Synthesizers

Like all instruments, Korg OpSix Altered FM Synthesizer deserves to be evaluated on its merits while also existing in a continuum of other instrument designs, trends in music and sound, and the shifting collective preferences of musicians and sound designers. OpSix performs admirably in both arenas.

We're in the final stretch of summer, and many Americans are packing their bags and venturing into the great outdoors to get in one last adventure. Musicians have often found this to be a perfect opportunity to get inspiration with their music by taking along an instrument to wherever their travels take them. Strumming an acoustic guitar while camping in the woods, beating on the bongos to the rhythm of the ocean waves at the beach, or playing a woodwind instrument to the setting sun in the desert – all of those are terrific ideas, of course, but what if the instrument that gets your creative juices flowing is a synthesizer?

Moog Subharmonicon is the latest addition to Moog's growing family of tabletop semi-modular analog synthesizer modules, arriving in the same size case as its siblings Mother-32 and DFAM and sharing the same friendliness toward eurorack setups. Subharmonicon combines two VCOs and two subharmonic oscillators per VCO with two four-step sequencers and four rhythm generators to make one of Moog's most unique synths.

When Dave Smith Instruments discontinued its DSP-based Prophet 12 and Pro 2 synths, speculation started immediately about potential replacements. A theoretical Pro 2 successor arguably received the lion's share of prognostication, partly because Sequential's already-shipping Prophet-6 and Prophet X could be seen as sort-of replacements for Prophet 12 but mostly because Pro 2 was so beloved among its owners, with many of them reacting to news of its retirement by describing it as 'perfect' and wondering what Sequential could possibly do to improve it.

Originally announced way back at NAMM 2013, where it was understandably overshadowed by the show-stealing MS-20 Mini, KingKorg is a 61-key analog modeling synth focused on live performance. Initially available in a champagne gold finish along with a black version introduced later, Kraft Music is once again stocking (and bundling!) the black model (which is the only colorway still manufactured, the market presumably having voted with its wallets against champagne gold).

Don't let its diminutive size and low price fool you: you actually get not only quite a bit of synthesizer in Korg's Nu:Tekt NTS-1 Digital Kit, you also get a generous software package along with it!

As part of a series of '909 Day' new product announcements, Roland has updated their flagship Fantom series of workstations, endowing them with a host of modern features that clearly show there's still room for the venerable workstation keyboard in today's modern studios and stage rigs.

High on the list of modern phenomena we sometimes take for granted is the notion of the consumer product that gains markedly improved/expanded functionality over time, where the product is least capable and complete on the day we buy it and only improves during its useful life via a steady diet of software updates.