Tag Archives: Musikmesse 2011

Korg Monotribe Review & Audio Demo – Are You Going To Buy One?

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The Korg Monotribe was one of the hits of Musikmesse 2011 – but the teasers from the show left us with a lot of questions.

Here’s a video review of the Korg Monotribe that answers a lot of these questions, and offers a lot of great audio previews of the analog groovebox. Nick at Sonic State runs the Monotribe through its paces, testing out all the basic features, but also testing out some more bizarre things that you’ll have to watch the video to appreciate.

Are You Going To Buy A Monotribe?

The big question in my mind is still whether Synthtopia readers are going to snap these things up.

The Monotribe can make some pretty wicked sounds, but it occupies an unusual middle ground. It’s not really a music toy, but it also doesn’t have some key features that a lot of synth freaks want from a synth.

I expect that just about every Synthtopia reader is going to look at the Monotribe and wish it had just one more feature, whether that’s 16 steps for the sequencer, a better keyboard, MIDI support, CV inputs, individual outputs or control options for the drum voices. Some of these may be options through Monotribe mods or hacking.

Korg may have been smart, though, to avoid a ‘kitchen sink’ design with the Monotribe.

A lot of great music has been made with an 8-step sequencer and an analog synth and limitations can force you to get creative. And adding a bunch of ‘pro’ features might have pushed the Monotribe into a price range where Korg simply couldn’t efectively market the device.

What do you think? Are you interested in getting a Monotribe?

Korg WaveDrum Mini Sensor Clip Demos

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This official Korg video is what we like to see – not a lot of hype or talk – but lots of examples.

In the video Korg demonstrates how the Sensor Clip on the new Korg Wavedrum Mini, which was announced at Musikmesse 2011, can be used with your foot, plastic bottles, a paper cup, a table and other household items to create unique percussion devices.

Best Of Musikmesse 2011: The Schmidt Analog Synthesizer

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The Schmidt Analog Synthesizer

What’s the best new synth introduced at Musikmesse 2011?

That’s what we asked – and over the last two weeks, 758 readers weighed in – choosing the Schmidt Analog Synthesizer as the hottest synth introduced at this year’s show.

The Schmidt Analog Synthesizer is a big muscle car synth that has no ship date and that will probably be prohibitively expensive. Nevertheless, the combination of real analog sound, massive synth power and a knob for everything makes the Schmidt irresistible. It was the reader favorite, by a wide margin.

Here are the five synths that you voted the Best of Musikmesse 2011:

  1. Schmidt Analog Synthesizer 40.5% (307 votes)
  2. Korg Monotribe Analog Ribbon Station 26.78% (203 votes)
  3. Roland Jupiter 80 11.21% (85 votes)
  4. Yamaha MOX 6/8 4.49% (34 votes)
  5. Elektrokosmos Kosmonaut 3.83% (29 votes)

It’s not that surprising to see Korg, Roland and Yamaha among the top five. What is a bit surprising is that readers picked two boutique synths, the Schmidt and the Elektrokosmos Kosmonaut among the Best of Musikmesse.

Readers affirmed their interest in analog gear, too, picking three analog synths among the Best of the show.

Beyond the five synths above, there were strong introductions from Vermona, MFB, Nord and others. All in all, Musikmesse 2011 offered a good collection of announcements for synth fans.

 

Waldorf Intros 100-Band Lector Vocoder & Synthesizer

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Waldorf Lector Vocoder

At Musikmesse 2011, Waldorf introduced the Lector Vocoder, a new software vocoder for Mac & Windows.

Here’s what Waldorf has to say about Lector:

When we set out to develop the Lector, we looked long and hard at what it takes to make a powerful vocoder tick. This why you will find on the ergonomic user interface some special features and unusual parameters that let you tweak even the most minute details. The fabled Waldorf multimode filter with slope of 12dB or 24dB features prominently. You also get a whitening filter that bleaches the signal before it is colored by the vocoder. This comes in very handy when you’re processing choir and voice samples. A three-band equalizer serves to boost and cut whatever frequencies of the generated signal you wish to target.

The integrated 16-voice synthesizer sports two oscillators with quintessential analog waveforms such as sine, triangle, sawtooth, and square with variable pulse width, sample & hold and noise, as well as freely loadable single and multi-samples. FM and ring modulation enrich the vocoder’s signal with further overtone spectra. The Lector also offers a selection of typical effects used to refine vocoder signals – tube overdrive, transistor distortion and hard clipping, six-voice chorus / flanger, synchronizable stereo delay, and realistic reverb.

Continue reading →

Would You Pay $277/£169 For The Korg Monotribe?

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Korg Monotribe Pricing

Music gear retailer Hard To Find is now listing the Korg Monotribe at £169, or about $277.

If case you missed it, here are the specs for the Monotribe:

  • The powerful sound of true analog synthesis
  • 3-part analog drums, using discrete analog circuitry
  • Popular Electribe-style sequencing.
  • Active Step and Flux features for realtime dynamic loop manipulation
  • Advanced multi-function ribbon keyboard; Chromatic, Continuous, & Wide modes
  • Auto-tuning provides stable pitch for accurate chromatic playability
  • Selectable oscillator waveform, noise generator, and versatile LFO
  • Uses the same VCF (filter) circuit as the classic MS-10/MS-20
  • Sync In & Out jacks allows synchronized integration with multiple units
  • Battery operation, built-in speaker and compact size deliver on-the-go groove-making

We don’t know what other retailers are going to price this at – but what do you think of the Korg Monotribe at that price?  Continue reading →

Eowave Koma Analogue Bassline Synth + Sequencer First Look

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Eowave Koma

Eowave has introduced the Koma synthesizer – a new analogue bassline synthesizer, inspired by classic synths from the 80s.

Features include 4 different waveforms (saw, square, sub, noise), a 24 dB low-pass filter and a 16-step sequencer. The 16 steps sequencer has 4 rows: 1 for the notes and 3 that are freely assignable to a parameter of your choice.

The Eowave Koma is expected to be available Fall 2011, for 599 € excl. VAT. Details below.  Continue reading →

Vote For The Hottest New Synth Of Musikmesse 2011!

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Musikmesse 2011

Have you weighed in on the hottest new synth of Musikmesse 2011 yet?

It was actually a pretty good year for hardware synths. Korg introduced a new synth + sequencer combination, the Korg Monotribe. Roland introduced the massive Jupiter 80 synthesizer. Yamaha introduced the budget-minded Mox 6 & 8 keyboards. Nord came through with the Electro 3 HP.

Other introductions included: the Vermona PerFourMer Mk11 polyphonic synthesizer; the Elektrokosmos Kosmonaut; and some interesting new modular synth modules. And one of the surprises of the show was the Schmidt Analog Synthesizer – an all-analog monster synth.

If you haven’t weighed in yet – take a chance and vote for the hottest new synth from Musikmesse below.

Roland Jupiter-80 Synth Workshop

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This video captures an in-depth intro/workshop, by Scott Tibbs, introducing the Roland Jupter-80 synthesizer at Musikmesse Frankfurt 2011.

When Roland introduced the Jupiter-80, a lot of Synthtopia readers reacted to what it wasn’t – an analog monster-synth in the Jupiter legacy.

This video has enough sound demos to let you start judging the Jupiter-80 for what it is – a high-end digital monster-synth – and judge it on its own merits.

Check it out and let us know what you think of the audio demos!

via RolandChannel

Groove X-R – A Hardware Host For Virtual Instruments

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Groove X-R

 

Lionstracs has introduced Groove X-R – a hardware host that runs ten VSTi and ASIO host engines simultaneously.

In a nutshell, the Groove X-R is a Linux-based virtual instrument host that can be used as both a workstation, for heavy editing, or as a rack module.

You can have up to ten MIDI-USB keyboards or controllers connected and each can play a different VSTi / ASIO synthesizer loaded into memory and with its own virtual desktop page.

It’s priced at € 1.660,00. Details below.  Continue reading →