Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Korg M3 Question


Recommended Posts

I figure if anybody would know, somewhere here would. Yes, I have the infamous "touch screen doesn't work" issue, and I've seen the various threads in here about what's involved in replacing it.

 

However...while probing the outer reaches of the interwebz, apparently this problem (or something similar) has happened with touch screens on other Korg products. One guy said to take the touch screen apart, clean it with 99% isopropyl alcohol, put it back together, and it will work.

 

So my question to the Keyboard Corner Kollective Konsciousness is whether anyone has tried this to fix an M3 touch screen. If so, I'd try it before replacing the touch screen.

 

I still love that keyboard, but it's useless without the touch screen, and for some reason the M3 won't communicate with the editing software on Windows 10, even after configuring the latest USB-MIDI driver and installing the M3 as a USB-MIDI device.

 

Any ideas?

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 18
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Same story here. Owned it for 13 years. Great synth, especially with the Radias expansion, loved the keybed, controls, etc. Touchscreen stopped working after 5 years of careful use. Replaced it and never again experienced an issue. Tilting panel was a great idea.

Memo

____________________________________________

Roland Fantom 6/Px-5S/Hydrasynth/DX7IIE!

MBP/Logic/Mainstage/Omnisphere/Native/Arturia

Roland Pk-5A

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found an M3 touch screen repair kit on Amazon for $47. Twice as much as if I bought just the part from Mouser, but with Mouser quoting a 25-week lead time from Fujitsu, I figured it was worth the extra bucks to have something in a week or two.

 

I looked over the instructions, seems doable in about two hours. If the fix works, it will be well worth it! Meanwhile my Korg Z1 has come out of retirement to pinch-hit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chiming in with: I loved my M3 (if the band was still together I"d probably still have it).

 

I had the touch screen replaced and it was so worth it.

 

Also, for reasons I don"t recall (probably because I was afraid I"d have to do it again and wouldn"t be able to find the part), I still have a spare new touch screen.

 

If you want it I"ll happily ship it off for free (or for the cost of shipping if you wanted to throw me back a few bucks).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found an M3 touch screen repair kit on Amazon for $47. Twice as much as if I bought just the part from Mouser, but with Mouser quoting a 25-week lead time from Fujitsu, I figured it was worth the extra bucks to have something in a week or two.

I looked over the instructions, seems doable in about two hours. If the fix works, it will be well worth it! Meanwhile my Korg Z1 has come out of retirement to pinch-hit.

 

Funny thing, but many larger or fancier Korgs seemingly end up needing at least ONE meaningful repair, after which they're good to go for a long while. I had my Korg 01Wfd's drive replaced just once and the instrument held up for 8 more years. Repairs are always a nail chewer, but my luck has been about a B-, which seems well within karmic tolerance.

 

The Z1 was before its time and probably still before OURS in its underlying architecture. I had an unsane friend who spent a chunk of his student loan on one. :waitwhat:

 

That's probably ill-advised, but I got some added lessons from exploring the presets. It helped me to understand Zawinul's love for the Prophecy as a solo tool. The sound was sometimes more 8-bit gritty than pretty, but it could be sweet. The pads are still around on the Wavestate and MoDWave. I think I'll pull my old Kaoss pad out and see if I can get it to act as a pitch bender. I love my XKeys, but the bender buttons sucketh mightily next to joysticks and wheels.

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chiming in with: I loved my M3 (if the band was still together I"d probably still have it).

 

I had the touch screen replaced and it was so worth it.

 

Also, for reasons I don"t recall (probably because I was afraid I"d have to do it again and wouldn"t be able to find the part), I still have a spare new touch screen.

 

If you want it I"ll happily ship it off for free (or for the cost of shipping if you wanted to throw me back a few bucks).

 

As if anyone needed further proof this forum completely rocks, see above...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, for reasons I don"t recall (probably because I was afraid I"d have to do it again and wouldn"t be able to find the part), I still have a spare new touch screen.

 

If you want it I"ll happily ship it off for free (or for the cost of shipping if you wanted to throw me back a few bucks).

 

OMG!! That would be incredible!! I also have an M3-m (I told you I liked the M3) and its display has been dead for even longer. I'd be more than happy to cover shipping, and extra for your trouble. Check your PMs :)

 

Yet another reason I love Musicplayer.com...:thu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Z1 was before its time and probably still before OURS in its underlying architecture.

 

I've owned a lot of Korgs in the past, and the Z1 was hands-down my favorite of them all.

 

My first synth was a Korg DW-8000 when it first came out. I've had about 7 or 8 Korgs in my lifetime (since then), and I really got along with the Z1 for a good number of years. Toward the end (just before I sold it a couple years ago), I was mainly using it for its modeled Organ sounds for gigging.

 

Currently I am Korg-less in my arsenal, but that may change one day (again!).

Kurzweil PC3, Yamaha MOX8, Alesis Ion, Kawai K3M
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, similar problem - no longer responsive to touch operations, which is a bummer for browsing combis and presets and stuff.

 

Or doing pretty much anything! At the moment, the best I can do is call up a program. If I could get the computer editor working, that would help. Maybe my ancient (and pretty much useless) Snow Leopard Mac will be able to talk to the M3...in my experience, Korg's MIDI/USB driver has never been all that solid.

 

It's kind of interesting that the one synth I have that can take pretty much anything I throw at it is the Casio XW-P1. I don't take it out gigging, which would probably be a different story, but all the software works, the buttons work, and the keys work. Best of all, it still has that vibe of being designed by a colony of intelligent Martians who had never actually played a synthesizer, so they just invented something they thought would be cool. And it is :thu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, similar problem - no longer responsive to touch operations, which is a bummer for browsing combis and presets and stuff.

 

Or doing pretty much anything! At the moment, the best I can do is call up a program. If I could get the computer editor working, that would help. Maybe my ancient (and pretty much useless) Snow Leopard Mac will be able to talk to the M3...in my experience, Korg's MIDI/USB driver has never been all that solid.

 

I was relearning how to play keys on my M3 before I got the Casio CT-S1... because about all I could do on the M3 was pull up a piano preset, then maybe goof off by messing with filter cutoff and Q with the sliders. I remember in your epic review you highlighted the keybed - still feels pretty nice! Love the drum pads too.

 

Now that you mention it, I looked up the editor. Looks like Korg uploaded 2.2.2 for M3 Xpanded in 2019. There are also USB-Driver download updated 2019 for Macs, 2021 for Windows.

 

Korg M3 Xpanded downloads

 

Korg M3 (non-Xpanded) downloads

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that you mention it, I looked up the editor. Looks like Korg uploaded 2.2.2 for M3 Xpanded in 2019.

 

Hmmm...couldn't find anything above 2.2.1 for Windows, but did find 2.2.2 for Mac. This may be a chance for my obsolete Mac laptop to shine!

 

Seems I have the latest USB-MIDI driver (1.15_r45e) but did find a 2.0.5 firmware update, I'm still on 2.0.0.

 

Interestingly, strings are still available for my 1966 Telecaster :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...