r3 vs micron vs microkorg
Moderators: Sharp, X-Trade, Pepperpotty, karmathanever
-
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:54 am
r3 vs micron vs microkorg
lookin to get my first synth which one would you get out of the r3 micron microkorg and why thanks for the input
R3 for sure, when you're done playing around with the fabricated patches,
there's always the possiblity to make your own, and do a little vocoding.
It all depends on if you think you're willing to distribute the effort and
time to learn synthesis or not, if not the microkorg's a better option.
there's always the possiblity to make your own, and do a little vocoding.
It all depends on if you think you're willing to distribute the effort and
time to learn synthesis or not, if not the microkorg's a better option.

Proud owner of >RADIAS-R+RDKB|microX|KP3
- meatballfulton
- Senior Member
- Posts: 351
- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:28 am
Here's my response to why:
The main reason to buy a MicroKorg or Micron is the cheaper price (both sell for $250-300 less than the R3).
MicroKorg has small keys...you may be able to deal with it but many players (like me) can't get used to it. It is the only one of the 3 that can be run on batteries if that's important.
The Micron is a very capable synthesizer but I like the R3's programming interface better due to the readouts above each knob. The R3 also has far better computer support...you get a free computer editing program that runs on either Windows or Mac, the synth can be connected to your computer via USB, no need to buy a MIDI interface.
So my choices would be:
1. The R3 if I could afford it.
2. The Micron if I could only spend $400.
3. The MicroKorg if I needed a battery operated synth.
The main reason to buy a MicroKorg or Micron is the cheaper price (both sell for $250-300 less than the R3).
MicroKorg has small keys...you may be able to deal with it but many players (like me) can't get used to it. It is the only one of the 3 that can be run on batteries if that's important.
The Micron is a very capable synthesizer but I like the R3's programming interface better due to the readouts above each knob. The R3 also has far better computer support...you get a free computer editing program that runs on either Windows or Mac, the synth can be connected to your computer via USB, no need to buy a MIDI interface.
So my choices would be:
1. The R3 if I could afford it.
2. The Micron if I could only spend $400.
3. The MicroKorg if I needed a battery operated synth.
I sing the body electric
ok, my ranking:
- no1: definitely the r3 > great & easy editing, great sounddesign-possibilities
- no2: microkorg > cheaper, smaller, battery-mode possible. really nice one for less bucks
- no3: micron. why? i HATE its editing. there's a freeware-editor but i don't like it. tweaking knobs is a real pity... sound... mh, it has 3 oscillators, ok, but it sounds too digital to me...
- no1: definitely the r3 > great & easy editing, great sounddesign-possibilities
- no2: microkorg > cheaper, smaller, battery-mode possible. really nice one for less bucks
- no3: micron. why? i HATE its editing. there's a freeware-editor but i don't like it. tweaking knobs is a real pity... sound... mh, it has 3 oscillators, ok, but it sounds too digital to me...
I've owned both the Microkorg and Micron, didn't care for the Micron much due to the pain in the a$s it was to edit, sound was o.k., but really not that special imo. loved the Microkorg due to the ease of programing, able to program alot of great sounds which never seemed to find their way into anything I recorded. sold because I just had too many synths. now I don't own an R3, but I do have a Radias R, and based on a comparison of all three I'd definitely go with an R3 even with a third of the polyphony and half the voices of the Radias.
I sold the microkorg because i got the radias. And then i also bought the micron, so i can compare the three of them.
The three are great
Anyways, i'm enjoying the micron. Of course it is hard to edit... if you don't know it. But once you get used to the key combos it becomes second nature. It has a very Virus sound. So if you look for a virus and you don't have the money, get the Micron.
However, the Microkorg is much more fun right out of the box. Toylike but powerful. The Micron wins when it comes to sequencing and generating rythmic patterns, but the Microkorg is easier to work with.
The R3/Radias is above both, no doubt about it. So if you can afford the R3, go for it. However i agree that it has a more nasal sound, compared to the darker virus/micron/ion.
The three are great

Anyways, i'm enjoying the micron. Of course it is hard to edit... if you don't know it. But once you get used to the key combos it becomes second nature. It has a very Virus sound. So if you look for a virus and you don't have the money, get the Micron.
However, the Microkorg is much more fun right out of the box. Toylike but powerful. The Micron wins when it comes to sequencing and generating rythmic patterns, but the Microkorg is easier to work with.
The R3/Radias is above both, no doubt about it. So if you can afford the R3, go for it. However i agree that it has a more nasal sound, compared to the darker virus/micron/ion.