When Korg released the M3 in 2007, they faced a tough act to follow—the original M1 had become one of the best-selling workstations ever made, and the flagship OASYS had just redefined what a high-end synth could do. Rather than try to compete on the same level, Korg made a smarter move: they took the core DNA of the OASYS, streamlined it into something more practical and affordable, and created a workstation that proved you didn't need to break the bank to get serious sound and functionality.
The M3 runs on an Enhanced Definition Synthesis engine built around PCM sample playback, giving you access to over 1,000 multi-samples and 1,500 drum sounds right out of the box. You get dual oscillators feeding into up to four filters, five LFOs, and five envelope generators for shaping those sounds, all with 120-voice polyphony. The control surface includes eight velocity-sensitive pads that can trigger single notes or programmed chords up to eight notes deep, eight sliders for real-time tweaking, and a 320x240 color LCD touchscreen that doubles as an XY control pad—borrowed directly from Korg's Kaoss technology. The keyboard comes in 61, 73, or 88-key versions with fully weighted RH3 keybeds and polyphonic aftertouch. You also get a full sequencer with 480 PPQ resolution, KARMA 2 for algorithmic pattern generation, and a generous effects section with five insert effects, two master effects, and one total effect. The M3 can sample directly into its 64MB of onboard RAM (expandable to 320MB), and it integrates seamlessly with computers via USB.
The M3 earned Korg's Keyboard of the Year award at Musik Messe in 2007, and it's held up well in the community. Musicians appreciated the combination of deep editing capabilities, solid sound quality, and the flexibility to use it as a standalone workstation or integrate it into a DAW setup. The main criticisms centered on limited sample RAM for serious sampling work and the lack of dedicated audio track recording, though the in-track sampling feature helped offset that limitation. The modular design was also a nice touch—you could swap out the sound module or add additional synthesis engines depending on which keyboard size you chose.
