Korg Legacy Collection

I've been playing the guitar for around 15 years, and keyboards/synths for about 7 years.
Version reviewed - Korg Legacy Collection 1.19.
I use the KLC-1 with Cakewalk Sonar and Native Instruments Reaktor and Absynth, plus a few other VSTi's.
I make ambient soundscape music, influences are Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno, Casino Versus Japan, etc.
Computer used is a Pentium 4, 2.8GHz, 512MB Ram, Windows XP Home, and stock soundcard with ASIO4All drivers. I also use a USB audio interface for inputing the guitars and other external hardware.

I didn't have any problems installing the software though I will mention that after installing it from the CD-Rom and registering it online, I downloaded the latest update from the Korg User Net and I was forced to uninstall the software before installing the update. Then I had to re-register it! But the Licence Code and Locking Code were both the same each time I registered it, so even if Korg stops supporting it, I should be able to reinstall it on a new computer without any issues, at least I hope so. All in all, I do prefer the licence copy protection versus the USB dongle the newer Korg Digital Collection uses.

The Korg software is very easy to use and is much more intuitive compared to hardware synths and even other popular plug-ins. Creating patches in the MS20 software is easiest done right on the MS20iC Controller Keyboard. And on the Polysix software, the MS20iC's knobs are already mapped to several on the MS20iC. I've owned an actual Wavestation EX and A/D in the past, and the Wavestation software is so much easier to program patches on. The Wavestation is one of my all-time favorite synths and I've spent hours in the past creating never-ending wave sequences and this software will make that process almost too easy.

When using it as a VST plug-in, automation is of-course supported which you cannot do with the hardware counterparts. The MS20iC Controller Keyboard's 30+ knobs can be mapped to pretty much any virtual knob on any software and I use it all the time with Native Instruments Reaktor's "Midi-Learn" Feature.

Sound Quality - the Wavestation sounds brighter and more present than the hardware equivalent, but seems to be lacking a little in the low-end and low-midrange. The originals seem to sound a little bigger and deeper, but it's negligible since programing it is much easier now. Plus the software comes with all the preset RAM from the most recent hardware Wavestation - the SR rack unit. Wavestation software's polyphony is like the original - 32 voices.

I've never owned an original MS20 or a Polysix, though I have heard quite a few analogs at friend's studios so I know about the MS20's raw sound and I believe the software gets close enough plus it adds things like polyphony (up to 32 notes) and unison with detune and spread to get a super-wide stereo sound that the original cannot do.

Polysix has a great string sound and is just decent doing leads and basses. It's just a single VCO synth so there's not much you can do with it compared to other plug-ins. The Phaser, Chorus, and Ensemble effect do sound pretty nice though. Polysix has up to 32 notes of polyphony.

Legacy Cell is very cool and lets you combine any combination of the MS20 and Polysix, or a single synth patch with 2 MS20's or Polysix's with insert effect and master effects.

It's too bad that I cannot upgrade the Wavestation software to include the ROM cards and resonant filter that are included with the Korg Digital Collection. Many people complained about the original Wavestation's lack of resonance on it's weak-sounding digital filter and I think that Korg should have included the Digital Collection's upgraded features in the original Legacy Collection software and not require you to buy another piece of software. Or at least let us download an update.

At $150, it's an absolute steal. I get the excellent raw-sounding polyphonic MS20 software that works seamlessly with the compact MS20iC Keyboard and Wavestation - one of my favorite synths as an easy-to-use VST plug-in. Plus the keyboard's 30+ knobs can be mapped to other software synths.

Compared to Native Instruments Absynth 3 which I also resently purchased, the 3 synths included in the Korg Legacy Collection are more distinctive sounding and are less of a CPU-hog. Absynth is definately more cutting-edge, but it really doesn't have a characteristic sound like the Legacy Collection. It's good to have both though, especially for ambient music. It's hard to beat the Wavestation and Absynth for those super-long evolving pads.

I have been playing music for 30 years, originally piano but now play synths and guitar based around a DAW (digital audio workstation). I used to own an real MS20 but old analogue synths don't work well with a moden DAW. I bought the KLC specifically for the MS20 and wanted the controller.

The installation requires authorisation from Korg's internet servers everytime it's installed or to install software upgrades. This worked simply for me with no issues. Some people have problems if their clock is not set correctly (timezones etc) but Korg support are very helpful. The licensing agreement says that Korg will stop support 12 months after the product is discontinued which means you have no guarrantee the software will continue to work. If you need to reinstall, eg for a new computer or after a system crash, it won't work.

The install and authorisation worked fine for me but the software will not run because of unusual language settings on my computer. Korg support drew my attention to the user agreement saying they make no guarrantee the software will work even though my computer meets the specifications on the outside of box. They will only give a refund if the product has a factory manufacturing fault (I didn't draw their attention to the grammar mistakes in the licensing agreement!). Korg may have to vary this policy in some countries due to local consumer laws, I seem to be out of luck.

The support staff are great but Korg policies are dreadful.

So I have software I can't use and can't get a refund. Oh, and I can't sell it because the user agreement doesn't permit this and the new user couldn't get it authorised.

Well it doesn't have a noise issue on my machine!

I have owned 6 Korg syths and still own 4. I love the Korg sounds and this gear seems to last forever; and I like the way Korg provides manuals and extra support for their hardware. However their attitude towards software licensing is dreadful. Other suppliers have much fairer aggreements.

This product might be fantastic but all it did for me was empty my wallet take up a bit of disc space.

wtf is going on? Everybody reads noone writes. Keep these things going! Or don`t you hate broken links etc.?
Playing some 25 years everything there was around all styles of music except hitmusic and Folk. I haven't yet updated to 1.1.6 making it 1.1.5. On to know I have only used it standalone also it can be used even as VST-FX-plug. I'm running XP of course, got a Win98 aside and a Powerbook(G3, MacOS9), I haven't yet integrated. I listen through Behringer DDX3232 and great EVENT TR8 monitors primarily, somteims headphones at night or for positioning, fineediting synths...

You will come to fine results intuitively, but once you find out what else you do with it, you will want more, find it complicated (cables are data not audio) get frustrated. I'm still in that period but willing to solve it. Installation is easy, support is good(lots of mail once you registered) Automation is complete through MIDI-controllers. Sound was a surprise. I must admit I had no idea of the "Korg-Sound" having played DW6000 only years ago. I kinda like it different to Roland, Yamaha and others. Good sounds are easy coming along with 100s of them. Bad sounds you will have to program yourself. Manuals are great (hard and soft including original hardware-manuals)

It`s difficult to say very versatile including 3 different synth plus the cell ( kind of book with 7 seals ). Im using lots Yamaha stuff so its great to combine with, sounding different. For prestes I don`t give too much. There are I believe all presets the wavestation ever had and tons of them for Polysix and MS, you`ll find some you like.
You'll also find abilities to realtime tweak almost everything by everything quite the way one should expect today.

MY price was a steal. And therefor I didn't compare to anything, there was nothing. I like the sound being different from my other equippment. I hate my brain being too small to unterstand the whole of it in one night. My favorite is there will be years to find out new things about this complex system. Hasn't crashed yet.
Wish it had USB-to-brain-interface. Well maybe the next generation...

BAckground: Been doing playingm usic since ancient times. Mostly film scores.I use Cubase SX and Acid Pro to do stuff. 3,2 GHZ 2 gig ram. Windows XP. Tannoy reveal active studio monitors.

Yeah quite intutive, btu since I actually has had/ and still have and won the original ones, I did a proper blind test with one of my friends. The mini MS-20 makes way for a mer 4-5 in ease of use, if you havent used a real one and learned it. For me it's a 9. No problems installing it. However, the mini MS-20 does come handy when using the MS20 plugin only not the polysix or wavestation. Sort of unneccessary.

MS-20 is decent, it can self oscillacte. I have yet to figure out to put in an external signal- say guitar - and let it track "pitch to glitch". On the real one, this works better.

Wavestation is as close as it gets. I can't really have any opinion here, but it's maybe only the AD/DA converters that you can tell any difference from.

Polysix. The only reason for owning a real polysix is - to me - it's ENSEMBLE effect. With the effects section turned off, it sounds as any other good old analog synth. Nothing THAT special. However, thinking that they had fixed everything down to nitpicking nuiscances with these things, I ebcame disappoitned since this ensembles effect hasn't the gritty growl of the original one, and the vibrato is too present in this version compared to the original. The original is more muddy, and noiser but makes a far more superior string ensemble effect than this software. The rest is decetn though with arpeggiators, and unision and hold functions.

Would be good if I could put in my original backup tapes from the real polysix one, and let this software translate them to the bone!

The LEGACY CELL it's were it's all about. Why you can only combine MS-20 and Polysixes in there beat me though. You could as well put the WS in. Maybe it would hog the cpu too much then...

Well, since they had a summer bargain sale, I think it's fair, but not for the original price. I do really hope, and this is what I really wanted, a software version of their DW6000 synth. It had special waveforms and a very special chorus, that made it completely unique in sound, that not even the famous DW8000 could copy. DW6000 lacked velocity and was limited to 6-voice. If only they made it with velocity and "keyboard tracking sensitivity" or what?s it called. I e tha the cutoff and EQ changes as one moves over the keyboard. Together with a DW6000 plugin this would turn into a monster!

>How long have you been making music? What instruments do you play?

Since 1990. Keyboards and Percussion/

>What application(s) do you use the plug-in with?

Logic 5.5 PC

>What are you using the plug-ins for? What kind of music do you make?

Sound Design, multimedia and television Music

>What kind of computer and what operating system are you using?

Win XP Pro, P4 3Ghz. 2GB DDR400, 3ware RAID, Matrox P750 Triple Display, UAD

>What is your primary listening equipment? (soundcard to headphones, digital monitors, etc.)

Echo Mona24 to RME ADI8 via ADAT --> SPL Surround Controller --> Event 20/20/15 Sub with Bass management to 5 x Event 20/20bas

This is mainly a review of the wavestation emulation since I'm an avid programmer of my WS A/D. I found the graphic layout was excellent! It's now a lot faster and more intuitive to edit this bad boy. The Rack and Keyboard versions are hinfered by many sub menus and pagesall over the place.

It sounds pretty close to the original... although I feel that the real WS is a tad granier in sound which is what gives it the character and beefyness.

I say its well worth the price tag if you need the ease of use of a software Virtual instrument. I still think I would buy another A/D rack if I found one though.... just to have it! :)

I've been making music for 25+ years.

I play drums and keyboards and am quite well in tune with electronic musical instruments.

I use the Legacy collection in stand alone mode for fun and with Cubase SX 2 for composing.

I make a wide variety of music and sound for installations and techo/psychogroove music. I'm also producing a R+B album for a local artist.

My computer is a Mac dual 1GHz G4, 1.5 gigs of RAM.

I'm using an M-Audio Delta 1010, 02R mixer, JBL 4410 monitors

The Legacy is a breeze to use. Very intuitive and lots of great presets to get you rolling.

I had no installation problems.

The Legacy synths all sound great. Like the other reviewer, I never had any of the original synths. I do have lots of soft synth plug ins and external synths like a Waldorf Microwave XT. The Legacy stands up to the Microwave as far as substance of sound where some soft synths are a little weak.

The MS-20 was a little weak on preset quantity but there's new presets posted on some of the user groups now. There are lots of Wavestation presets which are great to play and experiment with and tweak. For me, I've always wanted a Mini Moog. The MS-20 is the next best thing, and probably better at this point. Haviong the MS-20 controller with hands on control makes it great touse. The added bonus of patch cords is a thick layer of icing on the cake. Having a soft version also means (compared to a Mini Moog or real MS-20) I can save presets and recall them with my songs. lso, the automation recording and editing, at least with Cubase SX2, is great.

It's a little taxing on my system but keep in mind this Mac is now 3 years old. My experieince is that any of the good plug ins are hard on CPU. I can run all the legacy synths, plus a few others without overloading my Mac.

For the price, this is a great deal and again, one of the better soft synth packages. I love the MS-20 controller. Keys are a little funky but the hands on cotrol of all the parameters and patch cords is unbeatable. Sometimes I just fire up the standalone and play with sounds. It's like my version of a Nintendo system!

>How long have you been making music?

I have been making music for two years.

>What instruments do you play?

I program synths and play keyboards.

>What is the software version number of the plug-in?

Version 1.01

>What application(s) do you use the plug-in with?

None - standalone mode

>What are you using the plug-ins for?

Everything really

>What kind of music do you make?

Dark, thrashy electronic punk with my band and EBM solo

>What kind of computer and what operating system are you using?

OSX Panther on iMac G4

>What is your primary listening equipment? (soundcard to headphones, digital monitors, etc.)

M-Audio Audiosport Quattro --> Behringer Eurorack MX1604A --> Tannoy Reveal Active nearfield speakers

OK, first let me start by saying that I am in no way affiliated with Korg, this review will sound like something from their marketing department simply because the product deserves praise!

I have never tried the legendary MS20, nor the Wavestation. I did fiddle around with the Poly Six in the eighties playing octave base arpeggios on Depeche Mode covers. So while I am in no position to compare these soft synths with the hardware originals, I can testify to their excellence as modern-day soft synths.

Ease of use? Intuitive interface? Are you kidding? Working with these synths is a breeze! The sounds of especially the MS20 are wonderful, and the virtual patch cords (users of the Nord Modular and the Moog Modular software synth will recognise this feature) are very useful.

I have only used the Korg Legacy in standalone mode, so I don't know how it works with a sequencer program.

As for the manual, I haven't looked at it yet. There is no real need for it, as the synths are so very easy to use!

Sound is really amazing. This is obviously a very personal thing, but I fell instantly in love with the sound of these synths, and the Poly Six sounds much better than I remember the original from my brief encounter back in the old synth pop days. Plus this one doesn't go out of tune...

The MS20 is an incredible machine and the patch cord function means you can easily make really weird and wonderful noises just by trial and error.

The Wavestation has great sounds, although when it comes to software wavetable synthesis, it has a serious competitor in Waldorf's PPG Wave VST. But since Waldorf folded earlier this year, the competition may not be too serious anymore...

While the features of the originals are faithfully interpreted, the number of voices have been enhanced to 32 for all three synths. On the other hand, the sound banks are limited to 32 presets for both the MS20 and the Poly Six. Why? Beats me. Disk space alone is the limit here. The Wavestation has more presets though.

But that's really no problem, creating your own sounds is so simple you needn't be bothered with a small number of presets anyway.

Now, to go back where we started, this isn't a message from Korg's marketing department, and the Korg Legacy collection does have its setbacks. My main objective concern its usage of CPU power. My 700 mhz iMac G4 cannot handle more than one synth at a time, and the Legacy Cell, an interface that combines all three synths, makes the computer virtually imcapacitated. OK, so Korg may assume we all have dual processor G5:s now, but I think they could've done a better job optimizing the program in this respect.

This also means I haven't been able to try out the Legacy Cell at all.

Also, the program does have issues with my sound module, but I don't know wether that is down to the Legacy or the Audiosport Quattro software.

The little "MS20" hardware controller that comes with the software is useful for tweaking knobs and has real patch cords, but the keyboard feels quite poor and I don't think I would use it live. It feels halfway between something very innovative and a retro-cool novelty thing.

I'll stick to my old Nord Lead 1. Because here's one of the greatest things with the interface: Unlike the Native Instruments soft synths I've used, a lot of the knobs on the synths here can be assigned to recieve CC on the channel of your choice from a drop-down menu - same principle as the Nord Modular. Which means that since I know what CC channel each of the knobs on my Nord Lead use, I can easily use them to control the Legacy synths! The only setback is this doesn't apply to all of the knobs, but most of them.

I would say the Legacy Collection is well worth its price, if you have a powerful enough computer. Otherwise you won't get enough out of it.