Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Korg at NAMM

18/01/2021

Trio of synths unveiled

Korg have triggered the annual NAMM announcement avalanche with three new hardware synthesizers, each harking back to a bygone era.

First up is the ARP 2600 M, a compact version of the 2600 FS that Korg released around this time last year. The new M (Module) version is roughly 60 percent of the size of the original, and makes a further concession to studio space by omitting the keyboard, but otherwise offers all of the FSs features plus a few more besides.

Like the 2600 FS, the 2600 M is so faithful to ARPs original that the 1970s manual and patchbook are still applicable. But for this new diminutive iteration, Korg have added a USB MIDI interface, which not only lets you control it from a computer, but which can also connect directly to any class-compliant USB MIDI controller.

Also new is a choice of filter types. Much like on Korgs MS-20 M desktop module, the 2600 M features a switch for selecting between two different generations of 2600 filter (types 4012 and 4072). Unlike the MS-20 M, though, MIDI extends beyond simple note triggering, so you can apply pitch-bend and modulation, or engage/disengage portamento, via CC.

Korg have also changed the trigger threshold for the ADSR envelopes S&H Gate input to 5V, which should make it much easier to integrate with other instruments and synth modules. The envelope attack and release times have apparently been improved (quite what constitutes an improvement, were not sure), and the sliders have also been upgraded and are now said to be smoother in action.

The remaining changes are pretty minor: stereo outputs are now on jacks rather than XLRs (which is likely more convenient for the average synth-based setup), and the integral speaker now mutes when a headphone jack is connected.

Next up is another 70s throwback: a re-release of the miniKorg 700S, itself a revised version of the original 700, their first-ever mass-market monosynth. The new instrument is called the miniKorg 700FS (for full size, raising the prospect of a shrunken-down version in the future), and was developed with the help of the originals designer, Fumio Mieda. Like the 700S, the FS version sports dual oscillators (each with saw, square and triangle wave shapes), and a pair of filters (high- and low-pass), controlled by the Traveler sliders on the front panel. Indeed, most of the controls can be found along that front edge - a design that reflects the fact that the 700S was intended as a secondary keyboard for organists, who in the 70s could frequently be seen with Korgs monosynth perched atop their Hammonds.

The original 700S boasted a healthy selection of effects, including vibrato, two flavours of chorus and a choice of three ring modulators, to which Korg have added a spring reverb tank for the FS edition. Other enhancements include a built-in arpeggiator, USB and 5-pin DIN MIDI ports, CV/gate input, and an aftertouch keyboard.

Finally, the newly announced Modwave pays homage to Korgs own DW-8000, first introduced in 1985. The mid-80s saw a big shift from analogue to digital synths, and the DW-8000 straddled those two worlds by combining the then-new wavetable technology with an analogue filter section. The Modwave, however, is an all-digital instrument, and as such boasts a plethora of contemporary features, such as a motion sequencer (borrowed from their recent WaveState synth), an X-Y pad (derived from their Kaoss series of live/DJ controllers), and a hi-res OLED screen like those on their other recent original releases.

A glance at the Modwaves front panel hints at a very hands-on player experience, while the diagram below lays bare its architecture: dual wavetable oscillators plus a noise source feed into the mixer and then the amp, both of which can be modulated using an extensive mod matrix. Modulation sources are many, and include four motion sequencer step automation lanes, four envelopes and five LFOs, plus the usual pitch-bend, mod wheel and key tracking options, and of course the X-Y pad. A comprehensive effects section follows, and this includes some lesser-spotted examples such as modelled guitar amps and wah pedals, multi-head tape echoes and a reverse delay.

The oscillators bear closer scrutiny. Each can be blended between an A and B wavetable option, and Korg have seen fit to supplement the wavetables with a multi-gigabyte library of PCM samples.

This introductory video should give you a good sense of what the Modwave is capable of. For more detailed specs about all of Korgs new releases, check out their website, below.

Video of modwave - an edgy, expansive, and easy to use wavetable synthesizer

https://www.korg.co.uk
LINK: https://www.soundonsound.com/news/korg-namm...
See more stories from soundonsound

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

22/07/2026

ESPN's AutoMic Technology Pays Off at Wimbledon; Baker Credits Team, AELTC for Successful Fortnight

Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...

22/07/2026

Australian Sports Technologies Network Reports Industry Growth of 16% in 2026

The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...

22/07/2026

Production Wins, Man!': Men in Blazers' Founder Roger Bennett on Winning the FIFA World Cup as a Digital Media Brand

From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...

22/07/2026

TMRW Sports Appoints Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football

TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...

22/07/2026

Stephen Arnold Music Creates Audio for FIFA World Cup Projection Mapping Display at Rockefeller Center

Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...

22/07/2026

Harmonic Donates $25,000 to Venezuela Earthquake Relief Through Global Empowerment Mission

Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...

22/07/2026

Telemundo Acquires Exclusive U.S. Spanish-Language Rights to UEFA Mens Club Competitions Beginning 2027/28

Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...

22/07/2026

The Rest Is Football Returns to Netflix for 2026/27 Premier League Season Through 2028 European Championship

The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...

22/07/2026

Sports Studio and TheSoul Group Announce YouTube and Social Distribution Partnership

Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...

22/07/2026

Daktronics Concludes 2026 High School Video Summit

Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...

22/07/2026

FOR-A America to Exhibit at MMCA 2026 with First U.S. HVS-Q12 Sale Announced

FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...

22/07/2026

New York Yankees Select Lumen Technologies for Stadium and Data Center Connectivity

The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...

22/07/2026

IBC 2026: Calrec To Exhibit IP Audio Ecosystem, Announce New Products

Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...

22/07/2026

Solid State Logic Appoints Algam EKO as Italian Distributor

Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...

22/07/2026

FloSports Launches Free Streaming Channel on Prime Video

FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...

22/07/2026

Savannah Bananas Deploys Calrec Audio Infrastructure for Banana Ball TV REMI Broadcasts

Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...

22/07/2026

SiriusXM and Audacy Announce Agreement To Add 42 Local Stations to SiriusXM

SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...

22/07/2026

Overtime, FOX One Partner on Social-First FIFA World Cup Series Race to Glory for the Creator Generation

The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...

22/07/2026

Green Bay Packers Escalate In-House Video Production With New Content Studio

At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...

22/07/2026

ERA II Vocal Codex from Eduardo Tarilonte

Library now available in Engine Player Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...

22/07/2026

Cloudvocals improved FlashTrack FT-15 DSP Microphone

All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...

22/07/2026

Electro-Harmonix launch the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2

The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...

22/07/2026

Clear-Com Delivers Integrated Communications for Fryderyk Awards Gala in Krakw

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......

22/07/2026

IAB Tech Lab Updates Podcast Technical Measurement Guidelines

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/07/2026

FCC Adopts Plan for C-Band Auction in July 2027

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/07/2026

LTN surpasses 3000 satellite-to-IP migrations as FCC vote...

Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...

22/07/2026

Chaos Releases V-Ray 7 Update 4 Connecting Real-Time Work...

Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...

22/07/2026

An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app

An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app Marc Levoy July 22, 2026 0 Comments At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...

22/07/2026

RTS Chooses Custom Consoles Desks and MediaWalls for Stud...

Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...

22/07/2026

Graham Media's WDIV Opens Satellite Newsroom/Coffee Shop

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/07/2026

FCC Approves License Transfer of WTVQ-DT to Scripps

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/07/2026

Spectrum Reach Expands Operations in N.Y.

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/07/2026

Miris spatial streaming platform adds support for glTF in...

Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...

22/07/2026

Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K

Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Brie Clayton July 21, 2026 0 Comments Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...

22/07/2026

AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back

AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026 0 Comments A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...

22/07/2026

From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Through Photos

From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...

22/07/2026

Sky Documentaries announces The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door

A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...

22/07/2026

Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement with Spotify, SiriusXM, Triton Digital, Acast, and Libysn

Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...

22/07/2026

Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership

Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...

22/07/2026

RT PUBLISHES 2025 ANNUAL REPORT

RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...

22/07/2026

Documentary on film censorship in Ireland coming to RT

In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...

22/07/2026

NVIDIA Open Sources First GPU-Accelerated Medical Physics Simulation Framework

Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...

21/07/2026

High Interest, limited resources: AI in Mongolia's newsrooms

New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...

21/07/2026

FIFA World Cup 2026: The Firsts, Breakthroughs, and Lasting Legacies

With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...