Korg TR61 61-Key Synth Workstation
64MB PCM ROM. Portable SD card data storage.
Overall User Ratings (based on 122 ratings)
Submitted March 13, 2006 by a customer from hotmail.com
"King Korg comes to the rescue of musicians around the world!!!"
This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
I will never get rid of it! I am in bliss!!! It gives me more than I expected. If it were lost or stolen, I would purchase it again. Actually, I am going to buy another Korg TR (76 key) and another Pa50 (try this unit and you will be amazed) in two weeks.
Sound
The sounds are top-notch. It is a Triton Le improved to the max, being the result a keyboard between the Korg Triton and the Triton Extreme. There is nothing cheesy about it. Even the keybed is much better, very responsive. The sounds are divine if this word can express it properly. You have to hear it to believe it. Nothing beats Korg sounds! I use it as a stand alone unit or with my Korg Pa50 professional arranger and the Korg CX3 combo organ. I celebrated my mother's birthday last Saturday. You should have seen the people we invited. They came up to me and began asking how I could get such realistic sounds. When they heard the organs and saxophones they were looking around in disbelief. Try Bank A, number 21 (Voice Scats). Gorgeous!!!!!!!!
Features
You can program and change arpeggios on the fly. You hear guitars and you cannot believe how realistic and professional they sound. For the price (I got mine for $ 840 ) there is absolutely nothing out there that can compete against it. The vibrato feature with Leslie sim is incredible. Everything is so intuitive and perfect.
Ease of Use
Best interface I have ever seen. It is very easy to use with other keyboards. The learning curve is the cat's pajamas. The manual is clear. It is a pleasure to play. I spend hours and hours with this instrument.
Quality
Very well-made. They use plastic and metal. Very good quality. Of course people are supposed to take care of these precious instruments. Anybody who says that you can drop it from a second floor is talking nonsense. It is sturdy, but you protect it with a nice carrying bag. All my instruments are in mint condition, and with a Korg product you are extra careful because it is so GOOD!!!!!!
Value
You do not have to spend over $ 2000 to get top quality. Buy the Korg TR, and you will be the happiest person on Earth!
Manufacturer Support
They are very nice.
The Wow Factor
I got through three divorces because of my love for Korg products! I guess my ex-wives did not understand the beauty of music made with Korg! They were jealous of the sounds!!!!!
Musical Background:
Active musician
Musical Style:
Bossa Nova, Cool Jazz.
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Submitted February 9, 2006 by a customer from hotmail.com
"This is a great instrument but it will be great if Korg gives us a new Triton with more programs and combinations than the LE or"
The Triton series will last for at least another five years, after that, hopefully we will have something new that will offer things we can not imagine now, and at a reasonable price.
Sound
Great sounds but only a few are new. Most come from LE and Extreme.
Features
Go inside the system, Needs nothing from the outside.
Quality
No problem here.
Value
A lot of great features for the price.
Manufacturer Support
Really poor in Mexico City.
The Wow Factor
I do not give a damm for looks.
Musical Background:
Active electronic musician.
Musical Style:
Electronic.
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Submitted August 30, 2009 by a customer from hotmail.com
"My 2nd Korg Synth is Truly The Second Coming"
Verified Customer
zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I'm hoping this machine lasts awhile. It takes me years to learn the complexities of an instrument like this, and I try to learn a new feature every weekend or so. If it doesn't fail on me I can easily imagine using it for a very long time. I never understood people getting a synth like this and then upgrading a year or two later. This thing will absolutely provide a variety of possibilities every time you turn it on. If you need to upgrade then maybe you're a pro or something, but for amateurs and hobbyists this is perfect.
Sound
Instead of getting Korg's sampler add-on, I decided to get the Akai MPC1000. The two units together have turned out to be a truly amazing team. Sampling synth phrases and then adding effects and filtering in the MPC has opened up a world of possibilities I'd only dreamed about. You can't go wrong with a thousand dollar synth and a thousand dollar sampler.
Features
Most useful feature is the built-in sequencer. I've only begun tapping into its power.
Ease of Use
Dead simple to operate. Touch screens are nice, but I don't need anything that fancy.
Quality
I wanted this partly as I liked its more streamlined look and tougher build quality than the M50's that were coming out soon. The M50 had some neat new features, but I thought it was ugly compared to the TR.
Manufacturer Support
Not yet needed.
The Wow Factor
Has become a centerpiece of my modest home studio with endless tweakability, and always a useful sound when needed. I also liked the classic styling that reminded me of Korgs circa 1990.
Musical Background:
Hobbyist
Musical Style:
Alternative
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Submitted July 26, 2012 by Cromer Crox
"Handy Workhorse"
I got a TR61 when it first came out, around six years ago, and have had it ever since. I got it to replace a bunch of keyboards in a big live rig ... since then my rig has expanded again, and is about to contract again ... but my TR61 is still there. Why? Because it's a good, reliable 'board, a do-anything go-anywhere instrument for gigs. If I can only take one keyboard to gigs, this is it. Many years ago I bought an M1 - I have had two at various times - and viewed the TR61 as an update on that, costing half the price and with five times the power.
All the sounds you need are there - or can be got with a little tweaking. There are excellent acoustic and electric piano sounds, passable organ sounds (I have a Hammond XK1, no comparison!), strings and pads to die for, great percussion, brass, basses, lead synths and so on. The sounds all tend to be a bit digital-sounding and glassy, but there are loads of FX you can use to dirty things up (even a ring modulator - wow!)
Only recently have I started to use the sequencer. I used the sequencer on my M1 a lot - it was very simple for someone like me, a live player without the patience of a studio musician or programmer. The TR61 sequencer is even better, mainly because it has lots of preset drum grooves you can just slot in, making it easy to get an idea down without having to get lost in drum programming. You can record straight from a combi, if the inspiration strikes.
I only have three quibbles.
1 - build quality. Compared with my tank-like M1 it's a bit plasticky. You'll need a flightcase.
2 - no touch screen. OK, I didn't have a touchscreen on the M1 (or my DS8, Wavestation, Wavestation AD, EX800, MS2000, MS2000R), and a touchscreen is the first thing to go when manufacturers put out a budget range. But the screen has quite a lot going on and you have to navigate using quite a few key presses.
3 - I wish I'd got the 76-note version. With some complex splits, 61 notes isn't quite long enough.
I shall live with these minor imperfections, however. Sure, my TR61 is six years old, and I could upgrade to a secondhand Triton, M50, M3 or a even a Kronos for the sake of better navigation and editing, but I doubt the sounds would be that much better in a live situation to justify the extra expense.
Musical Background:
I've been in bar bands for more than 30 years, mainly playing organ and piano, with some synth. My main instrument is a Hammond
Musical Style:
Mostly blues and hard rock. Some pop and soul.
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Submitted February 17, 2006 by a customer from aol.com
"Nice, but nothing to be eiger about except for the additional samples."
I give an 8 out of 10. Only one insert effect, no sampling card pre installed, and not expandable.
Sound
I give it a 7 because it has alot of rooms for improvement for it to be the newest from korg. Maybe I am spoliled by the motif real sounds, but it need to be expandable and if not at least 100mb plus sounds stock would have made this board a little more satisfying. If you think about it that's what korg did with the extreme with 160mb worth of sounds.
Features
Not bad, but only 1 insert effect killed it. Everything else seems nice.
Ease of Use
Too many navigation. Simplifying a simple screen would have been a plus for the TR.
Quality
Plastic. Nothing you can't live with.
Value
You can't upgrade except for the sampling board which should have been standard.
Manufacturer Support
I had to get support when I used to own my extreme. They solved it quickly.
The Wow Factor
it's OK. Not spectacular, but what do you expect with a system cheaper by 1000. It's not a fantom X
Musical Background:
Hobbyist
Musical Style:
Hip Hop
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Submitted June 8, 2010 by a customer from gmail.com
"With an nice weigthed master keyboard it's perfect member of a home studio!"
I have to subtracted a point in overall rating becouse the keys low quality and the deficient softwer support.
Sound
Only the piano sounds are crispy a bit, not too good in compare another KORG synths like X or i series and the keyboard is not weighted.
Features
The DinamicModulationSystem & AlternativeModulationSystem features are so intuitive! Easy to use sequencer.
Ease of Use
Just only one thing what is annoying sometimes: if you use USB cable to tansmit MIDI, the external MIDI connector are dumb. :(
Quality
Very nice, aluminium and plastic.
The keyboard is -1 point. The keyboards weighting is poor.
Value
Nice performance for a low price.
Manufacturer Support
Good service support across Europe.
The softwer support are run out the USB driver & the last op.system.
There is no KORG editor and/or librarian software for the Triton series!
(The MicroX and X50 has...)
The Wow Factor
In one word: the TR is a nice, classic, elegant instrument.
Musical Background:
Hobbyst
Musical Style:
Electronic, New-age
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Submitted August 5, 2008
Korg TR61 Customer Review
Sound
The quality in live performance is amazing. The control can only be described with one word: intuitive. It always sounds as expected, and when not, you always get some good surprise.
Features
It has no pre-installed sampling card, but I don't consider such a feature as a core feature for a music workstation. It is great that you can add this feature if you require it. The materials used seem to be of excelent quality.
Ease of Use
A touchable screen would have been highly desirable. The rest of the human interface is simply perfect.
Quality
I know many musicians that own this instrument and all them agree that is a hard piece.
Value
Search, compare, and if you find more for less, but it!
Manufacturer Support
Excellent support
The Wow Factor
A superb keyboard with an integrated sequencer, a professional look and an impresive sound. Wouldn't you want it?
Musical Background:
Active Musician
Musical Style:
Flamenco
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