Korg Forums

Hello everyone!!
Thank you for coming here!

So, I've been into writing songs and such for quite a while now!
I've been looking for getting a keyboard to plug in for such purposes for recording things and as it has a microphone and many other wonderful functions/features I found it to be the best to use! I found a patch for piano so not to worry about that! (That's why I decided a Microkorg over a Mininova)

However now I have some questions that I am unable to find answers too so I feel that I have to ask them. This may be long and I apologize for my bad english!! (If it is)

I've done much research but am unable to find anymore

My first question!
I've taken note that the Microkorg has as microphone to it used for vocoding. I was wondering if it was possible to use this as a normal microphone instead for vocoding?

My second question!
Does the Microkorg work with online applications? For example, you can plug it into the computer and be using a music application record what you've done? That's where the microphone question comes in too. If you are able to use such functions, would it be okay to use?

If this doesn't make sense I'll ask differently. Can the MicroKorg serve as a general plug-in keyboard with a microphone to pick up voice sound?

My third question!
Is the MicroKorg good for what I am wanting to accomplish? Would I be better off trying something else and would you have any recommendations?

I enjoy playing piano and singing. I enjoy relaxing/sad songs with a nice flow to them. I would love to experiment doing more upbeat and things that the MicroKorg is capable of and I feel that it would be wonderful for those uses however I'm not sure if it can serve the purposes that I am looking for.

Thank you very much for anything!!

Hi,

Q1: there is a mode where the signal picked up by the mic goes through the synth to its L/R outputs without altering the sound. Note that the mic will be mixed with the synth sound, meaning, if you want to record the mic only, you should not touch the keys and vice versa.

Q2: it depends what these online applications require. Can you give an example of such an application? You can record the MIDI signal (which keys you play) or the sound of the synth itself as well. Note that for both, you need extra equipment to connect the synth to the pc.

Further on. What is your budget, how serious are you about your music, what do you expect regarding the piano sound/playing? I mention this for the following reasons.
* the microkorg is good for synthetic sound (it's a synthesizer!)
* the piano sound will be very basic (don't expect a grand sound with hall reverb)
* the keys are small and limited to 37 keys.
* the polyfony is limited to 4 or 8 notes at the same time (depending on the model of microKorg) Serious piano playing easily requires much more notes at the same time. Also forget about the sustain functionality, it's not going to work.
* The mic is basic

I don't want to break down the microKorg. It is a very nice instrument... for synth sounds. I happily own one. But if you really would like playing piano, this might not what you're looking after. Then you better look for a digital piano if the budget allows it. Buy then a separate mic and audio interface as well to record the piano and mic.

If you can live with the above limitations, then go for it!

Have fun

I've used the micro korg for recording normal vocals.
I didn't get good results and decided the mic isn't the best for the purpose. It distorted easily with little headroom.
If you want to.record audio from your synth to a computer you may end up getting an audio interface for the job.if that's what you decide then you can buy decent mics around the €100 or so, specific for the job. In the long term this may be best, depending on your thoughts to OpAmp's post above.

Have you considered a Minilogue and decent USB mic? I have a Snowball, my first mic actually, it works very well. Darn thing was 100$ years ago when it first came out. Now I think they go around 50-60$ and a Minilogue runs around 500$. Worth looking into.