55 thoughts on “Korg Monologue Intro, With Chief Engineer Tatsuya Takahashi”

1. Screw SLIM KEYS. If this designer is for real he will make a proper synthesizer instrument not something for only knob twisters only.

   1. Screw musicians who cannot wrap their minds around the concept a universal MIDI keyboard in 2016.

   2. Admin: Personal attack deleted.

      Keep comments on topic and constructive.

   3. What have you got to say about wasp?

   4. Well, IMO Korg slim keys are best synth keys. Beats SH-101 and old moogs. Perfect for my fingers. Piano keys are not so good with small mono synths.

   5. “if this designer is for real….” lmao.
      there is not a facepalm big enough.

2. Screw people who don’t even realise there have been lots of synthesizers that weren’t even made to be played with a keyboard.

3. No one moans about the EDP Wasp having either mini keys or touch capcitance keys that rarely trigger when you want them too, however the lust for the Wasp never falters (See the Jasper, and tbf, The Wasp is quite overrated. I used to own two, so I know!). However this new Monologue I think is the best budget synth to be released since the Wasp. Better I believe even than the SH-101. Every time I watch Korg release one of these youtube teasers, I wet myself. Microtonal tunings? Just brilliant. Cheers Aphex! Just a shame it doesn’t have a built-in speaker. Oh well… Well done Korg, you have a new classic in the making. Roll on 2017!

4. Let’s focus on what matters the most: It sounds very good! That I don’t want to pay for keys (be they slim or mini or full size) or sequencing or any kind of memory memory is secondary to that.

5. is it me or is the world of music technology filled with obsessive compulsives!

   1. or compulsive obsessives

      1. Pheew. That’s better. I needed the words compulsive and obsessive to be in alphabetical order, too.

         But seriously, on one hand I can understand someone preferring full-sized keys. However, getting enraged as if it is some kind of injustice isn’t necessary.

         1. Korg’s key actions and velocity response are excellent.
         2. Slim keys give you more range on this instrument– while keeping the overall footprint small.
         3. It has MIDI i/o so you can control it with your full-sized controller
         4. If more people would have preferred full-sized keys, Korg would have made it that way.

   2. What, people won’t do things MY WAY? Preposterous!

6. The LFO looks like a copy of the monotribe, which is such an awesome thing. I wish this had sample and hold though.

   1. Motion sequence to the rescue.

7. wonder if a desktop (no-keyboard version) is in the works?
   might as well start it, every other keyboard here has that asked

   1. Bill, one could only hope. I have never had an interest in a monophonic synth, ever, yet this is interesting to me. I would like to have a rack mountable version, purchase six of these, connect it to my Eventide 8000 and just be left alone for a few hours.

8. With full size keys it will be a complete serious beauty. Like a SubPhatty. I tried once minikeys and I couldn’t play it. For the rest I think it’s a topper.

9. I am waiting for the FM based Minilogue.

   1. ..i read this comes at namm 2017. in an interview with Tatsuya Takahashi he said, the volca line is mentioned as an “test” for bigger projects. He said that the volca fm is an very interesting technology for further projects. electribe update is coming too – no arp2600, but a completely new “mysterious” product with keys.

10. that motion sequencing is awesome

11. I’m thinking of picking one of these up for the micro-tunings alone (although it also sounds really good). It’s actually nuts that Korg made a commercial synth capable of handling micro-tonal music and that they are touting that as a major feature. Tatsuya Takahashi decided to make a budget mono synth targeting the experimental musician market and somehow Korg approved it. Wild times.

    1. I think Takahashi can propose damn near anything at this point an Korg will green light it.

       He and his team are gold.

12. how about proposing a few more updates for the Minilogue? The option to turn off MIDI start for the step sequencer, and some more of the (promised) preset packs. It appears like they’ve abandoned it.

13. People please stop insulting each other over mini-slim-medium-normal whatever keys. There is not need to swear just to make a point. That being said,, IN MY CASE! (only talking about me 🙂 ) slim keys i don`t like. i miss a note too often cause of the size of my hands and combined with the fact that i am not a very good player. I believe if size was completely irrelevant then the piano wouldn`t have been surviving-established all these years without getting different size of keys-being altered. There is not a perfect key “one size fits all humans” size for everyone of course but i think that the piano full size keys are just the best compromise-solution till now. And when i hear a good small bodied with small hands pianist play a fast solo on a Grand Piano and my jaw drops i can`t believe the arguments that some use like “slim keys are better on Mono synths, or for solos” etc. Or is a synth solo something that requires a special technique that is not possible on a normal piano? (Obviously i mean playing the notes not comparing sounds). Also i measured my Minilogue and calculated that if it had full size keys the whole instrument would be only 5-6 cm wider. Still pretty small. I also agree that you can use midi but i don`t wan`t many devices that i can`t use directly. If this is the case then i would like a Module without keyboard at all if we are talking about space efficiency in a small studio-home-whatever. In the case of the Minilogue i find it the lower possible size for “smaller than full keys”. It is very playable compared to the ones wit mini keys. But still my tears wet the desert of musical vastness when i see minikeys and want to walk the line.

14. Just take the keys away please

15. And again, the step-sequencer does not have a transpose-function for the sequence, which makes it completely useless. . The same as with the Minilogue, the Volca Keys, the SQ-1….

    1. Actually the Monologue step sequencer does have a transpose mode, it’s listed in the features and is even demonstrated in their video about the step sequencer.

       I do agree with you that the omission of that feature on the Minilogue is a serious problem, but this problem does not plague the Monologue.

       1. It’s also the feature I want most from a Volca 2 series.

16. The filter sounds great, but I found the overall sound just too harsh and hollow for my taste. Anyway, I’m not looking at it as some other mono (I’ll keep my BS2 definitely, and still want a Moog…), but as some kind of super-Volca. Slim keys are so much better than that touch strip on the other units…

17. just make a rack version of everything with minikeys at a lower price… then no one can complain

    1. The problem with that idea is that the rack version would be more expensive, even without the keys, because so many people by keyboards, and the rack version would be a niche product.

       Sure, there are some vocal people that hate mini keys or that want rack versions, but these mini synths sell by the truckload and pay the bills.

       1. hilarious. name me one example where rack is more expensive.
          one.

          1. Stunna – name me one example of a minisynth where the company thought that there was enough of an audience to even justify building a rack version.

             The closest example that comes to mind is the Korg MS-20m, which is close to twice as much as the minikey version.

             It’s easy to talk trash about how dumb companies are because they don’t make exactly what you want – but there are reasons that companies like Korg and Yamaha been making instruments for 30 years, and knowing what to make and what not to make is obviously a big part of it.

             1. lol, no korg ms20m obviously does not count (nice try though).

                not sure what the rest of your post has to do with anything.
                you made a claim and i call bollocks on it.

                again, straight question. name me one rack that is more expensive than the kb ver.

             2. The System 1 rack mount version is about $200 more than the normal keyboard version.

                1. its a flat 100€ more and the rack module actually has a cv/gate which on an digital synth is quite a feature. for comparison perfourmer cv version costs 150€ more and this as an all analog synth. so no, that wont do.
                   cv connections on it do put the product into more of a niche ironically.

18. super job, KORG – very creative box !

19. Sounds fat in the bottom end

20. I like the black, blue, and red colors. Not a big fan of the silver or gold. Aren’t looks just as important as the sounds?

21. Ok, enough of these mini keys and less than 6 voices. It’s time to make a Prologue for the rest of us 🙂

    1. It already exists, it is called the prophet 6

       1. ah yes but it needs to be sub 200$, see.

22. Korg messed this up big (tongue in cheek) I wont be buying it (I preordered it…) gold is the ugliest color for a synth (…in gold) screw mini keys (I can’t wait to put it in a back pack and make some melodies and sequences with it in the woods. Sitting in the same room and coming up new things is one way. Going different places and playing the same thing is called touring. Going different places and making up new melodies/riffs is called super fun. Not officially though..

23. Another good synth, yay. It would be a bit redundant for me. However, if I didn’t already have several monosynths, I would give this one serious consideration. I really really wish they would’ve included CV outs. Maybe next time?

24. what i dont get is why korg is pushing new products and cannot deliver for the current demand.
    arp module is delayed until “sometimes 2017” and minilogue is on backorder in at my dealers.
    same was with the electribes.

    1. Exactly I gave up on these Korgs some time I had an impulse for Minilogue a few times but it never was available I have moved on!

       The minikeys are also a bit of a bummer but I guess they did that to save space (in their best interest).

25. just hate these slim keys. what a stupid choice. its setting low manufacturing costs above a no compromised instrument. and that is just wrong. takashi awesome team awesome guy or not: for me personally its the only thing they are doing wrong. And i understand people still like it, but it doesnt make you a better player. it just makes you want to twist the filter knob open and make easy techno rave like sequences.

    1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSJAaLb6JOM

       1. @synthhead, can you install a script that auto-replys with this video anytime the comment system detects someone whining about mini keys? K, thx.

       2. That’s an awesome video. The angle on his Sassmann spinet is completely tripping me out how it’s slightly different from a traditional bentside.

          As a fellow harpsichordist, I agree totally with him on making that point, it’s one of the examples I use against the ignorance of anti-slim key extremists. What is particularly crazy is people advocating big fat nasty heavy 6.5″ per octave spacing of pianos. When those things came out originally everyone realized the spacing was far too wide and the key weight much to heavy to play accurately and well. What could you do though, piano mechanism is necessarily obese due to its complexity. Then when digitals came out and the keyboard could be any size, people still wanted 6.5″! That’s just nuts! And now people fetishize it in completely wrong contexts like synths. Why would you want to use a lousy weighted piano key and/or its comically fat spacing if you didn’t have to? It doesn’t make any sense. Piano key people have poor design discrimination and are extremely confused.

26. Completely ignoring the pointless mini-keys discussion, I will bring up another point. I think the most obvious downside of this otherwise great looking synth is the fact that there are only 20 user presets – assuming the other 80 are not overwriteable. By buying this synth, I will be stuck with 80 programs that were designed by someone else (seq, microtuning, etc). So, are the other 80 programs really fixed in memory and not editable/overwriteable?

    1. The presets are overwriteable.

       1. that’s great! thanks.

27. Yes! Microtones!!!