Korg Legacy Collection - still killing it 10 years later

[C.Bennett]

Sylenth this, Spire that, Dune 2 here and Diva there. These are all wonderful synths but there's a little collection of synths out there that don't get the love they deserve on KVR - or anywhere else for that matter (ie. MusicRadar's top synths - cough cough).

The KORG Legacy Collection is 10 years old this year.

—MS-20
—Polysix
—Mono/Poly
—M1
—Wavestation
—MDE-X

Yes, 5 of the finest software recreations ever produced.

Sure, the GUIs look a little small and dated but the sound… the sheer sonic quality from these little guys is still absolutely breathtaking. 10 years later, they're still absolutely killing it. There's some voodoo magic going on in the programming of these synths that put the modern 'in vogue' soft synths to shame.

The sad thing is that KORG don't put much effort into the collection these days. Piracy and poor sales have reduced the resources allocated to the project and I hear that the 64-bit versions almost didn't happen. Thankfully they did and I'm hoping they're maintained for years to come. Thank you KORG.

So, here's to the Korg Legacy Collection and my renewed love for it. Raising a glass of my finest to celebrate the best $199 you can spend on music software. Period.

[ATS]

you really spent $199 on yours? I got mine cheaper than that.

[C.Bennett]

you really spent $199 on yours? I got mine cheaper than that.

Me too, but we need more people to spend $199 to keep the product alive for years to come.

[zerocrossing]

Sure, the GUIs look a little small and dated but the sound…

A little small? Urg. I can deal with PolySix and MS-20, but Wavestation is a damn shame. Such a change to really make something excellent... blunted by a UI that almost is as bad as the hardware version.

Here's what I think Korg should do. Forget the "Legacy" collection. No need for it. They've already started to re-release their classics. The MS20 isn't legacy any more, it's part of their current product line. I'd love it if they did a sort of PolySix/Mono/Poly hybrid.

Though, from the flames of "legacy" the Phoenix will rise! Take what's awesome (and I agree, the software synths are awesome sounding) and blend it together! Can you imagine a semi-modular that's a blend of the Wavestation, MS20 and Polysix? Not like the Legacy Cell, but a really tightly integrated plug in with a totally new UI and maybe even an updated synthesis engine. Take the software to the next level and leave the "vintage" to new analog hardware releases.

[PatchAdamz]

Its funny, so many new synths boast "vintage hardware" sound.

In reality, Korg Legacy Collection comes as close as any soft synth could to "vintage hardware".

At $50 (or less) a synth its a complete no brainer.

[layzer]

my KLC gui's look fine on my 32" LED flatscreen

[ghettosynth]

I don't really like anything in the Korg Legacy Collection. Don't get me wrong, the M1 sounds like an M1 and the WaveStation sounds like a WaveStation. I've owned several PolySix keyboards, however, and the plugin comes nowhere close.

In reality, Korg Legacy Collection comes as close as any soft synth could to "vintage hardware".

No, they do not. Either you don't know what vintage analogue hardware sounds like or you don't know how close you can get with good plugins.

The reason that they don't get a lot of love is that they sound ten years old. The digital synths are fine but for me, there's little that I can get from the M1 that I can't get from a few M1 samples and kontakt. I can't say that I've honestly tried to replicate the WaveStation sounds but it's not really groundbreaking technology, so, it's not surprising that it could be done ten well ten years ago. I think that they're a good choice if you want to easily replicate the M1/WaveStation sounds. If you just want the M1 piano/organ, well, save your money, and if you want modern analogue emulation, absolutely look elsewhere.

[Chopper]

the polysix is the weakest link there, in my opinion... but still, if you need a complete pack of higly usable synths for not much money, the legacy collection is great. sure, the MS20 emulation could do with an update or two, from the interface to the general ''warmth'', but the spirit is there... I am lucky enough to still have the controller too, and i have to admit that programming the vsti with it leads me to more interesting results than without. might be the familiarity with the original synth, i don't know...
yes, there is more ''analog sounding'' plugins around those days, but try to beat the usefulness of korg legacy collection...

[Ingonator]

the polysix is the weakest link there, in my opinion... but still, if you need a complete pack of higly usable synths for not much money, the legacy collection is great. sure, the MS20 emulation could do with an update or two, from the interface to the general ''warmth'', but the spirit is there... I am lucky enough to still have the controller too, and i have to admit that programming the vsti with it leads me to more interesting results than without. might be the familiarity with the original synth, i don't know...
yes, there is more ''analog sounding'' plugins around those days, but try to beat the usefulness of korg legacy collection...

I got all of the Legacy Collections around the time they were released (Legacy Colection Analog Edition, analog Edition 2007 Upgrade that included Mono/Poly and the Digital Edition). BTW the boxed version of the Digital Edition icluded a free eLicenser USB dongle that i use until today.

While i got lots of high quality analog emulations and also two real analoh monosynths (Pulse 2, Slim Phatty) i still use the Korg plugin quite often.
I am a big Wavestatio fan and got a Wavestation EX keyboard since 2004 and having the plugin is also quite important for me.

Concerning the M1 there are several reasons why the emulations seems to be superior to sample libraries which includes an insane amount of patches, additional samples from expansion cards tons of multi programs, the ability to create your own opatches and a resonant filter not included with the real thing (same with the Wavestation). Besides taht you don't need tons of RAM to load samples. A sample library with all patches in the emulation would be insanely big.

Last but not least the Legacy Cell is also really great.


Ingo

[penguinfromdeep]

I agree with Ghettosynth, I own Korg MS-20 (and MS-10) and Polysix, the plug-ins are good and usable (and ok approximations) but they don't have the power of their real counterparts ... does it matter or not is another thing though.

[Ingonator]

While the MS-20 oscillators and filters in Diva are better in terms of sound quality Diva is still missing the patch panel of the real MS-20 (or the Korg emulation) so without that currently it is no 100% proper MS-20 emulation.

For all MS-20 patches that don't need the features of the patch panel (some of that could be done from the mod matrix) Diva seems to be the better choice.


Ingo

[ghettosynth]

the polysix is the weakest link there, in my opinion... but still, if you need a complete pack of higly usable synths for not much money, the legacy collection is great.

This is a fan thread for sure, but I disagree. If you want a collection of dated analog emulations that are completely outclassed by more modern variants, combined with a pair of rompler bundles that do good emulations of thirty year old digital hardware, then yes, the legacy bundle is for you.

In what way is it "a complete pack" of anything? I don't get this mentality. Since when does having an emulation of particular old hardware make anything "complete?" There's no modern sampled piano, for example, something that I consider a staple in any claim of "complete."

I am lucky enough to still have the controller too, and i have to admit that programming the vsti with it leads me to more interesting results than without. might be the familiarity with the original synth, i don't know...
yes, there is more ''analog sounding'' plugins around those days, but try to beat the usefulness of korg legacy collection...

Sure, the controller makes programming the plugin more fun, but I don't think that it's hard to beat the usefulness of the legacy collection. In fact, I think that you can do it with free synths. The digital stuff was outdated when it came out although the analog stuff was good for the time. Times changed, it's outdated in every way today and, IMNSHO, isn't really a good value at all.

Look, if you like those old sounds, more power to you. I use the M1 piano and organ from time to time to get that particular vintage sound but, as far as digital sounds go, they are completely dated and sound that way.

But as far as value for $200, even if you want the korg M1 and wavestation, you would be much better off buying those separately and spending the remaining $100 on something else.

[Chopper]

In what way is it "a complete pack" of anything? I don't get this mentality. Since when does having an emulation of particular old hardware make anything "complete?" There's no modern sampled piano, for example, something that I consider a staple in any claim of "complete."

well, i sais synths, not sounds...
what i meant was that they made their choices rather cleverly.
from the ms20 and the dirt/experimentations that goes with it to the more clean and basic polysix, or the rompler angle of the m1, to the digital pads of the wavestation.
i really do understand your points, and i agree with some of them. i own most of the original hardware that is part of the korg legacy, and yes, you just can't compare the MS20 and the plugins as far as grit and guts is concern. but i presume i approach those with philosophy... you go "they sound like ten years old plugins'' ( well that's what they are...), while i would say ''hey, not bad for 10 years old plugins!''...

the korg legacy collection puts you in a specific field, and truly i believe that it is still up to date with some of the more recent plugins. it is supposed to be a nod to some of korg's most famous synths of the past and they succeded. for those who would never have the chance/cash to own the real deal, it is rather useful. and yes, DIVA is so much more accurate for the basic raw sound. but there is still some patches that i cannot create on anything else but the MS20, and the plugin version can bring people 90% there.
by the way, if by ''outdated'' you mean the presets as well, then i am with you...
but yeah, i meant ''complete'' in an ''eclectic'' way, definitely not in a ''native instruments komplete'' way...

[ghettosynth]

what i meant was that they made their choices rather cleverly.

For sales, yep, couldn't agree more. They packed the entire M1 derived line into a product called the M1 and the wavestation line into WaveStation. This covers their early digital ground completely and it was an intelligent choice for the legions of folks wanting to replace that hardware, or, still interested in that old hardware.

But, there's no getting around that old digital hardware is almost completely outclassed by more modern digital hardare.

while i would say ''hey, not bad for 10 years old plugins!''...

That would be a better, and more honest, thread title. I don't think that any of those plugins are "killing it."

by the way, if by ''outdated'' you mean the presets as well, then i am with you...

With the analog stuff, sure, but really, analogue emulation is all about the quality of the synth components, so there's just not that much you can do with that. They're outdated in terms of their design and they just aren't going to compete.

As far as the digital stuff goes, presets yes, but samples as well, and even more so. Those samples are all small and limited compared to today's multi-layered/multi-megabyte samples. There's not much you can do to make that M1 Piano sound modern with the limited synth engine of the M1.

[Numanoid]

So, here's to the Korg Legacy Collection and my renewed love for it. Raising a glass of my finest to celebrate the best $199 you can spend on music software. Period.

Those wanting to spend $199, should most def use the opportunity to pick up a midi controller keyboard too

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/microKEY61/

Don't forget that UVI Digital Synsations and Reason Limited also comes bundled with the Korg controllers now