NSD - Korg Minilogue

[InLimbo]

Supposed to be delivered today - I'll post some pics when I get home.

I've been on the outlook for my first hardware synth for quite some time and when this was released at NAMM, I was pretty much sold. I love the idea of it being analog, but also having the ability to save presets is going to be incredibly useful.

I don't have much to say at the moment since it's not in my hands, but on paper, it sounds like the best option (especially considering the price point) for a first-time newbie. Polyphony!

[rhythmjones]

Lucky. Mine's been on back order since January. I ordered directly through Korg. They keep telling me next month.

I keep looking for something else to pick up instead but there's nothing that ticks the same marks in terms of features for price, especially since I was able to pay dealer pricing.

Let us know what you think.

[InLimbo]

I've got a couple of friends that are pretty heavy into into synths (one in particular has an MS-20, and ARP Odyssey, an Ensoniq ESQ-1 FM synth, a Jen SX1000, and various Casio keyboards), so I thought I'd nab one to see what all of the fuss was about. I've been looking for the better part of six months, and I knew I wanted something polyphonic, with real-time parameter changes (removing FM out of the equation) and smallish, and not in the price range of the Nord Lead series. Lo and behold, Korg drops this, which seems to tick all of my boxes and then some. The presets are a huge plus on an analog synth, and it's even better that the sequencer saves to them as well.

All of the features are obviously posted everywhere, so I won't go through them all. However, the sound is amazing and definitely fits for the style of music that I like to play. When first powering it up, I immediately wanted to start playing the score of It Follows. Very inspirational - especially the motion tracking built into the sequencer, this is one of my absolute favorite features. Another would be the MIDI clock master function - on my guitar pedalboard, I have an Pigtronix Infinity Looper, which can receive MIDI clock, and the Minilogue can send it out. I haven't tried this yet, but to have my looper synced to the sequencer is something that I didn't expect, but will be undoubtedly useful.

I'm still learning it, but I think it's probably the best choice out there - at least for me - for a first synth.

The build quality is superb, aside from the mod "stick" or whatever. It's pretty skimpy compared to the rest of the unit, with very un-smooth movement. Not sure how much I'll actually use it, but after a couple of uses, I was pretty deterred.

Right now I'm running it through my guitar amps, which sounds great (we have a bass player, so no worries about my speakers there), but I'm trying to find a decent solution to have both my guitar and the synth run through them at the same time and avoid impedance issues. Anyway, it sounds phenomenal in my stereo setup, especially with some lush reverb on pad-like sounds.

Anyway, here are some pictures:

[Coldwave]

I came across a good demo video for the Korg Minilogue yesterday. I've only had a chance to listen to videos of this thing online, but it sounds really good to me. For those of you have put your hands on one, does it sound as good in person?

I've been really impressed with Korg's products lately. The ARP and MS-20, despite having those shitty mini keys, sound really great. And the Volca lineup is pretty amazing as well. I'm getting GAS for the Volca FM and the Minilogue right now. No shops near me have them in stock though, so I can't get hands on with them.

[redchapterjubilee]

Phaw. I'm still waiting for mine too.

[InLimbo]

I'm assuming that a shipment went out to a few stores about a week and a half ago - I just kept checking on Reverb every day, and a guitar shop in Seattle had two for sale. I bought it last Wednesday and it showed up this past Tuesday. No pre-order, no wait. Same price as all the other big retailers, free shipping, etc. Plus, they through in a merch bag with a really nice polishing cloth, a 12% off coupon for my next order, a couple of picks, and a couple of stickers.

Lucky, I guess.

[planningtojazz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra76YaZqjaI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

10:55 for whats going on with the modwheel

[blackbox]

I finally gave up on my order and cancelled, after months of back order. Seems they're starting to pop up used now.

[Rainbow Battle Kid]

yeah i'm probably ordering mine today. first synth at all. previously i'd only used my bandmate's prophet 08.

hoping the small keys thing isn't too big an issue but other than that it seems pretty crazy for the price

[redchapterjubilee]

Mine finally arrived a,couple of weeks ago. It's interesting. More Microkorg-ish in build than I was expecting. It sounds great, has some rather interesting features but I'm on a bit of a learning curve with mine. I've had some manner of analog synth for the past 15 years and there are parts of the architecture (specifically the cross mod and voice mod) that I'm still learning. I do really miss an extra couple of voices on pads though.

[Rainbow Battle Kid]

aaaargh mine arrived today but i don't think i'll be able to go pick it up until tomorrow D:

so excited tho! my laptop jsut died(!) though so i can't record anything yet. hopefully i can get that fixed this week too(and recover all my not-backed-up music stuff

[DesmondWafers]

Got mine 2 days ago, have been using it non-stop. First synth ever and I'm scared of the road it's putting me down.