after the microkorg the minimania seems to have invaded the market...
mini kaosspad, kaossillator etc but also the Waldorf microQ key, the Novation K-station, the Alesis micron and now the AKAI MINIAK...

the most convenient prices are, for now, the microkorgs and the microns, but who know...

microkorg question: can we do patterns with this alone?



cheers

Don't forget the mini controllers like the Korg Nano line and now Akai is even doin it.



The LPD8 and LPK25. I kinda like the look of these better than the Nanos.

i agree, I have the nanopad and I think I'd take knobs over the XY pad...hmmm anyone wanna buy a nanopad to fund my LPB8?

I don't have one, but I think you can program the arpeggiator in the microkorg, however, the micron has an actual phrase sequencer and everything(even drums), but it more time consuming to work with.

thanx
i thought that you could make patterns on th microkorg...
the (used) price of this and the micron are quite the same, but most people said that the micron is more complicated...

i got the micron for that very reason (patter and record and loop capture type thing) the only thing was its not as "free" as an sp or my esx... meaning its not as easy to grab a sound record it, then add strings, then horns, then ocean waves, then alien noises and so on... it IS possible to do that on the micron i just could never wrap my head around getting multiple sounds spread across the keyboard... the loop capture thing (phrase) is RAD.. click twice play a sequence click again and you have your sequence pitched across the keys... that was so easy i ended up saying fack the other modes its too complicated and did basic stuff with the phrase button.... its a rad synth i just didnt get into it and sold it off and dont really regret it... they go CHEAP on craigs list although i see a lot of them go for what i got for mine with missing knobs and static-y volume pots.. bring headphones and ry it out if you buy used... i got 250 for mine (i paid new price) and the dood i sold it to got a good deal considering how little the thing had been plugged in much less on... if youre looking to make melodies or have patterns running while you play drums on the sp the micron might be the way to go... if you want to add to already made patterns and wanna add texture or bass or just little stuff i suggest the microkorg of some kind... its alot easier to get your sound tweak on and mangle the sounds on the korg over digging through the menues of the micron... people had warned me on that before i got it but was stuck on the record modes i didnt listen... the phrase button is the only thing that kept that keyboard from being a loss...

thanx for this review Tim.
frankly, this "loop capture" and the fact that you can make patterns is a good thing for this Micron; but me too i heard people saying that it is complicated to play/create with it...

ps
you know what, Tim? i finally taken the esx1.

haha excellent! are you liking it? i was really pushing myself to make something i liked on my 404 and wouldnt let myself turn on the esx until i banged out something on the 404 i liked... then i got to where i wasnt making music at all because i was struggling on the 404 so much but was trying to maintain... i turned on the esx again and had a decent thing going in the 20 minutes before work creative spurt.... i hope youre liking the esx its got its limitations like any other box but i think its seriously slept on...

micron: look into the sections on adjusting the sounds on the micron... you have to navigate through the sub menus and adjust things that way.. the three knobs can be set up to adjust things but most of the stock sounds are set up with the knobs as settiong that give the sound more "noise" and attack than really warping the sounds.. i never changed up the knob settings though.. i dont know if there is a way to set the knobs for "setting X, Y,Z" and then they are set like that for every sound you go to or if you have to map them out for each sound you use.... i started keeping a note pad nearby to write down sounds as i found them if i liked them.. it was a weird experience for my first synth and feel like getting one over the other may not have been better... korg= controls on the surface but no sequencer micron = lots of hidden stuff but sequencer, phrase sampler, other record options...

of the manual is online i would HIGHLY suggest reading up on the record functions.. it was hard for me to navigate around on there but the guy who i sold it to was stoned as shit and figured it out in a few minutes...

if you dedicate a lot of time to making music it might be for you because of setting up the sounds and getting everything situated.. i usually sit down, knock around for a while, and do something else... it was too complex to keep my attention other than the phrase thing... i would find a sound blabber on the keys turn the lock on and pitch around on the keys while laying drums on the esx (recording into the 404)...

note: when using the phrase button you can also use the latch button to hold the key for you and then let go... you set the bpm to match your other device and go on from there... thats how i worked with it.