In this Woody Piano Shack video, compares the Korg Minilogue to the Korg Minilogue XD, focusing on comparing the technical capabilities of the two synths.
Woody recommends the Minilogue XD for most users, but admits that he prefers the less-capable, but arguably more old-school design of the original Minilogue.
It’s worth noting that the XD can be used as a straight analog synth, with similar capabilities to the original, or you can lean into the digital side by putting the third (digital) oscillator on the fundamental note to get digitally-accurate tuning, and then dialing in the digital effects.
Check out the video and share your thoughts in the comments!
woody needs a real job. he ruined the XD.
I’ve mainly been a Korg man for a long time. I even like what’s not aimed at my chosen work flow. The XD is a superior starter for “the kids,” but its also a good choice to one side in a bigger rig. Four voices is not a lack here. Its a great expander for FX, bass or anything not needing greater polyphony. As Baby’s First Analog, it makes a great stocking stuffer.
I’ve been a fan of the Prologue, because of the way it offers old-school knob-per-function analog action, but also expands on this with a digital oscillator and digital effects.
The XD packs much of the same power – and some unique tricks of its own – into a compact form factor, and it really offers a lot of bang for the buck.
I am hoping that since the Prologue was canceled, an “Epilogue” or “Prologue XD” are in the works. I was just about to pull the trigger on a used Prologue, then they discontinued it and the prices went up a few hundred dollars….so I backed off and bought a used Wavestation and a new Behringer Monopoly instead.
The XD has the programmable third oscillator, which the plain Minilogue does not. So, a Prologue (8 or 16 voice) is already “XD”. Potential customers seemed put out that there is only one LFO. Mon dieu! Do zey sink we are payzonts?! Seriously, Korg dumped the Prologue because the COVID era chip shortage made it too difficult to produce in profitable numbers, and that shortage is still going on today, so Prologue is not coming back any time soon, if ever. Buy one now if you want it. The prices are not going to be going down. Fizmo is going for four grand now, and I saw someone hawking a Poly Evolver for eight grand. Stupid, but they it is. If you prefer the original Minilogue but want to play with the programmable oscillator, get an NTS-1 kit synth for about a hundred bucks. Interesting that the NTS-1 has three LFOs but the Prologue only has one. Then again, the NTS-1 has only one voice, so three LFOs are about the only way to make it better.
Actually, Korg was forced to drop Prologue and Kronos2 due to a change in EU legislation three-four years ago that made importing the two synths’ (internal) power supplies to the EU area illegal. The two synths remained in production for Asian and US markets for a while but were eventually discontinued worldwide.
But, Sequenials and Moogs all have this. What did Korg do “wrong” in their design? You make it sound like they just stuffed a typhcal external power supply inside and hooked it to a connector, instead of a transformer. 🙂
The issue is not having an internal power supply per se, but something in the specifics of said internal power supplies that was ruled illegal in the new EU legislation. I never suggested what you stated above and it is not true, but what i wrote earlier is facts.
Still miss that ease of use and immediacy and the workflow of my Minilogue since buying one in 2016. Have battled the thought of getting another one again for some time
I have the og and the xd. For years a dream setup would be a 3 timbre 4 voice….I do have all my favorites stacked near each other.
Picked up the battery powered roland s1 and volca fm2.
All my favorite synths, recording a few tracks. It can be good to have hobbies to zone out/get in a good focused headspace. For years audio productions kept me safe at home and provided a focused troubleshooting mindset. For some people that can be video games, coding, painting, hiking.
Finally added a way to record, a mini kaoss pad2s. Which I’m seeing now, is discontinued.
Minikp 2s records long takes at cd quality. 16 gig card results in….24 hours of recording? Filled up the card a few times after layoffs and lockdowns.
All those synths can sound d so lush. Listening back to the recordings, hey that went ok. Putting it online for collaborators can take a listen or a remix.
The Kaoss Mini 2S is quite underrated.
It’s got a heap of usable effects that are nice and hands on due to the Kaoss XY pad, but the recording side of it is often neglected sadly.
I’ve used mine to record whole songs.
It’s at it’s best though, I think, when you use it like you mentioned. To easily record jams / noodles and then listen to it back later to extrapolate ideas.
It can also double up as a little looper.
If you do put your stuff online I’d love to listen to it.
Please send a link, if that’s allowed.
The feature I hadn’t seen on anything else, except digital recorders…bouncing tracks? Is with the mini kp2s you can record, then play back your recording and overdub record over the top of it. Preserving the old file while creating a new file which is a combination of the old recording and a new recording.
There are enough controls on the mini kp2s one could theoretically use a second as a separate DJ deck with both pitch controls and auto bpm detection.
I have tried several recording methods over the years but really got into a good Groove with the mini kp2s I tried to post links on here but I’m guessing the website won’t allow. I am on Soundcloud as alien anomaly and I’m currently going through the mini kp2s recordings to find needles in a haystack or gold while panning. I am uploading and sharing to Google Drive for anyone who would want to take a listen or to try to remix.
dear korg ,
make some euorrack
Compare a Ford Pinto with a Mercury Bobcat.
I loved the OG Minilogue. It had a certain vibe and character, despite being super simple. The XD somehow never did the trick for me. Sometimes less really is more.
If you really want more instead of less, the Korg Multi/Poly is a lot more….