Korg N5: Budget Price, Studio Quality! - Sound Profile
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- Опубліковано 15 тра 2019
- Support the show on Patreon! / speedydtm
Korg's made a lot of synths over the years, with many that have become icons of music and many that stand as an example of overambition. But what about the forgotten ones? In today's video, I take a close look at the Korg N5 series (and by extension, the N1 series), late 90s ROMplers based on the Ai2 architecture with a huge number of studio quality sounds at a modest price. Do they still hold up today, or should they stay forgotten? Watch and find out!
Join the DTM MIDI Server to chat about old school MIDI synths on Discord! / discord
A special thanks goes to HaruMKT for giving permission to use a lot of her music and other content in this video, along with Neo Te Aika for creating one of the background music tracks! And a thanks to these content creators for providing video to use:
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This will be the last episode following the monthly format - episodes are going to be bimonthly from now on because of how much time it takes to create them. I've been kinda neglecting other things I need to do to get these out. Stay tuned for a channel update.
Excellent all-around review. I still use NS5R as my primary. I hooked it to a set of Strymon pedals, and what comes out now sounds like a full blown MS-20.
Don't burn out making videos. I'm taking a long break from my channel, because it consumes way too much time. One episode of anything eats up an entire weekend. Have a stack of things as far as 2 years back that I shot and never even edited. Work related exhaustion feels permanent at this point.
@@enilenis It's amazing what just a few effects can do - the City N5 track sounded so-so recorded raw from the unit, but something really clicked once I started playing with Chroma Verb in Logic and some of the compressors... the only downside is I want to spend more money on effects now :(
Yeah, I've had to take long breaks from videos in the past from burning out and I really want to avoid that now. I think bimonthly will end up being the perfect balance between having a schedule and being able to relax.
Making videos is like going to the gym. The secret is in having just enough load to observe gradual progression without making exercise a torture.
Regarding FX, I went on a crazy hunt after the Korg. Just kept daisychaining more and more, until my work bench ended up being nothing but filter boxes. And good luck memorizing all the knobs. Heavenly sounds, but many of them you only stumble upon once and can never recreate, because of failing to register some deep setting that wasn't on default.
Less stress = better quality. Gotta take care of yourself! Great vid' as always.
Just found an N1R in a dusty corner of a pawn shop, walked out with it for $60 cash. A fantastic sounding little beast. I love helping local small businesses clear out old dusty inventory that they have no clue about. :-)
Excellent review, thank you for going so much in-depth! It's rare to find 30+ minutes videos filled with this much info.
Thanks for the great review Speedy! City N5 is such a lovely tune!
keep it up Speedy, I thoroughly enjoyed this!
Some amazing sounds coming from this little box! As expected from Korg :).
And yet again, you did a great job at creating a informative, interesting and fun video to watch! Already can't wait for the next vid to come out :).
It's because of Speedy I got an NS5R -- all his talking about the quirky thing on the DTM Server got me interested in having one, and initially I was meant to get his NX5R after this video! But then he got hooked alongside me, and we both love our devices, because these things are super fun. Ai2 is really, really powerful even out of the box -- and multitracking them for post-processing makes them shine that much more. Pick one up if you've got spare cash or space, they'll do you well.
Ultimately I'm glad the decision to get an NS5R that wasn't his -- on his own recommendation -- worked out well enough for the both of us, as he even got to demo more from the synth that he couldn't, thanks to his DB51XG board.
Ai2 is in the X3 already. I find it sounds duller than the Ai in the M1. I got both boards.
The difference is more noticeable even when compared to the difference of Rolands JV880 to the JV1080, where the older module seems more dynamic.
i’m so happy that i found this channel, great videos! you should get much much more views~
6:50
Smooooooth.
Awesome work, Speedy!
thanks so much for these reviews! they are very informative
thank you so much for mentioning the fix for drum bank select - this has been driving me nuts! additionally i really needed your explanation to better understand how the effects work. great video!!
very informativ, even the chromatone in the N5 chassis is in fact inside more like the N1, so this also is well researched and told to us fans of your "sound profile". Good job, man, be proud, jump around in joy ! Korg bless you , dude !
14:43
PrgA is 05R/W compatible, and PrgB is X5DR compatible. As of their mapping, programs under 100 (000~099) are categorized by the last digit instead. There is also a 05R/W and X5DR compatible GM bank named "GM-b".
As of the tiger sound, it's belongs to the backwards compatible KrazyKit existed on X5DR, definitely worth it.
What a nice video and pleasing to watch - Instant sub & like ♥ I recently bought one to add to my midi tower for playing old games - can't wait
Have two Korg N5EX’s
As an electric piano lover who programs his own sounds
The N5EX has some of the best EP waveforms in history
It’s my secret weapon
This is the exact review I needed to watch about the NX5R. I don't understand why there aren't more reviews for this module. It seems pretty versatile for the price.
Amazing how much mileage Korg got out of the Ai2 architecture and although not really cool even at the time these boxes kicked ass and were a super affordable way of getting those Korg sounds. I had a X5DR back at my school in the mid 90's and had to have one when I was older. In most dance music the sounds are a total staple (piano's, pads etc) and they fit in the mix super easy. Just a testament to Korg's engineers and sound designers at the time imo
I owned a Korg N5 and Korg N5EX. And boy I really regret selling them. There is one particular program that I like most, in Prog C-31 - Piano & EP is the best sound, with great expressiveness. I miss that sound specially when I’m doing a background playing in church.
It seems most people miss what I consider to be the MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE on the NS5R/NX5R; the FXFollowPart parameter. What this does is it automatically selects the right effects program that's specially programmed for every Prg and Cmb in the unit, otherwise, by default it stays on A01. Heck, even the reviewer from SOS missed this important feature as he also complained about the effects in his review. By NOT turning this on, or at least manually setting the right effects program in the first place, this unit sounds 'dull'. I'm sure they turned this off by default because it starts in Multi mode, and as you know, there is not a insert effect for every channel, just a master effect for everything. Turn it on and this unit goes from good to amazing! You can get to this parameter on the top level of the Global Edit page, top right is FXFollowPart and it is set to Off by default. Set it to whatever MIDI channel you want it on, and NOW when you change between the different presets for Prg and Cmb, you'll notice the top right corner on the multi page will change the FX preset along with the preset. Bam! Now your unit sounds amazing! Enjoy your 'new' unit all over again!
Tempted to get a n5... No info online thanks for vid man
If you look carefully at the board shot at 10:16, you'll notice that there are three PCM ROM chips labeled PCM0, PCM1, and PCM2, which are likely 4MB each (4 * 3 = 12MB). However, interestingly, there's also an unpopulated set of pads labeled PCM3 which looks like it could have fit a fourth ROM chip. Perhaps Korg was intending to include a larger sample set or higher quality samples that filled 16MB, but cut it at the last minute after the boards were produced?
Snaged a n1 from guitar center for 400. Good deal if you ask me. I got it as a weighted controller for my kronos, as well as those warm 90s korg sounds. And some signature strings that are on a ton of 90s metal albums.
Does the N5 sounds like the N364 in cuality?
Cómo se cambia de color a la pantalla?
I bought an NS5R based on your City N5 track alone. I was looking for an older rompler type of synth for some eightiesish sounds. I think I got a pretty good deal too, 100 euros. The only issue is that the backlight isn't working, but so far it isn't really bothering me.
Also Sound Quest has editors for N-series, but they cost like $100 USD, which is a bit too much for me. I'll rather stick to manual editing. Once I get the hang of it, it'll probably won't be too much of a hassle.
Hey, I have Korg N1 keyboard and im trying to MIDI connect with my Presonus AudioBox 22vsl into my Studio one 6 software. I'm not getting any reading like the other USB midi keyboard i have. the N5 and N1 have the same manual and ive looked through everything and have tried everything in the manual. Am i missing something?
i always wanted an NXSR but I have an NS5R, which rules :3
I have a n5 and i cant set it up for just piano.. can someone please help me :”(
Please you can't tell me the best korg module for hiphop realistic sound?...
Does this thing have the M1 sounds
Great video
Speedy, to my knowledge, the only 32 kHz AI2 synth was the 01/W, all others ran at 44.1k.
Also, I have an NS5R here and I'd like to ask you if you may have noticed this issue that seems to happen on mine: every time I engage distortion or overdrive effect, it also boosts some sort of crosstalk, or interference (I assume from the built in power supply), which sounds like a steady repeating pulsing noise. This only happening with those two effects. I wonder if that's just how it is, or if something's lemony in mine...
I believe I've seen you on korg forums. Hi
@@forrestperkins6237 From years ago, yeah. Hi! :)
@@EvilDragon666 I got a n1 for around 400 shipped mainly as a midi controller. But this synth engine ain't too shabby is it
For the sake of design simplicity - because synchronising asynchronous communication between units is actually kinda hard and definitely shouldn't be taken for granted in that era - i suspect there's a 32MHz master clock which gets integer divided for the H8/300H. There really is no massive hurry to max out its performance, since most of the heavy lifting would be performed by ASICs, and you'd easily get good enough performance even at lower clock rates on the H8, but 16 MHz is a good bet.
That little can besides one of the ASICs is 32 MHz, not KHz. How can i tell? Well i can't, the dot can stand for either KHz or MHz, but 32 MHz is a common value, while 32 KHz exactly tends to be difficult to source, you'd usually find 32.768 instead. There's no point in pinching Microwatts here, so no pressure to select the lowest power oscillator possible. Besides, dividing down a high frequency is very robust with just a counter, while multiplying a low frequency needs a PLL and introduces a design risk.
If it's dividing the same clock down for the DAC output, it would easiest come out to 31.25 KHz. I suspect though DAC is in 384fs mode, and thus 41.666 KHz output, which would hit the closest to the DAC's reconstruction filter design sweetspot out of all possible master clock derived options.
There is indeed a crystal oscillator around the frequency you mentioned (32mHz). I guessed that it was divided in half but didn't know for sure so I didn't say anything. Good to know my guess wasn't far off though!
Having a serial port isn't an issue since theyre still around just mostly in header form, its the lack of drivers.
True, but it's still an inconvenience as it requires either an adapter (which the user has to buy) or have a motherboard with it (not very common now). Definitely not preferable but as you mention, the lack of drivers is the real kicker :x
You can get USB to serial adapters super cheap
There is now a solution for standard class-compliant USB-MIDI to Serial To Host based around an Arduino. Check out my other recent comment for details.
Marble gallery!
Even if I'm not a Korg fan, I Have
1 KORG 05R/W
1 NX5R
3 Korg X5DR
1 Triton Rack
1 Korg M3 Expanded
damn this one lost me when it was revealed there's no filter
Nice review but I still prefer the SC and SD modules. The songs made on them simply convinced me more than the arrangements presented in this video that were made on a Korg N5 device. So you couldn't convince me to buy one. ;-) jokes aside This device wasn't marketed to people like me which have their focus mainly on acoustic instruments. In this department the SC and SD modules are the better choice(atleast for me). On the N5 there was nothing that amazed me so much like the several great tunes made on a SC/SD module. For me it is simply too much synth and (almost) no acoustic instruments in the demos in this video. Some synths are OK but most of them don't fit my musical taste. So the N5s are maybe good synths but they're nothing for me. I still wish you alot fun with your NX5R. Possibly there will be a arrangement of yours in the future that changes my opinion about the Korg N5. We'll see. Anyways I want to say again that this video is well done. It's always a pleasure to watch your videos. :-)
Thank you! Hah, yeah, these are definitely NOT the best boxes for acoustic instruments. They're great for synths though, as expected from Korg. Perhaps the Triton and Trinity will be more up your alley... but that's looking quite a bit into the future. Thank you for watching :)
Lol SOTN BGM 👍
Fuck. ROMPLER not "synthesizer"! Oscillators? ADSR? LFO? NO! It's a Keyboard sound module and rompler. period.
Blah blah blah
way too much talking.