Korg Minilogue XD

There are many reviews out there on the suitability of the minilogue xd for synth beginners or anyone desiring s simple workflow. I agree with this and won't repeat it here apart from the feel of the keybed. I like the keybed. The mini keys are not as good as the reface mini keys, but they are not worse in every possible way. The main downside is that the resistance in the springs increases noticeably the more you press the keys, whereas you don't notice any shift in resistance for the reface keys. They are as wide as the reface keys more or less, but they are much longer and this I consider to be the upside. It makes it much easier to play chords that require many black keys. In terms of velocity sensitivity I find these two keybeds comparable. Another group I think it's excellent for is DIYers. (1) If you want to use your own tunings, you can program them directly into the synths, import scala files (.scl and .kbm) from a computer, or send midi sysex messages (it should be the midi sysex tuning bulk, not realtime, and it should be in tuning editing mode, which can be a bit annoying). (2) You can program your own oscillators and effects. It does however require programming in C or C++. The software development kit (Logue SDK) is not excellently explained, but it's not terrible either. Oscillators take 8 parameters in total (not counting pitch), effects take 3. (3) The minilogue xd has only one LFO, however, it accepts two mod cv inputs as well as channel aftertouch (built in keybed only has note on velocity) from other units. The mod cv inputs can also be simulated with midi messages. mod cv and aftertouch can be routed to a large number of parameters. So if you either (3a) have a modular setup or (3b) program midi messages (e.g. through a raspberry pi or something like the Blokas Midihub), you can add up to 3 additional LFOs, envelopes, etc. All in all, an excellent synth in terms of sound and playability and probably one of the best in terms of DIY-extensibility.

First off the Minilogue XD sounds great. The price is fair with the amount of synth you get. Compared to the original Minilogue which is also great, the additions, especially the digital oscillator make the XD really shine.

The synth is mainly used within a DAW/studio environment directly connected to a mixer/audio interface.

Build quality is of a high standard, with firm knobs, buttons and switches and a really nice front panel which feels robust. Mini keys are… mini keys, hate them or love them these keys are not bad. The screen is always a nice touch, values are shown depending on knob tweaks and of course it becomes an oscilloscope, which sometimes feels satisfying looking at it and sometimes it’s just helpful to “see” the sound. Presets are ok to get to know the synth and there are plenty of slots to make your own patches. The panel is pretty straight forward and all basic functions have a dedicated knob / switch.

The VCOs sound as they supposed to sound, but the digital oscillator adds really something to it. Some of the Korg oscillators sound really, really good plus user wavetables can be added. Still need to exploit more this part of the synth but there are lots of wavetables and effects available (both paid and free). The effects are ok, some of them are great sounding, some of them are just ok. All matter of taste. Again, the option to expand the engine with user effects is promising. Filter sounds nice but the overdrive is a bit limited (0, 50%, 100% overdrive values, nothing in between).

Modulations are also a bit limited but you can get decent results. Especially in accordance with the motion sequencer where you can add motion by recording motion movements. The sequencer is quite deep, intuitive and most of all fun to play with.

One setback, this synth is not able to properly communicate with a windows 7 pc. At least in my case Korg win7 drivers where not working properly, device not recognized no matter what, despite extensive troubleshooting. Fortunately XD works fine with a win10 pc. Just a note to those who use older Windows OS. There are some other issues for those who want to check, that hopefully can be overcome with a bit of help from the forums and YT. Speaking of pc connectivity, the librarian is quite useful to load and save patches, user wavetables and effects.

Despite this, the XD is a no-brainer synthesizer. Easy and fun to make patches, fair value, doesn't take too much space and most importantly great sounding, with the option to expand with more wavetables and effects.

Pros:
+ Great sounding synth
+ Good value
+ Knob per function for basic controls
+ Powerful sequencer
+ Ability to load user wavetables and effects.

Cons:
- Korg drivers can be tricky

My first analog synth, and it's great!
First of all - the build is solid, metal plated, doesn't give too much to pressure and all. The keys feel good and even with my sausage fingers are comfortable to use. Sometimes, in some places, a little hard to fit in to hit the white key between the black keys when playing on the top of the keys. But doesn't bother me much. Response is good and stable.

The amount of sounds is amazing, with around 200 factory presets demonstrating a lot of things it can do out of the box. Each can be taken and extended upon.

Very much enjoying the depth and ease of access of the sequencer. The feature of the motion tracks in the sequencer (used to record changes on almost all of the available controls) opens up a whole universe of sounds. The filter allows for a wide range of frequency control, supposedly sharing its design with the Prologue. Primarily, the synth excels at pad sounds, however, is great in other territories aswell.
The onboard post effects (reverbs, delays, modulation) are a great package to make it a complete standalone instrument. Honestly, when playing in my headphones, I probably orgasm every now and again from the sounds it can do :D

A separate big YES for the 3rd, user extendable digital oscillator, which allows you to get even more sounds that aren't available from out of the box. There are plenty of user oscillators and post effects (the post effect section is also extendable) out there to delve into. Both paid and free. I advise to look into Tim Shoebridge's page for some quality ones, but there are plenty more.
Process of installing those, and updating firmware (which gets periodical updates) is fairly easy and straightforward.

My only couple of gripes with it:
- I'd wish for a bigger immediate range of octaves (3 gets quite limiting when learning to play some pieces sometimes, when playing both hands). I realize that this can't be fixed at the price range though... Still, it allows to connect to a separate midi keyboard if needed, so technically can be extended. Or you can get just the synth module and a separate keyboard to begin with.
- Some options (albeit veeery little compared to many other devices) do require some menu diving. The menu diving is pretty simple though and is very shallow in it's structure. But there are still some things that I'd wish were available at the surface to be switchable quickly. But again, a question of price range ofcourse.