Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Is Korg planning an MS-20 reboot? Is the Analog King Korg real?


Word on Vintage Synth is that a new Korg MS-20 is coming through the pipeline and set to appear at NAMM 2013.  The leak supposedly comes from an Argentinian distributor for Korg.  The MS-20 appears to be the same as the Legacy Controller released some years back, but changes in the patch panel, and the fact that these screenshots don't already exist on the web indicate these are indeed new.  The picture below shows that this new MS-20 is miniature, and much smaller than its original older brother.  The MS-20 isn't listed as analog or digital, so it could go either way.  The mini keys make me think it's an expansion on the old MicroKorg, but the fact that Korg has had so much success with the Monotron and Monotribe makes me think they'd really go for it.

Also included in this leak is the King Korg, listed as an analog polysynth.  No real details can be gathered from this synth-- it's new, but certainly looks like something in the style of Korg.  While it's listed as analog, it could also be a virtual analog-- Korg likes to throw the word "analog" around, especially in the case of the PolySix iPad app.  CFNorENa on VS also points out that the XMT in King Korg's logo could be a hint at digital, as the Radias uses the MMT engine, and XMT could be the next generation of it.

My take on these?  They both seem legitimate.  The story checks out for me-- distributors get promo images and information early on, so a leak doesn't surprise me.  Both moves make sense for the company.  The MS-20 is popular enough to be a success if it's digital or analog, and the King Korg makes sense as a performance synth, which we haven't seen from Korg in a little while (they've mostly been putting out big workstations.)  My personal guess is that they're both digital...

Let's hope, regardless of analog or digital, they all have a great price.








2013 is here!


So the site's been pretty quiet these past few weeks as I've taken some time off from posting to relax and enjoy the holiday break-- music news is generally pretty slow in late December as well, but now that the new year has rolled around, we're back to an exciting time for musicians and listeners across the globe.  NAMM is just about 3 weeks away, and we'll have a wealth of new information on some hopefully insanely cool synths and maybe some great software as well.  If recent trends continue, we'll hopefully be seeing companies take some cool risks with design while they try to push things forward, and that's really what it's all about!

I'll do my best to keep you all posted on everything cool that comes out of NAMM this month, and any other cool news that comes through the grapevine.  The beginning of the year is always the most exciting time for gear, so be sure to check back quite a bit this month!  I'm also looking to line up more interviews for this year from some cool young talent, and maybe some veterans on the scene as well.

Stay tuned, and Happy New Year!