Why I love my Korg Minilogue

In this article and video I review my 2016 Korg Minilogue. This is the most recent instrument I have reviewed, but it’s actually a bit of a retro-inspired synth that was Korg’s first analog polyphonic synthesizer since the 1985 Poly 800 Mk2.

The Korg Minilogue is a four voice real analog synthesizer with 37 slim keys, step sequencer, analog delay and oscilloscope. In 2016 it cost just under £500 which made it a very affordable true analog synthesizer.

It’s a very hands on instrument with very little menu diving. For quickly making analog synth sounds the Minilogue is my go to device. I always manage to make warm and usable patches out of it.

There are 200 memory locations, and it came with 100 patches with a variety of sounds and genres. Korg also has extra sets of sounds on their website which you can import into the Minilogue some of which are really good.

The design has a kind of retro/future look with a silver aluminium front panel, wooden back panel and chunky feeling selector switches. There is a small OLED display which shows the current waveforms and it also shows parameters when editing sounds.

On the back there is a mono output and mini input, USB and full sized midi in/out .There are 37 velocity sensitive slim keys which take a bit of getting used to but are fine for synth playing. There is a pitch slider which can be assigned to other parameters but no mod wheel which is a shame.

Layout

There are eight voice modes on the Minilogue:

• Poly – four voices
• Duo – two voices with a detune control
• Unison – all four voices at once with detune
• Mono – single voice with sub oscillator
• Chord – four voices play a chord with a control to select the chord type
• Delay – which plays each voice on a delay
• ARP – an arpeggiator with multiple modes
• Side Chain – which mutes the previous voice when a note is played.

Let’s discuss the Korg Minilogue’s structure. First, the synthesizer has two oscillators that can produce saw, triangle, and square waves. You can sync or cross modulate the oscillators to create complex and rich sounds. Second, the synthesizer has a switchable filter that can operate in 2 pole or 4 pole modes. The filter has its own envelope generator. Third, the synthesizer has a single LFO that can modulate the filter, pitch, or shape of the sound. The LFO can be synced to midi to create rhythmic effects. Fourth, the synthesizer has an analog delay that adds echo and feedback to the sound. The delay is a bit noisy but it has plenty of character and warmth. Finally, the synthesizer has an audio input jack that passes external sounds through the envelopes, filters, and delay. I found this feature great for adding analog character to FM sounds from my Yamaha TX7.

Sequencer

The Minilogue has a 16-step polyphonic sequencer that can record up to four parameters per step. Some of the parameters that can be recorded are filter cutoff, delay time, or wave shape. You can program the sequencer in real time or step mode. The sequencer also sends out MIDI signals to control other devices.

Librarian

There s a PC and Mac Librarian app which you can use backup, restore, and manage the sound libraries and import libraries from Korg. It isn’t an editor but it is a great for backup up your sounds.

Conclusion

Does the Minilogue still have its place in 2023? Well, yes, it sounds great, it’s easy to create and edit sounds and the sequencer is fun to use. I find I can always get a good sound out of it and use it in most of my tracks. Yes, the keyboard isn’t great, and four voice polyphony is a bit limiting but I love it. Korg must think it still has a place as they released a special edition Bass version this year, which is exactly the same with different colours and presets.

Video

In this video I demonstrate the architecture of the Korg Minilogue, try creating some sounds, and patching my TX7 into audio input. I also go through some of the presets and downloaded sounds from Korg.