KORG NAUTILUS vs YAMAHA MODX Comparison Review

the Kronos has a ribbon controller and the nautilus don't that's for me a reason to buy the Kronos and not the nautilus

i have a Krome Ex and it works for me, but why lose the ribbon strip on the nautilus that the krones had?

Very helpful video, thanks! I've been researching both but for me the Nautilus is likely to win out. I've tried, but I cannot get used to the narrow, spongy keys on my MX61 though I love the sounds. I understand it's the same keybed - huge deal for me. This is my main reason for updating my 2nd tier keyboard - I get more enjoyment from and play better playing my Nord E6. Also, I'm a gigging keyboardist and all the DAW/Sequencer features are un-necessary as I use a laptop for that. YMMV!

A nautilus in a Modx body would be perfect. I have never been able to understand the logic behind those oldschool heavy chassis 61 keys (14 kg). A 61 is for portability. Kronos was to heavy and so is the Nautilus sadly :)

I too get a little frustrated at the boot up time of my Krome EX… but I still love the keyboard.

I went with the Nautilus and I love it…that superknob was beyond tempting though. I think with my style of music I made the right choice. Super helpful! Thank you!

I really dislike that sheen on every ever korg piano sound.

The Kronos and Nautilus have great Mellotron sounds. How about the ModX?

Thenk you so much .I have only one question is it keybord on modx-7 bether then modx -6 or EVRYTHING is the same exept 61 against 76

The MIDX feels life a toy and has a truly terrible spongy keyboard action. It might be much cheaper than the Montage but you certainly get what you pay for in that regard.

As I first time synth buyer I'm leaning towards the MODX7+. Being such a novice I have a basic question I'm almost embarrassed to ask. Is there a pattern sequencer on the MODX models? I've seen some videos of the Roland JD-Xi crossover synth. Different beast but the pattern sequencer looks very simple to programme using the physical keys.

The Modx has the same engine as the Montage, but it definitely doesn't sound as good as the Montage.

I had a Yamaha before, now I bought a Nautilus and compared to the Nautilus it is simply a quality gap both in terms of sound and construction of the device in favor of the Nautilus. I have the impression that most people who comment here do not have or have not had this equipment at home. If you check the sound on the headphones, you will see that Yamaha compared to Korg is just advanced toy (Modx is not Yamaha Montage). In addition, the keyboard taken straight from devices from the lower shelf. The price difference is small and the quality difference is huge. And the next "Plus" model is already a deadly price joke.

The korg Nautilus is on sale right now…$1699 for the 61 key.

Initially, I was planning to purchase the Modx+ instead of the Roland 06. However, I am currently feeling extremely unsure about the poor quality of the plastic bridge keys in the MODX, which I have observed through your camera angle. I am uncertain whether the new Modx+ has the same keys. It is frustrating that in this day and age, a key hinge mechanism like that is still present. I find it hard to believe that even a low-cost MIDI controller priced at 100 USD can have superior keybeds.

What about the keybed action quality of 61 keys version? I tried Nautilus 61 and it was very bad but Nautilus 73 and Modx7+ had really nice action...how can it be possible in Korg this difference?

Yamaha owns Korg. Most people do not know that.

Love the your videos Woody. You provide very positive information from both sides of the fence.
There is one part that everyone seems to miss. Having programmed our Motif Xs's for years now, I've gotten pretty proficient with tools by John Melas.
I also picked up a Krono's a couple of years ago for it's superior features but found it rather difficult to design sounds used in diverse cover band. I simply never could get comfortable being bound to the touch screen of the Kronos. I've recently purchased a Montage to replace the Kronos and am much happier and more efficient programming sounds now.
Another thing is that the Yamaha's are rock solid.
The Korg products are flaky from time with various issues. Sounds not loading consistently, Key bed issues, OS Locking up and more. These characteristics are not deemed acceptable for live performance. You just don't see this on the Yamaha side. Yamaha is hands down more stable. This is one of the reasons you see more Yamaha's on professional stages rather than Korg products.

Keep up the good work !!

I hated the kronos i sold it it crashed 3 or 4 tinescwhile on stage in firstb6 months tooks 2 minutes plus to boot which is stupidly long missed a whole song an expensive ups power conditioner made no difference andxwasnt that impressed with thexacoustic piano andcwas too complicated i never buy a nautilus at least the kronos had great controls

Les deux claviers ont des moteurs différents mais j'ai une préférence pour les yamaha à cause du style du clavier le super nobe, le prix l'authenticité des pianos de chez yamaha !

Es cierto que el secuenciador del NAUTILUS es más avanzado que el del MODX pero también es cierto que el MODX viene con una licencia del CUBASE AI (DAW), lo que permite usar este DAW como secuenciador externo en tu PC y esto permite ya posibilidades casi infinitas respecto a secuencias, VST y samples.

I love ya Yamaha, but I'm going with Korg on this one (I never thought I'd hear myself saying that one!)

What are you smokin you can open the nautilus and the sliders are right there the mode is way less of a keyboard 😊

The screens are pathetic...

Is the modx compatible with ableton. And is it easy to set up? Plus can it be set up direct to a mixer as audio input? Tia

Sent my MOD X back for a Kronos with no regrets.

OMG sooooo many Yamaha fanboys....



....as am I. Rock solid. Gets the job done ;-)

Korg nautilus for me ❤

I ❤love you

"read somewhere they are balanced, but don't quote me on that, not sure where I read that" - staring at the panel where it says "outputs (balanced)" I know, these things happen :D

Maybe it's just me... maybe it's just a random coincidence... but I have one, totally different Yamaha keyboard instrument and after watching a few comparisons between brands to me there is a general difference between Yamaha sound and Korg sound (and also Roland sound). The Yamaha sound being a little more "true" and punchy with stronger mids. Whereas the Korg sounds to me a bit V shaped and maybe little more "gracious" to ears.

Not a big fan of FM , it has its place , but in holding out to check out the new montage VA engine I think, however the Kurtzweil and nautilus already provide good Virtual Analog engines. I have no experience with either but the Kurtzweil likely has the best sound fidelity and tone of all the keyboards, based on the fact that it’s the only keyboards they use on broadway. Where I’m told they use them like any other acoustic instrument . Andrew Lloyd Webber has a kurz keyboardist who plays with two Genelec speakers facing the actors and two speakers going over the orchestra toward the audience. They set the volume to equal the volume of the cellos and/or bassoons . And supposedly it’s incredible , it slots right in. So I’ve always taken that anecdote seriously as a compliment to both Kurtzweil and Genelec . I’ve always been a Yamaha guy though, I’ve owned other gear but my motif es8 is still my main big synth , got it brand new over 20 years ago, it’s been turned on most of those 20 years and has NEVER had so much as a hiccup!
I used to really love the sound of the Mackie mr8 monitors. But they had bum capacitors , I went through 6-8 pairs of them one would start buzzing then the other . Usually right after the warranty .

The capacitors were DRENCHED in this epoxy compound which made them not worth my time to remove. I got sick of my speakers going out and I had 4 circuit boards the only thing they needed to be fixed was <5$ of parts and who knows how many hours spent with an exacto knife freeing the capacitors from their prison of hardened resinous goo.
No electronic repair shop would touch them.
I bought a pair of Yamaha hs8 , I don’t mind the flatter sound they improved my mixes (as much as a pair of monitors can ) and they are going strong been left in since 2018.
Just got some hs5 for near field .

For the heck of it I bought the Mackiecr2 cube speakers . They sounded fantastic but the left driver started buzzing a week into ownership.

😮

Korg NAUTILUS is perfect

I think the Nautilus sounds much better, more detailed live, and is much more usable live. A more complete, well-designed machine with greater knowledge. I used both in practice, I think that says it all.

I just ordered the modx 6 plus today :)

Great video. I went with a Nautilus 61 and think it's superb. A great feature for me is Set Lists - playing in a covers band this is so helpful!

🥰How Good It Is To Have A Keyboardist Family🥰

Absolutely can't stand that joystick. No modwheel or pitch (thats not on a spring). Nope.

I have Kronos 61 & Modx 7+ and 6. What is unacceptable with Korg nowadays is the lack of a pattern sequencer with buttons to switch sequences while playing live. Modx has it and its a must have. Soundwise Korg is above , except for the FM sounds which sound great on Modx

Yamaha MoDX 6 plys vs Korg Nautilus
1088 vs 1516 pounds
Whuch Sound better???

Thank you for let us observe a comprehensive analysis of two great keyboards. It's very rare to see a comparison of different types of makes.
Does Nautilus user files compatible with Modx?
Cheers 👏👏

yamaha piano isgreat

i don't own any Korg keyboard but i played the M50 and the Kronos, the latter in a band setting (it was owned by the band) and i'm not blown away by the sounds honestly. The "analog" engine is ok albeit a bit "oldschool". but the sampled sounds are mediocre at best - definitely not worth the price. i know it's discontinued now and the Nautilus isn't as expensive as the Kronos was. But yeah, Montage M or Fantom are better deals. And with Nord stage 4 even Nord became viable as a "workstation" type keyboard (even though it still lacks some features, the layering is limited, doesn't have a sequencer, doesn't have backing track playback, doesn't have more complex modulation options beyond simple LFOs, etc... but some people don't need that stuff). Not seeing much of a case for Kronos, that's probably why it was discontinued. Oh one last thing: the GUI on the Kronos is not really suitable for touch control - lot of tiny buttons and click areas, things you need to drag don't really want to be dragged unless you manage to star the drag in a particular area which is like 2px wide ... very fiddly. The engines Woody talks about - they don't do physical modeling in the true sense, like the Fantom, for example. they are sample-based, just like the AWM2 in the yamaha, but they add a little "modeling" on top for sympathetic string resonance and key noise, but they don't really do physical modeling of the main piano sound or anything like that.

Fairly recently (2024) Korg have included the Full set of sounds & features of the famous 80s Korg M1 And now you can download the superb Korg Wavestation Inc All the original sounds & features also, so I make that 11 engine's, more than enough composing & writing, just hope the processing power of the chips on the motherboard can cope with so much more sound's 🤗

How much was the Modx8 back then? It's $2200 now.

What would be the best choice for a person looking to get one of these in lieu of a nice piano?

Long time Kronos user. I just love everything about Korg’s workstations, but the Yamaha looks pretty cool.

The Nautilus definitely sounds better. Korg just pays better attention to the details. And I’ve been a Yamaha guy for years. I got to try out the nautilus and I was mortified how clean it was. I’d like to see the next Nautilus update.

Have the MODX 8 poor build quality

It’s giving me issue it sounds great but then you can enjoy it because of the build quality

today's yamahas sound better than the korgs, also rolands' sound better, as what I see, korg want to give competition the roland, yamaha and korzweil