Korg X-50 What Do You Think?

[verve92]

Hey all,
Stumbled upon a cheap used X-50. Of course my local music store is out of stock so can't hear in person. This is why I have you guys!
I need to add a synth that has nice strings and decent drum sounds and a useful arpeggiator.
The Demo's sound good, but youtube vids are not ideal.
BTW- Does Betty Ford Rehab have a wing for synths? I think I need to go to detox!

Thanx

[Mr. Varaldo]

I think the X50 / microX sounds great....

I used to have a microX and it's one keyboard I regret selling.

I have plenty of microX audio demos in hi-res mp3 if you want to hear them. The microX is a bit different from the X50 (has a few more dance-oriented samples in ROM) but in essence they are the same:

microX audio demos

I hope this helps.

[verve92]

Very nice and helpful.
Complex sounds. Just what I'm looking for.
How is the programming work? Are they just presets? I assume it's not like subtractive synths where you build the sounds from ground up. Rather like workstation synths
Say you come across a good patch can you tweak? I saw in a demo it had 4 knobs on the upper right that controlled attack, reverb, etc.

[Mr. Varaldo]

Originally Posted by verve92

Very nice and helpful.
Complex sounds. Just what I'm looking for.
How is the programming work? Are they just presets? I assume it's not like subtractive synths where you build the sounds from ground up. Rather like workstation synths
Say you come across a good patch can you tweak? I saw in a demo it had 4 knobs on the upper right that controlled attack, reverb, etc.

It is a full synth, with a Triton-like HI (Hyper Integrated) synthesis engine with 64MB PCM ROM. You can edit the existing presets and/or create your sound from scratch. You can also use the computer editor software that comes with it to edit with more ease on a large screen.

If you download the pdf manual at http://www.korg.com/uploads/Support/...1541940000.pdf you can get a better idea of the synthesis capability of the X50.

[tvsky]

how cheap is cheap?

I would pay 400ish for a x50/micro-x and no more . I got a mint hardly used m50 for 700 with more poly , brilliant touch screen and the new EDS synth engine. 2nd hand TR synths come up around that price and feature rom expansion and sampling which would be my pick over the x50 if you get a good price on one.

if your after a good sounding rompler with nice efx and a useful synth engine , the HI synths are a very good choice . they excel at strings , pads , soundscapes and have a very smooth polished sound. I use my m50 pretty much just for that sort of stuff . but it does some nice synth stabs and basses too.

one of the main thing going against these synths is there are so many of them , triton's , triton LEs , karmas , TR's , X series . All are basically the same core engine with bits and bobs. all of those feature some or all of rom expansion , touch screens , z1 daughter boards , sampling upgrades . 2nd hand they can be more attractive than the x50 depending on prices.

[percussion boy]

I have an x50.

The short answer: It's usable but not fun.

-------------
The most important thing to know about the x50 is the physical construction.

The good side: It's REALLY light -- gotta be under 10 pounds, for 5 octave keyboard with two wheels and four knobs.

The bad side (for some people): The keyboard action does not have much resistance -- probably the lightest action I've seen on a five octave keyboard aimed at musicians (as opposed to cheap digital pianos for kids).

I don't mind the action, but from what I've read some people mind it a lot.

---------
Re your sound requirements:

Overall, the sound has a certain haziness to the sound that a lot of the cheaper Korg stuff has.

The drums sound like your typical rompler drums.

The strings are interesting; some actually sound more real and edgy than you'd hear on an older synth. It's also possible to program decent "cheesy analog string synth" strings. However, imo none of the string section patches will sound sweet like real analog, the synth engine just isn't that full or warm.

Some of the multilayered presets with arpeggiator are very dramatic, although none of the individual sounds synth sounds has a lot of meat to it.

There are two arpeggiators and the options are more than you might expect, but I don't find the arps. easy to access -- went through the manual and ended not bothering with 'em. You could do a lot if you wanted to, though.

------------
Last thoughts: If the price is right, the x50 could be useful for live performances -- easy to sling over your shoulder in a keyboard bag, and all the basic sounds are fine through an amp. The piano is decent if you shut off the effects.

The x50 can cover a lot of different sounds decently, just doesn't seem to do anything great.

Hope this helps.

[verve92]

Yeah, the M-50 is a bit out of my range.
The X-50 is around $400 my impression of the seller is desperation. A buyer's market these days. The majority of the sounds I will be using for the X-50 will be back in the mix- and my other fatter synths up front. I really like what I hear of the arps. Also the sound editor looks quite good a the LCD screeen is small.
Has anyone recorded with it? I noticed used a friends Yamaha rompler (can't remember model YPG-235 it had speakers), but it was out shined by my SH-01 and Juno 1 both of which sat in the mix well, hence my tendency to mix back the X-50 if in fact it this is the case.

[wwjd]

I also have an X50 and recently dived into the full programming side. It IS fully programmable like a synth, but the WAVES in it are samples and subject to getting goofy sounding on the low end. that hasn't REALLY created any issues for me - I just call it "Character" of this particular synth.

The software really helped me come to grips the menu diving you have to do on the keyboard itself. So, after a couple hours learning the Computer software, everything made perfect sense in the X50 menus.

One real neat feature I was surpised and excited to find, was "RANDOM". This alters the pitch of each note played at a random degree giving it that less than perfect old analog flavor when needed. Up to 3 or 4 is grand, much beyond that and things just sound broken.

On the downside, recording wise, I notice the X50 has this weird high end roll off. The other guy described it as fuzziness, and maybe that is what I hear. It's like it is not clear up top very well. VERY USABLE, don't get me wrong, but after messing with VSTis for a day, the X50 sounds less vibrant, and a little flat. Nothing programming and EQ can't fix for the extra work.... it sounds to me like the X50 is limited to 32k samples or something...

anyway, I like it, and am keeping it. does a lot of handy stuff

[percussion boy]

Originally Posted by wwjd

On the downside, recording wise, I notice the X50 has this weird high end roll off. The other guy described it as fuzziness, and maybe that is what I hear. It's like it is not clear up top very well. VERY USABLE, don't get me wrong, but after messing with VSTis for a day, the X50 sounds less vibrant, and a little flat. Nothing programming and EQ can't fix for the extra work.... it sounds to me like the X50 is limited to 32k samples or something...

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say about haziness. I've done some simple recording and programming with it, but the flat vibe makes me ignore the x50 in favor of other hard and soft synths.

Could be interesting to record an x50 through external effects, and/or through an amp. Give it a little more character.

There might be other gear in the used market that does the same stuff better for the money. Some of the Roland rompler modules and Emu samplers seem to have a big cult following . . . but this is just speculation, I don't own em.

[PaPi61]

Get a used Triton Rack on EBay (average price $350) and you'll do MUCH MUCH better than with the X50. Oh, and you can later expand it on the cheap. Triton expansion cards are also quite cheap on EBay (about $40-50 each, except for a couple of rare ones that may fetch $100.)

[verve92]

Yeah PaPi
They are going for like $500 + not sure where you got $350.
The cheapest ones are $370 with several days left.
There is one with a smaller display is this an earlier version?

I do have an Peavey KB100 still kicking and a nice effects pedal board, with analog delay and chorus to thicken sound. Though I've not had much luck with digital mixed with analog effects. Mybe I'll use my Digitech RP-1000- a great guitar pedal modeler. Lots of work to do
My local music store has them on order- I'll futz around with it there. As they always let me play around , sometimes for hours.

[wwjd]

If you want to see the parts that shine on the X50, mess with a bunch of "COMBOS", turn the ARP on for everything you mess with, and/or go into PROG then I think AUDITION, select the DRUMS and mess with all the live, 808, 909 drums and more built in. Those all sound pretty good.
And some highend EQ tweaking does help bring the X50 out of its dull sound easily. Not a big deal

[PaPi61]

Originally Posted by verve92

The cheapest ones are $370 with several days left.

The Triton Rack isn't exactly a best seller nowadays. If the price is $370, it's likely to stay the same at the end of the auction. Trust me, you'd be MUCH better off with one of these babies than an X50. No, I'm not selling mine.

[AngelRho]

I have an X50 and I love it. I've been playing with this classic rock cover band for a few years now and decided to retire my DX7IIFD from live and studio use (maybe coming to an eBay near you, I dunno...). I did my usual thang where I erased all the presets and started doing my own programs. I'm just too used to softsynth programming, so I'm not getting EXACTLY the results I want, but I did manage to make 10 or 12 useful but mediocre patches for playing live. I need to get a few projects out of the way before I give the X50 a chance, but it is a GREAT sounding synth and programmable. Actually, it connects direct to USB and has a plugin editor you can throw in a DAW of your choice. My problem is I just don't have enough time on my hands for that sort of thing.