1. Introduction
2. Different Korg Models
3. Specifications
4. What to Consider When Buying a Synth
5. My Personal Opinions
6. Testing the Korg X5 at the Dealer's
7. Where to Buy
8. Sound Samples
9. Alternative Synthesizers
10. Jargon Buster

See also Buying the first synth. For the latest prices see the USA New Gear Price List.

This page is designed to help you make up your mind if you are planning on buying a Korg X5 compatible synthesizer (X5, X5D, X5DR, 05R/W). I don't give you info about more recent Korg products because there are dedicated pages for them. See Synth Zone for links.

It's worth mentioning that I don't work for Korg Inc. and am free to say things they wouldn't want me to say, such as some facts about the X5 I don't like. I also recommend some synths from other manufacturers as alternatives to the X5.

I've tried to avoid technical terms that might confuse a beginner, but if you do encounter strange words, there is a Jargon Buster at the bottom of the page to help you understand what I mean.

If you want to hear what an X5 sounds like without leaving your seat there are some sound samples available. For more detailed information about the synth you can check out the online manual [korg.com].

The Korg X5 is the keyboard equivalent of the popular 05R/W module, and correspondingly the X5DR is the module version of the X5D keyboard synthesizer. Thus mostly everything on this page (and other Korgy Park pages) said about the X5 (X5D) also applies to the 05R/W (X5DR). In fact the X5 is not so much different from the X5D, the main differences being that the X5D has double the polyphony and more PCM samples in ROM, see Specifications below.

As with buying any product first you need to consider what you need it for (or do you need it at all!). For synths there are two main uses: you either play live in a band or sequence music at home or in a studio.

Playing live

For live playing you need a synth that has the sounds you need and feels good to play. The X5 has wide variety of sounds to cover most musical genres. Have you ever seen a band play with a Korg 01/W, X2/X3, i2/i3 or maybe an N264/N364? If you have, then you should know that the X5 has the same sound quality (and even a lot of the same sounds) than those professional synthesizers.

The X5 keyboard feels like a synth keyboard, ie. it is not weighted. Those of you who can play the piano may find the feel rather strange. Another thing is that the X5 keyboard doesn't support aftertouch although some ignorant advertisers claim it does. If you don't like the feel or missing aftertouch but do like the Korg sounds, you can always buy a good controller keyboard and a sound module like the X5DR with it.

One plus with the X5 is that it weighs very little, and is easy to carry around with you where ever you play.

Controlling the sound is important too. The X5 offers a decend pitch-bend, a modulation wheel that stays in the position you want and can be assigned to any controller including aftertouch. Pedals (assignable and switch, see specifications) can be used too. Keyboard splitting allows you to play different sounds simultaneously, for example playing a bass line with your left hand is possible even while your right hand is playing a piano sound.

Some keyboardists only play lead lines. For that you don't need any polyphony, and I'd suggest you take a look at a perfomance synth like the astonishing Korg Prophecy. You can't play chords with it because it is monophonic but it sounds fantastic and has great real time controls.

Sequencing

For sequencing the X5 is very popular for a number of reasons. It sounds good in Multi mode, it has a lot of sounds and enough polyphony (especially the X5D). It is 16 part multitimbral as most synths today. There are sound editors at least for the PC, Mac and Amiga, and it's not too hard to program new sounds but you can also get a lot of them from the net.

What can I say, if you like the sounds the X5 is one of the best if not the best sound generator you can get at this price! Because of it's popularity chances are you'll find other X5 owners to exhange ideas with (I live in a small town in Finland and know three people who own X5(DR)s!). If you don't believe me, check out the Korgy Park Forum for proof that someone really does use Korg synthesizers.

You can even listen to General MIDI songs with the X5 as it is GM-compatible, although the GM sounds are not that great.

If you don't have a computer you might want to consider buying a synth with a sequencer built in. The Korg X2/X3 are basically X5s with a sequencer, and the new Korg N264/364 are like improved X5Ds with a sequencer.

The opinions presented here are based on my own preferences and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Opinions on the X5D (and X5DR)

I have owned and used a Korg X5D for sequencing for years. I'm very happy with what it can do, the sounds are great and cover a wide variety of styles, the effects are very useful, the operating system is quite logical and easy to use once you get the hang of it.

But alas, nothing is perfect, and I do have a few complaints:

• Filters don't have resonance. This is essential if you want to do those popular filter sweeps and squelching acid basses, but you can achieve a similar sound with Overdrive and Distortion effects, which do have resonance. And there are a few RezBass samples too.

• Two effects are sometimes not enough, especially when composing very distorted techno. Otherwise two is usually enough.

• The User Manual is quite technical in nature, but my Korg X5 FAQ and Beginner's Guide are there to help.

• Keyboard doesn't have aftertouch (but you can assign the Mod Wheel to aftertouch, because the sound generator does recognize aftertouch).

• Totally non-expandable! You can't add new samples (multisounds) on an expansion board like you can with many other synths.

Overall though, I think my X5D is a great machine and I'm not alone with my opinion! If you want a good entry-level synthesizer that can do a lot of different musical styles you can't go wrong with an X5D.

Opinions on the Korg X5

If I was buying my first synth today I'd still go for the X5D. I don't mean that the X5 is a bad synth, but the X5D is better, and doesn't cost a lot more. For sequencing purposes the 64 note polyphony of the X5D is great, but for beginners 32 notes is plenty. I love to layer sounds to my hearts content and I'm sure I would've run out of notes many times if I was using an X5. I also like the extra sounds of the X5D.

For playing live the X5 would probably be quite a nice synth provided that it has the sounds you need. If you don't need the 64 note polyphony and the extra sounds, then you'll save some cash by going for the X5.

The only way to find out if a synth is good for you is to get to the nearest music dealer and take a test drive with the synth. Don't trust anyone or anything else but your very own ears about this! It doesn't matter what the rest of the world thinks - if you dislike the sound of the X5, then forget it and visit a Roland, Yamaha or Alesis dealer instead.

Playing the X5 is very simple indeed: just turn on the power, select a playing mode (press COMBI or PROG) and adjust the volume. You can change sounds either by entering a number with the numeric keys or with the arrow up/down (YES and NO) keys. There are 100 Programs and 100 Combinations (plus 136 General MIDI Programs) to play with. Korg arranges their sounds rather strangely: every tenth sound belongs to the same group! For example piano and organ sounds are numbers 1,11,21,31,...,91. To make life easier there is a "10'S HOLD/-" button which, when pressed, makes the arrow buttons jump 10 sounds forward/backward.

If you intend to use the X5 for playing live then you can check the sounds in both COMBI and PROG modes, but for sequencing the PROG mode sounds are more important because using COMBI sounds in Multi mode is a little limited (see Sequencing Tips).

So the main things to check are: do you like the sounds and the feel of the keyboard? Try Pitch Bend and Modulation Wheel, and you can ask to try a pedal too if you want. Don't be illusioned by the few fabulous sound effects, especially Combination sounds! How many times do you think you can use a sound like the X5D A00:PipeDreams? (well Enigma used it at least twice...) Play a few notes of the X5D Combination A50:Megatron and you'll suddenly realize how the beginning of Babylon Zoo's Spaceman was made... Those sounds can take over your life but for serious use more normal soundscapes are usually more important.

Playing the demo song(s)

Synths usually have demo songs in them to demonstrate the sounds and features with the press of a button. The X5 has one demo, and the X5D two. You can get into Demo Play mode by pressing COMBI and EDIT simultaneously. After that COMBI and PROG play the demo(s). On the X5D the first demo song is a megamix of styles, and the second one is jazzy, both are worth a listen. The song stops with any of the six buttons on the left of the panel, which also get you out of demo mode.

Sounds you can't afford to miss

These are my suggestions of some sounds to check out. They are based on my very personal taste, so you better try the other sounds too.

Since the X5 is an old synth, you are looking to buy it second hand. Website like eBay or Froogle might help.

Anxious to hear the Korg X5 in action? Then check out the internal X5D demo song We've Got Dreams (2.9 MB) by Korg Inc.

There's also a list of artists using the X5 available on the Links page of Korgy Park. Most of them have mp3s for download.

I also have a few mp3-versions of my songs available on the Songs page. They are quite poor in quality compared to the pro-sounding demo, but anyway you get to hear the X5D make some noise in various styles.

Since the Korg X5 is an old synth, technology has evolved, so just go to your local synth dealer and see what's available. The following synths are somewhat similar in their capabilities (and age).

Korg N1 and N5

Improved versions of the X5D with more sounds and features.

Alesis QS6 and QuadraSynth

Very good of what I've heard, the QS6 has some nice techno sounds too.

Roland XP-10 and the JV-series

The XP-10 is cheaper than the X5 but I've heard it doesn't sound as good. It's basically a SoundCanvas SC55mkII with a keyboard, some more and better sounds and an arpeggiator, but not as good editing facilities as the Korg X5. Some people say that the Roland sound in general is warmer than the Korg sound, that's why you should definitely have a listen to some Roland gear too. Although the JV-series is old it's well worth checking out.

Yamaha CS1x and the SY-series

The CS1x has great real time controls and XG sounds. The SY-series is old but worth taking a look especially second hand.

Aftertouch

An aftertouch sensitive keyboard detects how hard you press the key after you initially strike it down. The X5 doesn't do that, although the sound generator in it supports aftertouch, which you can apply via the Modulation Wheel (page 10A of Global mode).

General MIDI

General MIDI (GM) is a standard set of sounds designed with the idea in mind that a song made with the GM sounds of one synth will sound about the same on any other manufacturer's synth that has the GM soundset. The internet is full of GM songs that you can listen to, and you can compose your own too, if you only use those GM sounds instead of Bank A sounds.

Module synthesizer

A synthesizer without a keyboard, shaped like your VCR so that it fits conveniently in a rack. It is controlled via MIDI, with a controller keyboard or a sequencer.

Multitimbrality

The number of different instrument sounds that can be playing simultaneously. Think of it as the number of musicians in your band.

PCM Waveform

A digital sample of a sound.

Polyphony

The number of notes that can be playing at once. If you exceed the limit some of the notes will be cut off.

Velocity sensitivity

A keyboard of the X5 is velocity sensitive, meaning it detects the "speed" at which you strike a key. Usually it affects the volume of the sound, but it is easy to program a sound that for example gets shorter if you play it harder.