VA synth

madmarkmagee · Post by **madmarkmagee** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:44 am

I was thinking of buying either a korg R3 or a Micro korg XL... (i'm sure many of you will cringe)

First I was wondering which one is better. Is the XL more gritty than the R3? Can you do everything the microkorg does on the R3? When I was watched r3 demos, a lot of the sounds it could make kind of sounded the same, is this the case?

I was (prepare to cringe again) looking for something that sounds a little like Enter Shikari, (and i know their lazy and just sequence there synth parts lol), or the killers, and i know both bands use the original micro korg. I am hoping to (as well as experimentation) do covers.

I already have a juno-106 so was looking for something that does completely different sounds. I am after something that sounds analogue, but not analogue if you know what I mean. I want a more complex sound. Are their any other VA synths you guys would suggest? I kind of watched the ultra nova demos, but it didn't appeal. I don't mind making patches on my pc, but must have some sort of control from the synth when performing live, don't really want a laptop or midi controller being awkward lol.

So what do you peoples think? thanks heaps

Post by **Ashe37** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 8:18 am

madmarkmagee wrote:I was thinking of buying either a korg R3 or a Micro korg XL... (i'm sure many of you will cringe)

First I was wondering which one is better. Is the XL more gritty than the R3? Can you do everything the microkorg does on the R3? When I was watched r3 demos, a lot of the sounds it could make kind of sounded the same, is this the case?

The XL and the R3 have the same engine. Neither sounds as 'gritty' as the Microkorg. The controls on the R3 are MUCH better...ring LEDs + little lcd labels over the knobs that tell you what it is doing.

(Also, the editor software is the same between the two)

stephen · Post by **stephen** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 10:16 am

From what I remember Enter Shikari were (are?) original microkorg

Post by **Psy_Free** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 12:52 pm

How about an M-Audio Venom. It uses sample based synthesis rather than oscillator modelling so it's not strictly a VA, but the sounds I've heard have impressed me. Could be worth checking out some demos. It's a decent price too.

madmarkmagee · Post by **madmarkmagee** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:50 pm

Psy_Free wrote:How about an M-Audio Venom. It uses sample based synthesis rather than oscillator modelling so it's not strictly a VA, but the sounds I've heard have impressed me. Could be worth checking out some demos. It's a decent price too.

@Psy_Free
Thanks for the suggestion. Yea I was looking at the Venom. Ha ha I was even thinking of buying that and a korg. Do you have one?, what are they like? Do the samples from your pc sound as good as an inbuilt hardware synth engine? How do they sound modified with the tweeking nobs? Is the Virtual synth on the pc that comes with the venom better than say the hardware one in a microkorg/r3

Ashe37 wrote:
The XL and the R3 have the same engine. Neither sounds as 'gritty' as the Microkorg. The controls on the R3 are MUCH better...ring LEDs + little lcd labels over the knobs that tell you what it is doing.

(Also, the editor software is the same between the two)

@Ashe37
Thanks heaps for the clarification, I was a little confused as to the relationship the synths had with the MS2000 and the radius, the internet wasn't really very clear. Now I know (:

Post by **Psy_Free** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 2:57 pm

I don't own a Venom so can't answer those questions, I'm just going by the demos I've heard as an alternative to the Korgs in roughly the same price range. If I had to pick between a Microkorg/R3 and a Venom, I would go for a Venom personally.

Post by **Ashe37** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:11 pm

madmarkmagee wrote:
Ashe37 wrote:
The XL and the R3 have the same engine. Neither sounds as 'gritty' as the Microkorg. The controls on the R3 are MUCH better...ring LEDs + little lcd labels over the knobs that tell you what it is doing.

(Also, the editor software is the same between the two)

@Ashe37
Thanks heaps for the clarification, I was a little confused as to the relationship the synths had with the MS2000 and the radius, the internet wasn't really very clear. Now I know (:

The Microkorg XL and R3 are bitimbral 8-voice versions of the same synth engine as the radias, without the drum section.

gordwiebe · Post by **gordwiebe** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:58 pm

From what I can tell I think the microkorgXL/R3/Radias might be just what you are looking for (all share the same engine more or less) - they have that glossy/buzzy/tight (new korg) sound that really cuts through - analog sounding, but not really (!).
Of the 3, I think most people would recommend Radias>R3>XL - due to the interfaces + build quality - of course this is reflected in the price of each.
The Roland Gaia also gets into the same sonic territory too - check that out.

Personally, I'd really avoid the venom - not very exciting sound/engine wise, poor build quality, bad interface and requires a computer to fully edit. It really baffles me why M-Audio even bothered to make that thing - at $299, maybe - but you can get much better for what they are asking.

visceralvoids · Post by **visceralvoids** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:12 pm

As a standalone hardware VA synth unit I would highly recommend the Korg MS2000B, Roland JP8000, or Alesis Ion (more complicated than the Korg or Roland.) If you have more cash look at the Virus B or C series... The Radias is great too, can be had for cheaper than a Virus but as someone mentioned Korg's VA sound after the microKorg got alot softer...

The MS2000B has the same engine of the microKorg and it sounds better than the R3. R3 and microKorg have matrix-style menus which I cannot stand.
Roland Gaia is good too. I didn't like the SH-201 though because of it's reliance on a computer to get the most out of it, like the M-Audio Venom. Otherwise you have to remember these combination key moves to get to these functions, like a fighting game or something.

Hair · Post by **Hair** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 6:29 am

I usually hate matrix style menus, but I actually like the R3 since it has the displays that tell you everything (way better than the original MicroKorg) - that and the LED rings make it relatively nice to work with.

I also personally like the Radias/R3/XL sound engine better than the MS2000/MicroKorg, to me it sounds really punchy and defined, wheras the MK/MS seems like it has a little less power.. My ears want to say R3 is to MicroKorg as MicroKorg is to SH-201, if that makes sense? (The SH-201 sounds really weak to me)

Post by **Stab Frenzy** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 7:45 am

Hair wrote:I usually hate matrix style menus, but I actually like the R3 since it has the displays that tell you everything (way better than the original MicroKorg) - that and the LED rings make it relatively nice to work with.

I also personally like the Radias/R3/XL sound engine better than the MS2000/MicroKorg, to me it sounds really punchy and defined, wheras the MK/MS seems like it has a little less power.. My ears want to say R3 is to MicroKorg as MicroKorg is to SH-201, if that makes sense? (The SH-201 sounds really weak to me)

Totally agreed, the R3 is actually pretty easy to get around compared to the Microkorg, also the fact it's got full sized keys should be mentioned as well. The R3 is everything the Microkorg should have been in terms of UI.

Regarding the sound the uK and MS2k have a certain roughness to them which is pretty distinctive and makes for nice beefy basses but overall the R3/Radias is better IMO. Particularly in the high end, the uK/MS2k has terrible aliasing which although it's not always noticeable completely ruins it for certain sounds.

visceralvoids · Post by **visceralvoids** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 6:27 pm

Here's a video from Youtube where the MS2000 and R3 are compared back to back:

The MS2000 is more gritty and wild and the R3 is alot more refined and "modern VA" sounding. I haven't played an R3 long enough to really compare the engines. One thing I disliked about the MS2000 was the way the sound goes quiet when you crank up the filter resonance... like a built in compressor or something... Roland JP-8000 lets you self-oscillate the filters and the 12db filter on it sounds much more powerful IMO of course.
And yes thank goodness for full-sized keys.

bad andy · Post by **bad andy** » Wed Aug 17, 2011 5:37 pm

Any consideration for the Nord stuff? or is that out of your price range? Even the older Lead/Rack 1 & 2 versions sound great.

imperets · Post by **imperets** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:01 pm

I've owned both R3 and Microkorg and I have to admit, there are better synths in that price range.

The microkorg does have a nice tone, but is a pain to program. Go on ebay and find a used Korg Ms2000 rack - exact same sound, tons of knobs, no keyboard.

Buying a new R3 in my opinion is a waste of money. For that price you can get a used Evolver or Tetra and a myriad nice out-of-production VAs.

If you want a REALLY complex synth with a great sound for super cheap, then try and stalk a Nord Micro Modular. For what they are, those synths are underpriced. I owned one, it was so good that I upgraded to the keyboard version (it has 4 times the polyphony).

kerpan · Post by **kerpan** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:27 pm

I know that the original MicroKorg can do that Enter Shikari sound in a heartbeat. Cheapest option, but best suited to lazy synth breakdown types.

But for a little while... I was one of those lazy synth breakdown types.
My vote is the Roland Gaia, just because I love the interface. I should really buy one of those.

Also get yourself an EMX and a KP-3, and you'll have that ES sound in a bottle, if that's what you're into.

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