KORG Minilogue

opposite ends of the spectrum, innit?

minilogue>analog, direct control over most parameters

monomachine>digital, elektron menu diving

was gonna buy one as most stores had a "shipping mid march" slogan on their sites. now it looks like the next shipment is being pushed out 'til early may :(

mnm isn't really so much menu diving. it's laid out so almost everything is one button press away.

  On 3/16/2016 at 6:01 PM, digman said:

Did anyone actually end up buying one? I'm kind of tossing up between the Minilogue and a Monomachine

the idea of a tossup between mnm and minilogue sounds like you don't actually need either one, you just WANT something new. as far as being a a swiss army knife, the mnm wins bigtime. it's so useful.

but i played the minilogue and it's quite pleasing.

Yeah don't get me wrong, the minilogue looks really nice (better than the videos/images suggest), and sounds cool, and is arguably better as a pure performance synth, but the monomachine paired with a decent MIDI controller is a very different (and superior, imo) beast.

  On 3/17/2016 at 1:02 AM, sheathe said:

the idea of a tossup between mnm and minilogue sounds like you don't actually need either one, you just WANT something new. as far as being a a swiss army knife, the mnm wins bigtime. it's so useful.

 

but i played the minilogue and it's quite pleasing.

Pretty much this, I got room for another sequenced synth.

  On 3/17/2016 at 12:59 AM, sheathe said:

sheathe, on 16 Mar 2016 - 7:59 PM, said:

 

mnm isn't really so much menu diving. it's laid out so almost everything is one button press away.

so obvs haven't used one but i assumed it had to be worse than say, a4 (which i own) as it came out a decade prior(ish)

i still want one though

and a minilogue >_<

This thing is sexy

The clicking isn't even close to a dealbreaker

If I had the bones, I'd gitter dunn

I just double-checked my order. I had placed it in late January, and my last estimate for a shipment is early April.

How does it compare to the MS-20 mini?

  On 3/17/2016 at 7:01 PM, juiceciuj said:

so obvs haven't used one but i assumed it had to be worse than say, a4 (which i own) as it came out a decade prior(ish)

i still want one though

I guess the main differences are in the sequencer, and the way kits/sounds are handled. Synthesis-wise, I think the monomachine is a LOT more powerful, even though I do love the sound of the a4.

  On 3/17/2016 at 11:59 PM, modey said:

 

  On 3/17/2016 at 7:01 PM, juiceciuj said:

so obvs haven't used one but i assumed it had to be worse than say, a4 (which i own) as it came out a decade prior(ish)

i still want one though

I guess the main differences are in the sequencer, and the way kits/sounds are handled. Synthesis-wise, I think the monomachine is a LOT more powerful, even though I do love the sound of the a4.

 

I love the MnM but I am tempted to eventually get an A4 for a few reasons:

- Nice polyphony handling

- 2-oscillator voice architecture

- Patch-locking (for drums, mostly)

- Easier send bussing (although the MnM's routing is fabulous)

- Audio-rate LFOs (the FM options now give the MnM a run for its money)

- Sharper envelopes (from what I've heard, anyway)

- Macro mode

- Microtiming

- Smoother parameter transitions

I had a friend who bought an A4, hated it, and returned it after like 2-3 weeks

I always dug the sound of it....definitely clinical, but perfect for some of the "chamber IDM" I hear in my head

I'm really kinda tempted to trade some gear for an Electron

Fucking lush-ass effects and workflow

What's their best sampler?

Depends who you ask, I guess. I've only used the OT but my take is:

Rytm: Analog filters and some synthesis, performance-oriented interface, but it needs a computer to get fresh blood. Supposedly nice low end, etc. but shitty hats and such.

Octatrack: Batshit crazy volatile sampling weapon with a pretty wicked MIDI sequencer attached to it. On paper looks like everything you could ever want. In practice is mostly just confusing until you get the hang of it but at times mindblowing. Stream 4 finished tracks off a card, mix them with 2 incoming stereo synths, and resample whatever of those you like in real time, all of the above with 2 effects each, and sequenced in different speeds and meters with parameter locks on every step (at the same time)? Yeah, duh, of course, but why didn't you use the LFOs and the crossfader too, lazy ass? The OT doesn't know what it is. Nobody knows what it is. That's up to you to decide. And then change your mind in a week. Just don't expect to scratch any more than the surface.

Machinedrum UW: Volatile like the Octatrack, but less memory. Sequencer not quite as insanely powerful, blocky chunky 16 steps with swing but that volatility makes some tricks possible. More performance options with the knobs. Also contains little drum synths just like the Rytm only they're better (just not analog) so if you're bored with your sample collection, make something from scratch, go foraging, you don't have to cook what's in the fridge.

the only downside of the Rytm is that the inputs go straight to the compressor without the ability to process them in any other way.

it's by far the best-sounding Elektron device imo though, and it has the best UI.

messing with samples in it is awesome.

as for shitty hats & less good synthesis vs MD: soon.jpg

Heads up America fam. Three Waves in New Jersey just got a couple of Minilogue's in, I ordered one on the phone pretty much as soon as they posted on their instagram. Should be at my desk either tomorrow or Friday.

http://threewavemusic.com/

I tried for 30 minutes with headphones at moog audio in Montréal and on first impression i must say i was really impressed,very sexy synth,it can do load of things very good, it has that melancholic analogue detune feel that i love,makes huge pads and bass,experimental agressive stuff.

Wanted to buy one but instead got myself a roland jx-8p for cheaper.

But it may very well may be next on my list.

So I received mine last week, I need more time with it but I don't think I've ever bought a piece of kit that has instantly felt like such a huge addition to my work flow. Seems enormously intuitive and useful, in a lot of ways I'm starting to see it as a very budget Analog Keys. Still early days with it but here are some thoughts about it

Pros

• Sequencing and Programming are probably about as good as it gets outside of the Electron boxes
• The different voice models turn out to be pretty interesting an useful (even on the same patch cycling through them can provide some good results)
• Each of the voice model has its own set of parameters and customization
• Really great at making pads, the ability to Motion Sequence everything seems like it is really going to lend itself to some lush pad sounds.

Cons

• Weak presets - I don't think you can really argue any other way. Its not going to go down as a machine that has any famous patches out of the box.
• At times frustrating navigation through the menus. A common problem I have is I'll turn the program button and it will switch to a different patch without saving changes to the patch I had open.
• The light up buttons don't feel great, make a bothersome sound when pressed
• Limited to a 16-step sequence, I feel like it would be nice to have more but its a minor complaint and there are work arounds
• Korg drivers don't seem as strong as other USB / Midi drivers - ie Overbridge. I can't seem to send / recieve Midi purely by the USB cable. So Ableton is sending Midi to the Minilogue via your regular ass Legowelt belt (Midi Cable). This is probably becase I'm a noob
• The polyphony can behave oddly when running a sequence in addition to manual keypresses
• Maybe it would have been nice if some of the Voice Parameters were less buried in the menus. Like if everything else is knob per function why is a huge part of the instrument buried inside tiny menus?
• Character - I probably need more time with it but I don't think its ever going to be an instrument you hear on a record and think "that is 100% a Korg Minilogue patch". I just don't really think the sound it produces is all that unique.

Honestly all of the cons are pretty minor and just little gripes on what is a great instrument in my opinion and I think for $500 you get a huge amount for your money. It probably seems like my Cons outweigh the Pros but it really isn't the case the ease of programming and playability are excelltn. I would 100% recommend it to ya'll / buy again / have considered what it would be like to have two.

i'm assuming yours is from a later production run. does it still have the pop issue? trying to decide between this and a monomachine for my q1 bonus gift to myself (not that the filter pop issue will determine that necessarily). have a feeling by the end of q2 i'll have both.

I haven't noticed any clipping or popping with the filter that a lot of people were crying about when it came out. I feel like Mark Dotty kind of nailed that issue on the head in the video where he talks about it. Like yeah you probably could replicate if you really sat there and tried to but in general use I haven't noticed it. I don't know maybe the initial run were prone to something that mine doesn't have. Who knows.

How is the zippering on parameter changes? Obvious or smooth?

  On 4/14/2016 at 2:52 AM, sweepstakes said:

How is the zippering on parameter changes? Obvious or smooth?

what is a zippering

never heard of that either but i assume it's the stepping of parameter changes verses a smooth curve

  On 4/14/2016 at 4:52 PM, juiceciuj said:

never heard of that either but i assume it's the stepping of parameter changes verses a smooth curve

Yes. You get that on digital systems or digital-controlled analog systems. Because in order to enable MIDI control and/or patch storage, the parameters have to be digitally controlled, and in order to recall those parameters they have to be recalled at discrete values. Generally that means that your parameter settings, even when tweaking, are also at discrete values. So there is a necessary level of indirection between the knob you're twisting and the parameter it's controlling, and that means that the parameter changes are necessarily quantized/not smooth.

The typical solution to this is to slide smoothly between the discrete parameter values. So let's say you twist the knob from the value 52 to 53, and there is no intermediate value stored in patches in the system. Well, if I was slew limiting, let's say the slew rate is 50ms, at 25ms the value is 52.5, at 37.5ms the value is 52.75, etc. So that smooths it out. But then your instantaneous changes might lose immediacy. It's like the balance between preserving transients and smooth anti-aliasing.

TL;DR - boodeeloodooeeooodeeoodeeoop instead of biouowiaaouop

new free desktop library manager for minilogue. and a bank of new presets: http://www.korg.com/us/products/synthesizers/minilogue/librarian_contents.php