Korg Forums

Hi there...
Ive used the search function,but theres nothing answering my questions so...

Im A Huge fan of synth...i enjoy eelctronics thoroughly..i have no musical experience apart from playing keyboard in year 3 to year 5 which i forgot.

After My Holiday,Im willing to put some money into setting up..im determined so dont want a beginner set up.
Basically i have no idea where to start how to play what software etc..so heres a few questions that spring to mind..

which would be the best intermidiate synth system..
do i need a laptop with software?..and which software?
would the microkorg be ideal?
can you download synth onto the system.
I could go on forever..could anyone with 10 minutes on their hand just start me off from the beginning?

many thanks..
sorry if i sound daft with potentially obvious questions..


kyle

also...do you just connect he synthesiser to any stereo speakers..or do you need amps etc..i really dont know where to start

Your choice will depend a lot on the kind of music you intend to do. There are many kinds of synthesis. You don't need a laptop, but it would help. You could use a PC or Mac desktop too. You don't need an amp. Just good professional headphones can get you going. Computer speakers are usually very poor quality, but you can find good powered speakers at a reasonable price, such as the Logitech THX models. A stereo system receiver/amp with home speakers will work fine too, so long as you're playing for kicks and learning. Recording requires monitors and headphones with more flat frequency response so that you can better judge recordings without having to compensate for the wide variance of home/computer speakers.

Try to use whatever stuff you've already got, because it can be very expensive to buy equipment only to find out later that it wasn't really what you need. There are many free software synthesizer and demo versions available to help you learn. If you've already got a PC, I would suggest getting several hard drives and a removable HD bay kit so that you can have several completely separate configurations for different purposes: one for your regular computer/email/internet stuff, another just for music production, another for experimenting with downloads. That way you can play around with one config without affecting the others in case something bad happens.

Only you will be able to say if the Microkorg will work well for you, so you'll need to spend more time figuring that out for yourself. That might not be the answer you're looking for. The MK keyboard isn't very good, but MK has a good Virtual Analog synth engine with editor software, and a fun vocoder to do robotic voices. It also can be found at low prices. But so can it's bigger brother, the MS2000, if you look around on ebay. It would be a bad choice if you wanted realistic sounding instruments such as pianos, trumpet, sax, strings, or guitars. It's great for electronic music genres, but nothing you couldn't do with software or other synths of the same design.

Here's a good starting point:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer

Thanks alot... Im Into Modern electro/trance eg.Enter shikari..
I went to a shop today and tried an Alesis Micron Synthesizer..is this a better choice than the microkorg?...its between the two.

thanks again.

My advise..

If you want to make music straight away...
...and you want to keep on learning
...and your budget is small
...you want to make any type of electronic music
...
get Fruitloops ( FL Studio ) software.

Buying one synth (i.e. Micron, microKorg) without a sequencer, groovebox, drummachine, whatever is not going to get you very far. Your gonna have to fork out much more cash on things like the above plus mixers, monitors, .... the list goes on and on.
Within Fruitloops you have kazillion synths, drummachines, effects, EQ, processing and the likes.

ONCE you have mastered Fruityloops (if you ever) you will know what to get next if you ever need anything else.

For Fruityloops you will need:
- A crappy PC (Fruityloops will run on any old banger).
- Headphones or speakers
Later on you can maybe add a midi-controller. First you have to learn what 'midi' is.

Buying one synth will not get you far in this respect. However
- if you just want to have fun and fool around
- OR you already have a studio set-up
- OR you want to start a long time-investment is music gear
a synth like the micrKorg is quite funky companion for a beginner. Micron is a bugger to program... not recommended for beginners.


Anyway try out the demo version for free....
fruityloops dot com

and when i say better choice i mean to play the kind of sounds enter shikari produce......


and on this video...



http://youtube.com/watch?v=HK0ovGoFM9Y

at 15 seconds how does he get that awesome enter shikari noise..is it from his computer???if so how......can he get a backing from a song just by the push of a button.

You could make a sound to sound a bit like what he's doing on the microKorg or Micron but most probably never get exactly the same result... not on the microKorg anyway.
The sound character sounds something like a Virus TI (could this be the mothership he's taking about ) or it could just be some software (like Vanguard). There is nothing 'special' about this sound you are talking about.

Anyway I still say for the money Fruityloops will get you closer to that sound than a microKorg or a Micron. Just download the demo of Fruityloops and demo a microKorg/Micron in the shops and hear for yourself. Or check out Vanguard software (this sounds the most like a Virus TI)

Success on your quest for that special sound