Hello! Newb here, looking for some suggestions from pro's

[birdie_in_texas]

Hello, I am new here, and new to keyboards in general, aside from casio toys and the like, and consider myself a "guitar player"..

I have acquired a NIB Korg X50 and want to learn to use this in conjunction with my Pro Tools 10 setup to help me write/create music. I am pretty new to DAWs, and have found PR10 REALLY difficult, and a lot of times I fall back to other, easier programs to record.

I would like to ask firstly, your opinions on the aforementioned X50 in regards to quality, ease of use, sounds, etc..but maybe mostly is it going to be an "easy" device for my newbness and what I want to do with it, or should I probably just sell/trade the thing for another, much easier device..?

Any info is most welcome, and thank you in advance.

Birdie

[thehighesttree]

I hear the X50 sounds great, but people have raised concerns about build quality, but that's usually from whiners with a chip on their shoulder. I'd say as long as you treat it as well as an acoustic and don't smash it around you should be fine for that. Looking at its specs, it ought to be a great peice with ProTools, since it's apparently got good DAW integration. You'll need to put in a few casual months (or focused weeks) before you're comfortable with exactly how everything works. Keep the manual right with you for reference after you've read it cover-to-cover.

Should do everything you need, but it won't be *super* easy if you're new to synths.

[birdie_in_texas]

I was actually just looking to get a simple controller (cheap) like the QX49 and went to the local shop to see what they had, and now made a deal to trade some goodies in for the X50..about the only thing I looked for was a USB plug and started searching forums looking for hints/tips/clues etc..

I am going to drop my gear off this evening and take the X50 home..so I have not even actually "seen" it, just the box!

I figured for the asking price, it was going to be well beyond anything I "needed" but had a thought that "What if these are junk" and decided I better find a place to ask..

Thank you for your reply

[Rick N Boogie]

I had an X-50 for a while, and it does have some great sounds, but I eventually sold it because I prefer more "hands on" control of a synthesizer, which the X-50 is very limited in that regard. I think for your purposes, it should serve you quite well.

[birdie_in_texas]

I had an X-50 for a while, and it does have some great sounds, but I eventually sold it because I prefer more "hands on" control of a synthesizer, which the X-50 is very limited in that regard. I think for your purposes, it should serve you quite well.

Ahh..!! That is music to my ears..!!

Thank you sir! I see you and I are "local" to each other! You gigging anywhere?

[vvd]

Have you considered an OP-1? No need for a DAW (can do tape recording), has drums, has fx and many synths... lots of fun.

[Psy_Free]

Have you considered an OP-1? No need for a DAW (can do tape recording), has drums, has fx and many synths... lots of fun.

That's fine as long as all your tracks are less than 6 minues, you don't mind playing with buttons instead of a keyboard (unless you can wait for TE to ever have the Oplab in stock) and you're prepared to pay 800 Euros (plus 279 Euros for the Oplab) for it.

Not really ideal for a relative newbie to synths is it ?

[birdie_in_texas]

Not sure what an OP-1 is, but I will go and find it and look, but yeah, I picked up the X50 after work and unboxed it and got it hooked up to my mixer and started making all kinds of noise! hahahaah

I have a LOT of learning to do..started in on the manual and will keep on with it tonite..

already found that the drum kits well, the metal one anyway, sounds exceptional and if I can get a few bars programmed, then I can loop them and start adding parts and then maybe some bass etc...

Hope to have something reasonably tolerable to listen to by end of long weekend!

[drawtippy]

A few words of wisdom for someone just starting out:

DAWs like Logic and Pro Tools are deep, complex programs that take weeks to get comfortable with and years to master, so stick with it, experiment, join forums and read the manual like your bible.

It's important to make sure you have your setup configured correctly. I assume you have an audio interface that lets you play your guitar/sing into your computer? You'll also want to make sure you have your midi channels set up as well.

To the above point, your Korg is not only a nice sounding keyboard you can play and record like a guitar into your DAW, it's also a midi controller that will let you input note data into Pro Tools and play the sounds of other soft synths, soft drum machines etc.

Sorry if you knew all this and good luck!

[birdie_in_texas]

A few words of wisdom for someone just starting out:

DAWs like Logic and Pro Tools are deep, complex programs that take weeks to get comfortable with and years to master, so stick with it, experiment, join forums and read the manual like your bible.

It's important to make sure you have your setup configured correctly. I assume you have an audio interface that lets you play your guitar/sing into your computer? You'll also want to make sure you have your midi channels set up as well.

To the above point, your Korg is not only a nice sounding keyboard you can play and record like a guitar into your DAW, it's also a midi controller that will let you input note data into Pro Tools and play the sounds of other soft synths, soft drum machines etc.

Sorry if you knew all this and good luck!

Yes and thank you anyway!

I have an AVID 11R that came with my Pro Tools and also a Tascam US144mkII interface as well..they both work really well and I have had some pretty good luck so far, but dang there is a LOT to learn! hahahaha

That is the beauty of it, I like to learn and hope to one day be proficient enough on the keyboards to make some passable music!

It is great to hear that you think highly of the X50..it is small and very portable and seems pretty rugged, and has WAY more things to it than I will probably ever need, and I consider it a stroke of luck that I ended up with it, so for me, it has been a very good week indeed!

Thanks again for your comments sir!