WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

Ultimate Patches has released the microKORG 2023 Ultimate Patches, an all-new patch library that celebrates the synth’s 20th year on the market.

The patches are also compatible with microKORG S, microKORG Plug-in VST, and MS-2000 series synths.

microKORG 2023 Ultimate Patches features 300 new patches, covering futuristic digital, authentic vintage analog, classic leads, basses and evolving pads, and traditional non-synth instruments, including B3 and Vox organs, classic 60s, 70s and 80s Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, orchestral instruments, world percussion, 80s guitars & basses and more.

The collection spans the genres of modern and vintage pop, synthwave, cinematic, orchestral, latin, futurestep, classic 70s rock, vintage and modern hip hop, country, reggae, retrocade, trap, chiptune, 70s soul, dubstep, reggaeton, deep house, vaporwave, trance, techno, tech house, futurepop, experimental, modular and jazz.

microKORG 2023 Ultimate Patches is available now, with intro prices of $14.99 per Volume (100 Ultimate Patches) or $29.99 for all 3 volumes (300 Ultimate Patches). A Free Patches Pack from the collection is also available.

Korg Liano is now available in 6 different colours – Black, White, Grey, Silver, Blue and Red – so which one looks the best?

Launched last year, Korg’s Liano is the slimline 88-note digital piano with a beginner-friendly, soft-touch key action. It is also portable: you can power it from batteries and it has a pair of built-in bass reflex speakers.

We are telling you this again because Liano is now available in six colour options. In addition to the original black, you now have pearl white and metallic grey, silver, blue or red options to choose from.

So which colour looks the best? Perhaps, if you want to play it totally safe, black is the obvious choice (no one’s going to be scared by that if you decide to sell at a later date) and the grey and silver options look rather conservative, as well. The white Liano is a little bolder, but we’d be worried about marking its pristine finish.

Which leaves metallic blue and red. There are quite a few red keyboards on the market already – but the blue option is genuinely distinctive. As such, this would be our choice, but feel free to disagree because the choice is in your hands.

In terms of performance, of course, it doesn’t really matter. The beating heart of all the Lianos is an Italian grand piano, and there are seven further sounds to play with, too. The Korg Liano is a mere 7cm tall, weighs 6.2kg and offers USB MIDI and audio.

As you can see, the control set has been kept simple. There’s no screen, so sounds are selected via a labelled dial. And includes reverb and chorus effects.

Korg Liano costs £339 /$330, and the new colours will be available soon. Find out more on the Korg website.

Developer Momo Müller has released an Editor and Soundbank for the Korg Volca Kick.

Volca Kick Editor gives you direct access from your DAW to the Kick’s parameters, allowing you to integrate it into the DAW project.

You can save and reload your sounds, so you can create a sound library of kicks and basses. If you need new ideas, you can use the random function to generate new sounds. And, in your DAW, you can record controller movement, so sound changes can be saved.

Features:

• Complex sound changes can be made easily and quickly.
• All controllers can be automated.
• X-Y modulation of all parameters
• You can randomize the controls of the Volca Kick
• You can use your Volca Kick as a sound module in the DAW

The Editor are available for:

• PC as VST2 and Standalone for 32bit and VST2, VST3 and Standalone for 64bit Windows.
• MAC as VST2, VST3, AU and Standalone, compatible with MAC Intel and M1.

The Korg Volca Kick Editor and Soundbank are available now for €6,90/ $7 (Contains all versions).