Troubleshooting Guide for the MicroKORG Sound Editor
Posted by Thoracius Appotite on Monday, January 9th, 2017 at 05:15 AM
The microKORG Sound Editor is free software from KORG for transferring patches (presets) back and forth between your computer and your microKORG via MIDI (music instrument digital interface), as well as for editing those patches. Unfortunately, the software is oldschool, clunky, and not at all intuitive.
A few people who have bought my original patches for the MicroKORG have run into trouble loading them into their synths. From my experience, here are a few of the common problems people run into. Hopefully this information will be helpful to others as well.
MicroKORG Settings
In order the make sure your MicroKORG is configured to talk to your computer you need to make sure you have the following settings enabled on your MicroKORG.
Enable System Exclusive MIDI messages
Hold down shift and press 4. LCD display should now read “FLt“
Turn dial 4/”eg release” all the way left and then all the way right. LCD display should now read “E-E“
Press 4.
Turn Off Write Protection
Hold down Shift and press 8. LCD display should read “út.P“
Turn knob 1/”cutoff” all the way right and then all the way left. LCD display should now read “oFF“
Press 8.
Temporarily Set MIDI Clock to External Sync
If you’re still receiving connection errors after following the previous steps, try this. However, after you’re done syncing with the MicroKORG Sound Editor you’ll want to remember to set the MIDI Clock back to either Internal (“INT“) or Auto (“AUT“) so that the internal arpeggiator will work without an external timing source.
Turn the “Edit Select 2” dial to MIDI
Turn dial 3/”Eg attack” all the way left and then all the way right. LCD display should read “Ext“
Press WRITE twice.
Temporarily Set Local to “Off”
Typically this is not necessary, but occasionally people have reported that this solves issues where patches don’t transfer properly or revert to init patches.
Don’t forget to set Local back to “On.” Setting Local to “Off” disables the keyboard keys, so you will not hear any sound when pressing on them. After connecting and transferring patches, you will want to remember to turn local back to “On” in order to play your microKORG.
Basic Troubleshooting
Make sure you have the MicroKORG connected to your computer via MIDI. Typically the “out” on your MIDI interface should connect to “in” on the MicroKORG and visa versa. If that isn’t working, try swapping them. Nothing should be plugged into “thru”.
Do you have the audio output of your MicroKORG plugged into an amp or headphones? Is the volume turned up?
Download the Latest Version of the MicroKORG Sound Editor for MicroKORG-S Compatibility
KORG still has the old v1.0 of the software online, but make sure to grab the latest version (2.0), which adds compatibility with the new MicroKORG-S:
Try checking the MicroKORG Sound Editor preferences and making sure the correct MIDI interface is selected. Then try closing the software and opening it again. Sometimes I’ve had to do this a couple times before it works.
Try a factory reset on your MicroKORG. If you have any custom patches on your synth, be sure to back them up first or else they will be lost.
How to use and transfer patches in .PRG, .SYSEX, .MID, and MicroKORG Sound Editor formats to your MicroKORG
The Windows and Mac OSX versions of the MicroKORG Sound Editor behave differently and the formats they save are not compatible with one another.
The Windows MicroKORG Sound Editor saves patches in a .PRG file format. These should be placed in your My Documents\KORG\My Library\microKORG folder. This folder should appear on your computer after the first time you run the MicroKORG Sound Editor. The files should show up within the MicroKORG Sound Editor, and all you need to do is double-click on one to load it up, and then use the “Write” function on either the open window or on the MicroKORG itself to save the patch to the desired memory slot.
Alternative Option: MIDI OX
If you are having trouble getting the MicroKORG Sound Editor to work, or have patches in a .MID format, try using a software called MIDI OX to send the patches.
This installs two programs. For simplicity sake just use the program called “MIDI Bar”
Click on the second icon (a circle with dots in it) and select the MIDI interface your MicroKORG is connected to.
Click on the folder icon and select a MicroKORG patch in .MID format.
Click on the “>” icon (play).
MacOS
Update: As of MacOS Catalina, 32-bit programs (such as the microKORG Sound Editor) are no longer supported. If you have this OS, you will need to use SysEx Librarian instead.
The MacOS version of the MicroKORG Sound Editor saves entire banks in its own file format that doesn’t have any extension. Here’s a good overview video: https://youtu.be/4VL08wpLcvw
Another option for transfering individual patches from your computer to your MicroKORG on a Mac is via SysEx, via 3rd-party software. I recommend the free SysEx Librarian. If the patches have a .PRG extension, you’ll need to rename them to .MID. If they’re already .MID then you’re good to go.
Check the website for the manufacturer of your MIDI device and see if there are newer drivers available. Nonetheless, some people have complained that some cheap MIDI interfaces don’t work. Feel free to leave a comment to let people know which interfaces have worked or not for you, and I’ll add it to this list.
Reported Not Working
Miditech 2×2
Trying To Load .PRG Patches Into Your MicroKORG and They Are All the Same Saw Tooth INIT Sound?
It’s been reported that doing a factory reset on your microKORG will solve this problem:
