Korg Drumlogue Hybrid Drum Machine - Sonic LAB Review

#soniclab #korg #drumlogue
Korg's Drumlogue is now finally shipping so we got our hands on one. With 11 voices - four analogue and 6 Digital (samples) plus a virtual DSP synth voice, Reverb and Delay on send FX, a Master FX, stereo out and four mono (single voice) outputs, there's a decent feature set.
Editor Nick takes a look.
00:00 Intro and overview
04:25 Voices overview
11:25 Nano voice and MIDI demo
12:47 Mix and output assignments
14:20 User samples
16:56 Breakbeat pattern example
18:35 External MIDI recording
20:38 Memory structure and saving
23:35 Chaining
24:56 On board pattern examples
27:09 Grooves, pattern lengths, probabilities
28:28 Wrap and final thoughts
29:52 Playout
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[@maartendebruijne3657]

No idea why people are negative about the drumlogue, sound is good and deep, sequencer is just different but can do alot and price has dropped. Yes an MPC can do more with samples but its a different machine. Its a good drummachine and fun to use

[@RikMaxSpeed]

Love how you fixed that display Nick!

[@intheblink]

Love the intro! Very reminiscent of some early 2000s game soundtracks I loved.

[@CommunityGuidelines]

Those fuzzy chords immediately reminded me of Akira Yamaoka's work on "Silent Hill".

[@andesneko]

Yeah, it screams Korg

[@fangan4770]

The good thing about the machine is that it's bound to come down in price very quickly.

[@publika6883]

and it only speaks to how bad it is lol

[@bumdittybrendan3710]

Down to $500 USD. Let's all keep holding until it gets down to $300

[@thepauloapo]

"To device" port should be a standard feature in everything. Nice one.

[@brettlemmings]

the criticism is well justified. the korg engineers still have some work to do apparently, let's hope they will listen - thank you Nick!

[@soupforare]

very dank korg :9 good stuff nick

[@isaac.anthony]

Korgs answer to the Rhythm Wolf? LoL, good job Korg!

[@rorz999]

Let's be real... even though this is very underwhelming, it's still nowhere near as bad as the Rhythm Wolf lol

[@isaac.anthony]

@@rorz999 i only had the tom cat, i kind of wish i kept it, was only $100. for those fun disco toms...

[@monojr3927]

I think the screen may be being affected by the current draw of the usb device possibly? Or is it like it without the Arturia added?

[@Ni5ei]

Roland SH-4d for me

[@andyjones760]

Nick, was wondering how you were getting on with your Opsix? Great review of the Drumlogue by the way.

[@spiralminus]

Just bought one and I’m excited! 32mb sample memory is good enough for me. My MPC 2000xl has that much and make fire beats on it.

[@djkanyon]

2000xl is ancient, in them olden days 32mb was a lot... It's a sad day when we compare newest Korg gear to Backstreet Boys era machines.

[@spiralminus]

@@djkanyon Don't know what to tell you man, people made some really amazing music on that old equipment and still do, because the only limit is our own minds. I'm having fun with my Korg Drumlogue and MPC. If you require more memory to produce your music there's nothing wrong with that. I own a bunch of other gear as well, including high end analog synths and a newer Akai sampler with plenty of memory. I'm not bragging, I'm just pointing it out to say that sometimes I enjoy working on something that's simple and even limited, to force me to get more creative. I get peoples point that in this day and age memory is cheap so why not have more? and this machine is not for everybody. But I said, "fuck it, this thing looks like fun", and it is. No regrets here.

[@andesneko]

​@spiralminus I want to be on the same boat but even 128MB would be low, heck 64MB, yet it would be exactly twice the amount. It has other issues as well, but for whatever reason, I really want one. I am hoping for a sale.

[@deborahpickett1006]

Hey Nick, nice review! Your OLED display is definitely faulty; my drumlogue does not do this. Re: Memory structure: there's a global setting that you can toggle so that saving a pattern also saves the kit. Sounds like you'd want to turn that on (or off). I've had my drumlogue about a month. It's my first drum machine and I'm still learning how to use it. Just made my first user synth unit, Resonator, now listed on the Korg logue SDK Unit Index! Edit: my Resonator synth unit could be used as a workaround for the sample fade problem while Korg addresses it: the unit can play a sample from start to finish at full volume. Set the feedback parameter to zero to disable the resonating delay loop. Presupposing you weren’t using the multi-engine for anything else, of course.

[@jjjohny_a5965]

i think all stick to a drumbrute ... they should gave full control over the full drum kit for work flow

[@NicholasBryantBonzaiSequoias]

Apart from the poly-metric and probability functions.. it's a bit meh.. for me at least (only 8mB more than my E2S!). My DDD-1 has a real song mode, tape sync and a trigger out. Where is the Electribe 3? With the sequencer from the SQ-64 (with a song mode added) and maybe 1 gigabyte of sample RAM and all the functions and FX of the E2 improved (perhaps with master FX send rather than switch).. It would be just what is needed.

[@Jason75913]

I don't know why Korg won't make such an Electribe. I'd go for it in a heartbeat.

[@_Scintill8tor]

i agree fully. I even like the Electribe 1 better than this new toy from Korg. Am I getting old or what? I really don't see anything new or innovative in all the new drum machines actually. Perhaps I am spoiled.

[@pdautg]

I’m with Nick on the “save-to-memory” thing. Is korg turning into roland? Btw, how are the knobs on this? It has “sticky knob syndrome” like on a monologue and minilogue?

[@PorchBass]

The individual outs are per part - you can't send closed and open hat to the same output. What are korg smoking?

[@beat007street]

Korg's secret weapon is their user plugin. Minilogue XD user plugin is out of this world. And DRUMLOGUE user plugin innovation is why this is worth it.

[@Kablehead]

I like the design.

[@asynchronicity]

"The decay of the body." That's dark 🌚

[@grizcuz]

This was on my list of possible new devices. But I'm afraid it's not really floating my boat after watching this. Don't really care if the source is analogue or digital, but those kick/snare channels sound a bit underwhelming to my ears. And without much memory to load in your own kits, I think I'd get bored of it within a couple of months. Even if I loved everything about it, I doubt I'd buy one until they'd released a few more firmware updates. Expecting early adopters to be beta testing bug reporters is absolutely criminal for a company of Korg's size and reputation. It's not like they're a small new start-up company who released a product after a successful Kickstarter campaign and need to get it into their customers hands ASAP. Releasing something so slapdash is not what I expect from Korg. (I own some Korg legacy synths, but nothing current. Are their more modern products known to be released with lots of bugs, or is it just this Drumlogue that's available to buy when it looks like it's 95% finished?)

[@Jason75913]

It's the Drumlogue Their products usually do come out finished. Their rompler keyboards especially tend to come out more finished, though I've read that some folks feel otherwise about the Kronos. They do deserve occasional boycotts and social media bashing to discourage them from trying to get away with using early adopters as beta testers, corporate officers always look for ways to cut costs, start getting money in quicker, and if they can take advantage of others. I tend to consider them often unscrupulous, kept in line only by fear of punishment and lawsuits and what not. Geez.

[@Eli_B3000]

Same here, I love my XD, and thought this might match up to how great it sounds, but it just sounds so uninspired and flat.

[@shitmandood]

Large corporations distributing products that use customers as beta testers is nothing new. It’s quite common. The big thing with corporations these days is to “run like a startup “… make sure everyone is sweating

[@Jason75913]

@@shitmandood the masses have the power to discourage the behavior, but they won't because they are meek little sheep

[@themoonandhelvetica195]

Not gonna lie, I was pretty excited about this a couple years ago, but coming to this video from the Roland sh-4d one this just feels very underwhelming, considering they are nearly the same price.

[@Dudderlyful]

Maybe this is more futuristic from Korg. Not sure if it's worth it vs tr8s though. Interesting concept but more sample memory would be a must. I'll wait for the price to come down maybe but not grabbed by this one

[@theleastsignificantbit4794]

Save your money for the Cheeselogue-I’m certain it’ll ship with finished software and fewer glitches. After wasting my time and money on the SQ-64 and given the software issues with my Prologue, I’m gonna avoid this as if it were a plague. Behringer’s business practices are questionable, but the RD-9 I bought sounds good and causes me no trouble. And it’s easy to use.

[@djkanyon]

RD-9 is awesome and a breeze to work with

[@theleastsignificantbit4794]

The RD-9 is a winner as is the RD-8. The sound is nothing new but with effects and post production, it can fit a good many styles of music. And the price is right.

[@synthnseq]

You can no longer claim 'I'm old and my beats are not very current' like you did in a previous vid a few years back - your programming/arrangement at 17:40 sounds great!

[@Madrrrrrrrrrrr]

That is a build in pattern. Wasn't really convinced by the analog drum sounds. A 900 sounds great right out of the box. These sounds were like a lot of mids.

[@synthnseq]

@@Madrrrrrrrrrrr At 14:33 Nick says 'I've got some samples I've loaded in here' (x2 breaks) which he then goes on to duplicate into sample slots adjust start and end points to create the individual hits as he shows at approx 16:00. He supplements this with built in hits. I'll keep an eye out for someone demoing all of the presets to see how its supposed to sound and compare.

[@Madrrrrrrrrrrr]

@@synthnseq fair.

[@warius1]

That’s an old fashioned 90’s beat. Nothing wrong with that but not very current.

[@Nervejam]

​@@warius1 Sounds like something from Gary Numan's "Sacrifice" album..

[@TimJacksonOriginal]

Is this a genuine contemporary alternative to the ER-1? Until now Korg have never bettered that unit, so it'd be great to see a true successor. The addition of the (albeit limited) samples for a more acoustic feel is definitely welcome. One to watch as bugs are fixed...

[@rijksvoorlichtingsdienst4427]

Volca drum was an excellent attempt

[@GizzyDillespee]

Some chill rap lyrics and beat from 17:47 on

[@MichaelRohaly]

The range of sounds is pretty impressive, but honestly I would have been happier to see a beefed-up Volca Drum. Four rows of VD (!!!) controls with motion sequencing would be a useful and powerful thing, like the Roland FM drum update but more.

[@Claidheambmor]

Sadly it's nothing like a Volca Drum. The Drumlogue is basically a bunch of samples with four weak analogue synth engines (two of which are for toms, so no analogue hats or claps), a digital noise engine and some weedy mono SDK engines.

[@BlasphemousButler]

Yes to this. I sold my Drum because the limits and small knobs of Volca drive me nuts, but with a proper interface, it would be awesome.

[@georgenada6413]

They could have just taken the Volca Drum and Volca Beats (with fixed snare mod) beefed em up and put them into an Electribe style interface. Seems like Korg went back to the drawing board and came back with something unnecessarily weak. They're making it harder on themselves than it need be imo.

[@MichaelRohaly]

@@BlasphemousButler It's very understandable to be annoyed by the Volca Drum. I'm keeping mine, but I trigger it from another device, and thus discovered that it isn't velocity sensitive, which is another reason to want something better (that Korg is evidently not interested in providing).

[@rorz999]

​@@georgenada6413 man that would have been awesome. I feel like Korg has lost the plot a bit tbh

[@GizzyDillespee]

Can it do log drum?

[@rivermonsoon7009]

Sounds are good. If it's an all inclusive drum box, they are cutting corners and here's why. I've talked Korg on this one. As much as I love it, it doesn't have a timeline memory. Meaning it won't sync with your daw in Chain mode when you want to edit your song in your DAW you back up from a new cue point and the drum machine doesn't know where to start. LOL. You have to send all the midi to your DAW and edit from there which is pointless.. your'e back in your Comp. We already have drums like this in DAWS. I wonder what happened to this stuff. My EMU XL-7 does it perfectly. You make a song to go along with your midi tracks and if it sounds good or not you can edit it along the way with out guessing where the hell it will need to be in your Drum box and your drum box doesn't get confused. If they really want people to use outboard equip, they need to add these functions. Maybe everyone just farts around with a few loops and that's it or they just switch patterns live and back and fourth. Some of us don't. Song mode or any Chain mode should have this. This just seams backwards to me. Unless every one sends it to the DAW and is happy doing it there.

[@Nijnvenijn]

Can probably just send midi program changes from a midi track in your daw.

[@rivermonsoon7009]

@@Nijnvenijn Probably, I would think. If they give you a midi implementation chart. But really. This should already be included.

[@thechronicnoizeco.6675]

That shelf looks amazing

[@artmistake9170]

Great Tutorial!! Thanks!!! >>>> I couldn't find a single video on KZbin showing how to use the DL with a DAW, which is a shame. Would love to see that. Unfortunately none of the MIDI ROUTING channels of the DL seem to record the full pattern from the DL to a DAW, which is extremely disappointing. Please correct me if i'm missing something. The memory of the DL is extremely small, so importing our own samples is almost a joke. There is also no option to export and save your patterns out of the Drumlogue, like for ex. the Drumbrute has. With such small memory, the user is forced to erase partners constantly to free space, not allowing the user to store their previous works or be able to recall them after. This option should exist to compensate for the lack of memory.

[@NOLNV1]

I am more into this than a lot of other people it feels like, it seems very deep but with that comes the weirdness of it being a particular menu diver for being in the Logue series, which doesn't appeal to me as much

[@Microphunktv-jb3kj]

theres so many drum machines out there.. this seems very underwhelming

[@foljs5858]

@@Microphunktv-jb3kj four analogue voices + samples + synth + fx and hands on control, 'underwhelming'? In what planet?

[@gkeaoyrge]

@@foljs5858 It’s that very ‘jack of all trades’ nature that you refer to that seems to be the Drumlogue’s biggest weakness. The general opinion seems to be, it tries to cater to many different approaches to drum production, yet excels in none of them. I think many people myself included were expecting an expanded Volca Drum with a purely digital sound source leaving the user free to programme any sound they please rather than a predetermined set of channels i.e. BD, SD, LT, HT etc. Most people don’t seem to like the analogue sounds too and I have to say, while I don’t ‘hate’ them, I’m just not impressed. I find the whole sound to be very boxy and mid-heavy. Other issues include the small display, quite a lot of menu-diving and what appears to be poor quality control in terms of the firmwire. Of course, for some this product is perfect and by all means I wish anyone who buys one all the best but looking at how much stock is available for a fairly new product post-Covid, it seems to have been a bit of a flop. I’m a self-confessed Korg fanboy, I wanted to love it but I can’t and I’ve decided not to bother.

[@rorz999]

​@@foljs5858 on Earth. This drum machine is barely more powerful than ones I used in the late 90s

[@glossywheel]

a bigger screen would've been nice considering how important the screen is to follow the parameter changes...also they should've implemented more digital voices like the 1010 razmatazz

[@shitmandood]

That’s the same as the Minilogue or other logue devices

[@glossywheel]

@@shitmandood agreed. Have the Minilogue XD and love it but if you’re going to need a lot of menu diving they should at least make it a less of a slog with appropriate sized screens and knobs.

[@ruffiankickloops]

Where's the Electribe 3 ?? Lol

[@Jason75913]

It is overdue

[@ChristopherOrth]

Given that this isn't a super powerful drum machine + it's price, the new Roland SH-4D looks even more appealing.

[@deepnlow808]

I got one and sent it back, the timing was off when using an external clock - it was lagging behind.

[@PorchBass]

I took a tt606 to the store to see if it would play in time synced. I didn't buy. The HH samples are disappointingly dull too

[@basicnoise]

But doesn't the way the save kits and patterns differently gives you the possibility to change patterns while tweakin sounds? and the tweaked sound will remain when changin pattern? This is something I wanted since the electribes.

[@sonicstate]

Yes that's also true. I guess it's one or the other.

[@cresshead]

Recording notes from the synth voice is via 'motion record' as the drumlogue doesn't record 'midi notes' really.

[@ZTAudio]

ANOTHER drum machine with no proper Song Mode?! I really don't know what these companies are thinking.

[@McEnroe911]

Don’t need a song mode for a 20 second Instagram clip 🕺

[@kgbinfo]

I guess you’ll have to play it like it’s a musical instrument. Darn.

[@teamcoalhapcharcoal]

Song mode is a meme, the appeal of these boxes is that you can record 'live' drums, if you wanna mute/unmute over time just use a DAW

[@zarcon85]

I totally agree...i'm fed Up with dozens of Modern sequencers and Drumboxes without a Song Mode or at least pattern-chaining. Actually all of these are pretty useless To me, despite Tons of gimmicky Features they now come Up with. Why? Because i actually Like To write songs, and not toy around or Turn on and Off Tracks running in a Loop for hours.

[@comfortblanket]

I’m sure it has chain mode now.

[@ThePointingArrows]

Regarding the kit / pattern memory system: it might be a bit of a hassle, but I'd love it so much to be able to save kits on my digitakt!

[@danpreston564]

I can do kits on the Rytm. Give me the Digitakt structure all day long.

[@ThePointingArrows]

@@danpreston564 the neighbour's pasture is always greener

[@djtomoy]

that screen screams "not for old people!!"

[@stephb7958]

back to the future...welcome ms dos on floopy disk

[@TMOFD]

The TR-8s has the same Pattern & Kit saving too, where the Pattern only refers to the Kit. I've got the same problem with the System-8. This always bugs me. Seems to be a Japanese way of thinking. My Nord Lead 4r and Novation Summit have a better solution and the Elektron stuff. The new SH-4d will have the same problem unfortunately. It's good, of course, that you can save them separate, if you want to try out a different Kit with the pattern and vice versa but you could have like a higher level, maybe called project or something which saves all the changes. The kits and patterns wouldn't be affected.

[@ogasi1798]

Korg used to have this sort of thing dialled and i was a proper fanboy - those days are gone, now they just can't be arsed - don't worry though, there is a £1700 oddy kit coming soon 🤣

[@devondetroit2529]

They should have done one without the analogue drums, had 8 sample/digital voices and then 4 SDK logue slots with some polyphony.. anf then have maybe 2 SDK logue send effect slots. Then it would be open to be massively upgraded by third parties to do all sort of interesting things which would give it a long life

[@808music3]

This geezer is somewhat funnier than I thought. But hay you definitely have a good sense of humour 🤣🤣🤣

[@jikaymusic]

Spent a while trying one of these in store, was really enjoying it until it froze and I lost everything i'd created. Made some good sounds until that point though.

[@theleastsignificantbit4794]

I’m certain it will crash often, but it certainly saves one the trouble of implementing the clumsy save to memory function.

[@systemoftheabyss7383]

After the firmware update it’s been fine for me and pushed it pretty hard. It’s a cool drum machine. Initial firmware definitely crashed a lot when using nano eg’s etc.

[@frankenfrank9553]

A new device in 2022/23 for 600 bucks and sample memory is limited to 32MB 😂😂

[@Dudderlyful]

I mean what does that cost, 4 pence wholesale? Why not go nuts and double it to 64mg for 8 pence? I cannot see any reason why it would be that small. It's stingey!

[@frankenfrank9553]

@@Dudderlyful A few weeks ago I received a USB stick with 8 GB as a promotional gift (with promotional documents on the stick). Costs almost nothing nowadays.

[@barilochebarracuda846]

Thanks for the demo. The midi sequencing flaws and the saving process makes it a no go for me.

[@donaldpriola1807]

The lack of memory is a huge issue. Why can't designers have at a few gigs in there? Seems like an inexpensive addition, especially given the suggested retail of this box. I was shocked to see $599. It feels like a $350 box to me.

[@Eli_B3000]

Agree, and even at $350 I'd still waffle with the current sounds and whatnot. I agree on the memory thing too, if it's a Volca size, sure maybe limit costs, but anything over $300 should be able to have huge memory just like other electronics I own.

[@jevogroni4829]

yep.

[@MrWiredEbayGearFreak]

At 23:00 I have learned that I should send it back unopened...

[@gnarlysoundscapes7210]

I'll keep my DrumBrute... that thing looks like a headache to navigate. Loved the beats you made on it though.

[@josephkissel6062]

My drumbrute is a keeper ... Sounds great, easy and fun to use and no hidden functions. This Drumlogue, which I was initially interested in, seems too small and fiddly for all the functions and double-button pushing

[@kezstone1]

Thank you for the review. I wasn't impressed. If it were cheaper I may be interested. The much cheaper Roland tr6s has the same features under the hood as it's big brother, including the ability to load samples, plus audio over usb and now with an editor that really opens it up. I love Korg but they have fumbled the ball this time.

[@eddy_sonik]

👍I LOVE ! 💙⚪❤

[@6581punk]

Better than bum log I guess :)

[@Matt-Horizon]

I'd pick the digitakt over this. Fully digital, but sounds waaay better imo. Yeah i know they are different types machines

[@donkeroo1]

Should I even use a minilogue xd anymore?

[@Wagoo]

Why not? It's better than the Prologue in some ways (motion sequencer)

[@donkeroo1]

@@Wagoo Thanks! I really want one of these!!

[@Jason75913]

Minilogue XD + Drumlogue, if you are interested in the Drumlogue.

[@donkeroo1]

@@Jason75913 That’s the combo I would like, with SQ64 and NTS-1.

[@Jason75913]

@@donkeroo1 NTS-1 looks cool, but I doubt it will hold a candle to Boss or IKM effect pedals, no? But rightfully much cheaper. I wonder if it could even hold its own against the Zoom MS70CDR.

[@Gainn]

Seems like it could have been really good, but they shat the bed somewhere along the way and gave up.

[@argumentchannel]

Expensive

[@pozsoz]

Volume 900! Mine only went up to 11.

[@Jason75913]

Are you in Europe? 🤣

[@YanivhmTube]

The consept is good. But the product fail in 2 things: 1. Low memory 2. Not supporthing the original louge code.

[@synthanatomy]

hopefully Korg brings a Nick edition with the modified screen :)

[@corrosiveabuser]

I love Korg, I've recently bought the ARP2600m, MS20fs and SQ-1, and will be buying the NTS-2 when available, they really can go that extra mile, with regards to what people really want, and need, - but I can't help but feel that they've really dropped the ball here. In the 90s I had a Korg KR55B, - among other Korg instruments, - which I loved, and personally I would have been quite happy to have seen those characterful circuits resurrected, with some added editing controls, like decay, tuning, tone, etc, and a TR-style sequencer with maybe some drive and compression options, - again I feel they've over cooked this one, but I'm sure some will create amazing pieces of work with this unit. Usually Korg innovate, but this unit looks more like they're trying to compete. love to ALL, feel no hate

[@Matt-Horizon]

Ooff 2 synths i've been eyeballing aswell. I own an arp odyssey and i LOVE the sound. But would like an arp 2600 next to it for experimental use... maybe a bit over the top...

[@jevogroni4829]

why can't they just make an electribe that everybody wants. something you can use exactly like the old ones, but improved where possible. i.e. usb, sd, a cross fader, more effects. basically put all the volcas and electribes into one electribe 1 form factor. more outputs. better performance / transition abilities. hell why not make it a dj mixer. 🤷‍♂️

[@littlefrog726]

This is what happened when releasing a semi-finished product and letting users be the testers become a common sense😂

[@phelper4554]

For 399€ maybeeeee 😅

[@universalvibe72]

💯

[@twatmunro]

I do not need another drum machine. I do not need another drum machine. I do not NEED another drum machine. I do not.... ah, fuck it.

[@josephkissel6062]

I need another drum machine but it's not going to be this one ...

[@Enterchanne1name]

>wood panels stained black I don't understand why Korg would make the "logue" series of instruments if their looks are not going to be consistent.

[@josephkissel6062]

This is not really pleasing to look at ... And in a dim-lit studio seems like it would disappear ...

[@geluix69]

Nope, I'll stick with my TR8S.

[@jevogroni4829]

this reminds me a lot of the electribe 2. gonna be waiting for it to start selling at half price or less for a long time. otherwise no.

[@BrancoArgenta]

World: Mr Korg The Whole World can't wait for the new Electribe 3 finally addressing all the flaws of the previous Electribe 2! Mr Korg: Very well then ...Enter the DrumLogue!

[@djkanyon]

In a way Drumloge is Electribe 3 but they knew they would fail so they call it drum machine... Just in case if someone criticize their sinevibes vsts, they would write it off claiming "it's just an extra, what did you expect"... Still waiting on Electribe 3 tho.

[@BrancoArgenta]

​@@djkanyonOr a Samplogue!

[@landanr5037]

In a world of multi use groove boxes I'm just not sure where products like this fit anymore... MPC one is regularly on sale for 500-600$ and has a long list of other features

[@Jason75913]

More hands-on sound design controls like the Electribes. So this will clearly appeal to similarly-minded folks and Electribe users. With odd limitations.

[@Jason75913]

@Synth Cat The newer Electribes are quite popular, despite their annoying limitations and under-powered DSP/CPU.

[@dcpayne5264]

Sequential need to release the Tempest 2. Double the voices, add user samples - would be perfection. I have a tempest and it is such an an amazing instrument- but to get full all in one groove box it needs double the polyphony

[@Eli_B3000]

Yeahhh, I mean there is a sampler in mine, a Mellotron, a Minimoog, a FM synth, etc. It's not just a sampler and drum programing tool, there's chord progressions, all kinds of useful things. I wanted to like this box, but so far I haven't heard much that felt inspired. Even the Volca drum seems to have a lot cooler sounds somehow at like $120.

[@jevogroni4829]

I'd certainly rather have 1 or 2 old electribes than this thing

[@pinatacolada7986]

So a new drum machine in 2023 can't do what a 40 year old sampler can.

[@acidvideothomas8383]

drumflop

[@fiufiufi]

korg going elektron?

[@BlackCat-on6jn]

A drumlogue which is drumlogue.

[@user82938]

Wish you'd used the Tom's Diner break.

[@ThatJerseyBloke]

Nice review but until there's rack ears for it, it's a pass.

[@klong1394]

Oof damn pricey for the feature set. 32MB? 64 steps? #Whatyearisit? Like the multiple outs and synth voices. For me it's a pass as it looks a bit clunky and possibly buggy (like my sq64 nightmare). For that money I would want a large memory for user samples, 256 steps, and step per voice.

[@crowwing]

can you sequence midi notes out? ie. control external synths?

[@deborahpickett1006]

The MIDI implementation diagram at the back of the drumlogue manual says that yes, you can. You can set it so that each part goes to its own channel or to different notes on a single channel.

[@crowwing]

@@deborahpickett1006 i think that means it can trigger stuff but not actually sequence melodies.

[@regplasma7906]

Great demo , on a not so great drum machine.

[@altenmuenster]

can't beat a Digitakt ~

[@muzikman2008]

Oh dear!.. Korg should not be releasing this with the software side unfinished & buggy. Cheeses me off and loses my interest straight away. Great concept, but saving projects should be like the MPC way, a job lot of data per song. But I guess more storage, memory etc is required too. I remember seeing the drumlogue at synthfest and walking past it lol.. Shame.. Roland seem to have beat korg on this one.. Sorry 🙁

[@zinghao131]

Can you midi control the drums? Or is it just the synth bit?

[@jbachman01]

It’s got midi in so I believe so

[@zinghao131]

@@jbachman01 Faith is not knowledge! 😀 The keyboard obvs plays the bassline ONLY in this video, not heard any example that suggests any different. Korg sequencers are categorically jacks**t (always been the weakest point of any machine they released). That's why I'm asking.

[@sammadden5540]

Using motion sequencing for pitchs on the volca sample I'll accept. On a real drum machine that's a joke

[@EMarSounds]

Can you load external sound libraries into that Artura keyboard/midi keyboard? like Kontakt player libraries? Could this Korg Drumlogue be compared to the Elektron Analog Rytm, I'm thinking about getting an Elektron, not sure. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6DZapx8rqp6mZI

[@ozgur_yildirim]

Sounds good. But I expected a better grasp of understanding how these things work from Japanese.

[@strangersun7721]

Not too impressed. I could see this one heading to the liquidation bin like the similarly screwy sq 64 or the criminally under-bought opsix.

[@everpuremusic]

Can’t help but thinking this is a volca beats and a volca sample thrown into one box, with a glorified minilogue sequencer on top.

[@djkanyon]

I think it is! You summed it up!

[@romulus_]

there are easier, cheaper ways to do everything this unit does. seems unintuitive.

[@thecasualreviewer2148]

Hard pass. Thanks for the video though. Keep em coming.

[@paulmorphy6187]

It really doesn't look very inviting for the price tbh

[@MrFunktone]

I'm unimpressed. For all the hype that surrounded this drum machine it's seriously lacking in a number of places. I won't be buying one myself, if I wanted analog I'd probably get a cheap clone at half the price that delivers that sound or like Nick suggested, spend another ton and get a fully functional digital machine

[@orionswitness]

All these drum machines are sounding roughly the same . Can’t help thinking of bands like New Order , who despite using technology as well as anyone , continue to use a real drummer , a real bass player, a real keyboard player , a real guitar player and a real singer . They have created scores of memorable songs , but who cares about which drum machine or keyboard they used ? You can recreate Blue Monday on a $500 keyboard or in any Daw . But they created it ..they didn’t just fiddle with knobs . End of rant .

[@djkanyon]

Still have no idea why Korg even release it. Maybe in 2014-2018 slot... but not now. Analog kit sounds like Volca kick and the tiny knobs and miniscule lights with all the menu diving... WHY. For a 3 hundreds - yes.

[@noiseappreciationcrew134]

Not very impressed with this at all. I'm only halfway through the review and already I know I don't want it. It just seems clunky, rushed and unfinished. Almost like Korg management were determined to get this out at all costs whether it was ready or not. So many better alternatives, and for the price this is ? No way. This just doesn't cut it for me at all. Seems like a missed opportunity. Shame.

[@IntiAlonso]

Sad to say this thing sounds awful, don't kow what they did, but it is missing a lot of punch. They should do a modern take into the 70s beauty the KR-55 was.

[@Jason75913]

EQ and maybe compress, which you need to do anyway for a mix.

[@nicholasfaith8999]

To be fair, until you produce/engineer the outs on the KR55 and KPR77, neither are that special. I think this could sound great. Licinius hit the nail on the head, eq, compression, layering this and it could be a winner

[@gregoryzaharias1831]

It’s the dude not the machine

[@Patriotic_Eagle1995]

Hope you never hear an actual 808, you'll be even more disappointed 🤣

[@nicholasfaith8999]

@@Patriotic_Eagle1995 who is this in response to?

[@guidelineuk4876]

32MB memory ....... that is an absolute joke...

[@jevogroni4829]

the early reviewers showed us the same thing. this machine is a hard pass 👎

[@djjuno106]

i think the new roland groovebox will kill this off ,this product came out too late and i think the kick/snares sound weak in demos ive heard ..real shame i love korg but i think they should have done a grown up korg volca drum instead of this.

[@GTChris]

I would argue that the Roland SH-4D has no user samples or open source engine. Which does open up a world of sounds.

[@Kdkjdjewerdnxa]

This is closer to a syntakt, which I also personally think is better. I don’t think either will kill this though, there are still reasons to pick this over the other two esp the user modding + user oscillators

[@Jason75913]

​@@vjfxtheory "more personnality" Drumlogue sounds just like Volca Drum and Drumbrute Impact, but in need of a bit of subbass boost. Indeed, not for everyone or a wide range if use cases. SH-4d doesn't sound generic, it sounds Roland. Not a whole lot out there sounds like Roland beyond Roland gear and Rob Papen synth VSTs.

[@dorbid]

This is a grown up volca drum, that’s the problem.

[@GizzyDillespee]

@@dorbid that would be a feature not a bug

[@Nikmas23]

Gotta say, I think this sounds awful. And I’m a fan of the OG Drumbrute!