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 Post subject: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 2:30 pm 
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For the SP fans, I have to recommend another piece of gear, the microsampler. You can get these for under 300 bucks.
It fills in a LOT of gaps the SPs leave, cool as they are...

I'm not going to do a big rant as much as list features that that most SP fans would really appreciate :

1. Decay and release on samples...stuff can fade out naturally. (fade in i think you can only do on PC editor)
2. Panning! (I can't believe even the SP555 cant do this....)
3. Pitching by step, and by cents - fine tune your samples easily without resampling. (cool secondary feature, if keys are empty below a sample, microsampler automatically pitches sample down and fills in keys)
4. Sample in 6hz, 11hz , 22hz, 44hz
5. flip to "keyboard" mode, any sample pitches across 36 keys.
6. Kaoss style effects (better than electribe effects) , and resample to the same key. Highlights: plate reverb, mod delay, decimator, band EQ
7. Fast workflow - no smartmedia waiting, all is stored in memory (no cards)
8. Better time stretching (I prefer to pitch, still sounds better)
9. 2 track sequencer , 1 track for the pitched keyboard part
10. 36 samples x 10 banks. Limited to about 2.5 minutes per bank but that can be raised with lower sampling rates - so in this respect it is much more limited than an SP....but still more time than older samplers
11. Auto/Key gate - use this to chop a beat manually, hit each key for each hit or let the BPM chop it.
12. runs on 6 AAs

After playing with my SP505 and 555 having some of these features is really nice, but it seems like the microsampler started off too expensive and was too "in the middle" (not a true multi-layered/sampling keyboard) to really take off.


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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:31 pm 
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yeah [melancholic sigh], i kinda really want one, but i can't really justify getting it when i have already have 3 samplers. I watched a demo/review like a week after it dropped and i've been *so close* to just caving and getting it. I can almost justify getting since it's a sampling *keyboard* and it could be a *melodic* instrument... :|

What always happens is I tell myself that getting it will make me lazy and I'll never make a melody on 303 again. Which is likely true. Problem with MicroKorg (for me, at least, and "problem" isn't really the word) is that it makes stuff easy, and so it *sounds* easy...best analogy is "Twist and Shout" where John's voice is raw from singing for like 12 hours straight and he's straining to sing it and it sounds pretty intense, pretty visceral. Then you hear him sing it with a fresh voice and it's not very exciting. I mean it is, but you know...

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 5:38 pm 
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LimpyLoo wrote:
...best analogy is "Twist and Shout" where John's voice is raw from singing for like 12 hours straight and he's straining to sing it and it sounds pretty intense, pretty visceral. Then you hear him sing it with a fresh voice and it's not very exciting. I mean it is, but you know...


Best musical analogy I've heard in a long time.

Regardless, there's no such thing as "too easy" when you're using outboard gear. But I think what attracts people to said outboard gear in this age of softsynths and DAWs is the requisite amount of energy you have to put into them IS a bit higher and so I see what you're saying. That said the Microsampler seemed kind of crap to me when it first came out but op makes some good points about its effects and sample shaping capabilities when paired with a SP or other sampler.

$300 is still too much for one in my opinion but if they drop dramatically I'm all over one.

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:27 am 
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Sample in 44hz

It's fixed at a sample rate of 48khz though, right?

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:39 pm 
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I was off on the 44...

"Selectable sample rates of 48 kHz, 24 kHz, 12 kHz, and down to 6 kHz let you sample at rates beyond CD clarity or add in that Lo-Fi vintage vibe."

So yeah, you can choose that each time you sample....12khz is gritty as hell.


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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 3:12 am 
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There's a couple of used ones on guitar center's used site for $239. If I had the dough, I would jump on it. I still need to offload my Sampletrak.

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 7:40 am 
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in all honesty, it's a beast. I paid the original 6bills for it :hand on face: but i still love it. the same ol complaints as always, no proper looper (but there is a workaround), and 16bit, 48khzwtf why not 44.1. anyway, most of my tracks are made with this and the 404 these days.

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 7:53 am 
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Man, i ogled MicroSamplers on eBay today. I think I need to just get one and stop whining.

JBL, what else do you find less-than-ideal about it? I'm extremely curious about its shortcomings...

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 8:11 am 
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i don't want to talk you out of it man. it's fun if u get to know it. chop is diff from the 303 and i don't use it for that. also some people don't like the casio sk-1 style key formant but whatever it's still useful. other little gripes maybe but really nothing at all to complain about if you can get it for half what i paid for it. and if u do complain, me and the man from la mancha will have to come see about cha.

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 8:36 am 
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jbl wrote:
also some people don't like the casio sk-1 style key formant but whatever it's still useful.


Funny you say that cause that for me is kinda the whole point in wanting one. I have an sk-5 and you like clink a spoon on a glass and there's your patch! keyboard samplers are a whole other trip cause of that.

and i prolly wouldn't use it to make beats. i'd use it for melody and chords. also I'd just load the amen break in there, tape a key down and have it playing 24/7 for the rest of my life. or might just sample a dog and have him sing jingle bells...

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 10:00 am 
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That's what I'm talking about.
Or. Or.
Load vowel sounds and make a chorus.
Have you seen that mic? Imagine what a belch could do bass wise.

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 3:03 pm 
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Quote:
Funny you say that cause that for me is kinda the whole point in wanting one. I have an sk-5 and you like clink a spoon on a glass and there's your patch! keyboard samplers are a whole other trip cause of that.


For this, its great....I've done the glass clink or stomp/clap/wind noise and played across keyboard, very fun. I also sampled some notes off a baby grand (around 12) and let it fill in the rest, giving a lofi (used the cheap mic) but very realistic piano patch to use.

The fine tune and pitch....coming from an SP, this is a godsend...as mentioned, great for melody and pitching stuff correctly to match keys.
I've use mine recently to grab samples, pan/pitch/effect/ADSR etc then push to my 555 all ready to go.

Downsides (not all that bad)
-design/recessed buttons kind of wonky; cheap case
-pattern sequencer is kind of crap
-effects vs. SP: excels in some areas (verb/delay), falls a little short in others (compressor, could use a vinyl-y effect)
-Audio quality: I'm sure this could be debated, but I feel that the Microsampler is very vanilla - does not add anything to the samples in terms of compression/grit that you can get from certain SPs. May not be as easy to get it sounding grimey like an SP (which is why this is a great companion piece; create here, push to SP to sequence and dirty up)


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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 11:00 pm 
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I missed this thread...very interesting. Hey blavs (or anyone) is there a "hold" function on this microsampler, so i can avoid taping down the keys for drones?

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:33 am 
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yes

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 Post subject: Re: The much dissed Korg Microsampler: better than you think
PostPosted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:13 am 
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VERY cool. Thanks JBL!

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