WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

Korg unveils the sequel to one of the 21st century’s most iconic instruments and a ‘first synth’ for a whole generation of music-makers.

Ahead of the 2024 NAMM Show, being held January 25-28, 2024 in Anaheim, California, Korg has announced microKorg 2.

Here we were thinking that Yamaha’s Seqtrak might steal the show at NAMM this year, but it turns out we may have been mistaken. Korg has just unveiled a raft of new products to be shown at NAMM 2024, the most exciting of which is the long-awaited successor to the beloved microKorg.

Released in 2002, the microKorg was an affordable but deceptively powerful synth that became hugely popular with everyone from amateur knob-twiddlers to world-famous artists – Tame Impala and The Prodigy can be counted among the synth’s fans. One of the 21st century’s most iconic instruments, the microKorg was a ‘first synth’ for a whole generation of music-makers.

22 years on, Korg has announced the microKorg 2, which it tells us captures the essence of what made the original a global success while bringing an array of new features to the table. On first glance, the most noticeable upgrade is the synth’s 2.8-inch colour display, which offers advanced control of the synth’s parameters alongside to animated effects and an oscilloscope view that visualizes your patches.

Like its predecessor, microKorg 2 is built around a virtual analogue synth engine. The synth’s polyphonic architecture can handle up to eight voices, and sounds can be layered in Dual mode to create multi-timbral patches. The synth is equipped with 512 presets categorized into eight banks labelled by genre, and custom sounds can be saved in its 64-slot patch memory.

microKorg 2’s sounds can be processed through a range of effects that are grouped into three categories: modulation, delay and reverb. There’s also a two-band parametric EQ for further sound-sculpting. Like its little brother, the synth is equipped with a powerful vocoder and vocal processor and comes bundled with a goose-neck microphone.

In addition to classic vocoder effects, microKorg 2’s vocal processor offers Auto-Tune-style pitch correction and a harmonizer for creating layered and pitch-shifted vocals. Another new feature for the microKorg 2 is the loop recorder, a handy tool for recording performances to create layered compositions.

Like the original, microKorg 2 is outfitted with a 37-key velocity-sensitive keyboard, but we’re told that the new version has been redesigned to enhance playability and provide a natural feel. Measuring 54cm in width and weighing a touch above 2kg, microKorg 2 is a portable instrument that can run on mains power or six AA batteries.

As for I/O, the synth is equipped with stereo line out, headphone out, MIDI in/out, aux in and two microphone inputs. There’s also a USB-C port and a jack for a damper pedal.

microKorg 2 will be released in June of this year. We’ll be checking out the synth at NAMM next week – keep an eye on the homepage to see it in action.

Korg Poetry, a ‘Chopin piano’, could be the most unexpected signature instrument ever – ‘Inspired by Chopin’.

There are plenty of signature guitars, and even the odd artist-endorsed synth, drum machine and plugin, but we weren’t expecting Korg to rock up at NAMM with a digital piano that bears homage to a composer who died more than 150 years ago. That’s what we’ve got with the Poetry, though – an instrument that “resonates with the spirit” of Romantic era icon Frédéric Chopin.

This is certainly a surprising move from Korg – not least because it missed a golden opportunity to call it the ‘Chopiano’ – but if you’re a Frédéric fan, the details of this instrument could be very exciting.

The first of Poetry’s two piano tones is based on Chopin’s 1843 Pleyel piano, which had 80 keys and was pitched at 430Hz rather than 440Hz, the modern tuning standard. This gives it a distinct tone that promises to be authentic to the one that Chopin would have experienced.

The second piano is derived from a contemporary Italian concert grand that’s used in the International Chopin Competition, no less. This one has a “breathtaking, transparent and profoundly expressive sound,” says Korg, adding that, “Were Chopin alive today, he would surely find inspiration in expressing his soulful genius through the resonant notes of this modern masterpiece”. We’ll never know if that’s true, but if it sounds good.

Based on what we can see in the pictures, the Poetry is certainly a tastefully designed piano, coming in a ‘Poetic Brown’ woodgrain finish and sporting gold-trimmed pedals and toes. It’s also nice and compact – with a depth of just 26cm and a flat top when the lid is down, it could be a good option for smaller rooms.

The Poetry uses Korg’s RH3 Real Weighted Hammer Action, which is designed to replicate the feel of a grand piano as closely as possible (the keys feel heavier at lower registers than they do at higher ones, for example) and you can choose from five touch sensitivity options. There’s a three-pedal setup with half-damper capability, and the piano is pre-loaded with 50 Chopin pieces that you can listen to at your leisure. Poetry also ships with 23 piano scores for you to play yourself.

A 2-track recorder enables you to capture your performances, too, and you also get such modern niceties as a built-in metronome, sound layering (so you can create a piano/strings sound, for example) and a Partner Mode that splits the keyboard in two and can be used for teaching purposes. Connectivity includes a line input, two headphone outputs, MIDI I/O and Pedal and Speaker connections, and the built-in sound system comprise two 25w speakers.

Poetry is set to ship in March priced at around £1649/€1899. Find out more on the Korg website.

Ahead of the 2024 NAMM Show, being held January 25-28, 2024 in Anaheim, California, Korg has introduced the KR-11 compact rhythm box.

According to the company, the KR-11 “brings the rhythm machine legacy into the modern era, pioneered by the legendary Korg Doncamatic in 1963.”

Aimed squarely at the silent-yet-noisy majority that is the bedroom guitar player population, Korg’s new drum machine is a deliberately pared-back and portable affair, designed to get you practising and playing with the minimum of fuss (and excuses).

It’s not completely feature-lite, however. The battery-powered unit, with built-in speaker, is an upgrade on Korg’s handy KR mini, with 126 preset patterns, arranged into nine genres – from blues/R&B to country and Island tunes – plus, of course, a basic metronome.

If you do want to go beyond the presets, there are 14 user program slots and, for ease of programming and finger drumming fun, 16 velocity-sensitive pads.

Finally, as the KR-11 is for players, there’s an optional pedal switch for hands-off control of rhythm changes.

Features:

• ‘Loads of rhythm patterns, matching any genre’
• Customization: Edit any pattern and save up to 14 extra user patterns
• Intuitive and easy control: Just choose your preferred genre, select a pattern, and press the play button
• Finger drumming: 16 velocity sensitive pads and plenty of sounds
• Optional pedal switch enables control over pattern changes, fill-ins, and start/stop functions at your feet
• Headphone/line-out jack is available for external audio output
• Newly developed speaker system and Acoustage Bass technology
• 2-way power supply specification: the KR-11 can be powered using either the AC adaptor or 4 x AA alkaline batteries

Audio Demos:

Details on pricing and availability are to be announced. Find out more on the Korg website.