Korg TR-Rack

Let me say this- the sounds are fucking superb!!!!!! If it sounded bad, I would sell it yesterday because it is such a dog to operate without a computer. All the Trinity factory presets are there plus another 2 banks of 128 patches each (that's 512 programs and 512 combinations). I don't mind the new mellow sounding stereo piano but I have heard much better (I'm fussy with my piano sounds having grown up learning organ and piano). Some of the organ sounds (hammond and Pipe) are excellent. Great sounding rotary speaker effect- much better than the one in my Korg Z1. Strings are very playable, I am glad that they put in the M1's sax sample as this shits all over any of the Trinity's sax samples. Brass is as expected from a sample based synthe. I love the pads (some sound trully wavestation) and some of the other analogue synthe emulations. The best thing about this box are the drum kits. I simply cannot fault the drum sounds, particularly from the new Tr Rack kits such as funk and dance. I am a mad fan of some of the acoustic and clean electric guitars- I can't stop playing combination patch 'New Set of Strings' TRY IT!!!! It makes you almost sound like Tommy Emanuel with orchestral backing! The electric basses are OK but the synthe basses are outstanding. Not too much on offer with regards to ethnic sounds but this doesn't really worry me. I owned and sold a Trinity (so I could buy my Triton) and the sounds in this box are just as beautiful as in that board (obviously).

Only had it's operating system upgraded when it started to hold notes with my sequencer. Not a problem since then. It is well built and thank God THAT THERE IS NO STUPID EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLY. Pro synthe manufacturers who insist on supplying their 'Pro' gear with external wall wart power supplies should have there personal parts immersed in a hot tub of acid!!!!!!Just to give them time to think about how much we muso's despise these annoying things- BOTTOM LINE- DON'T GIVE US EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLIES. I for one will no longer buy a piece of gear with an external power supply no matter how good it sounds!!!!!!

I wouldn't buy it again. Instead I would use the insurance money (I have my gear properly insured) to buy a rack version of the Korg Triton (when they appear!!!!!) or I would purchase a Roland JV-2080 and fill it up slowly with expansion boards- this is a much easier unit to get to grips with even though to my ears the TR Rack has a slight edge sonically. I co-own and operate a MIDI based production studio in Melbourne, we use Logic Audio 4 on PC, Yamaha O3D mixer (this is fantastic), plus other assorted bits of outboard. MIDI wise, I have a Korg T3, DW8000, Z1, Triton, Wavestation AD and SR, 2 Roland JV-1080's with 7 expansion boards and a Roland MDC1 Dance Module. This is all controlled from a MOTU MIDI Express 8X8 MIDI Patchbay/Interface. I have been doing music since 1980, started with organ, went to piano and got hooked onto MIDI in 1987. This box has some ripper sounds and that is why I would not sell it unless someboday offered me a good price on one (at least $1,700.00 Aust!!!) The frustrating thing is that you can't program it fully from the front panel. I am surprised that Korg (a company known for it's ease of use when it comes to gear) went this way when designing this unit. Please Korg, Don't do such a thing again! Like I have already mentioned, If I didn't love it's sound so much, I would have sold it yesterday.