Got my pre-order from Kraft music in the US on Monday. SN 2521, was hoping for something lower than that considering i pre-ordered in January
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Some initial thoughts:
Build quality is the same as an OG mini, but the knobs have more traction like the monologue. The combo toggle/rocker switch for effect selecting is awkward. Switches stacked vertically are really cramped. The joystick is too light feeling for me; you have to work it from low on the shaft instead of at the top like you're playing with a nipple
. It is a big improvement from the springy slider and working between both X and Y axis will delight the drone lords.
Some pretty important stuff is hidden behind shift functions ie wet/dry mix for reverb and VPN modulator ratio. You'd probably never figure these out without consulting the manual so I feel there will be many unhappy customers. Worst of all, there is no visual feedback when adjusting these things, the screen only shows the shift function listings while holding shift to adjust those settings
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The ensemble sounds good, but the other base modulation effects kind of suck. You need to hit the secret menu to get the better chorus and phaser sounds. The verbs all sound good, and the delay is fine.
The filter is as brassy and aggressive as it sounds in the demos. I remember reading somewhere that the prologue's filter wouldn't self oscillate, but I can happily report that the xd self oscillates just fine. The two stage mod EG is chunky and kind of a bummer. It will definitely effect how you make patches and hamper pads (listen to any demo playing the patch 1 sequence, that infomercial awkward filter dropping isn't from key offs).
Mine was pretty out of tune on first start up and took a couple re-tunes to straighten out. But now it seems to be at a normal 'logue level of needing 1 re-tune a bit after power on. Protip for any minilogue owner: if your patches sound like ****, it needs a re-tune. The filters being out of tune can mess things up even worse than pitch. I haven't updated the unit yet but I'm sure there is an update.
As an upgrade from the OG mini, dollar for dollar you are getting every penny's worth and then some. I also think the OG deserves to stay in the lineup for its own merits, price point, and the features that didn't make it to the xd that some simply MUST have.