Members KR3DO Posted January 18, 2009 Members Share Posted January 18, 2009 MicroKorg Xl isnt out yet but what do you think would be more worth it. The price tag of the MicroKorg Xl is $499.99 while the R3 is $599.99. I cant seem to find much on the Xl. Anybody here know which one would e a better buy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MuzikB Posted January 18, 2009 Members Share Posted January 18, 2009 Batteries or no batteries. That is the question. Another Vs thread closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xmlguy Posted January 18, 2009 Members Share Posted January 18, 2009 Minikeys or regular keys.The R3 has assignable knobs with LED feedback and LCD description subdisplays, the XL doesn't. Those features alone are worth $100, but you can find the R3 for cheaper than the XL, if you look at used gear. The R3 has been out for about a year and a half. The XL is new - but not better. The R3 runs on 12VDC, which is very easy to rig with an external battery. It only draws about 500 mA, which will last a long time on batteries. I bought my R3 for $420, new, on sale, in Nov. 2007. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stikygum Posted January 18, 2009 Members Share Posted January 18, 2009 Remember Radias Racks go for pretty cheap around $600 these days. Though, the MK XL seems like it adds some more sound possiblities with PCM. I bet it will be pretty straight forward to navigate too. Don't know about the R3. I wonder which of these has the most menu diving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xmlguy Posted January 18, 2009 Members Share Posted January 18, 2009 Remember Radias Racks go for pretty cheap around $600 these days. Though, the MK XL seems like it adds some more sound possiblities with PCM. I bet it will be pretty straight forward to navigate too. Don't know about the R3. I wonder which of these has the most menu diving. The XL seems to be directly derived from the R3 version of the MMT engine, and it doesn't seem have any more capability than the R3, other than a slightly different PCM/DWGS waveset, and definitely less than Radias, which also has Drum PCMs. The only new wave that I've heard is the acoustic piano. The XL isn't worth buying for that, since the MicroX is far better for acoustics, in my view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members polar69 Posted January 18, 2009 Members Share Posted January 18, 2009 Watching the demos from NAMM on Matrixsynth the XL certainly sounds nice but those mini keys do make it look like an emos toy piano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members midi Posted January 18, 2009 Members Share Posted January 18, 2009 $450 for the R3 here, if anyone's interested: http://tucson.craigslist.org/msg/996219113.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howard Scarr Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Full sound, truly great little synth! The retro e-piano look is irresistable (to me at least), and the keys are surprisingly playable, unlike the original MK. Microkorg XL excels (pun intended) as an alternative to classic analogue mono-synths because you can set slightly different glide rates, vibrato speed and "analogue slop" for the two layers - makes a HUGE difference. Pitchbend and time-modulated delays aren't 100% smooth, but still OK. On the whole, I'm hooked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members akliner Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 I love the R3...it's a great synth for the price and it's given me a low cost set of training wheels to build my sound design skills. I want to upgrade to a Radias eventually...but for now, the R3 does everything I need it to and more. Plus the effects are pretty great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members -groovatious- Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 +1 for the R3. Great little synth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jskpongoui Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 R3 or SH 201. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howard Scarr Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 R3 or SH 201. The former (sorry Roland)... assuming the cuteness-factor of Microkorg XL doesn't sway you (which it did to me, obviously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Carey M Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Microkorg XL excels (pun intended) as an alternative to classic analogue mono-synths because you can set slightly different glide rates, vibrato speed and "analogue slop" for the two layers - makes a HUGE difference. Just for the record... Being bi-timbral, the R3 can do this too - CM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheNinjaD Posted June 25, 2009 Members Share Posted June 25, 2009 I don't have a lot of experience with many different kinds of synthesizers but I have an R3 and feel it is nearly perfect for my needs. I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to spend to much but wants a wide range of options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RichF Posted July 2, 2009 Members Share Posted July 2, 2009 The XL seems to be directly derived from the R3 version of the MMT engine, and it doesn't seem have any more capability than the R3, other than a slightly different PCM/DWGS waveset, and definitely less than Radias, which also has Drum PCMs. The only new wave that I've heard is the acoustic piano. The XL isn't worth buying for that, since the MicroX is far better for acoustics, in my view. In addition to the piano PCM, there are 17 other new samples in the microKORG XL: EP, Wurly, two FM EPs (which you can also generate using VPM), 3 clavs, 7 organs, strings, brass, and acoustic guitar. Some of the preset Programs use them, but like everything else, much of it is waiting to be discovered. When combined with the XL's internal vocoder routing, you can create some unique stuff with those samples! And I agree, the microX is much more comprehensive for acoustic instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomkeen Posted July 2, 2009 Members Share Posted July 2, 2009 I tried the MK XL yesterday and I really liked it. It sounds pretty fat (even through crappy headphones). The filter didn't do it for me though, but the sounds are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RichF Posted July 2, 2009 Members Share Posted July 2, 2009 I tried the MK XL yesterday and I really liked it. It sounds pretty fat (even through crappy headphones). The filter didn't do it for me though, but the sounds are great. Glad you liked it! It's a shame you didn't dig the filter, though, it's one of the more interesting parts of the MMT engine. The big secret is that it's multi-mode, and you can blend between different filter types (OK, maybe not so secret, since I tell everyone I see about it)... Next time you're in front of it, try using a vintage bass sound, set the FUNCTION SELECT knob to FILTER, tweak the cutoff and resonance, and then twist the first knob (TYPE) to blend between a 4-pole lowpass, 2-pole lowpass, highpass, and bandpass filters. Even better, use the virtual patches to connect an LFO to the cutoff, and then experiment with the TYPE knob while it sweeps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomkeen Posted July 2, 2009 Members Share Posted July 2, 2009 Thanks Rich. I only played with it for a few minutes to be honest. I only tweaked the cutoff and resonance, didn't really bother to twist the type knob. I must say, the keys played VERY nice for a mini-keyboard. A big step up from the original MK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RichF Posted July 2, 2009 Members Share Posted July 2, 2009 Thanks Rich. I only played with it for a few minutes to be honest. I only tweaked the cutoff and resonance, didn't really bother to twist the type knob. I must say, the keys played VERY nice for a mini-keyboard. A big step up from the original MK. Actually, that vintage bass filter tweak is in our new MKXL video, which we just posted on YouTube and Dailymotion about 20 minutes ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHvh5WRM8TQ or http://www.dailymotion.com/user/KorgUSAVideos/video/x9r4jh_korg-microkorg-xl-official-product_music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xmlguy Posted July 2, 2009 Members Share Posted July 2, 2009 In addition to the piano PCM, there are 17 other new samples in the microKORG XL: EP, Wurly, two FM EPs (which you can also generate using VPM), 3 clavs, 7 organs, strings, brass, and acoustic guitar. Some of the preset Programs use them, but like everything else, much of it is waiting to be discovered. When combined with the XL's internal vocoder routing, you can create some unique stuff with those samples! And I agree, the microX is much more comprehensive for acoustic instruments. But are they really new? The R3 has clavs, organs, guitars. Out of 64 DWGS waves, I'm really only seeing several waves that are truly distinctive, less than 10% difference. The R3+MicroX/X50 seems like a much better combo than the MKXL+MicroX/X50. Losing more than half the effects on the MKXL vs. the R3 doesn't justify the minor reduction in retail price, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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