Korg MicroStation shrinks down the synth for first-timers
Nowadays, anyone with a laptop, a dream and a vague grasp on tonality can lay down their own DIY demo. But for those with more serious musical aspirations, Korg's MicroStation might be worth a look. The shrunken-down sequencer arrives as a $399 My First Synth of sorts, combining dual arpeggiators, 480 effects and 61 "natural touch" keys in a compact form factor that should play nice with novice musicians. The keyboard also features an SD slot for saving and transporting your future Top 40 (college radio) hits, a USB port for easy connection to your home or studio computer and comes packaged with editing software: MicroStation Editor and MicroStation Plug-in Editor. If any or all of that rings your bell, you can snag it now at the source below.
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Korg Announces Latest MicroStation Keyboard – a "Micro Multi-Tool" That Boasts Advanced User-Friendly Features
MELVILLE, NY – (November 27, 2012) - Korg once again re-defines the creative songwriting process with its new MicroStation. Featuring a small size and even smaller price, the MicroStation also includes the additional benefit of being a songwriting tool with its quick and intuitive onboard sequencer for recording. It's ideal for beginners as a live keyboard, or for guitar players looking to easily lay down some drum tracks. The MicroStation plugs into your laptop or tablet with ease to provide a top-notch personal music tool unlike any other on the market.
Compact and portable, the MicroStation features Korg's 61-key Natural Touch mini keyboard, numerous effects, dual arpeggiators and 16 tracks of MIDI recording power to transform musical ideas into polished productions.
The MicroStation is an ideal first keyboard, plus a welcome addition to any studio or home. To benefit novice sequencer users, new features such as easily accessible Loop Recording and Visual Grid Sequencing have been added to jump-start any type of music production.
The 61-key Natural Touch Mini-Keyboard has been acclaimed for its ease of playing. The proportion of the black keys and white keys has been adjusted so that chords are comfortable to play, and the feel is designed to allow rapid phrases to be performed with ease.
Korg's world-class programming is featured in several hundred sounds, a variety of drum kits, and audition riffs that let users hear a selected sound in context before choosing it. The MicroStation also provides an SD card slot, allowing users to save their Programs, Combinations and song data directly onto an SD/SDHC card.
The MicroStation's knobs and controllers are located for easy use. Frequently used parameters can be assigned to the four real-time control knobs for convenient sound editing or for performing with the arpeggiator. With the External switch on, these four knobs can be used to control an external MIDI device. A joystick is provided for even more expressive potential.
For detailed editing of Programs, Combinations, Drum kits and Arpeggio patterns, the MicroStation is bundled with the "MicroStation Editor" and "MicroStation Plug-In Editor" software.
The Korg MicroStation is available now at a variety of retailers for U.S. $399.
