Be Excellent To Each Other

OK so im in the market for a small capable synth
vocoder a novelty not a need
decent arpeggiator with realtime hold/latch function a must


Looking at these:

Korg R3
Korg Micro X
Alesis Micron
Alexis Ion
Novation X 25
Novation xiostation

anyone had any real world experience with these?
It will be my first synth purchase.

Thanks

I've no idea what any of that means, but Korg have released a synth for the DS (of all things) and apparently it's pretty decent. So if you only want a novelty it seems more than capable...



it's got the wobbly pad thingy and stuff. (I don't really know what a synth even is).

The Korg DS-10 is more than just a novelty. You can produce some really good tunes on it. Only problem is it's just two monosynths and a drum machine.

The Micro Korg is brilliant but it's a little awkward to program your own sounds with it only having a few knobs. You have to switch functionality. It sounds amazing despite its slightly bewildering programming.

I've had no experience with others though.

I think its safe to say that the others on the list are better than the micro korg from what I have gleaned so far, so I guess I cant go far wrong.


And no, I dont mean the whole thing is a novelty,but some come bundled with vocoder capabilities which would be a novelty to have but not essential.

For the price of a DS and this software lets assume £130, you could pay £100 and get the aforementioned microkorg or the alesis micron which is a proper instrument.

I've always found Novation a little bit thin in their sound. They sound more FM than Analogue. The Alesis Micron looks awful and doesn't sound too good from what I can tell via youtube.

There's always the Novation A-Station rack which might be of interest. Despite its cold sound you've got a knob for everything and all you need then is a midi keyboard to connect.

The Microkorg beats them all on looks though.

EDIT: Maybe the Alesis doesn't sound too bad but with only three knobs it's bound to be horrible to program.

The alesis is apparently a marmite thing to program.
some bnegatives, some positives.
I dont mind digging around. and the possibilities with the Alesis are actually pretty far reaching, as it has all manner of synths, drums, sequencer etc.

I wont be buying a microkorg even though it sounds great due to its tiny keys.

Its between the Alesis and I think the Micro X korg.
Korg only has 25 keys, but more easy to edit.
Apparently the alesis has the best sound if you want analog type tones.

To me they all sounds fudging awesome regardless!


The alesis is also the cheapest of the lot, at £235 delivered.

On the other hand, the microkorg won't play Mario Kart.

I suspect the Alesis isn't actually a synthesiser so much as a sound module much like the old Vintage Keys etc. All depends what you want from it.

I like the sound of the MicroKorg and pretty much Korgs in general, they're really easy to turn into evil sounding bastards, and I wouldn't overlook the MicroKorg because of its tiny keys as you can always buy a cheap controller and play the Korg through that.
Novation gear nearly always lacks aggressive sounds, but the pads sound always lovely.
And never having used any Alesis gear other than effects, I have no opinion on their synths.

On paper and in reviews everything is in the Alesis favour at that price point (Around £230).


Nre - its a virtual analog modelling synthesizer, not a module.

TBH I think I have made my mind up.
Anything I buy will be FANTASTIC im sure, it just a case of budget and features.

I dare say for most its time with me to start with Ill just have raucous fun with the presets.

I love the aesthetics of the korg micro, its very moogy and analog looking, but apparently the sounds arent as good, and I just dont like the small keys. plus I have big hands.

Ill let you know how I get on, cheers guys.

oh and WRT mario kart - I have a SNES for that, the definitive version IMHO.

Ah I just assumed you already had a DS, ah well.