I still love the original but this looks fun:

https://cmi.com.au/news/music-techno...nWRgcCXVZcF6R4

... And they kept the genre categories. Whyyy
Maybe just to be on brand?

Just the screen alone makes this interesting, though.

Having a screen is a big improvement. Not sure I'd get one when the repackaged KingKorg is only a few hundred more though.

Here's a video

Ooooo

Looks like a pretty sweet update. The screen looks fantastic.

I like that they stayed faithful to the original layout and design.

I wonder if this is also Raspberry Pi based like the Wavestate, Opsix and Modwave?

Engine just says 'Analog modelling synthesis system". Derived from Kingkorg?

Now 8 voices. Approx 0.2 voices per year since first one.

This is nice. The venerable Microkorg is still a great little synth, and they were wise to keep all the strong points and improve on the weaknesses: I'd say that the big news is the doubled polyphony and the screen to improve the usability of the matrix interface. Also, the keys are not diving board like the OG, but piano-shaped like the MicroKorg XL+, which has a much better keybed (within the limits of microkeys of course).

It remains to be seen what the sound engine is: did they just keep the original one and double the polyphony, or is it a different one? The 8-voice polyphony also reminds of the XL+, but that engine is usually considered less good than the original.
They say explicitly that the vocoder engine is new, with more features like autotune and harmonizer.
There's also a whole new loop recorder, more banks and memories, more effects, etc.
And of course, this being Korg, the unescapable limited edition color variations.

All considered, this looks like a sensible upgrade and definitely a better job than the KingKorg Neo, which is just a lazy repackaging of exactly the same old thing, minus its best features (5 octaves and real tube).

Who knows if it will be as successful as the original, though I doubt it: the OG was revolutionary and unique in its own way, while this one will enter a marked flooded with cheap small synths...a lot will depend on the price. We'll see.

Waited so f-long for this

Kept the simplicity, improved the interface.
Updated the synth engine and vocal processing capabilities. Curious to hear those.
Some looping was on my wishlist, happy to see that. Wanted some drums to go with that however.
No built-in speaker is a big bummer. Improved the keyboard a bit.

Prefer the OG chibi-Moog looks but this looks pretty good.

Yeah, pretty spot on, a recipe that still works

Price is a notch too high thought.

Way too late Korg...c'mon fellas the microkorg 2 is competing with the minifreak

I still love my 20 years old MicroKorg, but more polyphony and better keys + screen make this one interesting.
I would like to hear its sound though. The original had something special.

I saw the new KingKorg iteration and said “meh”.

Then I saw this and am intrigued. I had the original back in 2007 and it made sounds I have trouble replicating on other synths (FM type sounds using sine waveform+xmod). I hope the engine in this one is similar in terms of sound and features.

Would be nice if they did a module without the keys.

They should have had the keys designed by an “actual piano player”

This one has some appeal for sure, especially for those just starting out. I really like the design job they did here, overall. Looks far better than the KK Neo and can't possibly be as ludicrously overpriced.

Partially answering myself: from a quick look at the control panel, one glaring difference immediately jumps out in the mod matrix:
osc 1
osc 2
OSC 3
noise

they added a third oscillator! While this is great news in itself, it means that the sound engine has definitely been changed. Now I'm curious to hear if it retains some of the signature MicroKorg/MS2000 sound, or if it's a totally new thing and the only "vintage" things left are the name and looks.

is it likely a speaker version will be released?

There are also “MBK” and “MWH” versions. Metallic Black and Metallic White limited editions, mentioned on the Korg site.

I wonder if this shares any engine DNA with the new KingKorg Neo.

I love how the screen is used on this; informative, professional-looking, with no stupid cartoons that don't help you understand what is going on...

And the arpegiator still only has eight steps, and the other effects like the harmonizer can only be used for the microphone but not for the synth engine. The whole thing is ridiculous. 6 mod slots and two LFOs, man we were brave again...

Do you think the keys will be as good as the Reface?

This thing looks like a Reface CS on steroids. Shame there are no speakers.

In terms of intro level VA synths, sure. But in reality, it probably depends on how much you want a vocoder. As far as I know, the MiniFreak doesn't have one.

What engine is it used? The old one frpm MS2000 or from the Radias, or..?

Interesting. A huge move for Korg, really, considering that the microKorg is one of the best selling synths of all time at consumer retail.

There is a lot to like about this synth, but I can't help but respond with a puzzled look at the complete waste of space that is the genre/bank/patch selection system. Would rather see a small dedicated OLED display for patch ID, and 2-3 knobs to spin through patch organization.

Thinking I might wait another 22 years for the microKORG 3.

...yet.

If you've followed the incredible series of updates that is still ongoing with the earlier sibling MicroFreak, you can expect there is much more to come on the MiniFreak.

I hope they do a limited edition color based of the OG. Haha!

No, I want a complete synth with keyboard, not a boring module.

Probably a similar to MS2000 engine, since Korg managed to make a Microkorg VST.

I think the MS2000 engine sounds better than the Radias, so if it's actually the case that's a good thing.

Before diving into any detail and sound assessment, my initial reaction to just seeing the pics and first vid:

You don’t want to use a proper keyboard then?

Hard to say. It's very unlikely to happen soon thought. Need to see how this new one does before they look into making a more premium version of it.

They also can't have too many microKORG variation out at the same time. I'm guessing this new one will replace the OG given that it has the same name, but the microKORG S and micorKORG XL are still around.