KORG MicroKorg

Nov 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By David Battino

Playing the MicroKorg, I'm reminded of those clever Bose speaker demonstrations in stereo stores: after blaring some impressive full-range music, the demonstrator slyly pulls the grilles off what look like two enormous speakers at the front of the showroom, revealing the impossibly small speakers behind them. But whereas the Bose system needs a hidden sub-woofer to work its magic, the thunderous MicroKorg fits comfortably on your lap or desktop. It even runs on batteries.

Somehow, Korg has packed most of the features of its beefy-sounding MS2000 analog-modeling synthesizer into an instrument about the size of two issues of this magazine laid end to end. (For more information about the MS2000, see EM's review of the Korg MS2000R in the August 2000 issue and the August 2002 cover story, “Analog Supermodels.”) To further sweeten the deal, the MicroKorg adds a vocoder innovation called Formant Hold, an improved arpeggiator, and a condenser microphone. What's more, it costs $650 less than the MS2000.

Shrinking the size and price required some compromises to the MicroKorg's physical layout, however. During the several months I spent with the instrument, I was continually impressed by its sound and its programming flexibility but was often frustrated by its user interface. The MicroKorg delivers extreme portability and sonic punch for a bargain price, but is it for you? Read on.

CASE THE MUSIC

FIG. 1: The MicroKorg delivers the enormous sound of Korg's MS2000 in a lightweight, battery-powered box less than 21 inches wide. Its five control knobs work with two 11-step selector knobs to adjust nearly 200 parameters.

In a strange collision of futuristic and retro design, the MicroKorg's case combines a gold-flake plastic body and real wooden side panels with 14 light-up buttons and 8 Minimoog-style knobs (see Fig. 1). Above the pitch and mod wheels are two clever octave-shift buttons. With each successive press, the illuminated buttons change from off to green to yellow to red, so you can tell at a glance how far the keyboard is transposed.

The MicroKorg's back panel offers some unexpected interfacing capabilities (see Fig. 2). You get MIDI In, Out, and Thru; two unbalanced ¼-inch audio outputs; and a ¼-inch stereo headphone jack, as well as two audio input channels with trim pots. The first input channel provides both ¼-inch and ¼-inch jacks, which you can switch between mic and line level; only one of those jacks can be active at a time. The included gooseneck condenser microphone slides neatly into a slot in the back panel and plugs into the ¼-inch input. The mic signal can either feed the vocoder's analysis (modulator) input or replace oscillator 1 in a synthesizer Timbre (more on this in a moment).

FIG. 2: The MicroKorg's back panel provides audio inputs to the onboard vocoder's carrier and modulator sections. You can also route external audio through the synthesizer's filters, envelopes, and effects.

The second input channel has a single ¼-inch line-level jack. It can either feed the vocoder's carrier input or, again, replace oscillator 1 in a synthesizer Timbre. In Synthesizer mode, you can use both input channels at the same time (they're summed to mono), controlling the balance with a knob or MIDI. I seriously warped a drum groove by running a sample loop through the synth engine and changing parameters in real time. Two tricolor LEDs on the front panel show the signal strength at the inputs.

The MicroKorg doesn't have a sustain-pedal jack, but with its limited polyphony, there's not a lot to sustain. The jack would have been handy when using the MicroKorg as a MIDI controller, though. The bottom of the case has a hatch for six AA batteries. I got about three hours of continuous operation from NiMH rechargeables before the display started flashing like an online banner ad.

The keyboard has three octaves of unweighted, Velocity-sensitive minikeys. The white keys are about three-fifths the length and four-fifths the width of standard keys; the black keys are about half as long and four-fifths as wide as standard keys. Although I enjoyed being able to reach extended chord voicings, the key action is annoyingly stiff and shallow, and the black keys are much stiffer than the white ones. Perhaps that's because their 1.75-inch length reduces leverage, but their unusual feel makes it difficult to play accurately (the arpeggiator compensates for that somewhat).

As a keyboardist, I initially found the MicroKorg's toylike keys to be a major drawback, but then I made a startling discovery: only a handful of the 128 factory presets have Velocity enabled. After turning on Velocity-sensitivity in the Virtual Patch section, I was able to play the instrument much more expressively. Because nonkeyboardists — a large part of the market for a groove tool such as the MicroKorg — are often confused by the apparently inconsistent response of touch-sensitive keys, omitting Velocity response is perhaps understandable, but it makes more work for experienced players, who will probably want to program it back in.

It may seem unfair to criticize a highly portable 4-voice instrument for having awkward keys, because it's likely that few people will use the MicroKorg as their only keyboard, and many will use MIDI to trigger it from a full-size keyboard. However, a little less miniaturization would have made the MicroKorg much better. I would have preferred two octaves of full-size keys to three octaves of tiny ones, even if that had increased the instrument's size and price.

BIG ON FEATURES

Like the MS2000, the MicroKorg offers 4-note polyphony with two oscillators, a noise source, two LFOs, and two ADSR envelopes per voice. The basic playable unit is called a Timbre. You can set up layers containing two discrete Timbres (a staccato arpeggio and a sustaining pad, for example), though you can't play the Timbres individually on two MIDI channels or split them across the keyboard as you can on the MS2000. The single or layered Timbres feed a single effects chain containing a modulation effect, delay, and 2-band EQ. You can also add mild distortion, but it's not adjustable.

In vocoder mode, there's just one oscillator — the carrier — and layering is disabled, as are four flexible modulation routings Korg calls Virtual Patches. In their place, you have access to several useful vocoder parameters. Unlike most modeled (or real) analog synths, the MicroKorg provides 71 oscillator waveforms, not just the standard sine, sawtooth, and square.

Tempo synchronization is one of the MicroKorg's strong points. You can lock the LFOs and delay to the internal arpeggiator or MIDI Clock, with various rhythmic subdivisions. As with some groove boxes, you can use illuminated buttons to mute and unmute individual steps in an arpeggio as the pattern plays — a feature the MS2000 lacks.

KNOB STORY

In Performance mode, the five knobs on the front panel's top right adjust filter cutoff frequency, resonance, envelope attack and release times, and internal tempo. All five knobs transmit MIDI Control Changes. (On layered Programs, they affect only the currently selected Timbre. Pressing the nearby Timbre Select button toggles between Timbres 1 and 2.) I wish the display switched briefly to show the new value when you turn the Performance knobs. To see the tempo, for example, you have to enter Edit mode.

Turning either of the two big Edit Select knobs in the center of the panel puts the MicroKorg in Edit mode, mapping the five Performance knobs to the parameters listed in the 22-row table below them in 2 mm high type. Beige listings are for Synthesizer-mode parameters; green listings are for Vocoder mode. The detented Edit Select knobs snap solidly into place — a dramatic contrast with the flimsy-feeling Performance knobs. On my review unit, several Performance knobs wiggled like loose teeth.

FIG. 3: Korg's free patch editor-librarian (Mac/Win) lets you make sonic adjustments in real time and name your patches (though the MicroKorg can't display the names). The Mac version has a randomization feature.

As you learn the locations of your favorite parameters in the table, editing becomes much faster. If you want to adjust the mod wheel's vibrato response, for instance, you can turn the upper Edit Select knob to eight o'clock (Pitch) and then twirl Performance knob 5 (Vibrato Int). It would be much easier if an LED were next to each row of parameter listings so you could avoid scanning all 11 row headings to find the one that matches the current Edit Select knob setting. The hardest part is making sense of the display, which attempts to create words out of seven-segment LEDs (eight if you count the decimal). A positive-only square wave is identified as 59.2, for example, which looks like Sq.2 if you squint. (Korg points out that it isn't the only company pinching that particular penny.)

Although editing from the MicroKorg's front panel sometimes feels like trying to draw a perfect circle on an Etch A Sketch, two hidden tricks make it easier. One is to use the numerous shortcuts you access by pressing the Shift button and then any other button. (Annoyingly, though, none of those functions are labeled.) The second trick is to press the currently lit Program Number button, which temporarily reverts the Performance knobs to their normal functions without erasing your other edits. For the easiest tweaking, download the free MicroKorg editor-librarian software from Korg's Web site (see Fig. 3).

PRODUCT SUMMARY Korg MicroKorg analog-modeling synthesizer $499
FEATURES	3.5
EASE OF USE	2.5
QUALITY OF SOUNDS	4.0
VALUE	4.0
RATING PRODUCTS FROM 1 TO 5
Manufacturer Korg USA tel. (516) 333-9100 Web www.korg.com

SYNTH YOU'RE HERE

Because EM has previously covered the nearly identical MS2000 synthesizer engine in detail, I'll concentrate on the differences while highlighting some features that impressed me. The main feature missing from the MicroKorg is the MS2000's slick Mod Sequencer, which automates playback of performance changes. The MicroKorg has 8 vocoder bands instead of the MS2000's 16, but it adds the Formant Hold and arpeggiator step-muting features. However, the two instruments are conversant; I was able to load MS2000 patches I found on the Web into the MicroKorg, and the MS2000 loads MicroKorg patches. Each instrument simply ignores features it doesn't support.

The first thing that struck me about the MicroKorg was what a huge sound it makes with only two oscillators. Unison mode and the onboard chorus thicken things considerably. Just dial up Program B28, NRG Stab, to see what I mean. Depending on the original waveform, an oscillator parameter called Control 1 warps the waveshape in six different ways — from varying pulse width to adding FM — and it can be modulated by knob, LFO, envelope, or any other source in the Virtual Patch section to produce animated timbres. (From looking at the front panel, you'd never guess that it does that, but I've provided some examples online.) You can also set oscillator 1 to play a perfect fifth, generating lush chords despite the 4-note polyphony.

I was disappointed that you can't modulate envelope attack time with Velocity, which can make leads and brass patches more expressive; nor can the MicroKorg generate long, synchronized sweeps, because its LFO rate maxes out at one bar. On the plus side, the MicroKorg has an interpolating delay effect. On many synths, if you change the delay time as you play, you'll hear clicks, whereas the MicroKorg morphs the echoes to produce cool tape-scrubbing effects. You can hear this sound at the end of the MP3 demo Vocoder on Korg's site.

GET WITH THE PROGRAM

A big knob selects from eight Program banks labeled Trance, Techno/House, Electronica, D'n'B/Breaks, HipHop/Vintage, Retro, S.E./Hit, and Vocoder. (S.E. stands for Sound Effect.) Pressing the adjacent Bank Side button toggles between the A and B subbanks, each holding eight Programs, for a total of 128 memory locations. It's odd that Korg put genre names on the panel when all the Program locations are user-rewritable (you can store a vocoder Program in any bank, for example), but perhaps that makes the MicroKorg more intuitive to prospective buyers.

To call up a specific Program, you turn the big knob, press the Bank Side button if necessary, and then press one of the eight Program Number buttons. The button will light up and the three-digit LED display will indicate the current Program number, from A11 (Trance Program A1) to B88 (Vocoder Program B8). The factory sounds are impressive, though many seem designed mainly to show off the arpeggiator. Still, the MicroKorg offers a big helping of truly seismic basses, cutting leads, some gorgeous pads, and even a few usable organ sounds.

DARTH VOCODER

The MicroKorg's vocoder is amazingly flexible. It has dozens of parameters, and I experimented with them all using the included condenser mic, an external dynamic mic, and various line-level signals. No matter what I did, however, I got a decidedly fuzzy sound. With just eight bands, the vocoder isn't the smoothest or most intelligible, but it has an appealing retro quality. Getting a consistent level while vocalizing takes practice — several players recommend inserting a compressor — but once you get the hang of it, you can shape notes very expressively. In fact, if you reduce the level of the direct signal, you can blithely sing off-key without affecting the pitch of the output.

Pressing the Formant Hold button while vocalizing “locks in” the current sound of the vocoder, effectively creating a single-cycle oscillator waveform so you can play subsequent notes without additional audio input. Formant Hold is a snapshot of the vocoder's filter settings, providing an easy way to make raspy, Mellotron-like tones. You can include Formant Hold data when you save a Program. The only downside is that you give up almost all modulation options when you use the vocoder — even Velocity.

Although the MicroKorg's arpeggiator has the same six basic patterns as the MS2000, there's a bonus: when you turn the lower Edit Select knob to Arpeg.A or Arpeg.B, the eight Program Number buttons become mutes for the first eight steps of the pattern. If you hold a four-note chord with the Up pattern engaged, the first note will always hit on steps 1 and 5. But with patterns or chords that don't divide evenly into eight parts, the mutes will affect different notes each time through the arpeggio. Furthermore, you can limit the step count to any number between one and eight. I made a wind-chime sound and triggered five black keys with a seven-step random arpeggio, producing hours of unique patterns. Adjustable gate-time and swing add to the variety.

IN A CLASS BY ITSELF

The MicroKorg defies categorization. Viewed as a toy, it's fun, powerful, and great-sounding. Viewed as a sound module and vocoder, it's inexpensive, flexible — and great-sounding. Viewed as a standalone instrument, the MicroKorg is still inexpensive, but it's compromised by a clumsy keyboard and a cramped display. That said, no other keyboard instrument delivers the MicroKorg's killer sound in a package that weighs less than five pounds and runs on batteries.

In the end, it comes down to portability. The MicroKorg is ideal for generating analog sound effects, vocoded pads, synchronized arpeggios, and simple riffs and bass lines on the go. For more traditional keyboard duties such as playing electric piano, Clavinet, and organ, you're probably better off with a more expensive (and more expressive) instrument.

For studio use, most members of the Korg users' groups on Yahoo seem to prefer spending the extra $100 for a rackmount MS2000R or a used MS2000 keyboard, because the 2000s offer many more knobs, a bigger display, and the powerful Mod Sequencer. (Korg recently announced a repainted MS2000 called the MS2000B. Other than a new finish and set of patches, the only apparent difference is the included microphone, which has obviously been a hit on the MicroKorg.) Those instruments lack the MicroKorg's unlimited portability, however.

It's easy to slip into critic mode and forget that making music is supposed to be fun. The MicroKorg is frustrating if you expect to play and program it like a full-size keyboard synthesizer, but as a portable, creative gadget, it stands alone. If you can justify spending $500 on a terrific-sounding musical toy (and I use that word in a very positive sense), you won't go wrong with the MicroKorg.

MicroKorg Specifications
Sound Engine	analog-synthesis modeling, PCM-waveform playback
Audio Inputs	(1) unbalanced ¼" line (oscillator 1/carrier); (1) unbalanced ¼" mic/line (oscillator 1/modulator); (1) unbalanced ¼" mic/line with 5 VDC power
Audio Outputs	(2) unbalanced ¼" TS; (1) ¼" stereo headphone
Keyboard	37 Velocity-sensitive minikeys
Polyphony	(4) notes in Poly mode; (2) notes in Layer mode
Multitimbral Parts	1 (layered timbres share a MIDI channel)
Program Memory	(128) RAM locations
Oscillators	(2) plus noise and external input
Oscillator Waveforms	oscillator 1: saw, square, triangle, sine, vox, noise, (64) DWGS waveforms; oscillator 2: saw, square, triangle
Filters	resonant 2-pole lowpass; 4-pole lowpass, bandpass, and highpass
Envelopes	(2) ADSR, assignable to amplitude, filter cutoff, pitch, oscillator 1 waveform modulation, oscillator 2 detuning, noise level, panning, and LFO 2 level; switchable retriggering
LFOs	(2) with tempo sync (whole-note to 32nd-note resolution); five waveforms
Effects	delay (3 types), chorus/flanger, phaser, 2-band shelving EQ, switchable distortion
Vocoder	(16) channels grouped as (8) stereo pairs; each pair has adjustable panning, level, frequency, and resonance
Arpeggiator	(6) types; (8) step mutes; adjustable gate and swing; quarter-note to 16th-note triplet resolution; 20-300 bpm or external sync
Controllers	(5) knobs; (8) arpeggio mute buttons; pitch wheel; mod wheel
MIDI	In, Out, Thru
Power	9 VDC AC adapter (included) or (6) AA batteries
Dimensions	20.6" (W) × 2.8" (H) × 9.1" (D)
Weight	4.9 lb. (without batteries and mic)
PROS: Low price. Huge sound. Compact and lightweight. Can run on batteries. Free patch editor-librarian. Numerous waveforms. Formant sampling. Includes mic. High fun factor. CONS: Stiff, tiny keys. Crude display. Flimsy knobs. Four-note polyphony. Fiddly editing. Few factory patches use Velocity. Unlabeled Shift functions.

 

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David Battino is hard at work on Crank It Up to 1, a book about digital music production based on interviews with groundbreaking artists, producers, and visionaries. More at www.crankitupto1.com.