hi everyone, this looks like a cool forum,and im here to ask some questions and hopefully help with experience along the way. anyways, i really wanna start playing music live again, i was once in a band working a laptop and a drum machine and now id like to play my own music ive done on the computer live, so i figured id get myself a good synth and use a laptop for samples and crap. well i started looking and found the microKORG. it really seems to be a good choice for me. i dont have a ton of money to spend and its aimed twords the EBM/electro crowd. but heres where you come in...
i have some questions about synths in general: (sorry if it is all dumb questions, but im used to using PC programs and learning from ear kinda stuff...i gotta learn somewhere)
-what does LFO mean/stand for/use of
-what is 4-voice polyphone
-what do people mean when they say 'patching' or 'virtual patching'
-what effect/use if there for an arpeggiator. is that meaning making a sound 'jump' around?

like i said, im used to trial and error kind of learning. sorry if they are dumb. also, do u guys think the MicroKORG is a good choice for a beginner like myself?

**Note**
i understand i posted this in the microkorg section, but i then realized it wasnt the best spot to post, that is why i have re-posted. im sorry admins if this is an inconvenience, and sorry i cant spell too =p

Hi!
LFO stands for Low Frequency Oscillator. It is usually used for vibrato FX (mild amounts of pitch modulation) but it can also be used to modulate other synth parameters. A filter for example. Or Amplitude. Or whatever a synth lets you.

4 voice polyphony means you can only play 4 notes at a time. Expanding on this Monophonic means you can only play a single note at a time (usually great for leads and bases and is referred to "Mono" or "Solo" KB mode). Polyphonic on the other hand means that you can play more than one note (the amount usually depends on the synth. My Motif ES does 128 notes polyphony for example. Yamaha VL-1 on the other hand can only play maximum of 2 notes).

Patching means connecting multiple devices or modules with cables. Coms from the old days of modular analog synthesizers. back then synthesizer programming involved connecting multiple modules (components of the modular system). making connections was referred to as "Patching" and the resulting sounds were called "patches".. Virtual patching on your Micro Korg or any other virtual analog synthesizer means virtually connecting multiple parameters and basically simulating a modular system of the past.

Before buying anything or going any further I'd advise you to learn as much as you can about synthesizers, MIDI and at least familiarize yourself with the basics. Without that step things will get very very frustrating and confusing. Do yourself a favor and Google for a bit. There is a ton to know and the more you know the more you will be able to do.


-ED-

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A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally.
- - - Oscar Wilde

Just to help you realize how easy it is to answer your own questions I just typed in "What is an Arpeggiator" on Google and here you go:

"...In its simplest form, the Arpeggiator takes a series of notes and plays them one after the other up and down a scale, arpeggio fashion, enabling you to create all sort of moving patterns..."

NOt that I didn't know the answer but this just shows you!!!

So go and Google. I'll be around if you need any more help but I'm pretty sure you'll find what you need.

-ED-

thanks a ton guys, ill look into it heavily. thanks for the uber quick responses too! great message board.