I'd like to get some advice on buying a used KORG N1. I also have some newb questions about recording midi.
I'm a total amateur, although I do read music. I play guitar and bass and use Session Drummer and various soft synths and some so-called vocals. Mostly I do really bad versions of older rock songs. A few years back I purchased an old organ at a second hand store for $40 and really liked adding that to my songs. Now I want to ditch the organ and buy a new keyboard for better sounds and to take some piano lessons. Also it would be great if all the keys worked.
I have found a used KORG N1 that I'm considering. I did some research and I'm sure it will satisfy my needs. My main question is – what should I do to make sure it works properly? I can examine it for signs of physical damage and test all the keys but I have no idea how it really works or what it's supposed to sound like. Do you have any suggestions on how to evaluate or particular things to look for? I think these were made in the late 90's. Is it likely to break and need some costly repair?
Also, I'm pretty sure I can plug the N1 into my Edirol UA25 and record the midi into Sonar, as I do now with audio. Is that correct? Then I would have a midi track just like one I created manually? I could edit the notes in piano roll like I do now with manual midi tracks I create?
Lastly, the N1 has a bunch of nice patches and voices and effects and stuff. Are those sounds carried into Sonar when it records? Or does it just record the raw midi data? Then I would use the Sonar patches and effects to get the sound I want?
Sorry these questions are so dumb. Thanks much for reading.
- Doug
 

 One thing to consider if recording midi is this: There are different midi standards. IOW Yamahas midi didn't always translate the same way that Rolands midi did. Korgs had midi but is wasn't always general midi.Usually the basic notes all read the same way but not all controller and sound data lined up. I had a Korg M-1 and it wasn't "general midi" compatible. Not sure about the N-1. I would check to see if it at least reads and recognizes the general midi spec.  This is important of you will be playing recorded midi files. You can make or get templates for different synths too.

 You can, of course, disregard recording midi all together and simply record the audio outputs of the N-1. The only issue here is that you don't have as much control over the recorded material.

 So you have two outputs- midi and the audio outs..to test the audio outs is pretty simple, just plug them into a line input of an amp or your interface. You can also try headphones but that doesn't mean your main outs are ok.

   The sounds are 16bit rompler types using Korgs Ai synthesis. Nothing terrible, lots of great background pads. The pianos Meh...not so much. Some of the electric pianos are decent.


 Simply test all of the keys, I think that model has aftertouch (not used as much now). I would go through all of the prog and combi patches and make sure the buttons all work ok. My M-1 had button issues...I now have the software version.

I found an N1 manual online. Says it has General Midi bank and compatibility with Roland Yamaha standards. I don't really understand this fully, but sounds promising. It might be awkward to bring my computer to test the interface so I'll just verify the audio outs I guess. Recording audio would probably keep me busy for a long, long time. I'll press all the buttons.

Quote: The Gm-a was the original General Midi compatible bank offered by Korg on it's older synths.  The Gm-b is an improved sounding General Midi compatible bank.   Several manufacturers (notably Roland and Yamaha) created their own standards loosely based on General Midi, Korg provides banks compatible with those manufactures, allowing you to successfully play back a huge variety of Midi files on your Synth.   The banks beginning with "r" are Roland compatible banks, while the banks beginning with "y" are Yamaha compatible banks. 

I have a Korg N1R, the rack mount version of the N1. It has a vast array of sounds, although the way they are arranged makes them difficult to find. Might be easier on the N1 with the buttons. I like the Piano sounds and the layered piano and strings is nice. It doesn't have nice color display like newer synths, but its usable. It has a serial port that you can connect to your computer, but that doesn't function anymore under the newer Windows versions.

Make sure it comes with a manual. AFAIK, the manual is not available online. Like most Korg manuals, its a difficult read, but its definitely better than nothing. 
If you want to record the N1 sounds, you have to record them onto an audio track. 
You can also record MIDI and play it back through the N1 and record that output onto an audio track. 

There is an INS file that you can find on the web that will help you use it inside of Sonar. It also has a General MIDI set of sounds. 

There's one on eBay for $375. That sounds like about the right price if its in good working order. 

Says it has General Midi bank and compatibility with Roland Yamaha standards.

Back in the days when MIDI was new, Roland and Yamaha had their own extensions of the General MIDI standard. This just means that the N1 has those banks available. They give you some different voice options than the standard General MIDI. Having the INS file in Sonar will help you access these if you plan to use them. 

AFAIK, the manual is not available online. Like most Korg manuals, its a difficult read, but its definitely better than nothing

 
Manual is here:
http://www.korg.co.uk/downloads/nseries/support/N1-N5_OWNERS_MANUAL.pdf

Manual is here: http://www.korg.co.uk/dow...1-N5_OWNERS_MANUAL.pdf

Ah yes. I remember they finally posted it AFTER I spent $30 on one. @#$%s! Like most Korg manuals, its almost useless.