Korg

K
org have spent a
lot of time
catching up with
some old classics
over the past few
years, with some
releases more
surprising than others. So when the
Japanese manufacturer announced
they were updating their diminutive
vocoding synthesizer, the microKorg,
it didn’t quite have that same feeling
of excitement that we got from the
likes of, say, the ARP Odyssey or the
MS-20 reissues. Still, we’re not ones
The exterior has taken on a clean
and clinical feel with the white
finish, taupe detailing and lettering.
Aside from the large bank of editing
functions daubed across the front,
the interface is sensible with sound
selection and tweaks easy to achieve.
The editing, however, feels rather
clunky. You can see where Korg are
coming from with two edit dials to
select functions and a bank of five
smaller rotaries to adjust individual
parameters, all to eliminate the need
for a screen and menu-diving. The
five dials are numbered and in their
default state act as filter, enveloping
and tempo controls; with Cutoff as
number one, Resonance number
two, and so on. However, when
moving over to the editing side, the
Cutoff has now moved over to dial
number two, rather confusingly, and
when editing functions on the dials
four and five, the ocularly challenged
among you may need to deploy a
ruler to get a bearing on the matrix
of functions at your disposal, as the
typeset is rather small.
Moving onto the sounds and Korg
have added an extra bank of 64 new
presets and a bank of empty user
slots giving the microKorg extra
longevity. The new presets are good
and certainly do sound fresh. There
are plenty of Dance-orientated
basses, leads and pads. It’s not all
brash floor-filling sounds though,
as there are also a good deal of
delicate and nuanced tones suitable
to all walks of electronic music.
On the vocoding side of things,
everything is pretty much the same
as before. The detachable gooseneck
condenser mic is still as unruly as it
was before and a bit on the flimsy
side, so you will find yourself
wrestling it into place quite often.
Going around the back of the unit
you can see the vocoder utilises the
Audio In 1 section. Should you wish,
you can swap out the gooseneck for
your own microphone and a dynamic
mic input is also available. Making
use of the Line selection switch and
volume control will allow you to input
any audio source through the
vocoder, expanding the sonic
possibilities there.
Speaking out
Onboard speakers usually scream toy
machines and are not often taken
seriously, but over the past few years
more and more smaller instruments
are including speakers and battery
power as standard. On the microKorg
to let that sort of thing dampen the
spirit and decided to explore this
new S version a little closer.
First things first, that ‘S’ we’re
presuming stands for ‘speakers’, or is
that ‘special edition’? We can’t quite
decide. There is no mention of it
anywhere in the documentation, or
even on the website, so your guess is
as good as ours. Aside from the
obvious change in livery, it’s the
speakers, battery-powered portability
and new presets that are key selling
points in this new ‘S’ edition.
Everything else remains the same.
THE PROS & CONS
+
64 new presets and
64 user slots make
for an overall
impressive soundset
with possibilities
Speakers are a
handy addition for
certain situations
and battery power
offers full portability
Further sonic
expansion with
two audio inputs
which can take
external waveforms
and process
them internally
-
Rarely are mini keys
done well – even
velocity sensitivity
can’t save them.
Too spongy and
cramp-inducing
Editing is a bit on
the clunky side
Korg microKorg S | Reviews
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FMU312.rev_korg_micro.indd 97 02/11/2016 18:32