Nu:Tekt NTS-1 Digital Synth Kit

Not sure what I can add to the mny glowing reviews the Korg NTS-1 has already received on this Amazon product page. The NTS-1 is a small, self-assembly synth with built-in effects engine giving you chorus, flanger, phaser, reverb and delay effects right out of the box. Putting together this little flat-pack marvel took around 20 minutes and it only took that long because I have rubbish eyes and was straining a little with some of the smaller screws and the placement of the keyboard ribbon. A small screwdriver is included in the package along with instructions and I don't think many people would struggle to make it. The only really scary bit is snapping the boards apart when you first start making it. I was worried I would damage something, but I needn't have worried. It was a relief though plugging it in and getting power - and sound. The only real issue I had, which was frustrating for half-an-hour or so, was my PCs inability to detect the NTS-1 when it was plugged into a USB port. I had already downloaded the Korg Librarian software and the updater. Seems that I had previously installed too many midi devices onto my PC and the Korg needed to be in the "top ten" of midi devices, so I had to uninstall some older Midi devices I no longer used. That sorted the problem, but it was pretty frustrating for a while. Once I'd got the synth hooked up to my headphones and Arturia Keystep via a TRS/Midi Cable (annoyingly not supplied) then I was blown away by the sound and range of this little marvel. Due to the size, you have to get used to using muti-function buttons, for instance, holding down certain buttons and turning knob A or B, gives you more options than simply just twiddling those knobs. The ribbon keyboard is pretty dire, but I never expected it to be great, but you can easily play it with a stylus rather than fingers. The Arp works brilliantly with multi play modes available. There is a single digital oscillator and multiple mode filter with high, low and band pass options, plus three LFO types. While I love the sound of this little synth, for me, the icing on the cake and the main reason for purchase was the on-board effects. They sound stunning and the beauty of the NTS-1 is the ability to route external hardware through the box, so you can use other external synths with the effects. And, there's more, there's a thriving community of enthusiasts who have created custom oscillators and effects that can be loaded onto the NTS-1 via the aforementioned Librarian software. Some are paid for, some ask for donations and some are totally free. This makes a brilliant products even more brilliant. As my review heading states, this Korg seems too good to be true, it really is one of those rare products that comes along and blows all its competitors out of the water. For around £80 you can get a multi effects pedal/engine and a brilliant mono synth with arp, with the ability to load literally hundreds effects and oscillators! I'd give this ten stars if I could. Buy. One. Now.

Good things come in small packages & this tiny, but powerful monophonic synthesizer by korg, certainly lives up to that saying. It's worth buying, purely for it's filter and effects, which you can access with an 'audio in' 3.5mm socket and plug any headphone level audio into. The synth itself is far from shabby, It boasts an arpeggiator & the sounds you can conjure up with this are bassy, clear and limited only by your imagination. It comes as a kit, but it's extremely easy, if a little fiddly, (tiny screws..), to assemble. No soldering required and the only scary bit is splitting the circuit boards. (a straight edge like the edge of a book helps a lot). My only criticism of the whole package, concerns the 'free' software package thats bundled with the hardware. It entails opening several 3rd party web accounts, downloading several "authorisers/installer" programs, and jumping through many, many, VERY irritating hoops, in order to use the plug ins, and software synths within your DAW. I actually gave up.. and won't care if I never hear the words 'izotope', 'iLOK' or 'UVI' in my life ever again.. (As 'security' goes, they seem to be the single most effective way of ensuring that NOBODY uses the software they're supposed to be protecting, EVER..). That said..., I'd have been quite happy without the software anyway, so color me happy. :) My advice to anyone buying this great little synth is to pick out the card bearing a serial number, and the offer of the free software, ....and frisbee it into oblivion. You'll save yourself a lot of frustration, and there are many better, free.., software synths out there anyway. (Check out 'Vita' as an example). Concentrate on the actual hardware you bought, and you'll have fun with it. All in all, a great purchase, of a satisfying little music making synth.

Simply, this is the most synth you can buy with the least money, even when compared to some of Behringer's budget gear. I've been messing about with synthesizers for 25 years and I'm blown away by the quality of the Nts-1 for the price. Amongst other studio gear I like to this of it as an excellent effects unit with a fun, customisable digital synth thrown in. The Nts-1 is great fun and hugely versatile courtesy of the uploadable content. Also, no-one should be put off by the simple assembly, though good eyesight is an advantage for working with the tiny screws (the kit even comes with a screwdriver).

On the surface a basic digital Oscillator Mono synth with effects, easy to assemble, forget the awful built in speaker. Using the NTS-1 digital Librarian i put a load of custom user Oscillators and effects into it, quite a lot of free ones on the web, turns it into a bit of a beast. The patch-Space documentary-arp by ChrisLody (find it on youtube) is nice, a Boards of Canada vibe. Currently I am sequencing it with Roland Zenbeats which works OK but doesn't send out midi cc messages but does send out midi clock and has the most amazing drum machine, and Audio evolution which does send out midi cc but can be a little temperamental (Bandlab and Caustic don't send midi out) from my Samsung A52s (you will need a USB OTG adaptor, and the correct USB to midi cable, 3.5 trs type A, I also needed a female to female midi connector, and a stereo 3.5 to 3.5 lead to send the phones audio out into the NTS-1 audio in {and if you want to be really mobile you'll need a USB power bank to power the NTS-1, a decent set of headphones or a Bluetooth speaker with aux in, at which point you may ask yourself can I really be bothered with all this, yeah sit in the park with the sun out making Electro} power up the NTS-1 while holding reverb to access global parameters, I set input route to 4-post master, input trim to 5 and sleep mode to 0, then press arp to save) The advertised free software bundle including reason lite doesn't actually include reason lite, korg got back to me and said- " Unfortunately, since this software title is no longer offered by their developer, there isn't anything that can be done about it. I will advise the people responsible for the copy both on Amazon and our website to amend these details"

It’s 2021, the silicon shortage is still impacting all areas and you can’t buy a graphics card or a car for a sensible price. Not a great year. The Korg NTS-1 has been out for a couple of years now but what’s remarkable is it’s still available for its original retail price. Buy one now before it goes up in price or becomes available. What you get for the price is almost unbelievable. Yes you build it (screw it together, no soldering required) yourself. Yes it’s monophonic. Yes it’s digital. Yes it looks like a toy with its skeletal design and tiny ribbon keyboard. But none of that matters. What you’re buying is an expandable, open-sourced synthesiser with a phenomenal effects unit capable of processing external audio, possibly making it the audio bargain of the decade. Thanks to the open-source design the downloadable librarian software allows you add new third-party oscillators, modulators, delays and reverbs, and if that’s not enough you can create your own. Out of the box and powered up for the first time it sounds like it looks. As basic as a square wave. And then moments later you’re listening to a rich, expansive sound that belies its looks and price. It’s far more fully featured than you’d guess with a comprehensive MIDI implementation allowing external parameter control via CC. It only features a single MIDI-IN via 3.5mm jack but this is sufficient for a sound module at the end of a chain. Sync-in and out ports are present for compatibility with analogue equipment and it’s an obvious choice for any Volca owner. There’s a micro-USB port for power and unlike the Volcas there’s no provision for batteries so you’ll need a USB power bank, USB 5v mains adapter/charger or a computer. The USB port allows uploading/downloading sounds and effects, as mentioned, but it also acts as a USB MIDI interface alongside the 3.5mm input socket. No USB audio I/O but that’s not a problem. As a stand-alone device it’s a capable monophonic synth with great effects which absolutely transform and lift the sound, but it’s big selling point for many will be that effects section. I’ve already mentioned the Korg Volca series a couple of times but the NTS-1 is a no-brainer for any Volca owner, especially the Volca Keys. It works with any audio souce though and there are a range of input attenuation settings available in the global options, just another example of how feature-packed the NTS-1 is. It’s a steal at the price.

The performance of this device is great. Really good quality and easy to assemble with good instructions to assist with the build. There are so many sonic capabilities you can explore with this by using it as both an fx system that you can plug other things into or even as a stand alone unit for exploring synthesis and sound design. The real beauty of it is how portable it is. It’s easy to take everywhere with you. I wish you could put batteries in it though so you didn’t have to have a power bank with you all the time on your travels but that really is a minor niggle for such an amazing sounding and powerful device. I wouldn’t hesitate in purchasing. It’s perfect for both beginners and more advanced musicians too because there really is so much you can do with it. I imagine for a total beginner it could be a little challenging to get your head around initially, but once you get there it will be insanely rewarding.

Fantastic piece of kit from Korg and a great price here on Amazon. Just to be clear - this is a monophonic synth in that only one note can be played at a time, but the audio output from the built in DSP effects is stereo. Easy to build and sounds just amazing with or without it's stereo DSP effects. It has an external stereo input so can be used as a stereo (or mono :-)) DSP effects unit. The synth itself sounds great. The ability to program waveforms is fantastic and the built in arpeggiator is great too. Obviously the built in "keyboard" is just a bit of fun and not really practical apart from auditioning the sounds. Played from a midi keyboard and through an amp with those DSP effects going - wow! To utilise the 3.5mm TRS midi you need to purchase a type A TRS to DIN adapter. Type B adapters have the wrong connections and won't work with Korg devices. Those giving low ratings here for midi not working are probably trying to use the wrong adapter. Amazing value mono synth with a great pedigree!

This unit alone is worthwhile just for the built in reverb and delay, but I’ve got to say this monophonic (meaning you can only play one note at a time) is such a blast to play with. Surprisingly easy to assemble although the build quality leaves much to be desired. There are, however wooden frames for these units that you can get on Etsy for quite cheap so it’s more sturdy. Highly highly recommend, this synth is fantastic and sounds great in the productions I’ve used it on so far!