30 Years | Feature
WHAT IS IT?: THE BEST-SELLING PORTABLE SYNTH EVER | LAUNCH YEAR: 2003 | LAUNCH PRICE: £399
CRAMMED THE BEST BITS OF THE MS2000 INTO A MINI KEYBOARD POWERED BY SIX BATTERIES
It has tiny keys, not enough controls for its virtual analogue engine, is quite difficult to use, and suffered pretty middling reviews on release. It even has the wrong name if you think about it (microSynth anyone?). Yet Korg’s microKorg is quite possibly one of the best – and certainly longest – selling synthesisers ever made.
At the start of the century we were surrounded by virtual analogue synths, and Korg jumped on board with the MS2000 synth and rack. This was a great entry for Korg, sold well and truly opened the ‘hands-on control’ door the Prophecy unlocked. But back in 2002, someone at Korg must have been thinking about a portable version and the result was the Korg microKorg, a synth that effectively crammed the best bits of the MS2000 into a mini keyboard powered by six batteries. It would be the start of a micro and mini explosion for the Japanese company that has led to countless products over the course of this century.
And with its powerful virtual analogue synthesis, a vocoder and some wonderful sounds, microKorg didn’t just help kickstart this portable revolution, it continues to be a good seller for Korg to this day.
What we said at the time
“On the one hand, the microKorg is a bargain, it’s highly portable, it’s immediate, it looks and sounds great. On the other hand you could probably pick up an MS2000 for £150 more, and just think of all that extra tweakability that comes with it. It’s a tough one, but for those that need an affordable and tidy little synth with a vocoder thrown in and the sort of looks that will make an impression, then the microKorg fits the bill.”
Legacy
You could argue that the microKorg’s success had an impact across Korg’s range and well beyond. Certainly the appearance – quite a shock at the time, as we recall – of the Volca range in 2013 must owe something to the portable power of the microKorg.
But it’s the direct descendants that tell the real stor
