Korg DS-10 (DS) Preview
Posted by Jacob Lopez on 07.22.2008
E3: Hands-on: What do you get when you put a synth and software sequencer on the DS? Something for the synth junkies and indie artists!
The Short Version:
-2 synth tracks, 4 drum parts.
-Mixer with pan, solo, volume and mute controls
-Virtual patch cables
-Saw tooth, triangle, square and Noise waves.
-Delay, chorus and flanger
-Six track 16-step sequencer, up to 16 patterns
-Built-in Kaoss Pad
-Sync DS units
-Save up to 18 songs, 99 patterns in length.
-Three Filter types: Low Pass, High Pass and Bandpass
The Long Version:
A full-on synth on Nintendo's handheld. That describes the Korg DS-10 in one quick sentence. But, being that I am a synth guy, I had to dig deeper into this little package. Based on Korg's classic MS-10, which was made popular by the Chemical Brothers and the Sneaker Pimps, the DS-10 includes a few pretty advanced features for being a sub $100 dollar software package.
Layout of the Software's Signal Flow and Lots of Parameters
At first glance, this may seem like a music game on the DS, but that is not the case. This is actually a synth and sequencer. The package includes two built-in mono synths, with two oscillators each and a four-part analog drum machine. From what I saw, each oscillator seems to have four different waveforms: saw, triangle, square and noise. The basics, but enough to build the sounds you will need for a nice composition.
The drums are all analog modelled, so if you don't want to use presets, you will have to learn basic synthesis if you don't know some already. Everything is very versatile; at one point I started with an electronic kick and turned it into a siren, just by turning the right knobs. That just goes to show you that none of the drums are sampled sounds, they are produced from the internal synth engine.
As far as tracks go, you can have two synth parts and 4 drum tracks. If you are feeling limited, you can wirelessly ‘daisy chain' up to 7 additional DS systems. Making one the master and the rest slaves. At that point, it may be more tracks than you ever need, but it is great to know that the option is there.
Each pattern can be up to 16 beats and you have up to 16 patterns per song. After that, you may sequence those 16 patterns to compose a song. You are also given the essentials: Delay, Flanger and chorus and as far as I know, it is one effect per track.
16-step Drum Sequencer
The program also had a mixer with full volume, pan, solo and mute controls. Knobs can be automated during playback for additional synth effects, and the package even has a built in Kaoss Pad. The Kaoss Pad allows you to assign parameters such as pitch and cutoff to the X and Y-axis, and tweak them on the fly or for live performance.
Built-in Kaoss Pad For the Win
The software also has some virtual patch cables, much like the original synth. Unfortunately, at that point, someone else was in line waiting to try out the software. Either way, I will definitely be giving this one a shot when it is released.
Virtual Patch Cables Make This More Like the Original
The Synth That This Package Is Based On
Seriously, the DS-10 is a sweet little software package for anyone who wants to learn synthesis or someone who already knows but wants to have sort of a musical "sketch pad" on the road. I can actually see this becoming kind of a hit in the indie rap and industrial community. I am definitely eager to see what comes out of my favorite handheld system when I pop this baby in. Here is to hoping for some legacy stuff from Roland too.
