microKORG - small keys, small price tag (Korg MicroKorg)

Member Name: Midrange

Product:	Korg MicroKorg
Date:	03/08/08 (233 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A great "beginner" synth, lots of control knobs and features

Disadvantages: Horrible, half-sized keys can be difficult to play

Tiny keys vs. Big sound.
Plastic feel vs. Real time controllers.
Cheesy presets vs. Excellent analog modelling synthesizing.

It depends what you want from the instrument! It is small, the keys are not weighted and it is, admittedly difficult to play. But once you've got the hang on the tiny, half sized keys (and please don't get confused - they're just helf the length, not half the width of a normal piano key) you can create some pretty cool sounds. (Well, if cool for you is sweeping 80s saw wave tones!)

I really enjoy playing around with this machine. There's an almost endless set of possibilities and plenty of online patches you can download. The online software is also very handy - basically, you can download a piece of software that allows you to modify the various features of a waveform on your computer, rather than finding your way through the various sub-menus in the keyboard itself.

I know this is a lot to request, but I would advise purchasing a properly weighted digital piano and using the piano to control the microKORG via MIDI. That way, you can let your fingers play on a "nice" feeling keyboard and still create the same whacky sounds from the microKORG's synth engine.

Summary: If you're interested in synthesizers but not sure where to begin, try the microKORG or the AlesisIon