Korg
K
org kicked off
2020 by releasing
one of the most
impressive digital
synths of recent
years, the
Wavestate – a
modern take on their classic
Wavestation that perfectly balanced
nostalgia with modern depth and
complexity. While Wavestate took
pride of place at Winter NAMM
2020, Korg’s booth also featured a
mysterious unlabelled and unplayable
prototype; an ’80s-looking black FM
and Wavestate is more than just
cosmetic though; the two instruments
share a number of key features as
well as a broad ethos, in that each
presents itself as a modern update to
a classic digital synthesis engine.
Here, that engine is labelled ‘altered
FM synthesis’, which is perhaps a
slight misnomer – rather than
fundamentally altering how frequency
modulation synthesis works, the opsix
takes a classic FM synth engine and
expands upon it significantly.
At core, the opsix is a six-operator
(hence the name) FM synth in the
style of Yamaha’s iconic DX7. Each of
these six operators is essentially a
digital oscillator with its own ADSR
amp envelope plus pitch and level
controls. Each operator can act either
as a carrier – an osc that produces
sound – or an audio-rate modulator
routed to one of the other operators.
The arrangement of these is dictated
by an algorithm – essentially a
diagram displaying the assignment
and routing for the six operators.
The opsix expands on the DX7
format in several significant ways
though. For one thing, there’s an
synth seemingly named opsix.
It turns out opsix was more than
just a ‘concept synth’ and now Korg
are rounding out 2020 with a full
release. While this appears to be,
broadly speaking, the same
under-the-hood design as the
instrument that we got a glimpse of
back at NAMM, the look has
changed. Gone is the black, DX7-style
chassis in favour of a design that
matches the size and look of the
Wavestate, albeit with the addition of
a stylish green tint to the front panel.
The connection between opsix
THE PROS & CONS
+
An accessible and
inspiring – yet still
deep – take on
FM synthesis
Operator modes
add lots of
unique character
Colour-coded
operator controls
simplify patch
programming
-
A few extra user-
configurable controls
would’ve been nice
Monotimbral
No aftertouch from
the keyboard
Korg opsix | Reviews
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