Incredibly, despite the sheer number of buttons, you still need to use shift modes and multi-level menus to get to everything. The features are all there, but the multitudinous buttons which control them are scattered around the control panel seemingly at random. the feature exists, but the interface is prohibitively bad.Īctually, the bad user interface is a running theme for all editing operations on the synth, including editing configuration, patches, auto-accompaniment styles, etc. The built-in sequencer is acceptable for scratch recording and sneaker-net copying to your computer via SD card, but don't even think of trying to do any sequence editing onboard. ![]() It also integrates poorly with the memory/recall system. You get at most two zones, one of which can be layered and the other cannot. The multi-timbral mode (keyboard layering and splitting over multiple patches) is fairly limited, largely because it's optimized for use with the auto-accompaniment features. It's also disappointing that you can't load new samples from the SD card, although you can transfer patches that way that use the ROM-based samples. If you're looking for 70's analog synth sounds, this can do a little, but will mostly disappoint - its sample-based oscillators can't do PWM or sync (some canned combinations are provided in the sample ROM, but of course modulation won't be able to affect those parameters). Its strength is as a General MIDI-style sound bank, but one in which you can deeply customize any patch you dislike, rather than being stuck with what they first give you, as is the case in conventional sound bank synths. It's good because it was top-of-the-line for its day, and provides a rich set of professional features - a reasonably good set of samples to use as oscillators (although there are a disappointing number of slots wasted with redundant versions) and a powerful and expressive assignable modulation matrix which gives you the ability to combine envelopes, LFOs, and controllers as you see fit (rather than limited canned combinations). It's bad because you're paying full price for a synth engine which is a decade out of date and long since replaced by its manufacturer. The synth engine is straight out of a first generation Korg Triton. The small keys mean that you need to override your muscle memory a little, but they are still definitely usable, and their velocity sensitivity works flawlessly (something I've never seen before on mini keys). Four octaves is the minimum that's necessary if you want to play two-handed in arbitrary keys (I learned that the hard way with a three octave synth), but the extra octave is a nice bonus. I find it interesting that Korg chose to provide five octaves of accordion-size keys rather than four octaves of piano-size keys, which would have taken the same amount of space. The built-in speakers are critical here so that you don't need to carry an amp - they're not loud enough for gigs, but work great for rehearsals or small jam sessions. ![]() The size is perfect for a keyboard you want to just toss in the car and bring with you without any fuss. I bought this little keyboard because of its size and its synth engine, even though I was nearly entirely uninterested in the auto-accompaniment features that make it an "arranger." Here are my thoughts after using it for a quarter of a year:
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