Synth manufacturers continue to give us more sounds in smaller boxes for less money — and Korg are no exception, with the latest in the 0-series offering 340 multisounds, a GM sound bank, well-specified onboard effects and a Mac/PC interface, all for a price that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Julian Colbeck checks it out.

Even Korg must be wondering how many more ways it can cut the AI cake. AI, you remember, is the Sample + Synthesis system Korg has been employing on all its synths bar the Wavestations ever since the M1 came out back in 1988. In the subsequent 0-series we've now had the myriad 1s, and the 3, so what on earth is the 5? As it happens the 05R/W takes its cue from Korg's newest range, the X-series, being effectively Bank A and the GM tones of an X3, shoe-horned into a half-width module minus the sequencer. On the plus side, however, is General MIDI, something that manifests itself in the module's 128 GM tones and GM-mapped drumkit, plus the 05R/W's 'To Host' port, which gives you direct link to PC or Mac and also enables the instrument to assume the duties of a MIDI Interface, both of which kind of mark its card as a prime multimedia (yes, there it is again, folks) candidate.

If the word multimedia smacks of preset, instant, freeze-dried music, then the 05R/W is at least capable of injecting some musical creativity into the proceedings because it is a fully programmable synthesizer, and a surprisingly accessible one at that. This might look like Korg's answer to the Sound Canvas but it is not. (That job is tackled by the Audio Gallery.)

The 05R/W is a mixed application instrument. At this price it is obviously going to appeal to regular synth players looking for a new box of tricks that won't break the bank. But at this size and shape, and being blessed with GM, it should also appeal to non-technical, even non-musical users looking for instant gratification.

Physically, the module performs these two seemingly conflicting duties without any problems at all, and all in spite of the miserable little 16x2-character LCD (not that a half-width 1U module can offer much else). For a start, the arrangement of screen and cursor buttons, comprising +10/-10 and +1/-1 value buttons along with separate up, down, left, and right cursor keys, means you never get into a psycho-frenzy of button stabbing — as you do with the similarly screened Wavestation SR. The fact that there are not a zillion pages every which way and back also helps. The Wavestation SR's attempt to pour a litre's worth of features into its pint-sized casing does have its disadvantages. No such problem here. Additional panel hardware comprises dedicated Prog (single sound) and Combi (multi sound) buttons, a Global/Multi (multi as in GM) button, and a single Edit button that takes you into the edit pages of whichever of these modes you are in. Top it all off with a volume knob and that's your lot. Simple? You betcha.

SOUND POSSIBILITIES

Let's stand back and see just what the 05R/W is providing compared to other synthesizer systems in 1993. In pure programming terms, the style will be instantly familiar to all Korg users from M-series, through T-series, through 0-series. The simple user interface means that even if you're not that familiar with recent Korg synthesis you will rarely be confused, and you will find almost all operational manoeuvres self-explanatory. Sound wise, in terms of initial waveforms, you are doing very well indeed. There are some 340 multisounds in the instrument. Cast your mind back to the 01/W and you'll find just 255. Sure, there's a fair amount of chaff amongst the new waves, but there are significant additions and all the old faithfuls like 'Pole', 'Koto' and 'Pan Flute' are still present and correct.

So far so good, but you will not find anything like slices of sample RAM lying in wait. Not on this price of instrument, yet, at any rate. You also won't find resonant filters, which is perhaps more noticeable. On the 0-series Korg initiated a parameter called Emphasis, along with a new sound-enhancing tool called Waveshaping, both of which went some way towards producing the type of burbling, synthy sounds normally associated with resonant filters. In their stead on the 05R/W is a VDF (filter) parameter entitled Color Intensity (yep, American spelling at that), plus Color velocity sensitivity. In the X3 manual, Color is somewhat hilariously described as determining 'the amount of VDF Color.' Gee, thanks. Here on the 05R/W the writers have at least given us "...gives feedback to the sound in the vicinity of the cutoff range, making the sound more resonant." Well, fiddle though I might, I couldn't persuade any significant changes to anything, anywhere here. A call to Korg reveals Color to be a 'subtle' broad band exciter effect, best heard on sounds such as white noise. Well, it's there I guess.

As far as programs go, the 05R/W, like all Korg AI instruments, is extremely well equipped. Aside from being a bit puzzled by the 16' piano, which, though splendidly rich and full, does have an alarmingly noticeable sample break between middle C and C sharp, this module is bursting with every major recognisable instrument type — strings, including an excellent velocity crossfading legato/staccato patch called 'The Strings', brass, woodwind, basses, and a brilliant pipe organ — plus a good many 'synth' types with glides, sweeps, fizzes, and bangs. There is no card facility, though, either for PCM sample or program data. In addition to the 100 RAM programs come the 128 GM bank (see box for more). Programs are single sounds — single MIDI channel/zone sounds, anyway. To make a Combination, you store groups of programs, if necessary on the same MIDI channel if you want to layer sounds on top of each other, or on separate channels for multitimbral playing, or indeed a mix of the two. This flexibility has always been one of the Korg family's strongest points.

Though the instrument comes with a set of 100 Combinations, programming new Combinations is about as foolproof as it gets, even if the 05R/W's screen size does mean you have to scoot about between two pages to get at all eight program slots. Combination parameters include the program; its level; MIDI channel; zone; minimum and maximum velocity; transposition; detune; MIDI filter for PG; damper; aftertouch; and control change, pan and send, and its own pair of effects. The maximum multitimbrality is 8-part here in Combi mode; if this is not enough, you can dive into multi mode for a once-only 16-part assignment.

IN FULL EFFECT

Now to the effects. As on the 0-series, there are 47 effects algorithms, of a quality I find unrivalled. The reverbs are free of all extraneous digital crap, and offer control over decay time, high frequency damping, pre-delay, early reflection level, plus both high and low EQ. Not only does this list exceed that of most other synths' built-in reverbs, it rivals that of many a dedicated mid-priced effects unit. Other effects 'groups' include early reflection, delays — stereo, multi-tap, and dual mono — all manner of chorus, from two strengths of regular stereo chorus to out-of-phase quadrature chorus and crossover chorus (a bit too subtle for me, these), to harmonic chorus which effects only frequencies above a chosen point (this being somewhat aimlessly calibrated 0-18). Harmonic chorus also offers two delay time parameters which would be most helpful for blocking out those attack dead spots that often occur on a chorused sound. Moving right along, we have the old faithfuls of flanger, exciter and phaser, plus distortion, and one of those mysterious enhancers.

Rotary speaker, as on Korgies of old, is superbly executed, with the all-important speed-up factor between slow and fast settings programmable. There's no footswitch input at the back, so you'll have to rely on a mod wheel or something to initiate the changes. Parametric EQ completes the line up of the 05R/W's single effects.

Combination effects, with delay always being one of them, are particularly useful, not just to trowel on effect upon effect, but because they allow you to use different effects for different programs within a combination. Careful study of the routing system — a nightmare until you get your head around it — should enable you to assign four separate, simultaneous effects.

As mentioned, the system Korg employs for effects and output assignments is something of a headache (although it's difficult to see how this level of flexibility could be made any simpler), involving no less than four (ABCD) busses that a program can follow, through the effects, to the stereo outputs. Unlike on 0-series synths, outputs are just a stereo pair; there are no auxiliaries.

A major improvement though, is the 05R/W's ability to selectively apply effects to individual drum sounds within the drumkits. There are eight kits in all, with just two held in editable RAM, so if you want to edit one of the others, you have to copy it across to a RAM location. Editability ranges from instrument key range to tune, level, and decay, to pan and output assignment. The kits themselves range from the well-known 01/W Power Kit, through a nice analogue kit, to a jazz kit, percussion kit, orchestral kit, a dance kit, and a GM kit.

THE FINAL WORD

As I said at the beginning, the 05R/W is a mixed bag. Although it is a powerful synthesizer in the great Korg tradition, this is not one of those 'more-polyphony-and outputs-module-of-the-keyboard'. There again, although this is a top-notch GM sound source with impressive computer-driven options, you are not imprisoned within GM walls. Not even Korg can hope to produce an instrument that satisfies everyone's every need, but at this price the 05R/W doesn't half make a good stab at it.

Further Information

05R/W £599 Inc VAT.

Korg UK, (Contact Details).