alexander_kovacs's Reviews
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Best all-in-one synth workstation
This is my universal workhorse I carry everywhere with me. Lightweight - ultraportable. HUGE soundbank on affordable price. SD card storage. The large color LCD is easy to read. Here are some EXTRA features what I really like: Has a SUB output! a gift nowadays (many new synths lack the SUB output!) I use it to send metronome for the drummer. Built in 16-track SEQuencer (its OK, but nothing special. It could be more sophisticated but it was not Roland's focus to develop further as most people use PC DAW for sequencing....). Finally the SAMPLER: is a phrease sampler only, but for me its a life saver. I can load the sounds from my other synthesizers there, so I do not need to carry MANY extra synthesizers or laptops for a show. The only backdraw that the phrase sampler is not designed to split the samples on keyzones. So I use FA06's sampler for SFX/Vocals/Loops/Drums only. I do not use it to "play" the samples on the keyboard (for this purpose you could pick a low cost AKAI or EMU) To sume up: I would call the ROLAND FA is the cheap alternative for the KORG KRONOS. I can do basically any type of music on FA, from electronica / through rock n' roll to RAMMSTEIN Tribute - Everything. What FA cannot do - I would do with external Virtual Analogs eg.: Nord, Novation, Waldorf. I think FA series was the most useful invention from ROLAND during the past years. The workflow is very fast, I usually set up a studio-set (eg.: like a COMBI on KORGs) for each live performance, where I split keyzones and can switch between sounds by jumping to different MIDI channels. The sound engine is good quality for all genres. If you have some special requirement - do it with an external synthesizer than load it into FA's phrase sampler. :) Bang of the buck: it can export all the sequencer tracks to WAV files -> you can process/mix/master on PC the final song, and send back to the FA if you like :) Keybed: the 61 key version is OK if you are a synth player - its OK and fast. If you are a pianist - go for the FA-08, which is weighted hammer action.
More modern than Trinity but not much better
I was very addicted to my KORG TRINITY. When the new TRITON appeared, it was simply too expensive for me to replace TRINITY so for very long time TRITON was on my wish list, but than Korg stopped its production and many years passed by... I got a TR-61 as a second hand machine, which is basically a modernized TRITON-LE - (hopefully) the same TRITON soundbank with a simplified user interface and smaller LCD (non-touch). What I like on the TR after my TRINITY: built in SD-CARD reader. Less weight. More front panel controls for direct access to filters / envelope / and custom programmable knobs. More soundbanks. Trinity-like sounds but with a less SPIRIT in my opinion. What I disslike: the small LCD (go for TRITON EXTREME if you can afford), no ribbon controller, external power supply, the keybed is not as good as it was on TRINITY. For me the arpeggios were useless, also the built in sequencer is a pain to use with such a small display, but its a trade-off for better price. I still like to use it on stage next to my ROLAND FA06 as KORG has its own sound character, which makes it stand off from Rolands and Yamahas. If you like the KORG sound - go for it.
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Simple bread and butter soundmodule.
After switching from my CASIOs toward "PRO" gear in 1995 - it was my first "real" synthesizer. 8MB PCM ROM, 64 voice polyphony and 2 x 16 MIDI channels - 32 part MULTITIMBRAL. Was a nice tool for scratching Ideas. I drove it with Cakewalk Express sequencer and a CASIO MIDI keyboard.... I would say the SC88 sounds suite well to score pop/jazz/funky beats. Definitely poor for techno/electronica music, however I could squeeze out some very cool SFX: by setting loooong attack/decay/release for drums/hits/fx sound it results in some alien noize, white noise, which can be twisted further with resonance and cutoff paramters. At this point I strongly recommend an external limiter because high resonance can sound very loud. Sampling & processing its sound with an external sampler and external effect unit (I had E5000 and ZOOM 1204) can bring very promising results - nowadays these machines are totally inexpensive - good deal for collectors. You can hear heavily processed SC88 effects in my song: Aircraft part I and II - on my SoundCloud page.
My first ever pro synthesizer and all time favourite.
This was my first professional synthesizer I got in 1996.... I spent a lot of time with it as my primary synth and explored deeply all its features. Excellent keybed with aftertouch and the left hand controllers (joystick+ribbon+sw buttons) support expressive playing style. It is surprising how many sounds stacked in just 32 MB of PCM ROM. The "plus" version has a built in monophonic synth (KORG prophecy) engine, which I did not use a lot as I had external VAs for this purpose. Today it might look dated - especially the slow B/W LCD touch screen.. but still, you can get very professional sound by tweaking the parameters, and understanding the way its constructed. I recommend to replace the floppy drive with an USB emulator. Strength of Trinity in my opinion: digital synhts/drums/basses; multi-effetcs engine (better than in the later TR or Triton-LE series!), sequencer; sub-outputs; joystick+ribbon - very expressive! Professional keybed. Space-ship look design :) I think the most beautiful digital synth ever made.
Portable VA ideal add-on to any rompler
I use it frequently besides my Roland FA-06 as an universal source for lead and VA sounds. Its lightweight, portable, easy to use and has full size keys! 4 x 127 sounds, which can be searched by category/style. Plenty of front panel controls. Stylish and modern design - looks nice on stage, I can recommend to any active performer.