Microkorg? or other live vocoders?

stereomike · Post by **stereomike** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:52 pm

hey just curious if any of you had fooled around with a MicroKorg, and what you think about it. I saw a demo video for the Roland VP-550 which looks really cool but a little too pricy for me. I'm interested in a vocoder that I could use live as well as in the studio with my precious Ableton Live. Any info would be appreciated. I tried the Orange vocoder demo and I couldn't figure out how to get it to "vocode" live, and all the menu stuff was in german or something (which I can't read, or speak for that matter).

linzatti · Post by **linzatti** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 2:30 pm

The Micorkorg is cool... and it works very good live. Plus, you get a nice synth too, if you get tired of only using the vocoder.

underhill · Post by **underhill** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 3:04 pm

The Microkorg is a very nice tool. The keys are very cheap feeling, and it is not very road worthy. IMHO But, I have not found a better, less expensive solution for live vocoding. I would try a software vocoder if I could find a good one that worked in real time and did not slow me down too much.

undaria · Post by **undaria** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 4:47 pm

hi.
the best software vocoder i know is Absynth 3 from native instruments.

Schmidi · Post by **Schmidi** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:49 pm

I've got a microkorg and I find it to be a very quick synth to work with, ie twist main knob and dial up the oatch type you need. I prefer to edit it thru the computer editor as the display and the overall edit sceme is a little odd.
As for vocoding, ease of use is awesome, the factory patches kind of suck unless you're doing new wave covers, so you gotta get in there and make some harsh saw waves for some real fun.
I also wanted to suggest another synth to you which I also have. The Novation Nova has a sweet 16 band vocoder and is also one hell of a synth for the current going rate of around $250. 16 voice as opposed to micro's 4, 6 part multi timbral, 6 independent fx per voice in multi mode, 3 line ins, 6 outs, and a lot of knobs and buttons that make it very editable without a computer.
Just a thought. I like them both together as the nova can be really huge sounding, but the korg is good for raw and quick sound generation.

underhill · Post by **underhill** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 9:12 pm

Thanks Lightyear. I love Novation stuff, but the Novas seem to be going pretty high on Evilbay right now. I will keep an eye out thogh.

stereomike · Post by **stereomike** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 11:23 pm

Yeah I will as well. I wasn't aware Absynth had a vocoder, I'll have to check that out. I was watching an video advertisment for the microkorg and I could have swore that the dude giving the demo was the same guy that gave the demo for Reason 3.0 at the Namm show, (chasing rabbits) anyway thanks for the advice everyone, OH and Lightyear what type of interface do you use to connect the Microkorg to your computer?

dpmtl · Post by **dpmtl** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 8:27 am

underhill wrote:The Microkorg is a very nice tool. The keys are very cheap feeling, and it is not very road worthy.

I love the sound! Do you mean because of its light build?I have one and am planning to use it for live gigging.

Re: the nova; ive been looking for another good synth to use with my mk and was considering the alesis ion but the nova sounds tempting. But no sinewave?
I take your talkin second hand for$250,i looked on ebay and there was one goin for £400!Anyway if you got any links to demos or said nova thatd be sweet

Peace

David · Post by **David** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 3:24 pm

undaria wrote:hi.
the best software vocoder i know is Absynth 3 from native instruments.

Is there a Vocoder in Absynth 3 ? Or are you using the built in effects in some way?

Cheers for any info,

David

undaria · Post by **undaria** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 3:41 pm

actually, i'm mistaken,

it's Vokator from the same company.
there's line in for real time processing or use it as a synth.

Schmidi · Post by **Schmidi** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 6:04 pm

here is some good info on all kinds of synths: http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/cfman.cfm?manid=21
also here:
www.vintagesynth.com

I honestly have seen novas going for $250 before and even without a sinewave I've made a huge variety of sounds on it. Sounds real nice and has a lot of cool abilities that make it a real workhorse. I'm not putting the Microkorg down though, its sound is more raw and lends itself to harder genres, even rock. I used to work in a big music store and I always called it the mini virus because it sounds raw like the virus.

conny · Post by **conny** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 9:57 pm

Vokator yes.

Smaller and cheeper but good are
Vokko
and
Starplugs Vocoder

// C

kennerb · Post by **kennerb** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:28 pm

How'z the Reaktor vocoder ensemble?

I remember using a friends ms2000 by Korg and thought it was the goods. They are very cheap too. You could get one for the price of the micro and have 8 times the machine.

jbible · Post by **jbible** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:34 pm

Anyone have any personal hands on with the Electrix Warp Factory Vocoder?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 7390299435

spiderprod · Post by **spiderprod** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 6:40 pm

jbible wrote:Anyone have any personal hands on with the Electrix Warp Factory Vocoder?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 7390299435

yeah, this is a big piece of crap , firt it make a sit load of noise & the sound is crap .i bought it a few years ago & never managed to get a good sound out of it , i sold it a few weeks after buying it .
vokator is the most vesatile at the moment .