Review: Korg modwave

At least on paper, modwave presents itself as a deluxe wavetable synthesizer: Numerous knobs, buttons and an XY-pad provide direct access, with Kaoss Physics and Motion Sequencing 2.0, the sounds can be animated dynamically and rhythmically. Filters based on analog models and an extensive effects section complete the compact synthesizer.

In terms of the external format, Korg has taken its cue from the recently released OPSix and wavestate models. After the announcement of the modwave, this raised the question of to what extent the synthesizers from Korg‘s new series differ at all.

modwave vs. wavestate

OPSix is based on frequency modulation and comparable digital algorithms, so it offers a different type of synthesis and correspondingly different sound possibilities. The difference to wavestate is less obvious, because both synthesizers are based on a multitude of waveforms/samples, which can be processed by virtual-analog filters and varied with the sequencer. There is also quite a bit of overlap in terms of the integrated waveforms. With wavestate, however, different individual waveforms are concatenated and played back one after the other. modwave, on the other hand, offers classic wavetable synthesis, as may be familiar from current hardware synthesizers like Waldorf Quantum