Moog Music Forum

MC wrote:I also toyed with the Minilogue at NAMM. It wins my award as the most sterile anemic polysynth of the show. Korg did a much better job with the Karp Odyssey.

But.... Emu's are sterile sounding and they're cool!

Which Emu's are you referring to just out of curiosity?

Stephen




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HookedOnSonics wrote:RC doing some pretty cool Minilogue patch work here - https://soundcloud.com/rcmusic35

Had a listen to this and I have to say that little to no part of it sounded appealing to my ear through quality studio monitors.

But then I'm partial to the sounds that a Voyager can come up with. I guess that $499 will only get you so much in the poly synth market.

OTOH, I'm blown away by how much $599 can purchase when buying a Mother32. I have two of them and sonically speaking they blow away most synths at twice the price. Maybe it's just me, but they sound better to my ear than anything Dave Smith has come out with. Though they exist in vastly different markets, I'm just talking about the pure sonic qualities of a simple drone that either of them can do.

Stephen




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AndyQ wrote: - just think of it as a different instrument, with a different interface. Do Viola players complain about violins not having full-size strings? Hell - there are plenty of guitarists picking up mandolins and ukeles and they seem to cope.

^This. But with the caveat that string players don't simply "cope" with smaller scales instruments. Ukulele =/= Small Guitar in that I use different and often more efficient fingerings with the uke than I do on its larger cousin.

So, think about it... on mini-keys you can use different fingerings and reach much much wider intervals using one hand. This is a feature not a bug! I absolutely rock the MicroBrute, playing licks I could never pull off on a full-sized weighted 'board.

Perhaps. But a Ukulele was never designed to sound like a Gibson LesPaul and, despite his great musical talent, I can't imagine Jimmy Page playing an inspired Led Zeppelin lead on that...

Like thousands of keyboard players, I still prefer a full size keyboard with 5 octaves minimally.

If there was no such thing as Midi, do you think manufacturers would still be making mini-key synths?

Mini-keys have been around since when, the 80's, 70's? What company made the first one, and why? Piano training for children with small hands? Cheaper alternative to full-size key keyboards? Small and compact size for easy transportation?

What other instrument is like this - having a smaller version of the same thing? A Soprano Sax sounds different than a Tenor Sax so that doesn't count. The Violin isn't a smaller Cello, they are different instruments. What pros play kid-size drum kits? Who plays a practice guitar on stage?

I understand mini-keys are portable and cheap, but why are NEW synths with NEW sounds being produced only in portable and cheap packaging? If Korg, Yamaha and Roland really thought highly of their NEW synth engines and/or remakes wouldn't they feel pros and advanced amateur players would want a full-size version?

Just some thoughts.

Either put full size keys on the thing, or don't put anything at all on it. I trained my muscles on full size piano keys and it doesn't translate to minikeys. I will not pay extra $$$ for a controller that I can't use.

Anything with minikeys belongs in Toys-R-Us.

MC wrote:Either put full size keys on the thing, or don't put anything at all on it. I trained my muscles on full size piano keys and it doesn't translate to minikeys. I will not pay extra $$$ for a controller that I can't use.

Anything with minikeys belongs in Toys-R-Us.

I agree.

I also won't spend my money on a synth with knobs or sliders that are too small to use, like the Roland "Boutique" synths. On paper these synths seem like a good deal at a great price, until you try and use them and realize they are just over-priced toys.

MC wrote:Either put full size keys on the thing, or don't put anything at all on it. I trained my muscles on full size piano keys and it doesn't translate to minikeys. I will not pay extra $$$ for a controller that I can't use.

Anything with minikeys belongs in Toys-R-Us.

Yes and yes. Minikeys are a damned joke, and whatever added cost ($10, $100, who cares) is not justified by adding them. A keyboard fit only for Edward Scissorhands doesn't belong. I tried to consider "well, they're there if you need them," but, well, I don't need those weak ass keys taking up space. A rack or desktop version of those synths would make much more sense. I mean, the minikeys on tiny synths I suppose could help someone just trigger a note to hear what the patch sounds like, but for that, I guess a "push it" button like the one conceived by Dave Smith might suffice. The only thing keeping me from buying the Karp Odyssey is the damned keys. a desktop version would've been great, or simply a full sized version for, what, $300-$400 more? Fine. Done deal. As for the minilogue... umm, just no. It's pretty cool looking, as I saw one in a store a few days ago, but damn that. I'm sure it's great, but it ain't for me.

Now, I'm holding out to see if I can find a discontinued MS-20 kit somewhere so I can build a full sized MS20 with real keys...

Vsyevolod wrote:Which Emu's are you referring to just out of curiosity?

Stephen

Just the modulars.