The Korg MiniKorg 700FS is a limited edition of the legendary MicroKorg 700S analogue synthesizer originally built in 1973, bringing this ancestral synth to the modern days, thanks to the addition of modern appointments such as an arpeggiator, spring reverb and aftertouch and USB MIDI.
Reissue of a Classic
The Korg Minikorg 700FS is a faithful recreation of the original 700S and developed by Fumio Mieda, the original designer. It features two oscillators with an instantly recognisable penetrating sound and a cutting filter, ideal for creating thick basses and stunning lead sounds with a strong presence.
Originally designed as a Sub keyboard, to augment the sound of electric pianos and organs in the 70s, the Korg 700 and 700s were designed to sit on top of the original keyboards. As a result, most of the controls are located below the keyboard, allowing players to easily tweak their sound. The intuitive layout made it easy to quickly dial in a sound during a performance.
Traveller
The unique Traveller controller, consisting of low-pass and high-pass filters offered a great way to easily fit the sound into a mix but it wasn't long before musicians discovered some powerful effects like Wah-wah and muted sounds.
The combination of Low-pass and high-pass meant that crossing the levers, instead of cancelling the sound as it theoretically should, would create a unique sound that became synonymous with this synthesizer. The original MicroKorg 700 used protrusion to prevent the crossing of sliders but by user request they were removed with the release of the 700s, removing the need for users to file the protrusions, feature recreated on the 700 FS..
A Vintage Synth for the Modern Age
Thanks to the many technological advancements seen in the last 50 years, the new Minikorg boasts many new features using the exact same footprint. including a spring reverb effect adding characterful space and depth. The Microkorg 700FS also sees the inclusion of a Joystick to control pitch bend and modulation and the new keybed provides an aftertouch for added expressiveness. It also includes an arpeggiator greatly opening up the possibilities.
Connectivity-wise, the 700FS now includes MIDI via 5-pin DIN and USB-MIDI replaying to Note-on and Note-off signals as well as a CV/Gate in jack to connect to an external modular system or CV outputting device.
Finally, a Memory Program button allows for the storage and recall of favourite settings without the need for writing the positions of the knobs.
A Little Extra
The MiniKorg 700FS ships in a stunning and vintage-looking hard case designed especially for it. It also comes with a plethora of software for music creation include Izotope Ozone Elements, Skoove to improve users' keyboard dexterity, Reason Lite to record musical projects and a vast selection for synths by Korg and other developers. iOS users will also find additional software include the Korg Gadget 2 LE and the Korg Module for piano sounds.