Korg - MICROKorg -XL-PLUS 37 Key Synthesizer/Vocoder - Black

This thing is so much fun! It has built in speakers (hidden away under the keys) and it sounds powerful. The synthesizer comes with about 30 sounds for each of the various music genres, (trance, house, DnB, hip hop) and all are customisable and write-able to empty slots. It has so many knobs and dials to shape your sounds you lose yourself in creativity. It like painting with sound. I wish I bought one of these 15 years ago. I'm sure I could of written a hit track by now. The build quality is solid and sleek and retro, and everything on its console is clear with an simple layout. There are no on-board computerized windows or screens. It's just all knobs and dials. So it's very organic and you really feel like you are shaping the sounds and playing the whole unit as one instrument. The keys are small not full size and have a hard springy-ness to them but they are very responsive and good for fast movement across the keyboard. It has 2 wheels. A pitch bend and a oscillator. Both customisable and again very responsive. An improvement to this model would be a function to loop & record sounds, or have built in drums/rhythms sections. The vocoder takes a bit of practice. Overall though I just simply love it. It's fun, portable, creative, retro, powerful. Probably does even more than I realise. I might even get round to reading the manual - if could just put it down!

This is a wonderful product, destined to sell bucket loads. It occupies the budget end of the synth market, but that shouldn't deter any potential buyers; it makes the classic Korg sound, which means it can do Trance and EDM sounds in it's sleep. (The oscillators are digital, but pretty damn warm.) I am so glad I bought one. Here are the best things about it:1. its compact - space matters right? 2. the keyboard is both sturdy and springy which makes playing it pleasurable and tactile. 3. it's dead easy to use. (You can go deep into the programming I you must - I won't judge you.) 4. It looks really cool - the maple sides are kind of future - retro - I don't think there's a better looking keyboard out there. 5. the killer 'app' - it plays sounds from inside...like a piano (and uses batteries too if you want) This is no gimmick - this is the future. Korg took a classic piece of gear and made it even more reliable and awesome. Buy now!

I am so far loving playing with this synth and will certainly be adding it to my repertoire but I've had to shell out a whole extra bit of money to get a microphone for the vocoder. Learn from me and make sure it's included if you ever buy one (which I would recommend, this thing is crazy fun).

Classic sounds. Easy to use. I don’t like the gooseneck mic though. Too flimsy. Be prepared to use another one. Updated version of the classic micro korg. The built in speakers are a welcome addition.

I can use it as a synth or plug it into my AudioBox and use it as a midi controller for Omnisphere in StudioOne. Absolutely excellent piece of kit.

Really happy with this analog synth. Amazing sound for such a small unit and pleasant to the eye as well

This synth gets a lot of praise from many quarters and no doubt it is in itself a good synth. The big problem to be aware of if you are thinking of buying is, the keyboard is very poor its very like playing a child's toy piano, it is not a nice experience for me and I returned it.

Excellent and very flexible instrument, sounds retro or modern and the vocoder function gives you an instant Electric Light Orchestra sound! Only slight drawback is the small keys on the keyboard but this can be midi'ed into a full size one easily. Great fun this instrument is.