound designing, then Fantom is your best solution.
@@synth.s Thank you brother for the Suggestion
What kind of mixer are you using?
Currently I have a Yamaha TF3
@@synth.s Thanks. Was it costly?
@tomstubbs1 That's a good budget mixer with 48 channels around $2800. If you don't need that many channels, you may go with Yamaha Tf1 or Dm3 or peavey aureus .Those are 28 channels, and around the range of $1800
Could you compare the keybeds?
As I mentioned in the video, The Roland fantom has the best keybed since it's a Wood-Hammer action, and both Montage and Nautilus keybeds are almost at the same level.
Hi my friend i finally got the Yamaha Genos
Enjoy it. It's one of the most powerful Arrangers on the market and has superior sound quality 👌
Kronos is still the best machine out there. But it has such a complex and steep learning curve that most people are not interested in putting the effort to learn programming it. However once you master it no other synth comes even close. I guess Kronos was just too much complex for the majority of people and Korg had to simplify it creating Nautilus. Karma the smart arpeggiator of Kronos, has a software of its own created by Karma Labs, if you know how to use it it is almost having AI in your music creating live with you, it is so deep and powerful like a Pandora's Box but very complex and hard to learn. I have my Kornos X for over 10 years and I am still learning about it. But, one thing is for sure, not going to sell it! Roland for me, as usual is overpriced ant not worth the money they ask for and Yamaha is great in everything they do.