Moog and Korg Surprise With New Analog Synths

Over the years, many musicians, perhaps unfairly, tended to dub the winter NAMM show as "the boring one".  Indeed, it seems as if many manufacturers have chosen to unveil their latest and greatest products at summer NAMM, while leaking out controllers, digital pianos, and (generally) less exciting stuff at the winter show.  That certainly doesn't seem to be the case this year, however.



First up is the Moog Sub Phatty, the company's first new synth after Dr. Moog's passing.  It'll go for around $1,100.  Here's a look at the specs:

·      Sound Engine: Analog

·      Number of Keys: 25

·      Type of Keys: Semi-Weighted

·      Other Controllers: Pitch Bend, Mod Wheel

·      Polyphony: Monophonic

·      Sound Sources: 2 Variable Waveshape Oscillators, 1 Square Wave Sub Oscillator, 1 Noise Generator

·      Oscillator Calibration Range: 22Hz-6.8KHz.Guaranteed note range at 8’ of Note 18 to 116

·      Mod Sources: Triangle, Square, Saw, Ramp, SH, Filter Envelope

·      Mod Destinations: Pitch, Osc 2 Pitch Only, Filter, Waveshape

·      Filter: Moog Ladder Filter 20Hz-20Khz

·      Audio Input: 1xTS

·      Audio Output: 1xTS, 1xTRS Headphone

·      Presets: 4 Banks, 4 Patches Per Bank

·      MIDI I/O: DIN In, Out, and MIDI over USB

·      CV/Gate Inputs: Filter CV, Pitch CV, Volume CV, KB Gate

·      Transposition: +/- 2 Octaves

·      LFO: 0.1Hz-100Hz

UNDER THE HOOD FEATURES:

·      Filter Velocity Sensitivity

·      Volume Velocity Sensitivity

·      Ext. Audio Level

·      Osc2 Beat Frequency

·      VCO Gate Reset

·      LFO Gate Reset

·      Pitch Bend Up Amount

·      Pitch Bend Down Amount

·      Glide Legato

·      Glide Type

·      Filter Poles

·      Wave Mod. Destination

·      LFO KB Tracking

·      LFO Range

·      Filter EG Reset

·      Amp EG Reset

·      Legato

·      Gate On/Ext.

·      MIDI Ch. In

·      MIDI Ch. Out

·      Local Control

·      14-Bit MIDI Output

·      MIDI Path In

·      MIDI Path Out

·      MIDI Merge DIN

·      MIDI Merge USB

Korg's offering, is apparently in the form of a miniaturized re-vamp of their heralded MS-20.  As I am writing this, an official statement hasn't been released, but the re-released MS-20 is rumored to come in a smaller form factor (with mini keys), MIDI, and MIDI over USB.  Aside from that, however, it is supposed to be completely analog and, perhaps most surprisingly, the rumored price is only around $800.  If all of this proves to be true, I think Korg will have an enormous hit on their hands.