Korg R3 vs. Microkorg vs. ?

[vs.Gotham]

So after being somewhat dead set on picking up a Microkorg on the cheap, I saw that the R3 was out and has *gasp* an XLR jack. (who uses condenser mics with a headphone jack?!) Now I'm confuddled.

Anyone put these side by side? I'm more curious about the vocoder functionality than anything else, and I'd love to have something small to use as a desktop MIDI controller.

[manthe]

I just made the same decision recently. I am not a synth guy. I wanted a hardware synth that I could run through my tube preamps, compressors and EQ. This adds tons of vibe to the pads, strings...anything! I am loving this way more than soft synths.

Anyhow, I went with the R3. OMG, what a fabulous time waster! I can play with this thing for hours and hours and not get bored. It appears fairly spartan, at first glance, but it is really deep once you dig in to it.

The Vocoder absolutely wipes the floor with the micro. No contest at all. I bought an external +48v phantom power supply and I have tried several condensers with it. It sounds, to my ears, better than any software vocoder I've ever used.

I have never used any other, high-end vocoders, so I don't have a good reference. But, I can't imagine ever wanting or needing more than what the R3 has for my (admittedly limited) needs.

All in all, for the price, I just didn't see anything better out there. Even the the Roland SH201, in the same price range, did not sound as good to me. It is just an opinion, of course. I tried both. The Roland 'looks' a little more impressive. It has more knobs, buttons and sliders, but it really doesn't do any more...it just has more dedicated knobs. Once again, the R3 had a nicer sound to me. They both are analog modelers, but the Korg just sounded fatter and better to me!

Its all subjective, of course. But I am still loving the R3 1 month later!

[vs.Gotham]

Argh! Exactly the opposite I was hoping for. At the very least I was pulling for the vocoders to be of comparable quality. Now I've got shell out an extra 3-400. Damn Korg for actually doing a worthwile upgrade!!


...it is nice to hear how much you like it though, and I'm stoked to get one. Unfortunately it's also going to cause me to choose between that and a new amp. Grr!

Thanks much!