KORG DS-10 Synthesizer - DS Game (Retro Fam)

I'll be brief-- this is fun, easy, but has a LOT of depth. The korg ds-10 is basically a full emulation of the MS-10 synth. As much fun as it is, (and it IS) this is just the tip of the iceberg of what music production is. It is a great way to introduce musically talented kids into the art of making their own stuff.

Don't want to plunk down the money for a real KORG synth or a KORG Kaossilator, but you do have a Nintendo DS (or DSi)? Get this game, the sound quality of the virtual synth is nothing to write home about, but the virtual synth has just about every knob and switch you commonly see on real synths. So learning how to configure this virtual synth effectively teaches you how to configure a real synth. Next, it features a very nice sequencer that lets you edit patterns and songs easily. It also supports using multiple DS units in tandem (up to a total of 4) to increase the number of voices if you so desire. Each DS would require a copy of the "game" obviously in that setup. I really do enjoy using this so as to pass time constructively rather than passively when waiting for this or that. The only real draw back to it is the rather small number of patterns you can use in a song, that being only 16 patterns, with at most 16 notes per pattern. So if you need some longer patterns you have to split your long patterns into two or more smaller patterns each, this can really eat into the effective number of patterns. It would also have been nice if it would have supported saving songs and sessions to the SD card on the DSi, but it doesn't, then again, I don't know of any DS game that would.

I bought this because it seemed like a fun little toy to play around with on my DS. It was not until I opened the box and played around with it for a while that I realized how deep of a product it really is. One word: Wow.This is not really something you can just pick up and expect to crank out music for day one if you don't know what you're doing. You really have to have at least a fundamental understanding of analog synthesizers, low-frequency oscillation (sine/sawtooth/square wave etc.), sequencing, and musical scales. While beginners can play around with it and squeak out simple patterns and drum beats, people who have used analog synthesizers or synthesizer software like Reason will hit the ground running and have an absolute ball with this right out of the box.I also need to mention that the user-interface is solid. They managed to roll a ton of complexity into a really easy to use interface. The switch screen interface is ingenious.While the DS-10 is not going to replace anyone's Moog or even Reason for that matter it's an incredibly fun and useful tool. I can absolutely see this being used in clubs by just plugging the DS into the mixing board. I am pretty excited to see what people are going to do with it and I keep checking YouTube for a daily dose. It a product limited only by the "player's" creativity.

Amazing, just about as versatile as the real thing - you can hook it up to your computer's line in, record multiple tracks, add effects etc... for $27. I just can't get over the value this software brings. Seriously - if your looking at synth software for your mac or pc, you should try this out.

After several weeks of playing with my DS-10 while walking to and from work and occasionally running into things, I've decided that it's nothing short of amazing. Before I get into my review, I have to admit that I'm completely biased. I've always loved KORG, and everything in my home studio (synthesizers, MIDI devices, keyboard, even my mixer) is KORG. So when I found out KORG was planning on releasing the DS-10, naturally, I was excited. For fans of KORG's Electribe series of music production gear, you can imagine the DS-10 as a portable version of the EM-1.First of all, the price. Who can argue with getting a fully-functioning synthesizer for the price of a DS game? Jerks, that's who. There's no need to hunt around for a better deal with the DS-10, because even the full price is already amazing for something so powerful. And yes, it is powerful. Every aspect of every sound can be tweaked in a huge number of ways, creating endless possibilities for the sounds you can come up with. It turns out that a touch screen is an amazing tool for something like this. No, you can't twist two knobs simultaneously, but the DS-10 is designed to make it incredibly easy to switch between different screens and input methods. When using the DS-10 for performance, you can control your synths using an on-screen keyboard or a KAOSS Pad, where you have full control over the X and Y axises. For the drum parts, you can even pull up an on-screen pad and play it with your thumbs (which i.