Novation Xio 25 2-Octave Synthesizer and Audio USB MIDI Controller 25-Key Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased the Xio Synth 25 because of its Midi controller capabilities and its onboard sounds. What also made me want to purchase this was the fact that it serves as a microphone interface with phantom power. I know I have not explored the full potential of this synthesizer with its editing features, etc, which is mainly due to me being new to synthesizers. I purchased Cubase Essentials 5, the Behringer UCA202 U-Control Audio Interface and the Behringer C-1 Studio Condenser Microphone to use with the Xio and everything works together great for my needs. The only downside I have personally experienced is that a few knobs have come off. There is one knob I don't remember ever being there and didn't realize it should have been a knob (you can still turn it) and another knob for a pan function came off. Looking at other reviews from other sites, this seems common. Overall, I would recommend it.
Edit 5-7-10:
I want to edit my review to add that my Xio no longer works well when using it as a midi controller. I don't understand why exactly, since the onboard sounds still play and sound well. When using it as a midi controller, I have to press the keys down hard just to trigger the sounds I am trying to play. Shortly after I purchased the Xio, I had purchased an M-Audio 61 Key midi controller, so that is what I primarily use for midi. I still use the Xio as a microphone interface and for its onboard sounds.

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Never before has a Novation synthesizer been so accessible! Stylish, compact, and affordable, the XioSynth offers a staggering amount of classic and cutting edge sounds, many from internationally acclaimed artists, along with a brand new X-Gator patch programmer and optional filter distortion. Furthermore, the XioSynth provides everything required for producing on the move, through its synth, audio interfacing, and MIDI controlling capabilities – all three in one keyboard.Includes Fantastic ‘Xpression' pad and pitch/mod joystick, both freely assignable in MIDI Controlling mode; allow 6 parameters to be tweaked at once!USB bus-powering is available, as well as optional battery (AA)/PSU operation, making the keyboard highly portable.

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Korg R3 37-key Synthesizer and Vocoder Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)
This is a professional keyboard, so if you want some great sounds at an affordable price, this could be perfect for you.
Very transportable; incredible sounds; knobs that allow for adjusting sounds; multi-effects processor; vocoder.
I could go on and on. This keyboard comes in very handy, and I've used it for rock, contemporary, R&B, worship, etc.
You'll be impressed by the sound of this keyboard. It's small, but packs a huge punch.

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The R3 is a full-fledged synthesizer that provides an easy and affordable way to enjoy sophisticated synthesis and advanced sound creation. In a compact and light-weight body, it packs 37 full-size, velocity sensing keys, along with two-timbre/eight-voice performance power. The sound generator section uses the same acclaimed MMT (Multiple Modeling Technology) used by the KORG RADIAS, delivering thick, gutsy, and crisp analog sounds. With quality that will satisfy both professionals and beginners, the R3 is a great choice for adding synth sounds on stage or in music production.

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Korg X50 61 Key Music Synthesizer Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)I've owned the x50 for a couple of years now and use it in my home studio. First of all is sound quality. The top of the line Korg series is the Triton keyboards, which cost thousands of dollars (depending on the model). This keyboard uses the same engine, so the sounds are quite similar to the top of the line model. In other words, incredible sounds.
So why is it less than a thousand bucks? First of all, it's not as customizable. Make no mistake, you can still tweak every sound, but it's not as easy or as in depth as the Triton series.
Second are the physical stats: 61 VELOCITY SENSITIVE, but NOT weighted keys. This means that you can still play with dynamic control, but there isn't the feedback one might be used to from a piano. The keyboard itself is very well constructed but mainly plastic. It will surprise you in it's lack of heft, but don't confuse that with cheapness. It's solid.
So why use this? The voices are amazing. I use it in my home studio to backup my guitar. For one song I wrote in a flute solo and then brought in a flautist to learn the song so she could play with me live. She commented on how good the flautist was who recorded for me. She didn't even know it was a keyboard.
The strings, piano and organ sections are particularly strong.
It's great for my studio since I'm not a pianist. It's exceedingly portable so it would be great for gigs too. It's really a great deal since you get thousands of dollars worth of voices for less than a thousand.

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The Korg X50 music synthesizer features the HI (Hyper Integrated) sound engine that's used on the world-famous TRITON series. It gives you pro-quality sounds in an ultra-compact body. This keyboard synthesizer delivers unbeatable convenience and enjoyment for live performance or song production. The 64 MB PCM memory contains a wide range of sounds, including piano, strings, guitar, and synth sounds. With 512 sound Programs, as well as 384 ?Combinations? that let you use up to eight Programs together, you can start enjoying a diverse selection of great sounds right away. The effect section lets you simultaneously use four effects (one insert effect, two master effects, and one EQ), and provides a full selection of effect types such as reverb, chorus, and delay. Best of all, the X50 is compatible with Korg?s TR line of music workstations so you can share sounds and songs with Korg users around the world.The X50?s ultra-portable design also allows greater accessibility to musicians on the go without having to sacrifice quality.

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Casio WK7500 76 Key Workstation Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)Casio has outdone themselves with this board!!! This board is capable of some serious music. I'm a guy who has been making music on keyboards, synths, and computers since the late 70's and have owned and used some expensive professional boards (Yamaha,Roland,Korg,Kurzweil etc.) If you tweak the sounds on this board using the onboard DSP you can get some amazing sounds the drawbars and audio recording is just whipped cream on the cake. GET IT, YOU WON'T REGRET IT

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The Casio Casio WK7500 76 Key Workstation Keyboard offers powerful and extensive features at a price that is unheard of in the portable keyboard market. It offers 800 world-class tones, 250 preset rhythms, 17 track sequencer, 32 channel mixer, as well as audio recording capabilities. Any piece of music you create can be recorded as an audio file on an SDHC card. 9 sliders extend your versatility and provide an impressive 50 drawbar organ tones. Whether you are an amateur or professional musician, the WK7500 will allow you to create, edit and play your compositions at home, in the studio or on the stage. Casio Casio WK7500 76 Key Keyboard Features 800 world class tones including stereo pianos, vintage electric pianos, strings, drums, synths and many more 9 sliders extend your versatility and provide an impressive 50 drawbar organ tones 17-track sequencer for editing and tweaking your performances so you can get professional sounding tracks 250 preset rhythms with full accompaniment are built-in Front panel sliders provide control over volume, pan, effect sends for each channel MIC and Instrument inputs, stereo audio in, and a USB MIDI port Tones That Will Inspire Your Music The WK7500 provides 800 world class tones organized by category in a new easy-to-use interface. Dynamic stereo pianos, vintage electric pianos, strings, drums and a wealth of synths and acoustic instruments are at your fingertips. Each of those 800 voices can be edited with control over filters, envelopes and more. For added depth and realism, an extensive set of DSP effects are available to enhance these tones, providing you with pure inspiration at your fingertips Sliders Galore You can't miss them, nine strategically placed sliders on the front panel. Just press the Drawbar Organ

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Korg microKorg XL Analog Modeling Synthesizer with Vocoder (black) Review

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(More customer reviews)The MicroKorg XL is really a MicroKorg in name only. Whereas the original MicroKorg shared a synth engine with the MS-2000, this one uses the engine found in the R3 and Radius. This is not necessarily a bad thing as those are fine sounding synths, but you'd be better of with a synth like the R3 (which is about $100 more). Although the MicroKorg XL has a cool, faux-vintage look, the construction of the board is pretty shoddy and I doubt it would be good for carting away to gigs or traveling with. It's made from rather cheap, weak feeling plastic unlike the far sturdier R3 or original MicroKorg. Also, while the sound editing is arguably better than the oddball matrix on the original MicroKorg, it pales when compared to the easy editing on a R3. Basically, this is not a bad board soundwise, but you'd be better off saving $100 with an original MicroKorg or putting in an extra $100 for an R3. The MicroKorg XL is not a happy medium, and makes compromises that do not benefit the synth user.

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Joining the ranks of the top-selling originals microKORG and R3, the 37-note velocity-sensitive Korg microKorg XL Analog Modeling Synthesizer with Vocoder offers Korg's legendary analog modeling, along with an ergonomic interface, in a lightweight and portable keyboard. The microKorg XL employs full eight-voice multi modeling technology, a 16-band vocoder, on-the-fly parameter editing and USB MIDI connectivity, all packaged with the great-feeling Natural Touch keyboard action.The MMT (Multi Modeling Technology) sound engine is descended from the RADIAS/R3 synthesizers, while the dual effects processors come down from the famous KAOSS line. The black key/white key proportions have been adjusted for easier chording; the key response has been improved for rapid-fire soloing. Together with a sound-bending vocoder and six-pattern arpeggiation, microKORG XL packs a powerful sonic punch.The eight-voice MMT synth engine offers traditional analog waveforms plus a total of seven algorithms, including formant waveforms, noise, and PCM/DWGS waves for those vintage keyboards and strings. Cross-modulation, unison stacking, and VPM (Variable Phase Modulation) let you create sounds that would be impossible for a conventional PCM synthesizer. Sync and ring modulation make it easy to create complex and powerful sounds. Two multi-mode filters, a drive/waveshaping circuit for distinctively distorted sounds, and EG and LFO for creating time-varying tonal change, provide plenty of parameters for serious synthesis. Virtual Patching brings it all together.

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Moog Music MF103 Moogerfooger Twelve Stage Phaser Pedal Review

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(More customer reviews)I just bought this pedal and I must say, I will never again buy any other chorus/flange/phase shifter pedal again! I have a Boss BF-3 stereo flange and an Electro-Harmonix small cone full-chorus unit and neither of them even come close to the prestige of the Moog stage phaser. The tones and sounds that this pedal produces are like none that I have ever heard before. This pedal comes fully load with an extremely diverse collection of sounds that opens your ears to a whole new world of noises! An excellent choice.

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The MF-103 produces two comb-filter responses. They are called 6-Stage and 12-Stage, because of the number of phase-shifting circuits that are used internally. The 6-Stage mode has three dips in its frequency response, while the 12-Stage mode has six dips. These two modes have distinctly different sound qualities. In addition, the MF-103 features a variable feedback circuit which increases the resonance, or 'depth' of the phaser sound. Features RATE rotary control, which varies LFO's frequency over a 250:1 range. AMOUNT rotary control, which adjusts the amount by which the LFO output varies the phaser sweep. SWEEP rotary control, which moves the phaser frequency response over a six-octave range. RESONANCE rotary control, which adjusts the height and sharpness of the peaks of the phaser frequency response. DRIVE rotary control, which adjusts the gain of the audio input to the phaser. OUTPUT LEVEL rotary control, which balances the phaser signals with the bypassed signal. LO-HI rocker switch, which chooses between the low LFO range (0.01 Hz to 2.5 Hz) and the high LFO range (1.0 Hz to 250 Hz). LEVEL, a three-color LED that is used to set the DRIVE control. LFO, a LED that indicates the LFO rate. whether the phaser is active or bypassed. ON/BYPASS, a rugged, smooth-acting 'stomp switch'. Phasing is one of the best ways to impart motion to a track and to make sounds come alive. With the MF-103 Phaser you can get swirling, shimmering, vibrating effects; fill up a whole stage from one sound source; even create brand new sonic textures. A phaser is a type of comb filter, so called because its frequency response has several dips and peaks, like the teeth of a comb. As the phaser response sweeps back and forth across the frequency spectrum, the harmonics of the audio input signal are alternately increased and decreased. This produces the classic phaser 'whooshing' sound.

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