The filter on this might be my favourite ever. It has such a beautiful, "woody" tone to it. The MS-20 has some similar character to it, but the 700 is more well behaved and smoother sounding. Mylarmelodies talks a bit about it on his demo of the VSL VCF-74 module that's a clone of it. The guy who reverse engineered it (and had worked a bunch on restoring old korgs) had said it was one of the "fastest" filters ever, that the CV response was super fast, that is, so it responds really well to audio rate modulation. Mr. Mylar makes some pretty sick demonstration sounds of this characteristic in his video.
It's beautiful... was one of the first synths I ever got to play around with in the late 70s, back when they cost a fortune (but thankfully a local college had a very progressive teacher in the music department and he'd bought a bevy of now famous synths, including this one)! And you're spot on, the nostalgia is strong with this one... and I'd consider buying one just for that... .
I think it’s a good option for people who were looking for a vintage one or people who are nostalgic of the 70s and are after this particular sound but this is more expensive than a Sequential PRO 3 that is far more versatile. It’s not for everyone but at least Korg decided to add a proper midi implementation with midi CC and patch storage which makes it more usable in a modern setup.
Sounds wonderful... a lot of Japanese jazz funk records around 74-76 used this synth... that on top of a Rhodes and a Solina string synth is about as good as it gets...
Great demo and review! Thanks. I remember my older brother renting one of these from the local music store around 1977 and playing around with it. It was great design then and I'm glad they brought it back.
What a very well put together and nicely edited demonstration this is. You have thoughtfully and clearly shown the capabilities of this instrument. Thank you Jamie!
Hey, It’s been a while, I’m the handpan guy. Thank you for the great demo! Even though I got mine when it was initially released and have used for quite some time, I learned a lot from your performance. Much respect! It’s limited compared to modern synthesizers in some ways, I love its sound.
Thanks, well it's the sound that matters end of the day and while newer Synths have lots of LFO's and Envelopes, if the core sound isn't there, then... Thanks for watching
There's something about the combination of sound, quirky factors and simplicity that I really like. Also, for my tight studio space, front controls are very welcome. Got to say, that was a really great review, thanks.
Jamie I don't know if you tried patching the headphone out into the audio input and adjusting the distortion with the headphone volume pot, but you should. The high pass filter should work especially well to get some awesome screaming leads when using it this way. I do the same on my Korg Odyssey and the high pass filter is crucial to getting it right. Please post a patch video and try this if you feel like it.
Ooofff..1700 quid.. My word! And to think I bought a 700s for 10 quid at a thrift store that had no idea what to do with it, somewhere in the mid- or end 90's.. "instant Kitaro-machine' I found out. AND it had this brutal, beautiful ring modulator. Yet.. I had no real use for it. No midi? meh.. and I gave it away to a pal....Ohh.. the stupidity of youth.. 🤣 By the by, the odd way the sustain became decay was what gave Kitaro's 700s flute in f.i. Silk Road, its lovely, smooth and softly fading character. Bit of a shame that GEO mainly shows off these harsher sounds. It can be wonderfully smooth and lyrical. My then girlfriend was completely taken aback. "It really, actually sings!!!" was her baffled reaction.
Yeah, you can plus all the controllers send/receive MIDI, including the switches...You can really mess the sound up using external controllers. I just didn't have the time to explore that.
Love the sound of this thing would love that sound.... Way way too much money I know it's built like a tank and good quality but I would rather have plasticky cheap version just for those lovely sounds... Not keen on the original design although I get it... There you go behringer little square plastic box with all those knobs on 200 quid
Pretty late to the game but does it do FAT, JUICY, Bass? Also, for those of you who own this, what keyboard stands are you using? Asking because of the the front layout of the switches and how this might fit (or not) on the 2nd tier of the keyboard stands. Thank you for the demo!
I don't think it's overpriced, it's expensive of course, as it was produced for a small niche market. I would like to have it though. As I'm getting old I'm becoming more of a lover of simple things. I don't feel any attraction towards workstations, digital synths, and such. Hate menu diving and love analogue sound. If I had the money I would buy one in a heartbeat, it's going to be difficult to find one second hand let alone new in the future.
Hi Jamie, nice vid. I have to say the positioning of the buttons on the top left look like an ill thought out location to me. If those buttons were say on the front face of the left hand control section (front edge just under the joystick) it would allow you to stack a second keyboard on top and right uptown the start of the keybed. If you did that here you would cover those buttons, small detail but still.....
what is the resolution of the midi cc controls? if you record a performance in a sequencer, will it play back exactly as you performed it, or will the filter and pitch movements step because of midi resolution? thanks for the review.
Not sure off the top of my head what they are, but what is unique is that all of the controls, including the switches send/receive MIDI, quite often the switches don't. I did a complete Track with it and did some changes over time to the Filter, Spring Reverb and didn't notice stepping.
Well, compared to what Behringer have come out with then yes, but then again, all the Switches, Sliders and Knobs send MIDI, it has Memories, Aftertouch, solid build, comes with a heavy case and is limited edition...It's a quality instrument, not mass produced. That said, yeah, it is a Premium price for sure.
Nice one Jamie. Especially explaining the unusual nomenclature and functionality.
Yeah, fancy calling Release, Sustain...They're mad, all of them :)
The filter on this might be my favourite ever. It has such a beautiful, "woody" tone to it. The MS-20 has some similar character to it, but the 700 is more well behaved and smoother sounding.
Mylarmelodies talks a bit about it on his demo of the VSL VCF-74 module that's a clone of it. The guy who reverse engineered it (and had worked a bunch on restoring old korgs) had said it was one of the "fastest" filters ever, that the CV response was super fast, that is, so it responds really well to audio rate modulation. Mr. Mylar makes some pretty sick demonstration sounds of this characteristic in his video.
It's beautiful... was one of the first synths I ever got to play around with in the late 70s, back when they cost a fortune (but thankfully a local college had a very progressive teacher in the music department and he'd bought a bevy of now famous synths, including this one)! And you're spot on, the nostalgia is strong with this one... and I'd consider buying one just for that... .
I think it’s a good option for people who were looking for a vintage one or people who are nostalgic of the 70s and are after this particular sound but this is more expensive than a Sequential PRO 3 that is far more versatile. It’s not for everyone but at least Korg decided to add a proper midi implementation with midi CC and patch storage which makes it more usable in a modern setup.
Your demo is much better that the user manual because of practical reasons, esp.the aftertouch settings, thanks!
This was Gregg Hawke's synth of choice for many years and appeared on many of the Cars' early hits. Such a wave (no pun intended) of nostalgia!
Sounds wonderful... a lot of Japanese jazz funk records around 74-76 used this synth... that on top of a Rhodes and a Solina string synth is about as good as it gets...
Nice Tutorial and Video
Got my Korg 700FS this week sounds just as good as a Moog and Excellent for Bass sounds
Great demo and review! Thanks.
I remember my older brother renting one of these from the local music store around 1977 and playing around with it. It was great design then and I'm glad they brought it back.
build quality looks excellent on this synth.
It’s very good, was very surprised that all of the controls and switches send/receive MIDI also, as they’re top quality components.
It really is. When you actually touch one, then it all makes sense…
Best demonstration of the 700FS' capabilities I've seen. Great job! Thank you for video.
Well done. Thanks for this vid. Made me buying this beautiful sounding synth today. It sounds so amazing 70ies-like. :-)
What a very well put together and nicely edited demonstration this is. You have thoughtfully and clearly shown the capabilities of this instrument. Thank you Jamie!
Hey, It’s been a while, I’m the handpan guy. Thank you for the great demo! Even though I got mine when it was initially released and have used for quite some time, I learned a lot from your performance. Much respect! It’s limited compared to modern synthesizers in some ways, I love its sound.
Thanks, well it's the sound that matters end of the day and while newer Synths have lots of LFO's and Envelopes, if the core sound isn't there, then...
Thanks for watching
It sounds great. Thanks for the video!
There's something about the combination of sound, quirky factors and simplicity that I really like. Also, for my tight studio space, front controls are very welcome. Got to say, that was a really great review, thanks.
Jamie I don't know if you tried patching the headphone out into the audio input and adjusting the distortion with the headphone volume pot, but you should. The high pass filter should work especially well to get some awesome screaming leads when using it this way. I do the same on my Korg Odyssey and the high pass filter is crucial to getting it right. Please post a patch video and try this if you feel like it.
Ooofff..1700 quid.. My word! And to think I bought a 700s for 10 quid at a thrift store that had no idea what to do with it, somewhere in the mid- or end 90's.. "instant Kitaro-machine' I found out. AND it had this brutal, beautiful ring modulator. Yet.. I had no real use for it. No midi? meh.. and I gave it away to a pal....Ohh.. the stupidity of youth.. 🤣 By the by, the odd way the sustain became decay was what gave Kitaro's 700s flute in f.i. Silk Road, its lovely, smooth and softly fading character. Bit of a shame that GEO mainly shows off these harsher sounds. It can be wonderfully smooth and lyrical. My then girlfriend was completely taken aback. "It really, actually sings!!!" was her baffled reaction.
Vangelis - Heaven and Hell Lead / doubled in octaves with Arp Soloist and Tape Echo( thank me later :P ).Great video
Awesome video! Thank you! My best regards from brazil!
It's a lot for a mono but it seems a really lovely thing - I'd forgotten it had patch memories
I like that Korg includes a pair of traveller slider controls without the teeth, so you can play both filters independently.
I have the Univox K2 and I love it.
One day I’d be interested in moving up to the FS but I get nervous that it wouldn’t sound as good as the OG.
I wish I had the money damn, nice video Jamie 🤟btw it looks very heavy.
Yeah, when I picked it up to put in the Car I thought it would be quite light...no nearly put my Back out :)
@@GEOSynths yikes 😳
Not sure what it is but I am completely in love with this synth. Anyone want to trade a vintage JP8000 or W30??? Incredible review instant sub.
Great walk through and demo Cheers 👏🤘
Sounds phatt... remember seeing one of these back in the day..... remember thinking how odd it was.
Great review, packed with info. Sounds delish!
Oh, that's cool. You can assign the aftertouch to different targets. I better look up the user manual...
What am I doing!? I can't afford this!
Yeah, you can plus all the controllers send/receive MIDI, including the switches...You can really mess the sound up using external controllers. I just didn't have the time to explore that.
Thanks for the great demo!
Warm Leatherette
Jeez expensive, but a gorgeous instrument.
i kind of like that it doesn't take up too much space.
Love the sound of this thing would love that sound.... Way way too much money I know it's built like a tank and good quality but I would rather have plasticky cheap version just for those lovely sounds... Not keen on the original design although I get it... There you go behringer little square plastic box with all those knobs on 200 quid
Very cool
Warm leatherette
Pretty late to the game but does it do FAT, JUICY, Bass? Also, for those of you who own this, what keyboard stands are you using? Asking because of the the front layout of the switches and how this might fit (or not) on the 2nd tier of the keyboard stands. Thank you for the demo!
Thanks for sharing
great review, really! thanks a lot! one question, pls. the fantastic sounding trumpet at 16:17 - is that the 700 FS own spring reverb?
Yes, just the Spring Reverb
I don't think it's overpriced, it's expensive of course, as it was produced for a small niche market. I would like to have it though. As I'm getting old I'm becoming more of a lover of simple things. I don't feel any attraction towards workstations, digital synths, and such. Hate menu diving and love analogue sound. If I had the money I would buy one in a heartbeat, it's going to be difficult to find one second hand let alone new in the future.
Yeah, it’s not cheap but I did enjoy using it for the time I had it.
Hi Jamie, nice vid. I have to say the positioning of the buttons on the top left look like an ill thought out location to me. If those buttons were say on the front face of the left hand control section (front edge just under the joystick) it would allow you to stack a second keyboard on top and right uptown the start of the keybed. If you did that here you would cover those buttons, small detail but still.....
You can put pedals over the upper side!
what is the resolution of the midi cc controls? if you record a performance in a sequencer, will it play back exactly as you performed it, or will the filter and pitch movements step because of midi resolution? thanks for the review.
Not sure off the top of my head what they are, but what is unique is that all of the controls, including the switches send/receive MIDI, quite often the switches don't. I did a complete Track with it and did some changes over time to the Filter, Spring Reverb and didn't notice stepping.
Presets, preset saving, effects?
If you can send MIDI CC’s, will it receive them. i.e the filter. Also, what do the CV connections do?
Yes it receives them. I didn’t cover the CV aspects as it’s just basic pitch and gate and clock.
does anyone who has this synth know how to factory reset? i have overwritten a preset and I want it back!!!
Maybe the Korg Librarian has the Factory Set? I only had it for a week or so.
@@GEOSynths its ok, i could get the preset using the preset guide in the user manual. thanks anyway!
real spring?
very cool form factor, seems quite overpriced though
Well, compared to what Behringer have come out with then yes, but then again, all the Switches, Sliders and Knobs send MIDI, it has Memories, Aftertouch, solid build, comes with a heavy case and is limited edition...It's a quality instrument, not mass produced. That said, yeah, it is a Premium price for sure.
This synth does absolutely nothing for me. Not even mildly thrilled.
Plenty of other Synths in the Sea :)
I feel bad for you.