Korg Modwave Native Now Available For Mac & Windows

Korg today introduced modwave native, a fully-compatible software counterpart to its recently introduced modwave synthesizer keyboard.

With this introduction, each of Korg’s trio of the modwave, wavestate and opsix hardware synths now have software counterparts.

modwave native is available in VST3, AAX, and standalone formats, on both macOS and Windows, as well as AU on macOS. You can seamlessly exchange sounds between hardware and software.

With modwave native, you can produce in your DAW, and then play the same sounds using the modwave hardware. Or create sounds with the hardware’s hands-on interface, and then share them with a computer-based collaborator.

With modwave native, you can also use any of the third-party sound libraries available for the hardware modwave, as well as sample libraries designed for either the modwave or wavestate.

Features:

  • modwave synthesis engine
  • Kaoss Physics
  • Motion Sequencing 2.0
  • Deeper access into the synth engine
  • ‘Filters for days’
  • Flexible modulation
  • Wide arsenal of effects
  • ‘Randomization that inspires’
  • Set Lists and Smooth Sound Transitions
  • Patch exchange between modwave and modwave native
  • Crossgrade from hardware modwave
  • Demo version available

Audio Demos:

Pricing and Availability

modwave native is available now for $149 USD. Special crossgrade pricing is also available for owners of the modwave keyboard.

45 thoughts on “Korg Modwave Native Now Available For Mac & Windows”

      1. exactly

        even if there are analog filters involved, it doesn’t matter
        Zero Delay feedback filters are all over the place in software these days
        there is no more need for synths to come with analog filters hybrid stuff

        its just there as advertisement for no clue people, oh analog filters great 😉

    3. I see where your coming from, but don’t quite agree. Digital hardware synths have a unique crisp digital sound that I find distinct from software. Now obviously there are fantastic digital software synths that have taken advantage of modern computing, but there are reasons digital hardware can sound different than software and why some digital hardware synths cost 2 or 3k. First, most digital synths don’t use intel or amd computer processors, they instead use digital signal processors that are made to focus 100% their power on the signal path. In addition, the digital to analog converters on some of these synths are absolutely pristine and sound fantastic. It’s for this reason that digital synths from the 90s still sound great.

      1. Bullshit! Any digital circuit can be perfectly emulated as long as the emulation preserves the bit sequence of the original in its pre-D/A stages. It doesn’t matter how those bits were assembled in the first place, so the bit stream from an ASIC vs the bit stream from a microprocessor will sound identical as long as the ones and zeros are in the correct sequence at the correct bit rate. Korg, is a master of this. Their M1 and Wavestation soft synths ARE perfect recreations of the 80s/90s hardware (right up to that post D/A stage, where the imperfections in the analog amplifiers become apparent). Run them through a model of those original D/A output stages and they sound identical to the hardware (on any platform). More recently, both the Wavestate and the OPSix emulations are identical sounding to the hardware synths on my studio monitors. I sold my hardware Modwave, but I’m betting the same is true for that, as well.

  2. It’s a pretty good VST but up against some very stiff competition in the virtual world…Pigments (its very similar), Serum, Rapid, Massive X, Phase Plant etc- most can be picked up at bargain prices so even at the ‘intro’ price of $149 this is still quite expensive.

  3. To my surprise, I liked the demo so much that I bought it, even though I find it a bit expensive. Somehow the GUI clicks with me, it has a flow that invites me to Interact. And I like the sound, it’s very digital and abrasive and sits well in the mix. Cool plugin!

  6. It’s about time! I bought a Modwave after I had my Wavestate for a while. I sold it more quickly that I usually do for a new synth. It was fine, but I couldn’t justify keeping it around given the space it took up vs. the amount of use I was getting from it. A plug-in version (assuming it’s as accurate a replication as the Wavestate is) would be most welcome.

  7. A $150 version of hardware is always welcome. It’s funny how people perceive software to be worth less, even though it often requires as much effort to design.

    1. In 20 years time (when undoubtedly it won’t be supported any more) can you sell me your copy of this VST?
      No?
      Then it’s worthless.
      The actual physical Modwave will still have a value. It might even increase in value.

      1. “worthless” is a bit dramatic. Not everyone buys instruments to resell, nor cares how much they’d bring on the open market.

        1. I agree that worthless is a bit dramatic.
          It was Frodo that first brought that word up and I just wanted to point out why people might see software as worthless.
          Personally, I think worth is very subjective.
          If you get enjoyment and creativity out of it, then it’s worth it.
          I use both hardware and software, but I must admit I prefer the tactilely and hands on approach of hardware.
          This Modwave VST isn’t that appealing to me at full price. However, now that I know it’s available I’m more tempted to buy the physical Modwave and use the VST alongside it.
          Good marketing by Korg!

      2. “In 20 years time…”

        WTF?

        A $149 VST might not be supported in 20 years???

        Roland stopped supporting my $2500 Jupiter 80 2 years after I bought it.
        I spent $149 on 2 packs of Ultra Premium Luster Photo Paper yesterday. LOL!

      3. Looking at anything hardware/software based and comparing longevity/use to price point is always an interesting thought process.

        If (Korg) software is $150 and you end up using it once a week for a year or once a month for 4 years, the cost is roughly $3 a week over both calendar cycles.

        It’s not up to a software manufacturer to future proof their, or your, gear. Use the technology then store those moments in a more reliable form. Be conscientious of recalling a song and not the software/hardware within a song, especially 20 years from now. Will we even have a thing called desktop computing in the future?

      4. I use plugins that are more than 18 years old, are still supported, and run just fine. Not to mention the various DAWs that are well in their 20s and even 30s now. That being said, if resale value is your priority, coins, stamps, or watches might be a better investment than music hard- and software. These things are meant to be used.

    2. ime, SW is only harder because the verification tools are terrible, or too hard for developers to use. hardware verification has been approaching top notch for decades.

  9. It’s difficult to get a “read” on its capabilities through hype-text. It’s clearly a powerhouse.

    Comparing it to other wavetables like Vital or even the free Surge XT, there are a few standout differences— like the Kaooss capabilities, and the ability to load multisamples. I didn’t see any details about how the multi-sample aspects work, both in terms keymaps, and the DSP path.

    There does seem to be a need for a powerful synth that can use multi-sample keymaps as an oscillator.

    1. If the software implementation for the Modwave is as it is for the Wavestate, then one would expect that it works the same way it does on the hardware. For me, that was one of the main purchasing points of the hardware Modwave. However, by the timer I bought it, the software Wavestate had gained the ability to import samples, so it wasn’t a feature that really sang out to me, for my purposes. However, I am looking forward to playing around with it on the software Modwave.

  10. This VST turns modwave into a multitimbral synth. You design the sound on the hardware, and in the DAW you use a different patch for each track.

  11. This VST turns modwave into a multitimbral synth. You design the sound on the hardware, and in the DAW you use a different patch for each track.

  13. The truth is that most of us have both hardware and software stuff. Neither one alone covers the pizzazz we seek. I loosely prefer Korg’s hardware synths as being more approachable and fuller-sounding, to my ears, but big deal, the field of choices is yuge.

    The Opsix and MoDWave didn’t seem positioned to last for years, selling as hardware, but the soft versions should have longer lives. All three of the ‘little guys’ offer a lot of creative potential. It shouldn’t hurt the MoDWave a bit that it will swap wavetables with Serum. Small but meaningful touches like that count for a lot.

    1. It’s an interesting question, i.e. the lifespan of hardware vs software. It’s not a crisp answer, as it relates to whether a hardware user gigs with it, and whether a software user might at some point be forced to “freeze” at a particular old OS, in order to keep using the VI.

      1. I think that a lot of the answer to that question is based on the hardware manufacturer of the computer platform. While most current Windows PCs will run, pretty much, anything that was released as or updated to a 64-bit platform, the same thing can’t be said about Apple products. As MacOS become more like iOS, I would expect this to continue to worsen in the future. Granted, my Mac Mini M1 is the first Mac I’ve had in my studio in almost 30 years (Mac IIci), so I can’t say for certain how much backward compatibility was maintained since 64-bit Macs became the norm, I do know that as iOS has progressed since when my iPad 3-series was new, there are a hell of a lot of music apps that Apple has abandoned along the way to iOS 16 (not to mention how much hardware got abandoned along the way, as well). Conversely, almost all (if not all) of my VSTs that I acquired back in the 32-bit only days will still run today (even if only in a partition specifically set up to run 32-bit apps). Camel Audio’s Alchemy, remains the best example of this kind of front moving compatibility. I have a Windows 11 computer that still runs Alchemy flawlessly in Cakewalk, Studio One, Live, and Mixcraft. I keep an iPod 4 that is running something like iOS 9 around, just because it still runs the iOS version of Camel Alchemy.

        1. Five years ago, I would have given Apple a better “grade” when it comes to backward compatibility. But it has gotten worse and worse. In fairness, the need to constantly harden defenses against security threats, as well as the introduction of the new AS chip architecture does mean that backward compatibility is more of a heavy lift.

          You may be right about iOS, and it seems the pace of apps that get bricked by OS updates seems to be accelerating, but I disclaim that my impression is not based on data.

  16. I was excited about the ModWave, as it was apparently the successor to the Korg DW-8000. The DW8K sounds much more to my liking though. One of my favorite synths, and I have many!
    While I love the softsynths I do use, I prefer free/inexpensive VSTi’s as there are just so many good ones out there. This frees up my music budget for more hardware, which for me is a lot more exciting and fun to use, and also generally appreciates in value over time.
    That being said, I don’t plan on buying the ModWave VST. But I absolutely would pick up the keyboard if Korg blows them out for $350 like they did the OpSix after the OpSix VSTi was released.
    I’ll be keeping an eye on the synth news 😉

    1. They haven’t done any of the other native series which have been out a while…Opsix would probably be the easiest to start with if they did…modwave and Wavestate have large sample downloads to go with…about 4gigs

  18. What a great idea. And at a good price. Unsurprisingly the comment section is full of people asking why Korg would bother, as if Korg doesn’t do market research and hasn’t been running a sustainable electronic music business for half a century.

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