The Korg TR’s sound creation and knob settings have similar problems related to the Alesis Fusion! (they don’t stay). It has a work around, but Its not 100% To keep voice parameters set you have to switch into Program mode, call up the program, and set its knob voice functions, then switch into song mode to see the changes take place. Or you can record voice parameters using the knobs with sequence mode using over dub. Thats not a good way to just “grab n go” when playing a sequence and creating your sound. If you don’t save it that way, all the knobs get reset every time you start / stop the song. Note: YOU CANNOT save the entire B bank of knob settings in program mode. There is just no explanation for this! The A and C banks due however. So basically you will have your sound adjusted and it will reset back, at least on all the B settings with absolutely no way to save them in program mode or sequence mode (unless your recording the voice w/overdub). So the B-bank, and all your programming for it is worthless in program mode, and mostly in sequence mode. Thats kind of insane. So you just have to ignore the B bank of knob settings entirely on this board….like the Alesis fusion.

More on the Korg TR Effects:

The effects setup is complicated. But it suprised pleasantly when I found out I had more routing effect capabilities than I thought possible: You can use the mastering effects like instert effects. Korg has their terminology wrong, or at least not the way I would describe it. SO it has 3 distinct insert(y) type effects channels that you can put on any track, and you can have the bonus of routing one of the effects through the masters if you want. So if you want your drums to have alot of reverb, your synth to be chorused, and your piano to have a little bit of reverb and maybe full stereo compression…you can. You don’t have to rely on a single effect for every track. You can have combinations and adjust the amount on each track, as long as you don’t think of the mastering effects as actually mastering the final output of your mix (it sort of doesnt anyway). The Korg TR has tons more effects potential than you’d need!!! Its just hard to understand the way its set up in the menus, and not very fun to use when your sequencing something. You can’t turn a knob and change your sound. Its alot of menu based hunting.

The effects menus and setup is probably the worst thing about this board. The second being that it will not save any B bank knob settings unless you sequence them. Another note: There is no way to stop it from sending program changes to your gear in sequence mode. You must save your sound settings on the piece of gear itself, because it will always reset to the specified program (and thank god you can specify it).

One last Gripe: I couldnt get it to save my global settings for the Velocity curve. It shouldnt be complicated but I gave up trying.

Overall, there are workarounds for this keyboard. The effects are more powerful than you’ve heard (think 3 effects on any channel), but its hard to use. The knob settings can be saved (only A and C banks), but with some work.

Its still a solid board, but there will be some frustration when setting up the rom’s overall sound, when mixing a track created solely on the board itself….which sucks. I feel kind of tricked, because it seemed easy to adjust everything when I first got my hands on it. I am looking for a single piece of equipment that I can make complete mixes on. This isnt quite there.

If you sequence alot of gear, or just like to play very inspirational Combis its still worth checking out. Its solid and won’t crash on you.

After having the mixed feelings and ultimate sell off an Alesis Fusion HD6, I acquired the Korg TR to see how it stacks up in controlling my studio.
Its alot nicer than it looks in the pictures. People may complain of plastic construction, but thats only the end caps!!!! The front face is black metal & high quality knobs and buttons.

The Korg TR is very solid, but it’s sounds won’t inspire you by itself. You will probably want to connect it to a PC with a larger sound library, or some external gear. This board will serve as the basis for music creation & composition, however. Out of the box the knobs are set to control basic external gear parameters very well, like RES, CUTOFF. These control knobs even worked with Reason without any setup. Any time saved not setting up obscure midi parameters is a good thing. Once you get your channels, and programs set, you can save it as a song template and use it every time you start a new song.

The sounds of the Korg TR leave something to be desired. If your sound is completely electronic or sort like Jean Michael Jarre, then you will like it ALOT. It has amazing organs, and electronic strings, but you will be hard pressed to find any gritty guitars or other sounds onboard. Even through tweaking the rom it can be difficult to make it sound mean, unless you are going to be doing it with a synth program. The category button is set up nicely to find a particular sound you are looking for, although scrolling to select programs inside the sequencer mode is a mixed bag. It doesnt matter however, because you can use the category button inside Sequencer mode. This is unlike the Alesis Fusion’s inability to do so, and its a good thing. The drums are pretty decent for hip hop and some electronic music. As far as rock, they come off as a little cheap. I am not sure Korg has ever been good at drums, so you will be better off loading up something in Reason again. Some of the kicks are very very nice and bassy though. Nothing faboulous, even though the sound quality is very high. The high point of the rom is its synth sounds. They sound better than older yamaha stuff, which always had a catlike meow sound to them. Overall the Korg has more of an “ahhhhh” type of quality to every sound. It is more soothing. I think this has to do with whoever was in charge of creating the rom, however long ago it was.

Sequencing is solid & very easy. You will be able to start making songs in no time. Loop features are very nice to set up. Menus are easy to navigate once you get the hang of it. It is a good compromise between touch screen, and an even smaller menu based screen. Combis are also flawlessly easy to put into sequencer mode!! You could probably create a keyboard split of all your gear, save it as a combi, then import it into sequencer mode and have easy control. With the TR88, this would be ideal!!

EFX: They sound amazing, but you only get a single effect to apply to ALL of the tracks. Not even per-track, so choose wisely. Let me specify this: You can only have one effect, and then have the ability to turn that effect off or on for each track. You also get mastering effects, but thats applied to your entire mix. SO if you want to add amp distortion to one sound, then add reverb to another…you cant. It is hard to change the quality of the onboard sounds too much, but most of them sound acceptable, and can be tweaked with the RES, HPF, and cutoff functions to make them blend in you mix. I think judging this board based on what effects it has is not a good idea since it does have assignable outs, and you can just set up something in your computer during monitor/mixing to apply effects.

The build of the board is way higher than it looks in any picture. Its actually very nice, and the buttons are nicer than I expected. The keys are a little nicer than an Alesis fusion, but are nothing special.

Overall this is an amazing piece of equipment to use in your studio for composing and controlling all your gear!! The USB to PC also makes it a good midi controller. I would recommend this board if you found it used and the price was right. Make sure you get an SD card (it has no internal memory for songs). You can use this to trigger samples on your computer, so if you don’t gig, then the lack of sampling features is no big deal….even then the sampling upgrade option could be applied later if you feel you really need it.

Conclusion: Average sounds except for Synths & Organs, easy integration into your studio, and its fun to play. Great as a controller & techno machine. Worth the money.

Sound Quality: 9
Musical Expression & Voices: 6.5
Build: 8
Key Action: 6
Sequencer / Menus: 8

UPDATE: Open Labs upgrades MIKO SE and MIKO LE: Link

From future music blog

UPDATE: Mackie Anounces Control Pro Surfaces: Link

Mackie anounces Tracktion 3!!!! (I love Tracktion’s ease of use and its better mastering plugins)

TAPCO Anounces 4×6 Firewire audio interface for $249: Link

UPDATE: KORG IMAGES on Gearjunkies.com: Link (currently having server issues)

A Stupid Mixer, MINI Kaoss Pad (***AWESOME***), M3 Synth, and R3 (new Darth Vader edition microkorg).

Check back for status and pictures / adds.
If you know anything, please comment!

Most Anticipated / Rumored:

Apple Logic version 8 or 7.5: Unconfirmed

Alesis Master Control Firewire Audio Interface: Confirmed


Alesis Master Control
Nice!! Check out the specs on this audio interface. Its everything you’ve ever dreamed of….6 discrete outs, 5.1 surround. 8 Channels of 44.1-192khz audio in. Motorized Faders, MIDI, 2 Preamps, SPDIF, LCD, Jog wheel, fully editable presets.
New Korg Microkorg called the R3: Leaked Images / Confirmed From Gear Junkies



New Korg Mini Chaos Pad: Leaked Images / Confirmed From Gear Junkies

Roland MV-8800 Sampler Workstation: Confirmed

MV-8800

Roland V-Synth GT: Confirmed

V-Synth GT

Previously Confirmed:

(Coming in March)
Arturia Origin: Origin is the first Arturia Hardware synthesizer. It is a modular system of a new generation opening innovative avenues in sound design.
Loaded with modules extracted from the best synthesizers of all time (Moog Modular, ARP 2600, CS-80, minimoog and Prophet VS). Details Link
(Arturia Origin sounds like it could be really expensive…)

No word yet on Steve Urkel Edition Moog.

The countdown begins!!

Here are few of my top guesses:

1. A Newer, cooler looking Triton with high bit-rate sound and onboard multichannel hard disc recording.
2. Kaoss pad with Video
3. More boring consumer digital pianos
4. A Giant sized version of the Korg Microkorg with more knobs to compete with Roland’s Junos.