Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 26, 2004 Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 A few months back I sold my little MicroKorg to help pay for an XP30 (for gigs), and I vowed when I had the cash I would replace it. I just found out that I made my sales bonus for the last quarter and I also have some nice $$$ gigs coming in August. In all I have about $600 to spend and the easiest thing would be to just replace the MicroKorg. But I've heard so many people rave about the Ion and K Station that I'd consider those too. This new board will be primarily for playing 80's new wave/rock in an 80's tribute band, but I'm sure I'll fool around at home as well w/ it. So for here is what I've written down as the pro's and cons for each board MicroKorg- Crappy presets, but overall pretty nifty features. Barely usable vocoder. Small, light runs on batteries. I could strap it to my body and use it away from my rig. To buy it again would be more of a novelty than to use it (look at that tiny synth). But I do miss that little sucker. It was handy to bring on business trips ION- 8 voice poly. some killer sounds. Never heard the vocoder but it is 40 band as opposed to 12 band for the Micro Korg. I haven't played with it outside a store but people seem to rave about it. I can get one new for $600. Given the option I could "wait" for the Micron, but I think the knobs on the ION are Tweaker heaven. For the $100 difference I'm not gaining anything with the Micron, I'm losing. K Station- I know nothing about it. Lots of people rave about it. Seems more setup for trance Currently I'm using analog sounds in the Triton LE and Roland XP 30 and they suffice just fine. My real interets in adding a VA is for some phatter sounds, a stage worthy vocoder and a cool look to add to my synth setup. Any opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scubyfan Posted July 26, 2004 Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 The K-Station can be had for cheap now. You're limited to a lowpass filter and most of the sounds are geared towards dancey things, but you can always replace them. Very easy to use, logical layout, yadda yadda yadda. Can you demo one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mildbill Posted July 26, 2004 Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 my choice of the 3 would be: 1) Ion 2) Microkorg 3) K-station ion's most programmable, most flexible, most filter types, etc. etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 26, 2004 Author Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 Originally posted by scubyfan The K-Station can be had for cheap now. You're limited to a lowpass filter and most of the sounds are geared towards dancey things, but you can always replace them. Very easy to use, logical layout, yadda yadda yadda. Can you demo one? Nope.... No stores around me seem to carry Novation products. The big 3 (Yammie, Roland & Korg) plus Alesis, Nord and some others. Novation is a bit hard to find. Not interested in trance sounds as much as I am analog sounds like Prophets, Mini Moogs, Obies etc. Looks more like a DJ device than a synth.... but since I gave you pass on the Fantom a few months back I guess I'll take your word that it's good. BTW how is the Fantom holding up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 26, 2004 Author Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 Originally posted by mildbill my choice of the 3 would be:1) Ion2) Microkorg3) K-stationion's most programmable, most flexible, most filter types, etc. etc. So far..., that is my gut feeling. Although the MicroKorg would be cool to gig with again, the ION might be something I might tweak at home and record with (the MK wasn't hitting the mark). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TDman Posted July 26, 2004 Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 You might want to consider the Novation Nova too. Much better build quality and a better vocoder as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scubyfan Posted July 26, 2004 Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 Originally posted by wheresgrant3 Nope.... No stores around me seem to carry Novation products. The big 3 (Yammie, Roland & Korg) plus Alesis, Nord and some others. Novation is a bit hard to find. Not interested in trance sounds as much as I am analog sounds like Prophets, Mini Moogs, Obies etc. Looks more like a DJ device than a synth.... but since I gave you pass on the Fantom a few months back I guess I'll take your word that it's good. BTW how is the Fantom holding up? You're still a bit bitter about the Fantom, huh? Since "good" is a matter of opinion, I would suggest you check out some demos first or demo one yourself before buying, but that may be hard and/or impossible. Haven't played the Ion for any significant amount of time, but it seems pretty good, spec-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tusker Posted July 26, 2004 Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 Originally posted by wheresgrant3 My real interets in adding a VA is for some phatter sounds, a stage worthy vocoder and a cool look to add to my synth setup. Any opinions? You might also look into a Nord Micromodular. You get the vocoder, you can do some fat sounds, and the red color? Well ... If you travel with a laptop ... I can't think of a friendlier way to do it. It's very compact, and will cost considerably less than your budget. But you will need to factor in the possible need for external effects sweetening, and using one of your other synths as a controller. Also it's pretty much monophonic (not really, but you should assume it is). Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mytee2.0 Posted July 26, 2004 Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 In my opinion the ion is not very giggable. Its {censored}ing gi-normous compared to the nova, k station, microkorg or any other desktop VA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cybermooks Posted July 26, 2004 Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 The reason you're not seeing the Novation in stores is that they have basically discontinued hardware so anything you buy is going to be used. The K is a later model than the A; the difference being its "liquid" sound, whatever that is. When you get into the Nova its another story; I have a Supernova II and an A station and they are different beasts. The MS2000 is nice but limited polyphony. Your best choice is definitely the Ion; most up-to-date and versatile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 26, 2004 Author Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 Originally posted by myteeGTi In my opinion the ion is not very giggable. Its {censored}ing gi-normous compared to the nova, k station, microkorg or any other desktop VA Do you mean because of the size? I play in a band so size does not matter. I'm currently gigging with a Triton LE, XP30 and DW8000 (for some gigs). Although the MicroKorg appeals to me because it is so small. I still have a little soft case for the one I used to own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted July 26, 2004 Members Share Posted July 26, 2004 SPAM/FYI: Just lowered the asking price on my ION to $550. will pay half of shipping. Latest OS, mint cond. Box, Manual etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_resonator Posted July 27, 2004 Members Share Posted July 27, 2004 if you wantem my {censored}ty opinion, i will say none of the above. i'd say that the small keys and smaller boards are not the way to go if you are gigging. let me suggest another option- it has a {censored}ing truckload of knobs, a good vocoder, and more than 2-3 octaves:the quasimidi sirius. just something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ExplodingBoy Posted July 27, 2004 Members Share Posted July 27, 2004 I may be interested in that Ion J3rk. How come you're selling it though? One thing that scares me a bit is that I see alot of Ions being sold these days. I'm wondering why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 27, 2004 Author Members Share Posted July 27, 2004 Originally posted by the_resonator if you wantem my {censored}ty opinion, i will say none of the above. i'd say that the small keys and smaller boards are not the way to go if you are gigging. let me suggest another option- it has a {censored}ing truckload of knobs, a good vocoder, and more than 2-3 octaves: the quasimidi sirius. just something to think about. Dude! Your posts always get me to crack up a little. I'll have to check that suggestion out. Didn't even consider it. BTW, how is the Darkstar and PK6 doin. Did they find a place with the gazillion other synths you own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_resonator Posted July 27, 2004 Members Share Posted July 27, 2004 they are doing great! I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the xpII, since i gave my original darkstar to a friend to get him into synths....i had been kinda missing it. i hve yet to really get into the pk6, i've used it for some of the drumkits and some of the patches-just to play on a few scratch tracks. I've used the rhodes one a couple of times. It's on my list of things to really delve into once i get done quitting work and settled into being a student again at law school and all. don't think i am forgetting the discount book offer either! as concerns the Quasimidi, i think they are almost fogotten now since they went under and were kinda lumped into the "DJ", not "serious instrument" category because of products like the rave-o-lution, but they really had some nice nice stuff out and the sirius is a serious VA and a good workstation and the vocoder is impressive as well. it's defiantely not a toy, and i think you might find it a little more to explore than say, a microkorg would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted July 27, 2004 Members Share Posted July 27, 2004 I'm selling it because I use mostly software. The ION is my only remaining piece of hardware, and while I love it, it doesn't get nearly enough use. It's too much of a pain to integrate it when everything else is done in software. When I had racks and racks of synths, and a big mixer, it was easy to do stuff like that, but having one odd-man-out synth doesn't work for me. I want to build a nice big analog modular when I move, and that is probably all I will use. I can't say anything bad about the ION at all. Excellent sound quality, huge mod-matrix, tons of nice filters. I've made some incredible sounds on it. Mine has exhibited none of the problems that I've read about. Knobs all work perfectly, etc. I'm trying to get things situated in my non-musical life (just had a little girl,) and I need to move into a better place. Software is helping me do this, because I'm not taking up a lot of space, I don't need to spend as much time configuring (which I actually love doing,) etc. I'm going to build a MOTM modular within the next year, so that will handle my hardware tweaking and strange noise needs. If you want it, just let me know. Even if you don't get mine, get one. I was skeptical, and then amazed by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkstorm Posted July 27, 2004 Members Share Posted July 27, 2004 Of the 3 I'd pick the K station. But best vocoder I've used is in my Zoom Player 3000. A GUITAR processor. But can plug synth nto into its in jack to use vocoder with it. Alterately you could use other efects procesors that have vocoder fuction, aka voice, guitar, or general use, proccesor with your synth of choice plugged intoit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jigg Posted July 27, 2004 Members Share Posted July 27, 2004 The ION doesn't have a vocoder, does it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tucktronix Posted July 28, 2004 Members Share Posted July 28, 2004 Originally posted by jigg The ION doesn't have a vocoder, does it? It does... 40 band, me thinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 28, 2004 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2004 To be honest.... the vocoder is a very important feature. I know this might be pie in the sky... I have yet to perform live with a vocoder... I play in a party band that gigs every weekend.... clubs, bars parties, corporate events. I would really like to use the Vocoder to emulate the same effect in a song like "Intergalatic" from the Beastie Boys. I am the only one in a 5 piece that doesn't sing.... so in theory I could run a mic, direct into the ION (or other VA) and out to my small mixer (preamped) then out to our PA. I have no idea if this is even possible. I know that some of our back line and other stage noise might interfere with the signal, but as long as I'm able to pull off the effect it will be worth the $400 to $600 I will spend on the extra VA. It's all about a great show for us and incorporating the vocoder is just one small piece. Last week we rented 4 seperate par 64 cans packs with purple gels just to bust out "Purple Rain" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_resonator Posted July 28, 2004 Members Share Posted July 28, 2004 i know where to get some Doves, if, you know...you start covering other good songs on that album.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 28, 2004 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2004 Originally posted by the_resonator i know where to get some Doves, if, you know...you start covering other good songs on that album.. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_resonator Posted July 28, 2004 Members Share Posted July 28, 2004 yeah, i don't know how you'd make them cry. maybe whip out the super-soakers (with purple koolaid in them?)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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