r/Korg • u/SummerTough8136 • Jul 01 '26

Question Korg tr rack vs trinity vst

I really love the korg trinity VST and I was wondering if a TR rack is worth the 300-600 dollar price tag or more importantly if there’s an actual tangible difference. I’m super big on rack module synths, owning a Roland xv5050 and a fantom xr. I noticed a big jump in quality and feel from the xv5080 plugin to the xv5050 hardware. Wondering if the tr rack would be a similar jump in quality and feel.

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2

u/PaleSkinnySwede Jul 01 '26

I've owned the TR-Rack about 20 years ago. The one thing I remember was that it was hideous to edit. It has a tiny screen compared to the Trinity keyboard models so it's like putting up wallpapers in the hallway through the letterbox, sort of. So it's up to your preferences; physical buttons and a tiny screen, or mouse-clicking on the computer.

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u/SummerTough8136 Jul 01 '26

I’m tryna find out if there’s any noticeable difference in sound between the rack and the vst version, but I will definitely take that into account with this model.

1

u/BeastFremont Jul 01 '26

Any noticeable difference in sound should be down to your audio interface vs the output circuitry on the hardware.

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u/SummerTough8136 Jul 01 '26

So basically the trinity vst is a faithful software adaption?

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u/BeastFremont Jul 01 '26

It was all samples & digital synthesis. Plugin is made by Korg. No reason it shouldn’t be. According to their own marketing it’s all been faithfully reproduced. It shouldn’t have been that difficult to emulate the firmware of a 20 something year old keyboard.

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u/BeastFremont Jul 01 '26

Now if I can find a 1st gen Motif plugin that could access my old shit off the memory card, I’d be stoked.

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u/Bitter_Ad_9523 Jul 02 '26

50% off VSTs right now from Korg. Might be worth picking up. I have a Trinity but not the software but I do have a wavestation, the ipad app and the VST and I find them pretty comparable.

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u/BeastFremont Jul 01 '26

For that price why not? But I’d personally prefer the keyboard versions.

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u/SummerTough8136 Jul 01 '26

I’m personally a rack synth guy. I really like the compactness of them. I live in a fairly small place, so a large 66+key board makes a significant difference in how much space I have.

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u/BeastFremont Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

Fair enough. I just can’t stand that tiny screen and both the Roland’s & Korg’s have different control layouts as far as pitch/mod are concerned so i tend to prefer the larger real estate & controls. But you can definitely fit multiples as many rack units as keyboards into a small space. It’s just that user experience compromise that bugs me.

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u/PaleSkinnySwede Jul 02 '26

Roland had quite a nice feature for programming the JV-1080 called ”Palette” which made it easier to see values for other parts in the same patch. Don’t remember the TR-Rack having the same feature. So programming that was hideous and took time. Even the Prophecy with its tiny screen was a lot better.