a lovely piece of kit! 
by josh "analogue pilot" conti from space coast of florida, October 2008
Music Background:  musician, producer, programmer, composer

when i first pulled my microkorg out of the box 4 years ago- i fell in love. from the wood sides to the old school radio shack knobs it screamed vintage fun and 4 years later im still having fun with it!
i'm currently using it as my reason controller (im a mouser so i only need it for key inputs and some knob tweaks). but its also great for the synth engine and sounds... i love dialing in a sound and then revamping it completely then cranking it through my monitors. not to sound like every other review but for a tiny keyboard this thing packs punch. i would have no qualms about using this as a lead keyboard at a live show... there are a few vintage key sounds including a wurlitzer/rhodes sound that surprised me with their realism. i own a 68 wurli 200a and if im not too keen on traveling with it so if i need to replace its sound- a few knob tweaks and the microkorg does the trick! having owned several korg electribes, i found the user interface very comfortable and easy to navigate. pitch and mod both have their own wheels and right above is the octave control, volume and tempo just like a normal keyboard. this may not seem like such a big deal but with the microkorgs minikeys i can actually play with both hands AND dial knob tweaks while controlling modulation (i do have a full octave reach with my hand so results may vary!)...
i can get into all the experimenting ive done with the vocoder but i'd take up too much space.
to sum this all up- this was one of the best purchases i have made for my project studio. you wont be dissapointed. trust me!

  wowzers. 
by Classical from Boston, MA, September 2008
Music Background:  Studio Recording Engineer, Producer

Right out of the box this thing has the sounds YOU are looking for, no matter what genre you dabble in. Into hip hop? This is Dre in 37 miniature keys. I promise, as you click through the presets, your expectations will be quickly exceeded. And you haven't even started editing yet.

Simply put, for short cash you are instantly dropped right into the midst of the analogue synth game. This is hardly a 'beginners' piece- sure the keys are small... but stop crying. It's 400 dollars.

Buy it.

  Virtual Analogue Virtuoso! 
by I Love Analogue aka Robbie Ryan from McKinney, TX USA, April 2008
Music Background:  Film Composer, Post Production Audio

This little piece is a blast. It's got useable sounds right out of the box, from Acid House to early 80s Synthpop, to 90s techno. There are presets like "Slippy Pad" and "Domin8r" that harken back to Underworld and Joey Beltram. The synth itself physically is small, but you can slip it under your arm and take it places with you, so it goes great with a laptop. The wood panels are great conversation starters, as well. Also, the sounds fit very well in a mix, and the arpeggiator will inspire you with its techno-repetition. I've actually A/Bed this device with several synths from the old days, like the Roland JX8P and KorgMonoPoly, and it holds up quite well against those, and has digital effects to spruce up the sound. It also stays in tune, by golly! This is great as your first synth or your last synth. Absolutely no regrets.

  easier than I expected 
by boro from canaderrrr, June 2007
Music Background:  hobbyist

I bought this thing out of a desire for a synthesizer to be used in conjunction with a sequencer/sampler and my acoustic drums. I have no patience for anything (I'm a DRUMMER... I HIT things...) and I haven't managed to be frustrated by this. All these reviews said "blah blah the interface is horrible... you cant edit things! it's hard to use!"

If I can use it, you can. Read the manual. It's not that hard to figure it out.

Yeah, the keys are little plasticy garbage, but I'm not a keyboardist. I bought it for the synthesizer, not the keyboard.

The sound is unbelievable, and I'm satisfied with my purchase.

  Holy crap pretty sweet 
by Sally is my only name from Cambridge,Oh USA, March 2007
Music Background:  Keyboarder in a band

The microKORG is one of the best steals out there right now. It has amazing standards I just started playing keyboard about a year ago. but this took my little skills and turned me into a professional. I can add serious texture to my band. anyone looking to improve the sound of their music(wether that be in a band or as a solo musician)should give this baby a try you have nothing to lose. GO GET IT BYAAAH!!!!

  Big thingies come in small packages 
by Adhab Al-Farhan , October 2006
Music Background:  Recording engineer, producer, pro musician, hobbyist

I bought this after a few weeks of its release. It was one of a kind. The whole look was attractive. I was hooked on the looks alone. Very compact and it's a Korg. The sound is superiror as expected from Korg. For a small package, it packs plenty. The portable, sleek design is beautiful. The sound is truly powerful that for such a tiny thing, this can compete with the big boys. Beware of immitators, just stick with the microKorg!

Little? Naaaah... 
by Anonymous , October 2005

When I got my MicroKorg I spent hours on end playing with it, learning new techniques at each turn of a dial. The synthesis architecture is very easy to learn, and you can edit any parameter you desire in real time with a twist of a knob.

This is definitely a lesson on the cliche of "Good things come in small packages." The array of sounds you can create is absolutely incredible. I have timbres that are as synthesized as they come, really phat Moog-style basses and leads, odd, shimmery pads, etc. but thanks to the DWGS waveforms, I have good emulations of bells, organs, guitars, even a cello! It's amazing how thick you can make the sounds, too. There's a unison detune mode for that purpose, but even if you're only operating in monophonic mode, you can detune and add chorus and it's like, "Wow." [I know, I know, "wow" is totally ambiguous, but you'll have to try this synth out to believe it...]

If sound effects are more your style, I hope I won't offend any purists by saying that this baby is just as good as an old EMS rig if not better. With 4 virtual patches, two LFOs, and two EGs per timbre, you can create some really psychedelic sonic textures. Need ocean waves? noise+LFOs=Ocean. Whale song? Just tweak some waveforms to respond to an EG, then filter it to add murkiness and add delay for distance. Birds? Alien ray guns? You get the idea. No good electronic musician should pass this little jewel over for anything, not even one of those gigantic powerhouse synths [I shall not name names...] The MicroKorg is definitely a worthy addition to any sonic arsenal.

Micro Korg 
by Jamn Bach from SW Florida, March 2004

A great addition to my keyboard collection. Lots of room to sculpt your sound.

I love the Vocorder and can't wait to try out the sound editor on my mac.

I've had it for two days and can see it will take a while to explore all the creative juice this thing has to offer.

Dynamite in a little package 
by Jerry Fielden from Montreal QC CA, March 2004

I've just had this a couple of days, and I've started modifying some of the sounds - most of the presets sounds fabulous, but some could use some modification.


Everything from a fat Moog sound to some nice ring modulated sounds are featured here, and the vocoder is worth the price of the synth almost on its own.


The keyboard is a bit small, but as I'm a guitarist, I'm using PK5 pedals to control this so it really doesn't bother me too much.


All in all, worth every penny and more!

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