Korg Forums

Dear Forum,

I am new to Synths and playing normally vintage combo organs. Now I am looking for a a travel instrument, that i can transport easily and keep around with me, that might be able to simulate a sound simmilar to a vox continental / farfisa compact. I heard a preset of the microkorg that sounds quite good to me (http://www.synthmania.com/Korg%20microK ... 0Organ.mp3)
Is the new microkorg xl able to produce simmilar sounds? I would prefer the xl model because of the better keys.
Thank you very much in advance...

It can yep. The downloadable editor for the XL even has preset packs for all the Microkorg, MS2000 and MS2000B presets so you can just simply load it onto the XL which is fairly simple.

If you are looking at the MicroKorg XL, then you should also compare the R3, which is around the same price but has a larger keyboard, more than double the effects, and assignable knobs with feedback. They can both do organs, but the MKXL doesn't have reverb, rotary, cab sims and other effects that the R3 has, which can be very important for organ sounds.

Hi, thanks for the answers! Yes the Keys of the R3 look way nicer. Is it possible to play the keys of the MK or MKXL with both hands? They are so small. But on the other side the R3 is quite big and harder to transport in your bagpack.
I want to travel a lot with the instrument around the world in my baggage, so that is another point to consider....

The R3 is only about 3 inches wider, about one handwidth. It's also very light and easy to transport. For any keyboard, it's better to have a well fitted gigbag or case to protect it. Loose articles or any uneven packing can break things when the bag gets jostled around. Having good padding for the knobs is important to protect them. Portability always causes other tradeoffs, so the decision depends as much as what you want as anything else. I prefer giving up a little portability to avoid the minikeys.

The Novation X-Station 25 is just as portable as the MK and MKXL, but it still has a great keyboard with full-sized keys and aftertouch - just a fewer keys. It also is a great midi controller and audio I/O interface. The Xiosynth 25 is a good portable choice too, cheaper and smaller, but lacks the knobs, aftertouch, and half the I/O of the X-Station.

Another option is a laptop with the addition of the nanoKey.

Thanks, I think I gonna check out the R3 in a store soon. Seems like Korg doesn't have any bags for the R3? That's a bummer...

The bags for the Nord G2 apparently fit the R3 nicely. There are midi controllers about the same size as the R3 too. Just check the dimensions and shop for bags of anything around the same size.