Sound!

mark909 · Post by **mark909** » Wed May 16, 2012 6:56 pm

So i just bought a microkorg and realised I have no clue what I'm doing.

I don't have any speakers or an amp but was hoping that I would be able to play it though my computer speakers.

Can anyone tell me how to connect to my speakers or recommend a better set-up? Thanks for any help!!

ghostly606 · Post by **ghostly606** » Wed May 16, 2012 8:53 pm

Check out your manual, p5. There are a pair of 1/4 inch audio outs to connect to a mixer / monitors (speakers) or simply plug a pair of headphones into the 1/4 inch stereo headphone jack. Forget about MIDI for now.

Do your speakers connect to your computer via a mini jack (i.e. 1/8 inch jack commonly used of portable audio devices such as ipods etc)? If so, then the simplest thing to get started is to get a 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch converter (such as this) and plug into the headphone outs.

If you still haven't a clue what I am on about then I suggest you do some background reading...

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Wed May 16, 2012 10:03 pm

Pro quality studio headphones or in-ear earbuds are the easiest way to hear the full quality your Microkorg can do. Most computer speakers suck. An exception to that rule are the model of Logitech powered 2+1 systems that are THX certified, like the z623 and Z-2300.

Otherwise, you need to spend quite a bit of money for quality monitors or PA speakers, more than what your MK cost to buy.

But that's the way it goes with pro synths and keyboards = you should always spend a significant percentage of your overall budget on the speakers, because a good sounding synth will sound terrible with poor speakers.

mark909 · Post by **mark909** » Thu May 17, 2012 12:09 pm

ghostly606 wrote:Do your speakers connect to your computer via a mini jack (i.e. 1/8 inch jack commonly used of portable audio devices such as ipods etc)? If so, then the simplest thing to get started is to get a 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch converter (such as this) and plug into the headphone outs.

If you still haven't a clue what I am on about then I suggest you do some background reading...

Thanks I managed to find a converter in the supermarket (I was quite suprised!) Will give it a go when I get home. Hopefully I wont blow up my speakers!

Thanks for the help!!

mark909 · Post by **mark909** » Thu May 17, 2012 12:14 pm

[quote="xmlguy"]Otherwise, you need to spend quite a bit of money for quality monitors or PA speakers, more than what your MK cost to buy.
quote]

Thanks are there any makes and models that are recommended. I reckon I can stretch to £300 at a push!

mark909 · Post by **mark909** » Thu May 17, 2012 8:40 pm

So i managed to plug my computer speakers up to my microkorg this eve. Sounded great to me! Maybe I need to hear it through some proper speakers as well!

I was thinking of getting a keyboard amp. Are they recommended? What do people this of this?

http://www.production-room.com/yamaha/y ... epas-150m/

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Thu May 17, 2012 11:28 pm

Keyboard Amps are awful for hearing the sounds properly.

Unless you're playing gigs and practising in rooms with bands, where there is no PA, there's really no use for them.

If you're producing music at home particularly, a good set of studio monitors or at least a decent home theatre system is the way forward.

xmlguy · Post by **xmlguy** » Fri May 18, 2012 1:08 am

At a minimum I'd suggest the Behringer B212D powered speakers for stage monitors or as a PA in smaller venues. In the higher range would be the QSC K12 speakers. For just jamming at home, the Logitechs I mentioned are a great value. For home studio recording, you should get near field monitors that have a very flat frequency curve so that you can get an accurate representation of the recording without the speakers coloring the sound.