cant play keyboard? maybe this x50 is the toy for you

[jibberish]

ok, after having this thing for 2 days and basically just going through all the frickin patches, I have heard some crazy shit.

many patches have arpeggiated rhythm added. the parameters arpeggiated are basically anything. it depends on what you put into the arpeggiator. so filters and feedbacks and  idk what all yet,  get arpeggiated, for crazy ass sounds.

hawklump would dig the shit out of this.  noise guys too.   a ton of patches are more noise effects and the tweak knobs make for some sick realtime fucking around.

tip: sustain pedal is absolutely necessary so you can let off the ivory to twirl knobs here and there.

SO a pile of patches are press a key, sustain or press more and tweak.  Freddy Chopin difficulty scale rating: 0

a ton of patches use multi sounds and kbd split.   no shit, you could dance the hood with just this synth and combo patches.
if you can play a repeating 4 whole note bass pattern on 3 keys you are an instant raging raver.
Freddy Chopin difficulty scale rating 1 (you have to be able to find 3 notes on the kybd)

Godzilla basslines.  you already can play the bass part on your bass in your sleep. double it or follow it w/e on the keyboard
Freddy Chopin difficulty scale rating: 2  you may be faced with faster single notes and cover more range.

EXCEPT for those who want to knock off cover tunes or play piano stuff on a poor substitute for a real piano in the big picture,
the rock songs in general these days don't need solo voices. they need string fills and ambient or space noises and bass accents or crazy bridge fillers.

why do you think paul got linda setup with a keyboard to be in wings with him. play tinklebell sound on these 2 notes 3 times during the song, and sing a little backup, done.

this thing is a toy vs my original dx-7 constructionwise. it weighs 7 lb and has a handle on each end for stupid ez carrying.
crazy.
but I could see a band having just a couple of these to handle all the synth duties except vocording

Bottom line: all my other synths are old school. this thing is sick for the money. $484.86 out the door. GTFO!

[Lumpy]

I had to Google it. Korg x50



For somebody like me who doesn't play keyboards, that's a lot of keys.

I'll look into it though, thanks.

[jibberish]

ok, I was tongue in cheek there.  but what I was saying is that many patches just need a keypress as a trigger. which key is somewhat arbitrary or maybe higher keys have a faster LFO rate or w/e. nothing melody related. you cant hit the sour note. there are no notes.

idk chief, for 5 bills, this thing makes a bunch of space noises too. i'm actually kind of stunned as to what $500 can get you these days.

next time you are in the music store, play with one.

I absolutely do not like those like electribes. those punch in beat builders w/e. the ones with no keys haha. they frustrate the shit out of me

[RAGER]

I also been looking at these.  Seems like something quite useful and versatile. I could use this and never reach its full potential.  I'm sure you could hook up a full keyboard as a midi controller too.

[Lumpy]

I don't like using digital menus. If I can avoid them, I do.

[moose23]

I'd be going with the Roland SH 01 over this myself. Way more real time knobs twiddling for starters.

http://www.rolandus.com/products/details/1074

[Lumpy]

I was looking at the Arturia Mini Brute...

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar12/articles/arturia-minibrute.htm

[I,Galactus]

KORG MINI MS-20 GTFO

http://www.korg.de/uploads/media/ms20mini_1.jpg

[jibberish]

the flip side of this purchase is that I do play keys.  I didn't get this for just the space sounds, but I noticed a ton of them, so for the price I decided to mention this as a potential for that use

but back to the keyless thing:
you can run these from midi sequences and other triggers and never touch a key. the twin arpeggiators is the whole game here

and you know im going to look at demos of everything else mentioned here

the synth I really want is a prophet 12. but I will have to get a load of really good jobs in a row to get that together, no breath holding here.

edit: re gaia. sweetwater has a demo where they demo a patch set they give away.  all I have to say is that cover tunes must be a big market.

edit: no more monophonic synths for me. so moog and arturia are out. I wont even look at those little dave smith mono synths.  my old ARP odyssey pissed me off witrh only 2 oscillators(2note poly). and as nice as mini moogs sounded, I never wanted one because of that

edit: if I saw a gaia for $450, I think I would snag it also, someone mentioned the key factor to this thing's usefulness(since I play keys)which is to run it from a larger kybd. those keys are enough for melody or basslines, not the whole split multi sound shebang.  it is different than the korg x50 and the same. it sits on the fence between noise synth/performance synth/cover tune synth(old school sounds and emulations) too

edit: lumpy. the menu system in the x50 is just as fucked up as every other menu system I have ever seen lol. wont lie about it. I don't like it. you wont like it. I remember getting so lost inside the dx7(old Yamaha digital synth, maybe the first one)that I had to reset to get back to square 1 and the thing made sounds again. imo, the dx7 is a 100% performance synth, like a super Hammond organ.<-need a keyboard player to operate, useless for sound effects

[RAGER]

I'm gettin a serious jones for something like this now.  Thanks assholes!  Like I need more shit.

[RAGER]

If all goes as planned I should be picking up a Mini Brute on Sunday or Monday.

[RAGER]

My little electronica setup so far.

from left to right.

Mini Kaossilator 2, Micro Korg, Arturia Mini Brute, Alesis micron.  I think in the next week I will add Native Instruments Maschine and a Korg Polysix.  The all i need to do is figure out how to sync it all up so I can play in time.

So does anybody have any insight in syncing things?

[RacerX]

Why bother with the keyboard if you can't play?

[RAGER]

Well I actually can play a bit so......

[RAGER]

Should I get this?  Right now I'm using T.V. trays.