REVIEW

KORG SV-! Korg reinvents the stage piano with a keyboard that immediately shouts ‘classic’!

Text: Brad Watts

Look, I have to get this out in the open; I truly am a different aesthetic. Actually, I’m more disappointed by the sucker for Korg synths. In fact, I’m a blow-over for fact that the SV-1 isn’t available in a variety of ’50s-inspired Korg products in general. What can I say? I like their shades – I’d like a blue one, and of course there’d be many operational methods and I love their sound. There’s a who would prefer black. certain lushness to Korg keyboards that’s absent from most But leaving the colour aside, the whole design of the other synthesis engines, and neither can this sound be SV-1 is inspired by the sounds within it. The keyboard replicated with mere samples. Now Korg has gone and done is designed to recreate the sounds of classic keyboards it again. such as the Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer 200A electric There are some great new (and old) sounds happening in the piano – Wurlitzer did in fact manufacture a whole bunch SV-1 keyboard. This time around the company’s had a solid of instruments, including pipe organs and guitars, along crack at replacing the archetypal ‘stage piano’ – a machine with juke boxes, but it’s the 200A electric piano that’s that’s been designed to take you from piano to organ, become known as ‘the Wurli’ – and it’s in the context of this through to clavinet and electric piano. In short, it’s a player’s tradition that Korg has gone for a retro feel. keyboard. A machine that can cover most bases, night after Across the controls section of the unit are knobs and night. Forget maintaining a beaten up electric piano, this buttons reminiscent of the dashboard from an EK Holden. machine could cover your ‘vintage keyboard’ needs entirely. There’s even a large metal flip power-switch – which, I’m BIG RED CAR afraid, could be inadvertently flipped off (if you were The SV-1 is Korg’s answer to authentic vintage keyboards unlucky) while indulging in an overly exuberant solo in and piano. Available in 73- and 88-note configurations, the the upper registers. Ironically, for a Korg design, the knobs first feature begging report is the graded-hammer action and buttons are remarkably similar to circa-1980s Roland (RH3) keyboard. It’s a top-notch set of ivories – well, not switch and knobbery – I first noticed this thievery with the literally – that Korg designed and manufactured from the microKorg XL. Aesthetically that keyboard also had more in ground up a few years back, and has since incorporated into common with an SH series Roland synth than anything ever many of its flagship instruments. In the past the company released by Korg. outsourced its keyboards and key-beds from Yamaha, but IN GEAR this puppy is entirely Korg’s progeny. The weighting is Let’s forget the showroom semantics now and have a look delightfully realistic, and won’t leave hardened pianists at what’s really going on with the SV-1. The controls across hankering for anything more. That said, bear in mind this the ‘dashboard’ are very simple – this is a performance keyboard is a piano emulation, so if you’re after the feeling keyboard after all. From the left is a master volume knob, of an organ under your hands I’d suggest looking elsewhere. followed by a three-band EQ section comprising ‘low’, Meanwhile, for the pianists, the SV-1 accepts three pedals ‘mid’ and ‘high’ tone adjustments – this can be bypassed for damper, soft and sostenuto. completely. Following this is the pre-effects section for The next fact I should point out, even though it’s blatantly access to tremolo, vibrato, uni-vibe, boost, compression and obvious, is that the SV-1 is incredibly… well, red. I’m not a vox-wah function that can be controlled via an expression talking fire-engine red here mind you… more a nicely burnt pedal. Two knobs provide control over each type of effect – shade of red, slipping into the spectrum somewhere between labelled ‘speed’ and ‘intensity’. Here again this entire section ‘candy-apple’ and ‘Dakota’. I like it, and for me, the colour can be bypassed. fits nicely with the automobile styling and overall vintage theme. I’m sure there’ll be a few who’ll regard this design Up next is the amp modelling section, also defeatable choice as a touch on the flamboyant side, but why not push and offering a selection of six amplifier types and a drive the envelope a little, I say. Keyboard and synth designs have control. Amp models include an ‘organ amplifier’, tweed, been of the rock-and-roll-black-box persuasion for literally overdriven, and AC30 designs. What’s interesting here is decades, so I salute Korg for leading the charge here with a that the modelled amps work in tandem with a vacuum

AT !" tube-assisted circuit to better recreate the sound of a valve hall, plate, room and spring reverbs, and tape or stereo delay. NEED TO KNOW amplifier. The tube circuit also includes a low voltage power The latter delay type has a tap-tempo button below it. It’s a amp-style circuit, a ‘solid-state simulation of an output shame the tap-tempo button doesn’t adjust the tape-delay Price transformer’, and a dummy speaker circuit to simulate the tempo as well. SV#-$%: &%$'' varying impedance of an actual speaker. All this adds up to SV#-((: &%''' UNDER THE BONNET a closer rendition of a keyboard plugged into an amp, which, Contact Musiclink of course, is what you’re after with a performance-based, Bear in mind that all the adjustments possible via the front panel of the SV-1 are broad brushstrokes to a sound. For ()%) '$!* !*!* vintage-style keyboard. However, I must say, that the 12AX7 [email protected] valve under the clear plastic cover seems a little tacky for finer and more comprehensive editing parameters you’ll www.musiclink.com.au mine. I don’t know about you but I’m a little weary of tubes have to dive into the supplied editing software. For example, Pros in glass windows with lights behind them at this juncture. the tape-delay section can have time, feedback, tone, It’s red! Excellent hammer action Sure the tube is doing something, but does it actually help low-frequency damping, and mix adjusted – none of these parameters are available on the deck. In the modulation keyboard. to have it in your line of vision? More to the point, does it Extremely intuitive operation. sound any more ‘vintage’? I doubt it. effects section you suddenly gain access to feedback, width, Great piano sound. chorus types, rotor and horn speed, and acceleration for the Cons MOTOROLA Leslie effect, pre-delay for the reverbs, and the stereo delay It’s red! So, following across from the amp modelling section of the can be set to tempo and bar divisions. When it comes to the Power switch could dashboard are eight patch recall buttons. Again, in the spirit amplifier simulations there’s a choice of speaker cabinets inadvertently be switched off. of easy on-stage use, these are numerically marked and (10 styles) and the amps themselves have gain and master Summary It’s brave of Korg to splash backlit into the bargain. Eight recall buttons may seem like volume, presence and three-band EQ. Even the EQ section out with such a retrospective too few to some players – I guess it will depend entirely on suddenly offers up control over the mid section frequency design, but the SV-# really your approach. point. There’s even a final dynamics processor/compressor captures the feel of that doesn’t make an appearance on the dashboard. Besides yesteryear with it’s simplistic, Saving a patch to these locations is referred to as a storing a ’*)s-inspired look. For those ‘favourite’. To the right of these favourites are two knobs for giving access to all these extra parameters, the SV-1 editor wanting a keyboard to simply flicking between the sounds available from the instrument. further allows backup and retrieval of countless other plug in and play, there’s li,le These are six-position knobs, the first labeled: E.Piano 1, patches beyond the eight stored in the ‘favourites’ section. to argue with. For those that prefer their keyboards to E.Piano 2, Clav, Piano, Organ, and Other; the ‘Other’ In terms of the sound engine, the SV-1 offers 80-note look a li,le less ostentatious, section containing Solina and ensemble-style string sounds. polyphony, enough for any two handed player to not have perhaps the equally as red The second knob chooses between six variations within – but more complex – Nord notes disappearing when least expected. The unit is not Piano or Stage might be the each genre. In practice you simply choose sounds with multi-timbral, however, so it’s a one-sound-at-a-time way to go. these knobs, apply EQ, amp modelling and any amplifier- machine. It will run in a ‘local-off’ fashion, enabling you to based effects you see fit, along with the appropriate dose use the SV-1 as a master keyboard for a sequencing system. of modulation and reverb (which we’ll get to in a moment) There is plenty of modern MIDI functionality though; the and then simply save the setup to any of the eight ‘favourite’ unit receives MIDI clock messages, transmits and receives buttons. Storing a favourite works just like programming aftertouch information. your car radio – hold down the button until it flashes, then press the button again to store the sound. It couldn’t IN THE STRAIGHT Across the be any simpler. “ In terms of being a player’s keyboard I think Korg has done controls section Saving further patches is only possible via the included patch a great job with the SV-1. It’s very easy to pull up a sound of the unit are editor software, and this connects seamlessly to your PC or and get straight into it. There are no menus, screens, or dual Mac via USB. This connection also acts as a MIDI conduit, function buttons to learn, the outputs are presented as both knobs and so there’s no need to use a separate MIDI interface. There are unbalanced jacks and balanced XLRs, and there’s a stereo buttons also MIDI ports for normal connection to a typical MIDI- input for adding another synth or keyboard, or another based system. playback device – yet another useful feature for the gigging reminiscent of keys-player. HYDRAMATIC the dashboard Getting back to the onboard effects section for a moment, There’s such a lot going for the SV-1 in fact that the only from an EK the first of these deals with time-modulation effects. Here problem I can see really is that some won’t be able to again, choosing an effect is via a six-position knob, with come to grips with the look of it. So far, opinion is quite Holden. effects including phasing, flanging, chorus and a rotary divided here at AT – it seems I’m the only one that likes Leslie emulation. Speed and intensity controls are all that’s the big red monster’s look. Aesthetics aside, the SV-1 is an required here, along with a button for switching between incredibly easy keyboard to use, and I believe there’d be a slow and fast rotary speeds. Finally, at the right-hand end of stack of keyboard players out there who’d appreciate such the keyboard are the reverb and delay effects, consisting of ease of use. ”

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