Korg DS-10 (DS) Review
Posted by Jacob Lopez on 01.07.2009
How does the DS-10 stack up against current software synthesizers? Is the sound building worth the price of admission? Check out my full review.
Game: Korg DS-10
Developer: Cavia
Published by: XSEED Games
Type: Music Software
Rated: E for Everyone
The Korg DS-10 has been on my radar since March of 2008. I am a bit of a synthesizer nut, so naturally I was excited upon hearing the news that the software would be published in the United States by XSEED Games.
Then came some bad news. Most retail outlets didn’t want to carry the product. I have to admit, a DS card that turns your Nintendo handheld into a portable analog synthesizer and workstation is a tough sale. It was near impossible to find at stores (the same stores who order hundreds of copies of Build a Bear Workshop for the Nintendo DS), because the retailers just didn’t think the DS-10 would appeal to a very wide audience.
Luckily, I was eventually able to grab a copy. For those of you who don’t know about the DS-10, it’s a sub-$100 virtual analog softsynth and sequencer based on one of Korg’s legacy synths, the MS-10.
The Korg DS-10 is not a game, it is a softsynth (software synthesizer). That said, this review will be very different from from what you are used to reading on 411mania. The reason is, that there is no real “gameplay” involved, and you can’t really rate a bunch of letters, a piano roll and squares for graphics.
Gameplay and Graphics will be replaced by Features and Presentation for the purpose of this review.
FEATURES
The DS-10 packs a lot of punch given the DS’ power. The feature set, although not as expansive as a full-on software synth, is surprisingly well thought-out. You get two monophonic virtual analog synths, and a four-part drum machine. It’s not a lot, but it is enough to get your basic rhythm and bassline ideas into audio. For anyone who wants more, you can always daisy chain up DS> systems together for a grand total of 16 synth sounds and a massive 32-part drum machine. Oh the power of DS-to-DS connectivity.
Each of your synths has two 4 wave (Triangle, Sawtooth, Square and Noise) oscillators. These are probably the most waveforms a synth can have, because it’s enough to make most of your basic lead and bass sounds. Although the original hardware synth was monophonic, it would have rocked to have some added polyphony for the software version.
Each synth also has its own filter set with 3 filter types: low pass, band pass and high pass, each with its own distinct sound. You can adjust the cutoff and resonance (peak). Sweeping around the cutoff filter can make anything from bowel loosening rumbles to ear ripping screams. I would advise newcomers not to use headphones for this reason.
The KAOSS Pad is one of the coolest features in the software. The great thing overall about the KAOSS Pad is that you can have a load of fun with it even if you don’t quite understand what you are doing. Even though it was not part of the original hardware synth, having it built-in adds a new dimension to this music creation tool. The KAOSS Pad can play preset arps (arpeggios) that follow musical scales, or modulate the current synth as it plays. It somewhat eliminates the need for a mod and pitch wheel, but it would have been great if I was allowed to assign my own parameters.
The original MS-10 was a semi-modular synth. This meant it had little patch cables you could use to modulate different sounds. The DS-10 retains this feature by implementing a virtual patch bay. You can patch different modulation sources to different sound attributes, and set how much you want the patch to affect your sounds. Try connecting a triangle wave to your ‘cutoff in’ for fun results.
The DS-10's Virtual Patch Bay
Also essential to music creation is the DS-10’s four-part drum machine. It may seem simplistic at first, but it is actually a pretty versatile piece of work. The drums are built from scratch (synthesized) rather than sampled, so you can totally sculpt your drum sounds. With enough tweaking, you can make sounds that range from floor rumbling 808 kicks to snares that sizzle through the speakers.
Finally, there’s the sequencer. The process of putting together a song may seem daunting to someone who has never used music software, but all begins to make sense as you screw around with it bit by bit. The sequencer basically allows you to ‘sequence’ your notes in the order and timing you want them to play. This will create a loop. Your loops are the building blocks for your song. When you put them together in sequence, you build the sections of your complete song.
With everything the DS-10 has to offer, its hard to be disappointed with any of it’s limitations. It is basically turns your DS into a workstation, but as I said before, the limited polyphony can be a bit of a problem if you only have one DS and card. The other down side is that as far as I can see--and I have tried--there is no way to make individual loop longer than 16 steps. This makes for very short patterns to work with in the context of an entire song.
Everything is made super-easy with the touch screen controls, and the software would probably not have been very useful on any other system. Anyone who played the original MTV Music Generator (awesome for its time) may agree; moving a cursor through music software with a D-pad or analog stick just isn't very enjoyable.
PRESENTATION
The DS-10’s layout is pretty cut-and-dry. If you have messed with music software before, it’s not much easier or harder to learn than your average software sequencer.
All knobs are appropriately labeled, and every menu item tells you what it is. If there is a downside to all of this, it is that it may take time to find certain features you actually want to mess with. For example, it took me a while to find the window that allowed me to edit individual drum sounds, and it took me a fair amount of searching to figure out how to set note velocities (I really should read manuals more often, this one is beefy).
While someone who knows about the stuff will have a field day with this package, someone who has no idea how these things work will find the process overwhelming at first. This is one of the few games (for lack of a better word) I would say is worth reading the manual for, doing so would have made finding some menus much easier. The manual’s writers were even cool enough to provide a series of music scales, this is actually to explain some of the settings of the KAOSS Pad, but it is useful for knowing good note combinations.
SOUND
The sound is one of the most important parts of a synthesizer. Given the DS’ sound capabilities and output levels, the sound engine is pretty impressive. I was surprised at how rumbly I was able to set my kick drum or how scream-y I was able to make my leads.
As far as effects and EQ go, there is no way to adjust the EQ, so without careful consideration it is very easy to mud everything together. The effects work just as you would expect, but I never really find myself using anything aside from a little bit of reverb on the occasion.
Most will find the sound to be satisfactory. I have no qualms, but I hook it up to some computer speakers attached to a subwoofer.
LASTING APPEAL
As with anything that allows you to create from scratch, the software lasts as long as you let it. Anything like this is only limited by your imagination. Even during dry spells in music creation, it is a great tool for quickly gathering ideas anytime, anyplace. This is not the kind of thing you have to open up everyday either, but it is easy to find yourself coming back to the software over and over again every time the creative mood strikes.
THE 411
This software was a lot of fun to mess around with. The amazing versatility just kept me coming back to the DS-10, and while it is no replacement for a full-on software studio like Logic Pro, it is a GREAT way to introduce newcomers to the world of analog synthesis. See, learning a synth is like driving a car. Every one of them controls more or less the same way, but handles differently. What may seem scary at first soon becomes second-nature.
If you love playing with synthesizers and sequencers, DS-10 is perfect for you. If you want to learn a bit, but don’t know where to start, I don’t think I would recommend any other program at this point. I just hope to see more small-scale bands start to incorporate their Nintendo DS systems into their performances, much like Freezepop did with the seemingly simplistic QY-70.
Graphics
8.0
Presentation: Newer users will have a heck of a time navigating at first, but if you are a seasoned synth doctor, the features will usually be easy to find.
Gameplay
8.5
Features: Lots of features such as a virtual patch bay, KAOSS Pad and effects make this a pretty complete set. If you really want to make somehting though, you will want to sync a few systems.
Sound
8.5
So it's no Access Virus, but the Access Virus also costs about 2 grand. The sound engine in this thing can rip your face off with the right speakers.
Lasting Appeal
9.0
It can go both ways. Once you learn how to use it, the hours of music creation can be endless. If you haven't used a synth, and get frustrated easily, just enjoy the music it makes instead.
Fun Factor
9.0
I really wanted to make this a bit higher. The only reason I couldn't make myself do so was that you have to string a few DSs together for the ultimate exprience.
