Hybrid Synth Sounds Tutorial Using microKorg Audio & Midi Inputs

[@bobbyodell8676]

Man that sounds killer...I love big fat pads and leads. No bleeps and blips for me. Van Halen, Rush, Duran Duran...love it!

[@francoluambo7813]

Thanks so much i just grabbed an old 80s fm synth and this is extremely useful !

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

You're welcome, have fun 😁

[@leopoldbluesky]

Nice one, thanks Chris, it's given me some ideas to try with my CS1X and MicroKorg.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Leopold Blue-Sky Oh yeah those two should make a nice combo, I have a Cs2x myself

[@t55a2]

Might try it with my DX7, useful video this

[@benjaminjohnson8431]

Cool. Thank you

[@Bluethunder1]

Learning about synthesizers and this was very helpful thanks

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Glad to help, thanks for watching 👍

[@IRONSILVER22]

Woah this is soo sick. It's neat that you can trigger the filter envelope with midi instead of trying to do a sluglish envelope follower type thing 😃

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

IRONSILVER22 Thanks. Yes it’s nice and snappy and will use the filters in a sort of semi polyphonic way. I say semi because it feeds all external voices through all 4 filters which can do some odd things

[@stevenblakeakahashburns]

I’m using my Roland gr55 midi out to midi in microkorg and thus far liking the results but need to delve more into the menus of both units to get a more desired result but I’m now also thinking on taking the right output from the gr55 to the audio in 2 microkorg just to see what will happen, thanks for the great video

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Steve Blake The GR55 is a guitar synth isn’t it? That sounds like a fantastic idea 😄 If you run into both left and right inputs you can create a 2 layer patch so you can affect the sound differently on both channels. Would probably work pretty well on guitar I reckon

[@IRONSILVER22]

I'm also super surprised to see the SY35, I have a pretty beat up one from a second hand warehouse. It's got some interesting, FX patches such as an artillery explosion. Gotta dig into programming it sometime 🤔

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

IRONSILVER22 Yeah they’re okay if you happen to have one, pretty good for evolving pads with the vector setup, but best used this way I reckon!

[@Zton-yn4kc]

ctrlr.org/sy35-voice-editor/

[@grkmylmaz]

Great demo! There's something I'm wondering about. Let's say I connect a midi keyboard to the micro x. Is it possible to select different sounds for micro x and midi keyboard and play them at the same time?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes sure you can connect two keyboards together, play one keyboard and both will play as long as the midi channels match 🙂

[@grkmylmaz]

@@ChrisLodyMusic thank you for your answer 🙏🏻

[@maybeyouwantmaybeyouwant1174]

Hi! Nice video! I also have a microKORG but keys are dead. What’s the cable you are using to connect them? It look good quality. Also, is possible to connect the microKORG to a simple keyboard with jack input? I mean, a MIDI-JACK cable could work? There are some in Amazon but idk if they work for that. Thanks. Kind regards.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

It's just a standard din midi cable I'm using. I don't remember what brand it is or anything, I think I just bought a batch of Amazon ones. I'm not sure what you mean by a midi-jack cable. The microKorg has full sized din midi sockets but it depends what you're connecting it too as to which size that connection that is. If by midi-jack you mean a 3.5mm midi connection then you'll have to check which type is compatible with your other equipment as there are two types annoyingly, Type-A and Type-B. But yes if you get the right one that will work.

[@clevermissfox]

Is the amp hooked up to the korg or the yamaha? Ive got a micro korg and an old entry level yamaha that has a built in speaker. Id like to do sonething to hook ip the korg to it and still be able to get the layered drum beat loops that come from the yamaha

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

The output is coming from the Korg, so you would connect your amp, audio interface, mixer etc to the audio outputs or headphone sockets on the microKorg. You should be able to route audio directly from the Yamaha into a mixer etc too if you want to hear it unprocessed. If it's a basic model you may need to use a splitter cable, but it depends on your Yamaha's connections

[@clevermissfox]

@@ChrisLodyMusic thank you so much for the clarification that makes sense

[@isaacisaac9658]

Hey Chris. I have an older keyboard (korg SP200) that doesn't have any knobs, wheels or sliders. I thought it would be cool if I could run MIDI from my keyboard into the microkorg, and a second midi cable from the microkorg into my interface/ DAW, so that I could use the Microkorg's wheels and knobs to manipulate the sounds. (I realize I could just use the microkorg, but I prefer the larger keys of my old keyboard). Is there a way to do this? TIA, Isaac

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I'll double check this, but I'm pretty sure that the only way to get midi out from the two devices into you DAW would be to connect them using separate inputs to your computer and then activate both midi inputs there. Some bits of hardware have a midi merge setting or such like that you can use to do this though, I know the microKorg doesn't do that but your SP200 might if you're lucky. Otherwise you could just grab a midi to usb cable or something and do it that way. Hope that helps.

[@isaacisaac9658]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks so much Chris.

[@SanplerVarondaro]

excelente bro saludos

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thank you 😁

[@carlosperezbucio6628]

I just bought this nice synth. I also have a basic Yamaha digital piano, a PB series. I was wondering if I could tweak the Yamaha through the microkorg in order to emulate electric piano phasing and tremolo...

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes you’d be able to do that easily enough. The microKorg has a phaser effect so it would just be a case of switching that on. To create a tremolo you could connect an lfo to volume and adjust its speed and depth until you get the sound you want. Hope that helps

[@carlosperezbucio6628]

Thank you for your response. Very useful video.

[@brettc1968]

My electric piano doesn't have a midi but I want to edit the sounds from it through my microkorg. Wondering how to so this. Thanks

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

You can still route it through the effects and filters etc, you just won't be able to trigger notes from it. You could set up an arppegiator on the microKorg that holds the envelope open so sound passes through it and tweak from there

[@GrootsieTheDog]

Two questions: I ordered a Blofeld unit and was wondering...I know I can use the Micro keyboard to control it but will it be easy to switch back and forth fairly effortlessly in a live situation or should I just get another controller? The second question, I noticed that the Minilogue does not have amp as an LFO target to create tremolo. Can I also set it up to a Minilogue and send amp lfo msgs? Thx for any suggestions. I'm so used to working in a computer but I just want to go completely computer free. Just hardware and I am a little out of my skill on how to integrate them all so that they play nicely together (in a midi sense). BTW - the sy85 was my first synth and I loved it I still have the sound card in storage somewhere.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Hi. Yes I'd recommend a midi keyboard, but I am a keyboard and piano player so I may be a little biased. The Blofeld has USB and Din midi so you can hook Din midi up while it's hooked up to a computer which is nice. As far as sending an LFO to a midi CC for modulation, as a rule that not something a midi keyboard would normally do, though I understand a few modern ones can do that but you'd have to check the spec before buying. If you want to go completely Dawless then you'll ideally need some sort of midi sequncer at the heart of your system, something like the Digitakt I hear are really good which I think can transmit a midi LFO and can do an absolute boat load of things on it's own. Hope that helps

[@audiostudiocreativo4981]

is there a way thAt the microkorg output sound the internal sound más the input at the same time as two diferent layers of the same pacht?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I don’t think there’s a way to do that other than letting the audio from an external source pass through unaffected by filters etc so you might as well do that externally with a mixer. So really the limit is one layer from the microKorg and one external layer processed by the microKorg

[@isaacisaac9658]

Bit of a noob here getting my feet wet in the world of synths...I'm wondering if I can use another keyboard as a midi controller with the microKorg's vocoder function? Thanks.

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes absolutely. As long as it has 5 pin din midi and you set your input and output to the same channel that’ll work great 👍

[@isaacisaac9658]

@@ChrisLodyMusic Thanks a bunch!

[@ajcloribel9975]

Is there anyway where I can listen to both keyboards by applying this method?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Do you mean just listening to both keyboards without the microKorg affecting the sound of the other keyboard? If so there is a simple way yes. Just turn on the 'Audio In Thru' setting in Global, Knob 5 and any audio at the input will be mixed in with the microKorg output

[@ajcloribel9975]

ChrisLody thanks man! I plan on playing a certain patch on the microkorg then another certain patch on the minilogue ! Cheers!!!

[@tobynskinner3098]

I have an old school Casio mt-86 which I paid £5 for at a boot sale. The microkorg is on it's way to me now in the post. It has a line out on the casio but no midi. Damn. 😭

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I love those mt68’s though, they’ve got such a nice vibe to them. Well worth learning to play 👍

[@tobynskinner3098]

Mint condition still in the box 😂

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Oh cool, good find!

[@TheBEEFBOY]

Chris i wonder if you can help me , i only have the microkorg, is there anyway that i can programme a clean jazz synth effect ect with warm tones. I am a complete amateur at trying to work it

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Hi. I could possibly help yeah. Do you have an example of someone playing the sound you're looking for as a place to start?

[@TheBEEFBOY]

@@ChrisLodyMusic hi chris thanks for getting back so quick mate , and yes i just stumbled across this girls page today and i think her sounds are absolutely unreal. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGOqaJmBgt-rbtU I think i would be able to try and do some things similar if i was able to utilise the microkorg

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

@@TheBEEFBOY Yeah it's good that. Is it the smooth keyboard sound that comes in at about 6 seconds that you're interested in?

[@TheBEEFBOY]

@@ChrisLodyMusic yes thats exactly it chris ! , any idea how i can get this on the microkorg

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

@@TheBEEFBOY Yeah we should be able to make something like that fairly easily. I'll have a go one evening and get back to you. If I explained it in steps like 'Turn 'Edit Select 1' to 'Filter' and turn knob 2 to '50', would that be easy enough for you to follow?

[@acustiflexsistemas]

HI Chris. The Classic Microkorg dont have aftertocuh, but Is there any way I can receive note speeds from an external controller? thanks!!

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Velocity do you mean? It can do that yes as long as the controller is sending velocity. Then you need a preset that has VEL routed to something in the Mod Matrix. Hope that helps

[@acustiflexsistemas]

Ok Manny thanks, i get it in patch function!! Velocity to amp!! Mod Matrix?? i dont see about it!!

[@janpieternieman5295]

Can this also be done with a mini nova?

[@janpieternieman5295]

Because I just bought a Korg 01/W fd and i miss some turning knobs en resonance filtering :)

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I don’t own one but looking at Novations site it looks like it. It says ‘Plug in your instrument or any audio source to do really cool stuff with MiniNova's VocalTune, vocoder, filters and effects.’ So it’s quite likely. I’d like one of those 😁

[@ariramadhan5380]

can i korg r3 or alesis micron instead microkorg?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

I've never used either of those so I'm not sure if they have the same audio inputs or work in the same way. If you have access to either have a go

[@ariramadhan5380]

thanka. gonna buy them soon. i hope i could do some video like yours with my sy22. wish me luck. cheers 👍👍👍👍

[@erlendviken]

Hi buddy, great vid! Question: Is it possible to use the arpeggio from the microkorg to trigger the other one?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Thanks. I did try really hard to get that to work at the time but ran into problems. I seem to remember it worked in a round about way but I think I had to trigger the arpeggio on the microkorg rather than from the Sy35, something annoying like that anyway but worth experimenting with. It would have taken a good bit longer to explain so I left it out of the video.

[@johanneschristopherstahle3395]

Yes, the only way to output the arpeggiator via MIDI is to use the internal keyboard. You can use external keyboard to trigger the arpeggiator, but then it won't send the arpeggio to the MIDI out. They kept it the same for the microKORG XL.

[@armucoartworks1732]

Im from darkage of synth , nobody using dry synth in the 70-80th, everybody has a dsp , even cheap one like Midiverb, or guitare pedal to expand sound of the synths. Before layer we called this technic : Synth stack . I ever combined 2 or 3 synth or expanders to get fat sounds. Master keyboards where able to send different midi program change to each midi chanel to save a combination. Today we need mac with mainstage or ableton on pc to do same as a simple masterkeyboard was able to do.I still have an Elka MK55. Dont see any real masterkeyboard able to splits an layer midi part for gear on 2 midi out and 1 one midi in to add an other midi keyboard as lower or upper manual extention .

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

Yes that's certainly true. This was not meant to be looking at this era of synth in a negative way, just a different way of working with them

[@chrislancer3813]

Can I do this with a Kawai k4?

[@ChrisLodyMusic]

As long it has midi out to trigger the microKorg then yeah it should be fine.

[@chrislancer3813]

@@ChrisLodyMusic sweet! thanx!