Minilogue XD Sound Design Tutorial 1

Here is a series of short tutorials for making basic and useful sounds using the Korg Minilogue XD. This video is geared toward beginner sound designers, or those simply interested in how the XD sounds.
These techniques can essentially be reproduced on almost any synth, but there are some tones here that are more-or-less unique to the XD.
For those of you who own a Minilogue XD, I have these sounds and more available in preset packs on my website!
ko-fi.com/mythmakermusic
00:15 - Trance Lead
3:44 - Basic Brass
4:57 - Retro Game Chip
7:06 - Dub Stab
10:07 - Stab into Swell
11:36 - Some Hidden Stock "User" Waveforms
12:54 - Electronica Keys
Thank you for watching!
Let me know what you think in the comments!
Please feel free to help support my passion and love for music by droppin' some change into my hat at Paypal. I will greatly appreciate any contribution! It really helps me out!
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Check out some random merch! (not Myth Maker stuff, just some music-related graphic design that I do):
www.teepublic.com/user/s0nics...

[@zdf14]

I just got an XD as my first synth and this was super helpful. Thanks so much for doing this!

[@MythMakerMusik]

Have fun! Great choice for a first synth

[@EricF]

I’m really early in my synth journey and this was absolutely perfect to push me farther along with some simple and very usable sounds. Thanks!

[@MythMakerMusik]

I'm glad I could help! Thanks for watching. Have fun on your synth journey!

[@Dubstepconcept]

Thank you so much for this dude, just got mine and was lost, now I’m found. Part 2 tomorrow, cheers!

[@chrishartnett8652]

great work! keen to see more of these. I'm a noob but having a lot of fun with this toy!

[@jamesswinbanks]

This is awesome, thank you so much for this.

[@iamgeorgesears]

Simple stuff like this goes a long way when one has a creative block. Good tutorial.

[@joeldallas1794]

Enjoyed the XD videos - awesome!

[@sensium9757]

I received mine today. Very good video, thanks

[@Thantas]

I am waiting for my Minilogue XD to be shipped and I ll use your tutorials as source! thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@MythMakerMusik]

Thanks for checking out my tutorials! I hope you have fun with your new synth :)

[@coltonlapp4193]

nice tutorials man. Hit the perfect amount of explanation, the sounds are good and explained clearly - nice!

[@MythMakerMusik]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@akissparaskevopoulos]

Very helpful video. Thank you.

[@zaffrolumpkins]

That was great! Thank you

[@LemureDeiCampiElisi]

Good Tutorial, thanks!

[@Nik-it5yo]

Thanks a lot! This video really gave me a lot of inspirations

[@trescon5989]

Thanks a lot. It will definitely help me a lot.

[@RemitheDreamfox]

Very handy guide, thank you :D

[@aubreymack8138]

Hey man! Just picked this up yesterday and found your video super helpful! Anazing job

[@MythMakerMusik]

Thanks! I hope the video was helpful to you. Have fun with your new synth! It's a lot of fun to play.

[@csrader]

Very useful

[@hughclyne3985]

Thank you

[@MythMakerMusik]

You're welcome!

[@Kuzmo]

Thanks man

[@MythMakerMusik]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@astrologyambience240]

Wow - nice & easy to follow ( for a noob). TY M&M

[@MythMakerMusik]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you found my video useful.

[@New_Zealand_Music]

Thank you very much for the tutorial. Sub :)

[@XsavioR38]

more! you got the magic i need, but im stupid i need more. Im starting to understand which nob to turn when but moreeeeee.

[@XXasfc123]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that you probably wake up around..9 o clock 😆all jokes aside I did enjoy the tutorial!

[@MythMakerMusik]

I should replace my clock with a filter knob.

[@Dubstepconcept]

My XD doesnt show the value when changing the time and decay etc, is there a setting I have off per chance? Edit: Figured it out, it was in parameter display in global settings. Cheers!

[@BEATSBYJAREL]

The best value is your ear

[@NIZKIZ]

Have you ever had a tuning issues with xd? I repeated all the steps but your D flat sounded flatter than mine. I checked with the tuner and had to tune the synth one cent lower in order for it to be in tune. Btw, sometimes after I make a patch with long releases and play several notes at the same time, the synth goes out of tune. I mean, for example if I hit C and other C octave higher they are audibly out of tune with each other. That keeps being like this even if I swith to init patch. And sometimes even if I press the same key several times in a row it can play the second time almost a semitone higher and then goes back on the 3rd one and so on.

[@MythMakerMusik]

That sounds like you may have an issue with your synth. Does it tune when it powers on? Also, while it's on, you can press and hold Shift then Rec and it will tune itself (takes about 30 seconds to a minute). Another thing to check is to make sure the LFO is not set to pitch and is totally turned off. Also make sure you have the latest firmware update installed (System Updater 2.10). I remember a couple of years ago there were some tuning issues that firmware updates fixed. If these solutions don't work, I think your synth may have a real issue. On another note, I have my global tune set to -32 cents and I also usually have a micro-tuned custom scale set that is extremely close to standard equal temperament, but a little bit different, so tuning to my synth will be a challenge under normal circumstances.

[@shirin6915]

hey, thanks for the tutorial! Good tips, but it was a bit fast for me (as a beginner).

[@MythMakerMusik]

Thanks for letting me know. I'll put more context in my future tutorials going more in depth into what it is that's happening with the sound.

[@drahtmachine4601]

Hi that's a handy video, thanks. Every time you turn a knob, you get percentages I your display, can't find the settings for this because my xd doesn't do it. Do you any idea ? Thanks

[@MythMakerMusik]

If you go into the Global Settings, click the 6th lit up button, it should say "Parameter Display," set it to "All"

[@drahtmachine4601]

@@MythMakerMusik 👍thank you.

[@wubwub616]

i have a problem with the initiate program. When I go to a new initiate program section, I can hear no voice. But when I change the mod, suddenly I start hearing the sound. Could you tell me what this is about?

[@MythMakerMusik]

That sounds like a control panel glitch. Do you have the latest firmware update? 2.01. It sounds to me like you need to update the control panel. After you update the firmware, you will also have to do a control panel update. There are instructions in a text file included with the update. If that's not the case, try a factory reset. Save all the patches you made using the librarian software first, because you'll lose all of them during the reset.

[@santoslimon306]

How did you get to show the VCO levels when adjusting the knobs!!

[@MythMakerMusik]

Go into the settings menu, Global Settings, click the 6th lit up button, it should say "Parameter Display," set it to "All"

[@el_camino_real]

hi, I have a problem, when I want to start preset from scratch and press shift play, key trig on / off pops up.Also trying shift and first seq button and also nothing. Please help. greetings

[@MythMakerMusik]

In order to initialize a preset, you have to go to Program Edit, click Sequencer Button 13, "Initialize Execute...?" shows up, the spin the Program/Value knob one click clockwise and "Press WRITE" will show up. Then press the Write button and the present will be initialized.

[@CarloAltomare]

When I am turning the knobs for decay or sustain for example, I don't see the values appearing in the window and changing. Just doesn't appear. Any reason you can think of why that is so? Something must be turned off. Thanks for you thoughts on this. Carlo

[@MythMakerMusik]

If you go into the Global Settings, click the 6th lit up button, it should say "Parameter Display," set it to "All"

[@CarloAltomare]

@@MythMakerMusik Thank you so much!! That did it! Much appreciated.

[@yashjolapara5048]

hey, do I need TRS to TRS / ts to ts / ts (minilogue xd) to TRS(audio interface) to record the synth?

[@MythMakerMusik]

I use two TS cables out of the L and R outputs and send them to a L/R stereo channel on my mixer when using stereo effects. Otherwise I just use one TS cable from the L (mono output) and send it to a mono track when recording (adding effects in post-production) Using a two TS (from the Minilogue) to single TRS Y-Cable works if you have something with a TRS input.

[@yashjolapara5048]

@@MythMakerMusik thank you

[@robertchamberlain]

Great tutorial @Myth Maker! I’m thinking of trading in the old Mini for the XD, but I’m trying to keep the velocity sensitive filter cutoff option. I know the switch for that control is not on the XD, but is there a menu option that does the same thing?

[@MythMakerMusik]

I can't remember exactly what that option was like on the original Minilogue, but on the XD there is an option in the "Program Edit" menu (button 8) that will give you an "EG Velocity" setting that you can set from 0-127. This will allow velocity to control the intensity of the envelope generator, so if you set the EG to filter cutoff, it will affect the cutoff according to your envelope settings. Also keep in mind, the XD doesn't have a dedicated Pitch Envelope. You have to choose between Pitch or Cutoff and can't have both like the original one.

[@robertchamberlain]

Riiiight right.... yeah there’s so many little differences between the two. I dig having the velocity switch because it just opens the filter based on your velocity. On the XD it seems like there would essentially be a decay stage in addition since it’s an EG, right?

[@MythMakerMusik]

@@robertchamberlain Indeed. There's always a decay stage and the maximum is about 10 seconds. There isn't a sustain or release on the EG. Kind of a bummer. So it might not behave the way you'd want it unless you move to a new note or chord in under 10 seconds.

[@robertchamberlain]

@@MythMakerMusik I'm actually wanting to use it with a drum pad to play bass and melodic lines. The OG Minilogue works great for that (and for ambient music), but I'm getting into semi modular territory these days, and the 2 CV ins sound like a reeeeeal nice thing to have.

[@MythMakerMusik]

@@robertchamberlain I've been looking into getting a modular LFO just for the Minilogue XD so I can take advantage of those CV inputs.

[@F_letc.h]

Question: do you ever hear a clicking sound when playing notes while using the multi engine? Especially at lower octaves? The sine 1 seems to be particularly clicky.

[@MythMakerMusik]

The only time I hear a click is if I have an extremely short release time. I'll hear a slight click when I lift up the key and the sound abruptly stops. Other than that, I haven't noticed any clicking on the attack.

[@F_letc.h]

@@MythMakerMusik Interesting. Would you mind doing me a favor? Could you go to preset 154, put the XD at it’s lowest octave, set the XD to unison, and then open the release all the way to give the longest tail possible, and then play the notes a bit. Play them as if you were creating a trap music bass line with a long release. Are you not hearing any clicks at all when press down on the keys?

[@MythMakerMusik]

@@F_letc.h Yea I hear a click on that patch. It's the snappy attack on the envelope. If you lengthen the attack just a tiny bit to around 30-35, the click goes away and the attack is still just as fast.

[@brokenpoolhall]

So you can make a sub osc with the user osc?

[@MythMakerMusik]

Yep. The default factory user oscillator is a kind of square-ish wave. If you go to the program settings click the 6th lit up button and scroll over to multi, you can change the octave setting and make it a sub oscillator.

[@brokenpoolhall]

@@MythMakerMusik You’ve just sold me on picking one of these up✌️

[@MythMakerMusik]

@@brokenpoolhall Nice! I use mine all the time :) I think you'll like it.

[@paulwalsh6734]

how did you record the audio for this video? im wearing headphones but it sounds like its coming from the speakers which i have turned off.

[@MythMakerMusik]

I just used the microphone on my iphone. I was real lazy with this one.

[@paulwalsh6734]

@@MythMakerMusik theres something about this recording man....i wasnt aware iphones recorded in stereo. i dont know how to explain it. when you click the butons etc it sounds like im actually in the room you recorded it in. your voice is at a consistent level and super clear. the audio from korg xd is super clear. i cant hear anything from the room if you know what i mean. is the room treated?

[@MythMakerMusik]

@@paulwalsh6734 My mistake! I actually recorded this with a Canon SL2 and its onboard microphone. Not my iPhone. Sorry about the confusion. And yes, my room is somewhat treated. I have stretched canvas paintings all over the walls and I filled the frames behind the canvas with foam rubber.

[@1984Adamr]

Roland JP 8000 best trance synth ever

[@MythMakerMusik]

That's the one that started it all

[@1984Adamr]

There was trance music before the release of the the Jp8000 and the Supersaw but it was the jp8000 Supersaw Oscillator that made trance massive and gave it that huge sound that is so famous and made trance music what it became in the the late 90’s / early 2000’s

[@1984Adamr]

Roland made dance music, first with acid house made with the TB 303 then Hardcore Rave with the SH101 and Alpha Juno with the hoover sound then the JP8000 with its Supersaw. No other Synth company can claim defining a music style as Roland can with its synthesizers.

[@BluffMunkey]

Whispers - Roland JP, not Jupiter.

[@cd78]

Too much talking