Korg Minilogue Polyphonic Analog Synth

[meatballfulton]

Lengthy user overview demo FYI

[Rick N Boogie]

I bought the Yamaha CS Reface, then the Roland JP-08, both of which I found to be awesome little guys. Now Korg pulls this one out of thin air, analog even, and it seems I must own this too.
Something just appeals to me with these miniaturized synthesizers.

[natrixgli]

I bought the Yamaha CS Reface, then the Roland JP-08, both of which I found to be awesome little guys. Now Korg pulls this one out of thin air, analog even, and it seems I must own this too.
Something just appeals to me with these miniaturized synthesizers.

Wow, so you're the other person who bought a Reface CS! Isn't it awesome? So simple, yet surprisingly sophisticated.

[catmandeux]

I bought the Yamaha CS Reface, then the Roland JP-08, both of which I found to be awesome little guys. Now Korg pulls this one out of thin air, analog even, and it seems I must own this too.
Something just appeals to me with these miniaturized synthesizers.

I must confess I'm in the same club of also owning all three. Which is good as I don't feel as weird.

The JP08 is retro to a fault. Great Jupiter emulation: I find the resonance and LFO speeds lacking in this day and age. As others have noted, the control surface is tiny and limited throws. And the K25m keyboard is the worst of the bunch. But it has a great set of retro presets which is like visiting an 80's hit machine.

The MiniLogue is edgy but weird. I'm still getting used to it. The filter gets fizzy over 70-80% cutoff. Filter sweeps lack balls. And I'm experiencing the VCA EG click in low octaves. If you're wanting retro emulations, better off with the other two unless you're looking for squeeky diode sounds. Definitely seems to be more of an arp machine. Wish it had a battery option. Keyboard is the best of the three. Build quality is superior to the other two with materials and control surfaces. Although the bender doesn't seem like it could survive long for a display model.

And the Reface CS is the maligned ugly duckling turned swan. It's easy to fault it for seeming basic or simple, but I find it easier and faster to go from an idea to a good facsimile than the other two. It has more in common with an AN1x than a CS-x0. With the exception of distortion, the effects section is wonderful. Portability is awesome without looking like a Portasound throwback. And the width of the 3 octaves is just 3/4ths of a key shorter than the ML. But I wish it had velocity: hardwired to the EG amount would enhance expression.

[supermel74]

Is the bottom of the Minilogue plastic or metal?

[Stab Frenzy]

Bottom is plastic, top is metal, back is wood.

[computron]

I have yet to hear this thing sound lush or warm on pads. To me any analog poly should be able to do lush/warm pads without external fx if you want it to. I love Korg I really do but something is off putting on this for me . Maybe its the resonance not the cutoff that seem very harsh or the filter sweeps that seem to lack that fullness you expect from a analog poly ? Dont know but great price , great features, but mostly harsh agressive metalic sounds to my ears. Great for that.

[Stab Frenzy]

I have yet to hear this thing sound lush or warm on pads. To me any analog poly should be able to do lush/warm pads without external fx if you want it to. I love Korg I really do but something is off putting on this for me . Maybe its the resonance not the cutoff that seem very harsh or the filter sweeps that seem to lack that fullness you expect from a analog poly ? Dont know but great price , great features, but mostly harsh agressive metalic sounds to my ears. Great for that.

Don't buy it if that's what you want then, personally if I wanted something for pads the three octave keyboard would be a bit of a dealbreaker too. The world is still overflowing with JX-3Ps that will give you all the pads you want.

[computron]

I have yet to hear this thing sound lush or warm on pads. To me any analog poly should be able to do lush/warm pads without external fx if you want it to. I love Korg I really do but something is off putting on this for me . Maybe its the resonance not the cutoff that seem very harsh or the filter sweeps that seem to lack that fullness you expect from a analog poly ? Dont know but great price , great features, but mostly harsh agressive metalic sounds to my ears. Great for that.

Don't buy it if that's what you want then, personally if I wanted something for pads the three octave keyboard would be a bit of a dealbreaker too. The world is still overflowing with JX-3Ps that will give you all the pads you want.

Yeah I have a jx3p had a jx8p . I like the 3p much more. My jx8p was very quite . I probably should not have said just pads thats not what I hoped for for this more along the lush sound. I have heard better since my posting and will definitely try this out if and when I see it. Maybe I expected too much from this susprise synth being spoiled by some oldies . I do know there is no perfect end all be all synth and each is a tool with how you use it. This has nice sounds and a amazing price point. Seems nice at spacy sounds with all the modulation options . The same microkorg arp buttons on this syths sequencer is pretty clever by Korg .

[justin_havu]

The JX-10 can get some really thick pads too. Had one 10 years ago, and I still regret ever selling it.

[commodorejohn]

The JX-10 can get some really thick pads too. Had one 10 years ago, and I still regret ever selling it.

Mmm, yes. In fact, it's probably the thing the JX-10 is best suited for. Good stuff.

[Jabberwalky]

I'm curious how the f**k seemingly hundreds of people got the Minilogue before it was ever announced....and why they are on some special list. There are tons of demo videos on youtube already. Just find it strange, and wish I would've been in on the secret.

[Kidney05]

I'm curious how the f**k seemingly hundreds of people got the Minilogue before it was ever announced....and why they are on some special list. There are tons of demo videos on youtube already. Just find it strange, and wish I would've been in on the secret.

it leaked a week before NAMM and it went on sale pretty much immediately, I imagine Korg was trying to sneak some sales in in case anyone showed something better. So it was leaked Wednesday/Thursday, on sale from sweetwater by friday, and people were getting theirs in the mail by Monday and Tuesday. I've seen other synths that it seems like everyone has long before they come out (electribes, volcas, roland and yamaha stuff) but this really doesn't seem to be the case, aside from that one guy who was posting the pics on instagram.

[Jabberwalky]

Right, I guess that could be how it unfolded. It's just blown up so quickly that it's kind of amazing to see. Quite an anomaly!

People saw it and immediately bought it, without any research, and then promptly recorded decent quality demos of it. There's nearly 50 demo videos up, all with thousands of views.

I was hesitant at first, but I'm pretty much sold on one now.

[meatballfulton]

I haven't posted any videos, but I got one last week.

I just PMed someone who had posted they got one and asked where they got it It turned out that dealer was sold out so I googled other online dealers until I found one that listed it as in stock, that was Sam Ash. I ordered it last Monday the 18th and it arrived last Thursday the 21st.

Some Sweetwater customers apparently got a one day advance warning from their sales guy.

A number of people said they bought them in their local Guitar Center the day before the official announcement. It's pretty weird how GC got enough to have them on the floor. I've seen posts from even more people who were able to try one in a store (GC I guess) but hadn't pulled the trigger.

Hey, there''s even one in the For Sale forum right now!

As long as folks keep their expectations low (it is a $500 synth, after all) it's a fun little box with some quirks. For anyone who has never owned an analog synth in their life or been OTB, it's a great starter machine. I think that is where Korg sees their market.