SOUND ON SOUND
Gordon Reid is bitten by the memory of a brilliant, but deeply flawed trio of Italian synthesizer designs that could have been the last word in affordable analogue.
A synth company that produced as many classic and well-loved instruments as did Moog Music is surely allowed the odd turkey! Gordon Reid waxes critical over one of them.
It was 1973 and everyone was playing Minimoogs, and ARP Odysseys. So why did the Keio ORGan company produce a little synthesizer with the most unorthodox controls imaginable, call it the MiniKORG 700, and try to convince the keyboard cognoscenti that it was worth buying? Gordon Reid explains...
Roland's Jupiter family yielded one or two shining examples of what an analogue polysynth should be.
For the synth afictionado, the ARP Odyssey is up there with the Minimoog in terms of its power and sonic quality. Gordon Reid explains why he loves his Ody...
Commercial physical modelling synths first appeared in 1994, but until now, nobody has produced one that offers truly multitimbral operation together with decent polyphonic performance. Korg's new Z1 does — and for well under £2,000. In this, the first UK review of the finished instrument, Goron Reid laughs wildly and plays lots fo chords — because he can.
Korg's mission to bring musicians the benefits of physical modelling synthesis at an affordable price continues; you can now have a polyphonic, multitimbral Prophecy for well under twice the price of the original. The synth is called the Z1, and Gordon Reid is the man with the exclusive technical preview...
Gordon Reid checks out the street cred of Korg's latest synth and is surprised by what he finds.
Clavia have taken advantage of the software-based nature of their virtual analogue Nord Lead to release a comprehensive upgrade, installed as standard in new instruments and available to existing users for a small fee. Gordon Reid checks it out.
Though Korg's new N-series keyboards aren't completely new on the inside, having much in common with the recent X-series synths, they still have plenty to offer as powerful workstations, with some neat and contemporary embellishments for '96. Gordon Reid sketches out the Korg family tree...