Members bass000 Posted January 28, 2009 Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 I am trying to decide which synth to buy. I like the Roland SH 201 but also like the Korg Micro Korg and I don't know which one to go with. I guess the best place to start is to tell you what type of music I want to create. I have gotten into electronic rock lately and here is a short list of some bands that use a lot of synth effects that I like: Metric, Motion City Soundtrack, and The Bravery. I know Metric uses the Pro-One...but as I have discovered that one isnt even made anymore. So will I be able to get similar sounds out of the SH 201 or the Korg Micro Korg? When I tested out the SH 201 it looked like there were 8 presets, so if I want to create new sounds, I have to play with all the nobs...But with the Korg it looked like there was a bank of numerous sounds to choose from. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG ABOUT THIS! I want to make sure I understand how these synths work and what they can offer me before I buy one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted January 28, 2009 Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 I know Metric uses the Pro-One...but as I have discovered that one isnt even made anymore. So will I be able to get similar sounds out of the SH 201 or the Korg Micro Korg? Generally, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted January 28, 2009 Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 When I tested out the SH 201 it looked like there were 8 presets, so if I want to create new sounds, I have to play with all the nobs... Umm... that's the whole concept behind the SH-201. Make you own sounds. The best thing about it. I think there's 32 presets though. If you are looking for a keyboard with a bunch of presets that discourages editing yeah... go for the MicroKorg or (in that price range) Alesis Micron. Something like that. Or if you can get by with mono, DSI Evolver desktop or Mopho... probably your best choices for a Pro-one substitute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hahuusko Posted January 28, 2009 Members Share Posted January 28, 2009 When I tested out the SH 201 it looked like there were 8 presets, so if I want to create new sounds, I have to play with all the nobs...But with the Korg it looked like there was a bank of numerous sounds to choose from. SH-201 has 64 presets, of which 32 are overwritable with your own sounds. I haven't tried the MicroKorg, but I used to have a SH-201 and I miss it a little. It was very fun to play with all those knobs and sliders. The sound just wasn't what I was looking for (it didn't sound bad, just a little too dark for my taste). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bass000 Posted January 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2009 I checked out the Alesis Micron and I have to say I really like the sounds that it can create. The only thing I didn't like is that the pitch-shift wheel is on the top and might be annoying to reach over the keyboard...Does anyone know if the same sounds can be created on the sh 201? Would I be getting better value out of the SH 201? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xmlguy Posted January 29, 2009 Members Share Posted January 29, 2009 The Korg R3 is usually a better option than the Micron, Microkorg, and SH-201. The R3 uses the same program structure as the Radias. The Novation X-Station has a slightly less powerful engine than the R3, but it has lots of assignable knobs and faders, is a great midi controller, has the best keyboard in the class, and has a two channel USB audio interface built-in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bass000 Posted January 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2009 I checked out the Korg R3 and it seems pretty sweet. I think one large difference between the Korg R3 and the SH 201 is that I can get more bassier/darker and fatter sounds out of the Korg R3. Whereas the SH 201 would be better if I wanted sounds that sounded more like a traditional keyboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Re-Member Posted January 29, 2009 Members Share Posted January 29, 2009 I checked out the Alesis Micron and I have to say I really like the sounds that it can create. The only thing I didn't like is that the pitch-shift wheel is on the top and might be annoying to reach over the keyboard...Does anyone know if the same sounds can be created on the sh 201? Would I be getting better value out of the SH 201? The SH-201 is a very minimalist synthesizer. Besides turning on the cheesy Trance styled arpeggios, everything from this synth is going to sound like it came from 1978. It's like the digital equivalent of an SH-05, but polyphonic. The Micron is a MUCH deeper and more modern synthesizer (FM, more effects, sequencer), however, you'll need to know what you're doing in order to make the most of it since programming is done in a step-by-step, menu-by-menu process. If you don't know anything about synthesizers, the SH-201 would be a safer route which you can learn on and replace later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xmlguy Posted January 29, 2009 Members Share Posted January 29, 2009 Actually, the R3 is better for traditional keyboard sounds too. That's because it has 64 DWGS waves in ROM that can be used on OSC1 for electric pianos, organs, clavs, guitar, bass, flute, bells, vox, and other complex synth waves. The SH-201 doesn't. The R3 also has 2 multi-mode filters per timbre with a comb filter on Filt2, while the SH-201 only has one 3 mode filter. Both can do dark/bass sounds. The R3 can do more sophisticated sounds that the SH-201 can't do. The R3 has a huge amount of effects, two insert FX per timbre, plus master fx. The R3 has a vocoder with formant memory. The R3 has an excellent software editor. Alesis doesn't make a software editor for the Micron (although a 3rd party editor can be purchased). The Micron only has basic waveforms, no ROM-based waves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crazycarl Posted January 29, 2009 Members Share Posted January 29, 2009 I was playing with the R3 at guitar center. I was pretty impressed overall and thought it would make a very solid entry-level synth. bass000, it will definitely do all the same basic sounds you're looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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