Korg's new, free M3 XPanded upgrade of the company's flagship M3 workstation offers 668 MB of expansive new sounds, interactive interface functionality, advanced sequencer enhancements, additions to Korg's exclusive Karma technology and more.

M3 XPanded features updated internal PCM, plus 412 MB of free sample expansion, delivering a large number of sound variations. New piano and classic keyboard samples — including three acoustic pianos, three-way tine and reed electric pianos, and four velocity-switched clays, plus vintage tape-playback strings and flutes — have been added to the internal ROM, along with 160 new programs and 32 new combinations, bringing the total to 1,215 (EDS) on-board programs and 416 combinations available for use.

Three sample expansion libraries have been included on a USB memory stick for loading into sample RAM. The first two collections — 128 MB each — adapt and customize the EXs3 brass and woodwinds sample library for the M3's EDS synthesis engine, delivering remarkably natural brass and woodwind sounds. The third library features a stereo grand piano lavishly sampled at four velocities plus ambient damper resonance to deliver the richness and natural spaciousness of a top-level full concert grand.

Finally, the recently released EX-USBPCM04, featuring the original stereo piano PCM and program data from the M3 Version 1 system, is now available for download, bringing the PCM total to 668 MB — more than two and a half times that of the original M3.

An expanded sequencer mode adds new screens and functions, including a much- requested piano roll edit screen that shows event data, such as notes, velocities and control changes, in an intuitive, graphical way. Touch-drag operation can now be used to edit, delete or create note events or control events.