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  • Korg NTS-1 V Modal Craftsynth 2.0

Korg NTS-1 V Modal Craftsynth 2.0

These two diminutive microsynths pack a punch. But can one lay claim to being the champ?

By Chris Steller

9 October 2020

Battle of the Microsynths

Ladies and gentlemen! In the red corner, weighing in at 124g, Korg’s NTS-1 DIY synthesizer kit. And in the blue corner, with a total weight of 208g (without batteries), Modal’s Craftsynth 2.0 monophonic wavetable synthesizer. Let’s have a clean contest… Fight!

CONTESTANT 1: KORG NTS-1

In its quest for providing innovative and interesting tools for synth worshippers or those that might dabble in a bit of exotic noise making as a hobby, the Korg team has consistently created gadgets that catch the eye/ear, and at the same time suit the budget. The most recent offerings, from the Nu:Tekt DIY range, include a diminutive, but instantly appealing, pocket synth, with the rest of the range comprising an overdrive pedal, and a headphone amplifier. In this review we’ll focus on the synth product, the NTS-1.

With a single oscillator, a multi-mode filter, an envelope generator, three LFOs, three stereo effect processors, and a 24-step arpeggiator, the NTS-1 sounds pretty impressive, but that’s not the whole story: the engine in this handheld wonder allows you to update and swap out the oscillator and effects on board with a constantly expanding choice of third-party creations, as part of the ‘logue-SDK’ family of Korg multi-engine synths, including the Prologue and Minilogue XD keyboard and desktop synths.

Of course, you have to build it first. Allow yourself an easy-paced 45 minutes to complete the construction, and once that’s done, the sonic fun begins.

BUILD IT & SOUNDS WILL COME

As expected, given the limited real estate, the front panel functions perform multiple tasks: three knobs, which are an encoder (labelled Type), and two pots (A and B), and seven buttons to navigate through the surprisingly numerous parameters available.

What’s more, given the frugal level of knobs and controls, there’s surprising sonic depth.

I found that with just the waveshaping and LFO parameters, and the VPM controls, the NTS-1 can achieve a pleasing level of sonic complexity, without even delving into the user ‘logue’ waveforms. That said, it’s the 16 User oscillators that push this tiny machine’s bang for buck ratio to extremes.

NEED TO KNOW

  • PRICE

    Expect to pay
    CraftSynth: A$279
    NTS-1: A$179

  • CONTACT

    CMI Music & Audio: (03) 9315 2244 or www.cmi.com.au

  • NTS-1 PROS

    • Great value
    • Fun to build

  • NTS-1 CONS

    • None

  • CRAFTSYNTH PROS

    • Great value
    • Powerful editor

  • CRAFTSYNTH CONS

    • Aesthetics not to my taste
    • Factory sounds lack lustre

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When the Osc button is selected, the Type knob selects from the Saw, Triangle, Square, VPM and the User oscillator.
Controls waveshaping of the sawtooth and triangle, and pulse width for the square, which gives awesome tonal variation.
Provides sub-oscillator level for each waveform.
The VPM oscillator, which uses Variable Phase Modulation (we’ll call it FM for convenience) to create complex waveforms, has Frequency and Ratio controlled by A and B knobs.
Six filters to choose from: low-, band-, and high-pass, all in two- or four-pole alternatives, provide a good selection of frequency variations with minimal parameters.
There are LFO parameters for oscillator, filter and tremolo accessed by holding the Mod buttons and adjusting the A and B knobs.
<strong>ARPEGGIATOR</strong></p> <p>Toggles the arpeggiator on/off, with the other front panel buttons/knobs providing settings such as Octave, Chord Type, Arp Direction, Pattern Length and Tempo.

Click on numbers for more information.

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Synchronise to Korg Volcas, Monotribe, etc.
You’ll need a converter to get a traditional DIN-style MIDI plug here.
There’s also a tiny speaker for monitoring your travelling sonic shenanigans.

MORE NTS-1

More? Of course there’s more. The logue SDK Custom Content Sound Librarian is downloadable here

And there is a huge selection of paid, donation and free oscillators and effects available here

Custom Content Sound Librarian
Effects

CONTESTANT 2.0: MODAL CRAFTSYNTH 

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking: Modal 008… Monster analogue synthesizer… A synthgeek’s dream machine… This isn’t that, but it’s also way easier on the wallet.

Traditionally, analogue synths were cherished for their warm, thick sounds while their digital cousins were regarded as thin and cold. Modal, the makers of the amazing 002 and 008 synths, decided to break some rules with their Craftsynth 2.0, offering an entry level monophonic synthesizer based on Wolfgang Palm’s wavetable synthesis.

The diminutive size of this device belies the enormous amount of synthesis it contains, and its ‘futuristic toy piano’ look certainly caused some prolonged chin stroking early on in my voyage of discovery. (As an interesting side note, Modal’s first two products in their Craft range, Craftsynth 1.0 and CraftRhythm were both in kit form, similar to Korg’s NTS-1.)

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8 oscillators with 2 selectable waveforms and mixer stage for a big sound.
Combine with the Tune control for gently modulating wall of tone or a tangled frequency nightmare (it’s an advanced take on Roland’s JP8000 SuperSaw waveform).
40 unique waveforms are available, split into eight banks of five morphable waveform sets, plus a sine/noise bank available on Wave 2. Virtual Analog, Digital and Generative waves are available along with selections from the Modal 002.
Process and cross modulate waveforms with one of 16 oscillator modifiers, including Frequency/Phase Modulation, Hard/Window Sync, Ring/Amp Modulation, Derez/Bitcrush, plus Wavefolders and Waveshapers. When using FM or<span class='Apple-converted-space'> </span>AM, Wave 2 is used as the modulating signal for Wave 1.
3 envelope generators for Filter, Amplitude and Modulation, and two audio rate LFOs. The modulation matrix has eight slots, each source has one destination (LFO1, LFO2 and Mod-EG are assignable from the front panel, while Velocity, Note, ModWheel, AfterTouch and Expression are assignable from the ModalApp). The modulation depths are all bipolar, so sources can be inverted using negative depths.
2-pole resonant filter. Doesn’t sound like much, but it can be continually morphed from low-pass, through band-pass, to high-pass modes. Big tonal changes possible and very flexible.
2 effects: Delay and Distortion, with Time and Amount controls. The depth and tone of the individual effect parameters can give subtle warmth or shimmer, through to dark and dirty grit.

Click on numbers for more information.

LITTLE BIG SYNTH

Products of this size are often dismissed as being limited in their capabilities, simply because of the limited visual feedback, but spending time with the Craftsynth opened my eyes to the sonic possibilities.

I definitely preferred monitoring the results of my wanderings by having the unit connected to the editor app on my MacBook — the visual software provides reassurance of the flexibility and scope of the architecture. It also helps with the learning curve when you can view the sweeping of the wavetables with an envelope generator or LFO, with visual feedback of what your parameter changes are doing. Even more essential is the view of its routing capability, with 16 modifiers to modulate the eight oscillators. This is stunning synthesis, and is difficult to picture when using the hardware on its own.

You can program and transpose patterns with the built-in sequenced arpeggiator, which in combination with the Glide, Scale and Root controls gives some interesting, and very musical results. There are 64 preset storage locations for capturing the mayhem that you can reap with all of this synthesis power.

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Full-size MIDI DIN plugs (hooray) — great for using a real keyboard to play the synth, and the MIDI Out can also be switched to a ‘thru’ for daisy chaining other devices.
On 3.5mm jacks (configured to the Korg/Teenage Engineering specification, so it will clock perfectly with the NTS1, Volcas, OP-1).
USB MIDI connection to a host computer or tablet.
Audio out handled by 3.5mm headphone and line out jacks.
The unit can be powered by USB or 3 x AA batteries.

EDITOR SOFTWARE

The free software editor, available for MacOS, Windows, iOS and Android, is essential to get at the multitude of parameters available, especially the selection and modulation of wavetables and routing of modifiers in the modulation matrix. The ModalApp has four pages: Editor, Live, Preset Management and Settings. I particularly enjoyed working with the editor as it gives perspective to the sheer power of this little module. In fact, the CraftSynth 2.0 is, to me, more like a plug-in with a built in controller, with a staggering number of parameters.

AND THE WINNER IS

And the winner is: you! CraftSynth and NTS-1 aren’t the only contenders but they do provide first-time users and seasoned professionals alike have access to a smorgasbord of synthesis techniques and tonal variety available at an unprecedented price. And you can power both with a portable battery.

In fact, why not buy the NTS-1 and the Craftsynth 2.0, and throw in the Unosynth from IK Multimedia, or Korg’s Volca Modular and you’ll have the unbeatable synthesising power of a god.

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