18-Month Review & Update - Korg SV-1 (88 Key)

Decided it was time to make an 18 month update on some things I like and dislike about the Korg SV1!
Hit the like button if you enjoy and subscribe to this channel for more videos!
Looking to purchase the Korg SV-1 or another keyboard? It helps support my channel for no extra cost to you if you buy through the link below!
www.zzounds.com...
Thanks for watching and comment below with any questions you have and I will answer them as soon as I can!

[@peterheijnen3197]

I've been playing this instrument for more than 2 years. It never ever locked up, fortunately.

[@mikerutigliano1821]

Overall, this is a good assessment of the SV-1. I have mine for about a year, and use it live. I have not had the lock up problem, or have seen this issue. Reliability is good, as I move the unit around at least twice a week. If you are moving the keyboard a lot, I would suggest getting the roller case. Makes it easy to carry and move. No problems to date with the keyboard. Last, I like the organs on the unit and use them in live settings. I agree the leslie is OK, but is comparable to a leslie simulator. I hooked the SV-1 to a Boss Leslie simulator and got the same sound output. The one thing that is nice with the external leslie simulator is you can control the speed with a pedal. On the SV-1 you cannot use a pedal to speed or slow down the leslie. The pedal just turns it on or off. One of the things to add to the organ sound is the "boost" effect. Works well, and has no problem keep sound with the guitars.

[@bruin4937]

Hey again, DSoundman. I tried adjusting the touch sensitivity on my SV-1 to 7, and although I prefer using 4 as a more all-around setting for the kinds of music that I play, using the 7 is *really nice* for playing soft ballads. You can get such a beautifully soft, sensitive sound from the SV-1 with this setting. Thanks for reminding me about the SV-1's touch sensitivity adjustment!

[@DSoundman]

For sure! I find I play the keyboard a lot harder than I need to....lol The softer settings end up working well for me because of that!

[@scottrogers2831]

Since it is locking up only when on stage, but never at home, I think it might be a low line voltage issue at the venue. This is common when a full band is playing and over taxing the power system. It may not be the fault of the keyboard at all. Just a thought.

[@DSoundman]

That's what I'm thinking. It was good for a long time and then a few months ago it happened again. Since that time it's been fine though. Low voltage is the only thing I can link to it as a potential.

[@rohancwright]

You can adjust the reverb time on the PC editor, it's still not a super big verb but does the job.

[@casinomann]

Also the "piano clicks" on the sound can be adjusted.

[@melodicsoul1164]

@@casinomann do you still have the SV-1?

[@MickCorgi]

Thanks! You showed me rows of variations and gem sound of this instrument.

[@bruin4937]

FYI, I'm in a Facebook Korg SV-1 forum, and some folks there complain about some faulty things going on with their SV-1's, including their keys being really funky after storing their SV-1 with the back panel facing the ground. Their solution: Turn the SV-1 upside for a few minutes, and shake it (not violently though) to regain proper key action. I've also been reading about some weird glitches in some Korg owners' Kromes and Kronos, failed booting, settings that change when switching timbres, etc. I don't know what Korg is doing these days, but they had better get on the quality assurance ball so that they don't start losing their customers.

[@DSoundman]

Yeah, I've heard of that issue before, but haven't noticed any funky key stuff going on in terms of action. I'll be making a 3 year update video (holy cow...has it really been over three years?!) soon talking about the SV-1 again, but interestingly enough, I haven't had any lockups since I making this 18 month video...I really think it was due to inconsistent power supply issues. I am continually impressed with this board.

[@Hiramb100]

When I bought my SV1 last year, the person at the store told me about the issues, but that Korg has made some updates and technically anything after 2015 or 2016 or something is version 2 and no issues have been reported (as of spring 2017). Not sure if that's true though....

[@bruin4937]

Yeah, I've had zero issues with my SV-1 as well. It plays and sounds beautiful.

[@charlesn.salgado-gouker118]

Do you really need to switch the Touch settings back to 7 each time you change instruments? You can't save your Touch preference when you save a patch?

[@Zemael]

Thank you , great review. One day I will afford it.

[@horowizard]

There is a Sound Editor available for this instrument and also some Operating System Updates that might address the issue of the Keyboard locking up. Like much Japanese gear, your XLR Outputs may be Pin 3 Hot which will not play nicely with a Pin 2 Hot system. You can buy or easily make adapters yourself to switch to the proper pin configuration. Other issues can cause Ground Loops but not a very high output level. At 6:15 that Keyboard on top does not look like Waterfall Keys to me. They may not be weighted but I do see a small shelf overhang. Waterfall keys are contoured with a rounded edge.

[@avatarjm]

What piano stand/laptop stand combo are you using?

[@mrgrimsdale5265]

Hi My SV-1 freezes at home when I’m just playing quietly with no excess stress on the parameters! Thanks for the great video. David G

[@somerandomname1902]

Odd. Mine's never frozen once. I got one that was pre owned and through out all my time using it, it hasn't locked up once. Really weird. Maybe a production problem.

[@bruin4937]

@@somerandomname1902 Same story here. My SV-1 has never frozen up once.

[@francoisquerry1065]

Thank you to mention the freeze issue. I was about to buy a used SV1, but I realise that such a buy is like throwing up dices : you have some risks to have problems, but maybe not. Also, I would like to hear about if you experienced interferences issues because of the lamp if you play in a place where there are neon lights or cellphones around.

[@xVxSOUPxVx]

Have you tried playing around with the SV1 Editor software yet? It will give you a lot more control over your tone as well as FXs

[@DSoundman]

I have...I like it for making modifications to then save to the keyboard. Nice interface.

[@defan2105]

If you had to play the Classic Clair De Lune on this, how close can you make it sound like a grand piano? I never hear much Grand piano sounds...or not enough. Thanks for the tour!! Blessings

[@johnadams5489]

Its interesting to see what other musicians do with their KB's. It could be that his plays too loud but he keeps mentioned cutting through the mix. I don't use very much reverb myself, that tends to wash out what you're playing, especially with a band. The other thing I found interest is that he primarily uses the same sounds for most everything. There are so many varieties of Rhodes sounds, I would get bored using one sound. To each his own.

[@jameshitt3263]

Agreed about the organ, its a completely superfluous and not very good feature to have on this keyboard if you already have organs covered on a dedicated board with organ-style keybed and a good Leslie sim (like I do). I personally would much rather if they allowed you to ditch the organs and replace them with harpsichords. Aside from the classical uses, harpsichord pops up in quite a lot of pop music (lots of 60s stuff, Beatles, old Van Morrison). I would like more Sound Pack options. (Similarly, I like the Crumar dual manual organs, but I think they're wasted with extra e-piano samples for an option, but don't include any pipe organ sounds! An absolute must for me.)

[@AJL200]

You can replace all or as many of the 36 sounds within the keyboard by using the SV-1 editor for PC/Mac. So tweak away and save as you wish. You do have to remember what is where but a little organisation sorts this out

[@AJL200]

phattbuzz correct - although stock sound #32 states it is based on tape playback string sound but no other mellotron samples

[@bruin4937]

So I'm guessing that you don't plug into an amp with built-in reverb, otherwise this would have solved your dilemma. You can also buy a separate reverb or delay unit to give you what you want, and if it has a good amount of range, you could create some other interesting moods with it and your SV-1. I also own an SV-1, an 88-key model and I love it, but I've not used it for live gigs yet -- it's so much quicker to throw my Krome 61 in the car and schlep it around everywhere in the Korg backpack case; plus, I need the Krome for layers and splits and sounds that the SV-1 just doesn't have. Cheers!

[@DSoundman]

Thanks for the comment! Exactly. When playing live I usually go straight out of the XLR's of the SV-1 into the PA (through the FOH mixer or snake of course). I have contemplated buying an external reverb/delay unit and still would like to at some point, but you are correct...that would solve my problem!

[@bruin4937]

I also need to experiment more with the built-in phase shifter. If it's not to my liking, I may opt for an MXR 90 Phaser, which when I used one many, many years ago, helped to create a really phat and sweet phaser for my previous keyboard, a Rhodes Mark II. A Boss digital delay also was great to experiment with because of the range of delay it provided, to very small and short, to much more pronounced and much longer types of delays. Anyway, SV-1 on!

[@JitinMisra]

what is your set up at home, is it plugged into monitors, if so, how does it sound?

[@bruin4937]

@@JitinMisra For me, I run my SV-1 through a Roland KC-300 and for gigs a Roland KC-500. It sounds even nice, however, going through my band's QSC K12.2 speakers, which have a much better dynamic range and the output is just much cleaner, crisper.

[@gregfrancis4055]

Is it possible you have Phantom power turned on on your mixing board which might create the overheating on the XLR connections.

[@russellrblair]

I've never had a lock up.

[@robertomandozzi4746]

I have had the same problem in live situation. After un half our of playing, the intrument begin to give a crackling sound, the amp engin was very hot, in general the sound became confuse and unprecise. In addittion I notice that after a year the key hammer action quality get to worse. The play of piano sound was really unpleasent and that make me extreamly nervous. I give the instrument away. I wonder if the recent sv1 production have the same problem. The istrument itself sound very good. I was very disappointed for situation result. Maybe simply I had bad luck, the instrument production today is an enormuos business, it is possible sometime things don't function ok, however the quality shoud be garanted.

[@jonahpaz.]

Do you remember how much it cost new when it just came out?

[@DSoundman]

I paid $1699 USD for mine back in 2015

[@sherahcash8393]

What settings would you recommend for Christian Contemporary music?

[@wilfcm8911]

does the 73 version have the same quality keybed than the 88 version?

[@OSCOMusic]

Yes it does. Its just a little shorter for transport purposes and if you play in a band you don't tend to use the extreme highs/lows of the keyboard.

[@pablomullerzuniga2689]

I have a question, I have a korg kronos x and I recently bought a korg sv1 but the volume or the sound power of the sv1 is very low compared to the kronos (the potentiometers are fine), what should be done to make it sound louder? do you need any special configuration?

[@DSoundman]

That’s interesting. The SV-1 I had seemed to have really hot outputs. Is it the same regardless of the outputs you use? (1/4, XLR, or Headphone)

[@BurstupTV]

Isn't there a firmware update to fix the freezing issue?

[@DSoundman]

Christoph Burstup Weiss not that I’m aware of, but maybe I missed it? As I’ve used it more (over 3 years now) I think the times it froze were due to power inconsistencies. Since making this video I haven’t had it freeze again...go figure!

[@jerick12347]

Awesome tune! Sounds great! Just a question, how do you connect and record the Korg S-v1 to a DAW and record sound? I cant seem to know what cables to use and what settings :(

[@Funkbutterfly]

Jerick Abella I'm sure you've figured this out by now but you need an audio interface to connect the Sv-1 to your computer. Any box with two inputs will do for stereo left and right.

[@larollande]

Hi Douglass, You are among the SV1 reviewers of KZbin who convinced me buying one. I just got my (used) SV-1 73, like it a lot, but already experienced the sound freeze / lock-up while playing during a rehearsal. Turning the KB off and on made it sound again, but I am afraid of this happening during a gig, as you mentioned here. Have you found the cause and a solution to solve it? Like updating the OS? Thanks for your info/help.

[@tcmontario]

Late answer, I know, but the Korg forums seem to agree that replacing the memory module chips on the mainboard solve this issue that is usually triggered by high polyphony playing

[@larollande]

⁠@@tcmontariothx for your info, although belated 😉

[@geometricart7851]

I have a kawai es100 that i've owned for about as long as you've owned your sv-1. Changing setting on it are very tedious. I love the knobs on your sv-1 most settings seem very accessible! The sound is very good too, but it should be at $1299 right? I might sell the es100 and save up for the sv-1. I think i'm in love. LOL

[@jack_woodman]

Funnily enough, I just sold my ES100 to buy an SV2!

[@akimmmk]

Please tell me what name of the song 0:02~

[@1999NOZA]

is it possible to hook up the sv1 as a midi on logic pro x, abelton etc?? thanks

[@AJL200]

Yup - via USB or DIN

[@pierresilvanascimento9266]

Top!

[@psychedelicmachinestudio7325]

how is the keybed holding up?Heard so many horror stories on the keybed going out on musicians,just wondering if Korg resolved those problems.

[@DSoundman]

So far so good! I haven't had any problems with the keybed despite some of the known issues out there.

[@mikerutigliano1821]

Over 12 months, move the unit twice a week to gigs, no problems encountered.

[@psychedelicmachinestudio7325]

just got the SV1 73 about a week ago....so far so good,love the feel of this piano and love the sounds although I wonder If it costs anything to download the pack 2?

[@psychedelicmachinestudio7325]

three months later and this machine has had no issues what so ever.Nice strong reliable board unlike my Kurzweil SP2 which died less than a year on me.keybed is real stable and tones are excellent with the exception of the organ tones,which are kinda average in my opinion.

[@ddgitz]

Thank you--helpful!

[@MickolaustheWonder]

Ward Davis uses this piano on stage.

[@1TreukFlyyy]

Which amp/speaker would you use with this keyboard ?

[@sammmfoley]

DJ Fresh D I was using a Marshall AS50D Acoustic amp. Also have played through a 15 watt Egnater tube combo. Both sound okay, not the best though. Just got a Leslie LS2215 200watt keyboard amp and it sounds incredible. Highly recommend that or a nice powered PA speaker would sound nice too.

[@1TreukFlyyy]

Sam Foley Thanks a lot for the feedback.

[@konradhausmann6359]

If you're mainly into ep sounds, try the classics for rhodes: Fender TwinReverb and JC120

[@1TreukFlyyy]

@@konradhausmann6359 3 years later I still own this keyboard and play it everyday ! I got a fender twin amp for guitar, I should try that (being careful with impedance).

[@konradhausmann6359]

@@1TreukFlyyy great to hear! I'm planning to get a SV-1 soon

[@seantyler]

What do you use for synth and organ sounds? What's the small keyboard above?

[@DSoundman]

I have switched over to virtual organs (VB3 and Vintage Organs from NI) and use the small keyboard (Novation Ultranova) for synth sounds. I have been getting more into virtual instruments and have found some really nice synth capabilities there as well. I will be talking more about Virtual Instruments that I use in later videos, but hope that gives you the answers you were looking for!

[@anastasiaats4112]

Wow!You are good teacher

[@veerchasm1]

Thanks for showing the gear and not your face like most YT videos

[@edgargomenza7606]

Shhhhhh

[@laliboni3433]

Terribly pianist :(

[@orbtcle6332]

that sounds awful