MIDICraft's MIDINET CD-ROM/MIDICraft's MIDINET CD-ROM.iso/KORG_I-S/ISPECS/KRI5S_2.TXT

Text File | 1997-04-28 | 7.7 KB | 149 lines

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URL  : http://www.musicians-net.co.uk/KR/KRi5S_2.html
Title: Korg i5S



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     Contemporary styles are usually more of a minefield for the style
     programmer, and the i5S might be considered brave in providing such a
     wide range of them - from blues to techno. Several, to be honest, are
     complete bunk: I can't see Snoop Doggy Dogg shouting along to the i5S's
     rap style, and, despite the programming effort that's obviously gone
     into them, moshing to the (very American) Rock and HardRock
     auto-accompaniments probably won't catch on either. Bourbon Street and
     Dixieland, meanwhile, are amusing but perhaps too OTT to be of much use.
     Surprisingly, though, the rest are pretty good. The Disco style is
     suitably cheesy, with strings everywhere, the PopShuffle could have come
     straight off any number of records, and the Twist will no doubt cause a
     huge number of ankle injuries; while, getting back to roots, Blues2 and
     R&B stand out admirably. Difficult styles such as Reggae and Techno are
     even more impressively programmed - I swear that I recognise the last
     one from a real dance track.

     If you, too, have a strange sense of deja vu after listening to the
     styles in the first two banks, just wait until you see what's loaded
     into the user bank as a default. 'Unchain Me' - hmmm, I wonder which
     recently resurrected classic that could be? Which seminal '60s track
     does P Harlum imitate? And repeat after me - Simon says she's convinced
     she's heard Carl Vain somewhere before... For the semi-professional
     performer or amateur out to entertain family and friends, these styles
     could make an evening.

As a company better known for their sounds than their pre-programmed rhythms,
then, Korg have done extremely well with the i5S's styles. There are 320 of
the former, so with a pedigree dating back to the classic X3 synth, we should
be in for a real treat with the tones, right? Well, yes and no...

     General MIDI sounds reside in banks A and B, with a numbering scheme
     from 11 to 88 which suits the i5S perfectly but could prove confusing
     for some users. The first presets in bank A, the pianos and organs, are
     decent lead sounds, with the basic piano and BX3 Organ being
     particularly appealing. Elsewhere, the standard 128 GM sounds are more
     of a mixed bag. The classical guitar is unconvincing, while the
     steel-stringed acoustic is nicely done; there's a good distortion-effect
     guitar, but most of the other electrics aren't worth using. Similarly,
     the brass presets and solo strings sound very obviously synthesised;
     however, the string ensembles are a touch above most comparable sounds,
     and woodwind tones such as Clarinet would make lovely lead instruments.
     The pattern continues as we move towards the esoteric high end of the GM
     set - lousy birdsong and bagpipes, great stadium applause.

     It's in the remaining four banks (C, D, E, and a user bank) where Korg's
     sound designers, unrestrained by the General MIDI specification, have
     located the most rewarding sounds. In general, these pick up on the
     strong points of the GM set and offer further, more imaginative,
     variations to add to your set of lead sounds. Thus there's a wide
     selection of piano and organ sounds, with a few accordions thrown in for
     good measure, and some flashier synth pads than the GM specification
     allows. Even the guitars manage to salvage some glory with a rather fun
     Powerchord patch and some livelier acoustic sounds. Surprisingly, two of
     the best patches, ARP Lead and PietString (the latter one of many
     excellent string sections outside banks A and B), are to be found in the
     user set, which bodes well for any i5S sound disks that Korg release.

     Again, there's no facility for programming new sounds although, once
     you've navigated through the LCD pages to select a second instrument, a
     Mode Select button allows you to layer two sounds easily. There's also
     Korg's standard set of effects - 47 in all, ranging from a set of
     reverbs, through some tremendous distortion, to the trendy rotary
     speaker sound, with two effects able to be used simultaneously. It's
     worth shuffling through the LCD pages to set these up for each style, as
     they can really add some life to the sound and make the less realistic
     GM presets more palatable. Unlike those on some keyboards, the speakers
     on the i5S actually do justice to the work that's gone into the
     electronics - the bass response is excellent, and stereo can be used to
     full effect if you pan different sounds between the two.

     Verdict

     Korg have finally managed it. After several attempts such as the i3 and
     the i4S, which seemed to say "We'd quite like to make a home keyboard,
     but we're a synth company really", the new i5S is taking the market
     square-on with a range of features ideal for the home player.

     Once it's set up, obtaining impressive results with the i5S is child's
     play. The ability to load in backing sequences and call up a style with
     your choice of effects, lead instrument and volume balance will appeal
     to semi-professional pub and club players as much to those who like to
     keep their home keyboard in the home - high praise indeed. And those
     styles... cover bands across Britain are no doubt rubbing their hands
     with glee at the thought of gaining access to star sounds so easily,
     while those with a more original bent will be overjoyed at the huge
     number of variations on standard styles and the imagination that has
     gone into the contemporary rhythms.

Do be aware, though, that although it's possible just to sit down and play
along to the preset styles, it will initially take a fair bit of
head-scratching before you can get the best out of the i5S. The editing
system isn't obtuse enough that it should put anyone off the machine -
especially when the rest of the keyboard is so inviting - but it's a bit of a
chore deciphering all the abbreviations on the sparsely annotated pages of
LCD info.

     Any criticisms of the i5S are bound to seem churlish in view of the
     price - ú1,099. The only competitor with anywhere near the range of
     instruments and styles is the Technics KN1200, a better choice if you
     want to be able to edit sounds, but given the i5S's much larger range of
     instruments, styles, and effects, Korg have at last made a convincing
     claim for a place in the market for the keyboard player who just wants
     to sit down and play. It's about time.

Product name: Korg i5S
Product function: Home keyboard
Country of origin: Japan
Keyboard: 61 keys, velocity-sensitive
Sounds: 384, including 128 GM sounds
Styles: 192
Effects: 2 processors, 47 effects
Polyphony: 32 notes
Multitimbrality: Up to 16 (for disk playback)
Sequencer: 10 backing sequences. Plays Standard MIDI Files.
Display: 2 x 20 character LCD
Connections: L/Mono and R audio outputs; L/Mono and R audio inputs; stereo
headphones; MIDI In, Out, Thru; direct PC/Mac interface; EC5 board, damper
pedal, assignable pedal/switch
Disk drive: 3.5", DD or HD
Price (inc VAT): ú1,099
Further information: Korg UK, 9 Newmarket Court, Kingston, Milton Keynes,
MK10 0AU Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] What we like...
o Superb range of styles
o Intelligent chord sensing
o Good lead instruments

What we don't...
o Tricky to set up
o Some sounds could be better

Bottom line...
o An easy way to sound like the pros with the minimum of effort


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Photos: Richard Ecclestone / HTML: Richard Fairhurst