From hudakjm@mcmaster.ca Fri Feb 03 17:30:51 2012
Subject:Re: Korg BX-3 Opinions Sought

Like you I've been playing guitar and bass, for what seems like forever. A few years ago, after coming to the realization that I should have done this when I was much younger, I decided to take up keys. I went to my local music stores and tried out a number of clones. Didn't hear anything I liked. Went to one that carried Korg. The guy took me upstairs to one of the practice rooms where he had both the Korg BX-3 and a real B-3 with Leslie. He played the same passages on both keyboards. After being so disappointed in all the other clones I felt I found the one that came "closest" to what I was hearing from the "real" B-3, so I bought the Korg.

Here's the thing. There are a lot of great players on this group. Everyone has their own tastes. I've read many recommendations on new clones and have gone out to music stores to give a listen. Some I agreed with, some I didn't understand what the fuss was about, but I made sure, as a newbie keyboard player, that I listened real hard to what the folks on this group were saying and applying it with respect to my own personal tastes. I really appreciated what they were saying. The point being that tastes will vary. I hear things in the BX-3 I don't like. I hear things in other clones I don't like. I even hear things in B-3's I don't like as their sound can vary from one unit to the next. You can drive yourself crazy, or bankrupt, striving for that last "nth" degree of perfection. I don't know if you'll ever find it, although you might get lucky.

If the BX-3 sounds good to you and is in your price range then you should have no qualms about considering it. It's a great keyboard. It's well built, sounds good, feels pretty close to a real B-3, etc. No, it's not perfect. The harshness I was able to substantially reduce by running it through a tube preamp. "BIG" difference. Other problems can be mitigated with things like the Vent. I've taken suggestions from others on how to tweak the settings with good results. I can afford to go out and buy a new clone every couple of years to try and get to that goal of perfection, but in the end, for me, I came to the realization that the only way that will happen is to actually buy a real B-3 and a Leslie, and unfortunately that's not going to happen anytime soon, if ever. And so I'll stick with the BX-3 for the foreseeable future. There is so much of a psychological aspect to this that we can probably never really know how another human being hears the same thing, so we must pass what they tell us through our own personal taste filter. You as a guitarist will know this to be true when it comes to which guitar or amp a person likes, and no doubt went through the same process when finding your favourite instrument(s).

Try other keyboards out and see what you think. If it sounds like the BX-3 would be happy in your home then go for it.

I'll stop blathering on now!

Good luck,
John