I'm thinking of buying one of these relatively cheap synths (with keyboards).
Which one is better (especially for Hard Trance), Microkorg or Waldorf Micro Q Keyboard? I know they both have good arpeggiators, but that's not as important to me. What's important is hard, meaty basses, a variety of Euro leads, maybe some pads. For instance, Microkorg only has 128 presets, while the Waldorf has 300.
Which one do you recommend? Which is better? Or, should I skip "entry-level" and go directly for Waldorf XT?
By the way: I can't find any store selling Waldorf MicroQ Keyboard, not even online, and not even ebay!
Microkorg and Waldorf MicroQ Keyboard
-
- KVRAF
- 2356 posts since 30 Sep, 2003 from Sunny Staffordshire
I have a Q rack, its a reet bit of synth trust me. Very good with pads, but also very versatile - does pretty much everything. I think Waldorf are changing hands, so its difficult to find their stuff right now. Try www.soundonsound.com, they usually have plenty of VA stuff for sale. The XT is a totally different beast, it uses wavetables rather than pure synthesis and has a really gritty digital sound. Its also a great synth, but I wouldnt think its everyones cup of tea. Think of the BXR sound (Mario Piu, Picotto, CRW), which is pretty much all XT. Iv not used a Microkorg so I cant give you an opinion on that one, looks 'ok'. Dont think I'd buy one though. You say you are making hard trance? If so, why not check out a second hand JP8000 or Virus B. They sell for around 400 GBP on the sound on sound classifieds. I'd much rather one of those (for the task at hand) than pretty much any other synth.
-
- KVRAF
- 2356 posts since 30 Sep, 2003 from Sunny Staffordshire
Yeah, its pretty much the synth of choice for trance producers. It gets alot of flack around here, but believe me it IS the king of VA's. The JP8000 is also a safe bet, and very popular with trance and prog producers. XT is equally as good IMO, but its not as common in trance as the other two. I guess it depends on whether you want to use typical trance sounds, or something a bit different. To give you an example - BT, Hybrid, Armin all use the JP regularly, Tiesto etc are more Virus, and Picotto, Fasano, Kitikonti all use XT. Just to give you an idea.
-
- KVRAF
- 2813 posts since 14 Feb, 2001 from What do you care? :)
Being a uQ and XTK owner, I just had to chime in... First off, I think the Virus IS a really nice synth. BUt the uQ and XT are not that far behind. I would even say that in different ways they are almost on the same level. I believe they were both designed by Axel Hartmann FWIW.
But then again, I think he may have been involved in the Virus as well, so... <shrug>
My favorite thing is when people hear my uQ and XTK and they ask me what chord I was playing when in fact I was holding down only one note!
The microkorg sounds great, but I would definitely choose ANY of those three over a microkorg.
If you go for Waldorf you have to be aware that they are in limbo right now (in insolvency) so there is no support... but there is a pretty good user's group out there that includes previous Waldorf employees so there IS at least something.
The advantage of the Waldorf's is that you may be able to get a really really good price on them right now.
If you decide to go for the Virus B, also consider going for the Classic, which is an updated B basically. Someone please correct me (I know you will
) if I'm wrong, but I guess the Classic is kind of to the B what the NL2X is to the NL2?
The reason I suggest the Classic is that there might be no point in taking a chance on a used B if you can get a new Classic for not that much more.
You may also want to consider an ION. They sound fantastic and are going for about $599 right now, though honestly, they don't seem to have a very good track record based on what my friends who are ION owners have been telling me. The new ones may be okay, but be especially cautious if you buy a used one.
What you could do is hang out at some of the respective user groups to see what people are saying and what kind of troubles they might be having with these various synths. As well as what they like about them.
Ultimately, it will depend on which one sounds best to YOUR ears!
Good luck!!!
But then again, I think he may have been involved in the Virus as well, so... <shrug>
My favorite thing is when people hear my uQ and XTK and they ask me what chord I was playing when in fact I was holding down only one note!
The microkorg sounds great, but I would definitely choose ANY of those three over a microkorg.
If you go for Waldorf you have to be aware that they are in limbo right now (in insolvency) so there is no support... but there is a pretty good user's group out there that includes previous Waldorf employees so there IS at least something.
The advantage of the Waldorf's is that you may be able to get a really really good price on them right now.
If you decide to go for the Virus B, also consider going for the Classic, which is an updated B basically. Someone please correct me (I know you will
) if I'm wrong, but I guess the Classic is kind of to the B what the NL2X is to the NL2?The reason I suggest the Classic is that there might be no point in taking a chance on a used B if you can get a new Classic for not that much more.
You may also want to consider an ION. They sound fantastic and are going for about $599 right now, though honestly, they don't seem to have a very good track record based on what my friends who are ION owners have been telling me. The new ones may be okay, but be especially cautious if you buy a used one.
What you could do is hang out at some of the respective user groups to see what people are saying and what kind of troubles they might be having with these various synths. As well as what they like about them.
Ultimately, it will depend on which one sounds best to YOUR ears!
Good luck!!!
-
- KVRAF
- 9217 posts since 23 Jul, 2002 from Pequot Lakes, MN
I'd definitely say the microQ over the microKorg.IMO,the microQ also sounds better than a B,but that's my own opinion.When I bought my microQ three years ago,a Virus B was the other contender for my cash.After a couple hours of programming and playing,I went home with the microQ.It's a pain to program from the panel(I use Sound Diver myself),but the sound is killer.
ew
ew
A spectral heretic...
-
- KVRist
- 159 posts since 18 Jan, 2004 from Portland, OR
MicroQ all the way. The micro korg, has a very... toy like sound.
-
- KVRAF
- 2356 posts since 30 Sep, 2003 from Sunny Staffordshire
Ew,
I know what you mean about them being a slut to program, the full Q isnt much better. I tried a sound driver but it was buggy as f**k so i ended up sacking it. Great synths though, and since they havent had the commercial raping of the Virus and Nord you can create some really unique sounds. Imo the Q has a very techy, electro type sound (if that makes sense ). Its not as 'fat' as the Virus, so maybe not as good for those trancy super leads (it still does them very well though). For evolving pads and fx its the business. Filters are among my favorite in VA land.
I know what you mean about them being a slut to program, the full Q isnt much better. I tried a sound driver but it was buggy as f**k so i ended up sacking it. Great synths though, and since they havent had the commercial raping of the Virus and Nord you can create some really unique sounds. Imo the Q has a very techy, electro type sound (if that makes sense
). Its not as 'fat' as the Virus, so maybe not as good for those trancy super leads (it still does them very well though). For evolving pads and fx its the business. Filters are among my favorite in VA land.-
- KVRAF
- 2813 posts since 14 Feb, 2001 from What do you care? :)
Definitely agree on the programming re uQ. In a pinch the programming matrix actually makes sense and is a pretty clever way to address so many parameters with so few knobs, but for serious tweaking a software editor will make things a lot more convenient.
Sounddiver has been pretty dodgy for me. I would recommend the editor from www.soundtower.com Really decent and not too expensive - I want to say about $40-50?
I also agree with the summation of the Q sound being more electro/techno. It's very in your face, but can also be soft and silky if you want it to be. The modulation matrix on the uQ/Q is pretty deep and the comb filters are definitely a standout. Also, the oscillators offer two wavetables as well as the standard waveforms... so you even get a little taste of what the xt has on offer.
If you want to hear the Q in action check out a band called Something Completely Different. Boele Gerkes uses a lot of Waldorf gear. He has a bunch of mp3s at his site and some of the songs feature the Q. Look under Music. There is a description of instruments used for each song.
http://www.synthmusic.info/
If you wind up getting a Q you will probably hear a lot of Boele's patches in it.
Sounddiver has been pretty dodgy for me. I would recommend the editor from www.soundtower.com Really decent and not too expensive - I want to say about $40-50?
I also agree with the summation of the Q sound being more electro/techno. It's very in your face, but can also be soft and silky if you want it to be. The modulation matrix on the uQ/Q is pretty deep and the comb filters are definitely a standout. Also, the oscillators offer two wavetables as well as the standard waveforms... so you even get a little taste of what the xt has on offer.
If you want to hear the Q in action check out a band called Something Completely Different. Boele Gerkes uses a lot of Waldorf gear. He has a bunch of mp3s at his site and some of the songs feature the Q. Look under Music. There is a description of instruments used for each song.
http://www.synthmusic.info/
If you wind up getting a Q you will probably hear a lot of Boele's patches in it.
-
- KVRAF
- 9217 posts since 23 Jul, 2002 from Pequot Lakes, MN
I'll second Wes' recommendation-Boele has some cool songs if you're into the old school electronica like Tangerine Dream,etc.
Another great exponent of Waldorf gear is Stefan Trippler(K-v-R's DocT)-he's another one whose patches will be in any Q/microQ you get.His music(and patches) can be found here.
ew
Another great exponent of Waldorf gear is Stefan Trippler(K-v-R's DocT)-he's another one whose patches will be in any Q/microQ you get.His music(and patches) can be found here.
ew
A spectral heretic...
-
- KVRAF
- 2356 posts since 30 Sep, 2003 from Sunny Staffordshire
Liondream,
Tell you a trick you should try - modulate one of the wavetable osc's with an LFO. Then use the wavetable osc's as an fm modulator. This sounds f**king crazy, especially if you have a med res filter sweep on the carrier osc.
Tell you a trick you should try - modulate one of the wavetable osc's with an LFO. Then use the wavetable osc's as an fm modulator. This sounds f**king crazy, especially if you have a med res filter sweep on the carrier osc.
-
- KVRian
- 1204 posts since 14 Oct, 2002 from Germany
Well, my favourite are Waldorf Q/MicroQ, too. The synth sounds great and you are right when you say Waldorf is bankrupt, but people from Waldorf opened a new company and maybe stgh. is coming up again, let's see... 
Frank
Frank