# Roland vs Korg



## passsacaglia (Oct 6, 2017)

Between these 2 synthesizer legends,

which family do You think have the "best" and sweetest sounds?

It could be any, if you're a bass guy, a pad person, a lead person, anything - the new and old Roland synthgs vs the new and old Korg series.

Which would be your pick? Just curious. Skip functions and stuff, if you can.

We're talking soundsss...would be awesome to hear your reasons 

Cheers!!


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## synthpunk (Oct 6, 2017)

Neither 

U-he & Omni, Alchemy (which you have).

Maybe a Roland V Synth, Moog for leads, Virus Ti all arounder, Waldorf Blofeld for wavetables.


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## sherief83 (Oct 6, 2017)

I haven't checked any of their latest output but seems Yamaha wins for Romplers


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## passsacaglia (Oct 7, 2017)

Oh haha, alright!!! 

Thx guys!  The V one looks cool!

Oh yeah, there was some cool Yamaha synth I discovered yesterday!


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## dpasdernick (Oct 11, 2017)

passsacaglia said:


> Between these 2 synthesizer legends,
> 
> which family do You think have the "best" and sweetest sounds?
> 
> ...



I have the following Roland & Korg hardware synths. (I have Yamahas and Ensoniqs too)

Roland XP-80 with 4 Expansion Cards
Roland JD-990 with Vintage Synth Expansion Card
Roland D-550 
Roland JV-2080 with 4 Expansion Cards
Roland Integra 7 
Korg Triton Rack with 4 Expansion Cards
Korg M-50 
I also have the Korg Poly 6, Wavestation and M1 in software.
I also also had a Korg Kronos but took it back and bought software like Symphobias and Swings... (silly boy)

If I could only take only one to a desert Island I would take... Kate Upton. 

OK Seriously now, I love the Roland sound. Love it. Warm. Musical. Fat. Hardware sounds so real but... It's a time suck and so tedious compared to software. Take my advice. Don't get into hardware. Get into software, write a hit, make a wad of cash and then get into Kate Upton.


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## passsacaglia (Oct 11, 2017)

dpasdernick said:


> I have the following Roland & Korg hardware synths. (I have Yamahas and Ensoniqs too)
> 
> Roland XP-80 with 4 Expansion Cards
> Roland JD-990 with Vintage Synth Expansion Card
> ...


Haha love it!

ps nice collection! 

Ah yeah no I will stick with the stuff I have now ofc..maybe go hardware in 5-10 years or so.  Just wondered!


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## AllanH (Oct 12, 2017)

There is certainly no doubt that the software synths are much easier to integrate into a DAW. If the keybed is of importance I think Roland is the best of the two (far more options). I no longer use the sounds in my Kurzweil, so I've gone in-the-box and find it much easier. 

That being said, I got a Roland analog mono synth SE-02 and it's definitely different than Diva and Falcon. I'm not sure it's really worth the $500, but it's great fun and has an incredible rich analog sound. 

Live performance is different, and there I'd not want a PC involved, if I could avoid it.


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## adg21 (Oct 16, 2017)

synthpunk said:


> Neither
> 
> U-he & Omni, Alchemy (which you have).
> 
> Maybe a Roland V Synth, Moog for leads, Virus Ti all arounder, Waldorf Blofeld for wavetables.




Sounds like you haven't really played any good synths.

Roland have a long and rich history of classic iconic analog and digital synths, but slumped from about 1990

http://www.rolandus.com/blog/2014/02/19/roland-synth-chronicle-1973-through-2013/

Korg have been at the forefront of the analog revival (ms20, odyssey), many have followed (dave smith, arturia, novation).

Roland and Korg have a lot to offer. And hardware synths are very much still relevant regardless of the software options. It's worth seeing what they have to offer to find out why.


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## EvilDragon (Oct 17, 2017)

Roland has nothing to rival Korg's Kronos. Korg doesn't have anything to rival Roland's V-Synth (the sheer breadth of possibilities on that one is absolutely staggering) or the Jupiter-80 and its behavioral modeling etc. (but I personally don't like how JP-80 sounds, we have much more realistic instruments ITB, like SampleModeling, etc.)

About the most exciting latest product from Roland is the RD-2000. Korg has much more exciting stuff going on: Kronos, Minilogue, ARP Odyssey, Volcas are fun little boxes that can do surprising things, etc. etc.

IMHO, Korg > Roland. Yamaha is ultra-boring and sounds sterile compared to Korg or Roland.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Oct 17, 2017)

Dreadbox.


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## synthpunk (Oct 17, 2017)

Looks like you may want to learn to read, you know the last paragraph where I mention the V-synth and hardware.

I've had pretty much every Roland synth up to the Integra 7 and I believe that the ITB options we have now such as Omni, Keycape, Kontakt, U-he, Etc are not only are more powerful but sound better. The Jupiter 4 & 8 though are beautiful machines if you can afford the vintage upkeep. Love the V Synth series but just don't have a full day to program a sound these days. They really should bring that one to software one day soon.

The last time Korg excited me was the Wavestation AD. Yamaha has a lot of Motif's in the field but they've been so over used. The FS1R is quite powerful but a bear to program.




adg21 said:


> Sounds like you haven't really played any good synths.
> 
> Roland have a long and rich history of classic iconic analog and digital synths, but slumped from about 1990
> 
> ...


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## synthpunk (Oct 17, 2017)

Did you get a Abyss ? demos please sir 



Ned Bouhalassa said:


> Dreadbox.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Oct 17, 2017)

I have a Murmux2.


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## synthpunk (Oct 17, 2017)

Is the the beginning of the modular bug ? 



Ned Bouhalassa said:


> I have a Murmux2.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Oct 17, 2017)

synthpunk said:


> Is the the beginning of the modular bug ?


 
Going on 2 years now: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/231641


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## Living Fossil (Oct 17, 2017)

synthpunk said:


> I've had pretty much every Roland synth up to the Integra 7 and I believe that the ITB options we have now such as Omni, Keycape, Kontakt, U-he, Etc are not only are more powerful but sound better.



As always, it's difficult to generalize when it comes to "sound better".
In a recent film i scored (a TV-documentary) i was really glad to had the option to heavily use my hardware JX8P.
The essential psychological reason for me was the fact that the "microcosm" of the sound of that synth was so delicate that i had no doubt it would stand out even if the score was rather subtle in the film mix.
Instant "Twin Peaks" vibes. 
Of course, i also was glad about some Zebra (HZ), Diva and Omni patches.
And i recorded a lot of E-Guitar and E-Bass. Having fun was quite essential 

I have to add that i don't try to integrate my hardware synths (and the Sherman FB) into my main session, but rather record the files and then import them. So i have to take descisions and i get lots of additonal inspiration while trying out different choices.
In the end, the crucial point is that music relies on inspiration. 
And i think that hardware synths sometimes can provide some real creative impulses.
It's great that we have so many choices nowadays, software and hardware. Actually there are some under the radar analogue vintage synths that one can get at good prices. (the jx8p is such a synth)


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## Astronaut FX (Oct 17, 2017)

Between the two companies, I’d have to give Roland the edge, especially if you count all of their products, which would include their Boss line. Beyond synths, Roland also has the distinction of making some of the most widely used drum machines in modern music history.


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## synthpunk (Oct 17, 2017)

Good thoughts. I should of mentioned I think most the rompers out there are really showing there age. The Matrix 1000/6/6R, Chroma Polaris, JD-990, MKS-70, couple I like allot. Me though, I'm saving for a Modal 



Living Fossil said:


> As always, it's difficult to generalize when it comes to "sound better".
> In a recent film i scored (a TV-documentary) i was really glad to had the option to heavily use my hardware JX8P.
> The essential psychological reason for me was the fact that the "microcosm" of the sound of that synth was so delicate that i had no doubt it would stand out even if the score was rather subtle in the film mix.
> Instant "Twin Peaks" vibes.
> ...


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## JPQ (Oct 17, 2017)

To me good piano sound is esseltial becouse of this i say Roland. but generally i recommend mix brands. btw my favorite hardware drum machine is Roland its Tr-808.(out of my budget). i feel strings in Korg and Roland stuff is different Korg is more foreground and Roland more background.


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## synthpunk (Oct 18, 2017)

ooh god, there is help out there you know 

somehow my obsession with Mutable has not expanded yet.



Ned Bouhalassa said:


> Going on 2 years now: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/231641


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## Krisemm (Jan 8, 2018)

had a roland d-20 in the 80s. Great 8 track sequencer, but the sounds were awful. I was trying to make electronic music on it, but the sounds were just bland bread 'n' butter affairs and it put me off roland for life.

Between an sh101 and an ms20, its ms20 hands down. So much more bite in the filters, so much more mojo in the oscillators


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