The History of the MicroKorg

Hello everyone!
Thanks so much for your time. This is the first of many videos to come, and I'm extremely excited to be creating content around topics I'm passionate about. Join me, on the Info Disco, where today we learn about the Best-selling Synthesizer of all time!
At this time, my KZbin channel is in its infancy, and as such I am unable to monetize my content. I'm sincerely thankful for the time you spent watching my video, please do subscribe if you'll enjoy more of my work. Thank you!

[@fredconte]

Great video! Synth lover here :)

[@InfoDisco]

Thanks Fred, means a lot!

[@dconrad]

This was an excellent video! Hope you get back to making more great content like this.

[@bradenwilson]

That’s not fake wood at all on the side panels

[@InfoDisco]

Thank you for the correction! I'll add an annotation when I get the chance.

[@JynxMachine]

I was waiting for the beginning ad to end and realized it was the video

[@GotYourWallet]

I loved that you mentioned Dorian Concept's shorts. He's done similar videos for different synths and they are all equally insprining.

[@burakeren]

As long as it sounds and feels good it doesnt matter whats inside. I dont have one but always curious, but i have the smaller sibling minilogue XD, and its amazing in itself.

[@2112jonr]

Yeah, the XD is a MICH better synth than the MicroKorg. The latter's a bit of a toy and has an awful interface. Good sound engine, but horrible to create sounds.

[@erik_gerhard]

Little known fact: about 70% of the inside of the MS2000 is empty. It could have been smaller, but my guess is they were going for the vintage appeal with the angled profile, plus having enough room on the front panel for (at least partial) knob-per-function control. 😊

[@InfoDisco]

HUH, I had to watch a teardown right after reading this, I had no clue! Unfortunately the MS2000 landed on my radar right when they shot up in price, id love to snag a used one someday.

[@peternelis]

I owned an MS2000 back in the day, and just picked up a MicroKorg last weekend! Super little video - liked and subbed :) Looking forward to more content

[@jakobole]

I think the video forgets to mention, that it sounds darn good as well. The sound from it just "pops" out of the speakers, and I'd like to add that the Minilogue has some of that magic as well.

[@clauscombat418]

My mobile phone is from 2006, working fine 👍

[@demerit5]

Definitely didn’t see this one coming. Great video.

[@tonykellydjt2805]

Great information. Thank you.

[@kaybama]

fabulous video

[@LazarusWilhelm]

Very informative!

[@suadcokljat1045]

Good stuff. Cheers! S

[@michaelaccardofrontczak]

I've use the MicroKorg synthesizer mainly for the Talkbox. It got a nice clean Sawtooth Wave. That's the sound you want for playing Talkbox.

[@urwholefamilydied]

2002 was the perfect time for the Microkorg... pre 2000 there were two main types of bands: You had Rock bands, and then pop/electronic/rap groups or artists. Rock bands did not use synths and the electronic or rap artists had rooms full of different gear. But then The Strokes and vintage throwback bands happened. Suddenly you had all these indie groups that would have a synth player as part of the band. Like the Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or Interpol. Also the size of the microkorg fit the indie band look; it wasn't some huge dorky top of the line unit that are associated with a "keyboardist" in a wedding band or huge artist that might have two keyboardists with multiple keyboards each. It was a small synthesizer and perfectly fit the vibe of a throwback rock band.

[@idd_cutie1274]

Very well made video! Thanks!

[@jordanrattanavong2655]

amazing video. Crazy this is your only one.

[@InfoDisco]

Thank you Jordan! I've got several projects in the works, I'm very glad you enjoyed this first one.

[@sarbaazchabahar]

Korg rules👍

[@batu8223]

Great video thanks!

[@InfoDisco]

Thanks man!

[@originalfallinggirl]

Subbed - Great video!

[@geraldperez2768]

I've tried one at a local music shop. I LOVED IT!!!! It was so easy to figure out and made awesome sounds. I made a DnB beat on the spot! It was $600 or something like that. I was a broke 20 year old at the time. I was actually there for a job interview. Thanks for uploading this video. You jogged some memories, so now I'm going to look for it. I hope it's not expensive...

[@musicman843]

das cool bruv love the film

Great video!!!

I strongly recommend you to change the title: How a synth no one expected changed the market forever? Best selling synth ever

[@InfoDisco]

@ ahaha I struggled with the title of this one for so long! If the perfect name comes to me, I'll change it.

@@InfoDisco I think the contenct is great!!!

[@MisterRorschach90]

For the longest time when I thought of a band using a synth I thought of this synth. When my friends got into synths, this was the synth they got. I didn’t even know it was primarily a vocoder synth until recently. It would be so cool to get one and mod the crap out of it.

[@user-ol2es6oo9x]

proud owner of one :)

[@OGStoneVegas]

that wateredge patch is on hit if you're under the influence of LSD

[@henrikemanuelsson7080]

Awesome video! The microkorg was my first synthesizer and i still own it :)

[@InfoDisco]

Thank you! Mine too, I think the cliche servers it well- an awesome way to learn the basics of sound synthesis.

[@andyturner3056]

I have a Novation Mininova, but still want one of these. Being battery powered is great, although using a powerbank and a USB lead so is my Mininova. Both great synths with similar features

[@magnusjohansson295]

What's the model with built in speaker called again?

[@hmmmm44]

Silversun pickups used one for their song well thought out twinkles

[@alexraia1377]

Dude make more videos! Nice job

[@InfoDisco]

Aw thanks man! My next project is a feature length documentary-Hopefully this year. Happy New Year!

[@alexraia1377]

@@InfoDisco happy new year!

[@lenonel3286]

What a great video, I really want a microkorg now lmao

[@InfoDisco]

Every time I've sold mine, I've then regretted it and later bought another... hahaha

[@bliss1390]

Dont get it, its really unintuitive and it just feels cheap… its a crime how much korg is charging for it, you can get much better “beginner” synths in the same price range that actually have a proper layout, id recommend the reface cs or minilogue, but the behringer poly d might just be a good first synth to buy then figure out, its an amazing minimoog clone for only 600 dollars

[@InfoDisco]

@@bliss1390 The reface CS would the the clear winner if it had savable patches or presets, I love the 8 voice poly on the reface series.

[@bliss1390]

@@InfoDisco Yeah the 8 voice poly is great, just wish it had another oscillator

[@moxie96]

I really like mine even if it baffles me a lot!

[@darksidestudi0101]

❤

[@LaminarSound]

The Microkorg is a total pain in the ass to work with. Ive had one for a fews years that was gifted to me. I actually was able to get EXTREMELY convincing Tycho sounds out of it, its just so slow to work with and hard to see the lines of the setting youre on. I keep it around for some reason. Honestly i had more fun last year when I owned a Behringer Pro 1 for a short time. If you have the time to truly learn this thing and become a pro user I can see it being useful. Otherwise, pick up a synth that is hard to make sound bad. Myself, pretty sure im gonna wind up with a Deepmind 12.

[@InfoDisco]

I'm a Tycho fan as well! Yeah you pretty much hit the nail on the head, it is really difficult / tedious to craft sounds with. Did you ever mess around with the Windows editor? Of course it takes away all of the magic of using the actual hardware knobs on the synth, but I'm convinced that most of the impressive patches floating around for the microkorg were made using either the windows program or the MS2000

[@dwaynecarroll6098]

Suzanne Ciani!

[@familiavideos2011]

Great video it's been three years. Will you be creating anymore because there is big potential.

[@InfoDisco]

Thank you very much for the compliment! I will indeed release more videos, hopefully by the end of the year.

[@RundFyrkant]

Analog synthesizers are cool 😎

[@rockstar-technology]

It’s also not correct that Korg originated this design. The Waldorf microQ keyboard came out a year before the microKORG.

[@spotlight-kyd]

And Waldorf has had similar parameter editing matrices since the original Microwave (1989) in basic form and fully developed with the Microwave 2 (1997).

[@kaww1851]

Please, what's the music starting around 8:50 ?

[@InfoDisco]

So sorry for the delayed reply! All of the music in this video after the on-screen introduction of the Microkorg is Microkorg-generated music. That section begins at 0:45 in the following video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5eyh4qOgNt_qLM

[@kaww1851]

Thanks ! It’s beautiful !

[@sench1236]

Is it possible to create a game on your 3D engine? And where can you download the finished engine?

[@InfoDisco]

Hello! Yes, When my game engine is complete there will be an entire suite of programs which will allow someone to create an entire game. It will be completely free to download/Open source. I am also developing this on GMS 1.4 with NO .DLLs, so this will be a cross-platform engine. The engine will include the tools needed to add you own SFX, Textures, sprites, etc. So there will be individual programs for the creation/editing of Maps, Objects, Enemies, Weapons, AI, UI, etc. I know this sounds very "Pie in the sky", especially for GameMaker, but the serious hurdles are already crossed, such as editable 3D shapes with automatically calculated 3D collisions, native GML Shaders for dynamic 3D lighting, etc.

[@sench1236]

@@InfoDisco This is great! Where can I download it?

[@InfoDisco]

@@sench1236 It's not complete yet, I will post to this channel when it is done.

[@sench1236]

@@InfoDisco Okay, I will be waiting. But can you beta video the engine? I want to see what you have already done

[@InfoDisco]

@@sench1236 Sure thing! Once I'm back home I'll upload a little demo

[@BasedFrequency]

It's been two years can we have a new video please :) you cant just upload one banger and then vanish 😂

[@InfoDisco]

Hahahaha thanks for the compliment! The next video (should) be a feature-length documentary, thus the wait. I really appreciate your words!

[@BasedFrequency]

@InfoDisco no problem man! Looking forward to it

[@Krzychu-bh4rl]

1:03 - I can see a Polish made transducer (is it a appropriate name for this thing?) made by UNITRA 😊

[@Synthesis1979]

uh there real wood panels not fake one.

[@trevor_mounts_music]

Dorian Concept and Flylo didn't make the microkorg famous - the presets were on HUNDREDS of hit tunes in the 2000s. 🤷‍♂

[@InfoDisco]

This is definitely a fair point, but consider this: would someone who's never owned a MicroKorg be able to readily identify those presets if randomly hearing them out in the wild? After owning the device and familiarizing myself with it, sure, but beforehand seems like a stretch. That said, I appreciate your critique- I definitely should've worded that section better as to not insinuate misplaced emphasis on Dorian's role.

[@rockstar-technology]

​@@InfoDisco They were using it on stage at the time too. Anyway, the point was that the MicroKorg was already used widely by big artists in the early 2000s. The video outright states that Dorian's video was was an inflection point in its use by serious musicians but as far as I can tell that's just not accurate.

[@InfoDisco]

@@rockstar-technology actually, that's incorrect. What was said was: "It's advanced users 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 Dorian Concept that have helped launched the Microkorg into permanent fame". Sorry you missed that, thanks for watching!

[@rockstar-technology]

@@InfoDisco "The question of 'how usable is it' was steadfast answered by Dorian concept. This wasn't an ad for the MicroKorg, but at the time it may as well have been, with countless users attributing their purchase to that original viral video. From there, the device quickly began making appearances on stage and on screen, with some fairly mainstream bands and artists of the time [...]"

[@InfoDisco]

Ahhhhh, I do see what you mean now. Unfortunately I did word that transition rather poorly. My use of "from there" was not intended to illustrate a sense of causality, only chronology. I completely see how that comes across the wrong way though. I'll try to avoid errors like that in future script writing, thanks!

[@foolycooly6738]

I am still using phone with buttons u know...

[@ginofontana9069]

How are you going to drop one video of this quality and then dip out?

[@edvinpedvin]

Thanks for this great video 👍 loved it! And some of the sounds, were they presets? Some of them sound very microKorg signature'y so to say... Especially the one playing after CA. 08:05 and the arp after that 🤔 anyone care to help me find or recreate those two?

[@InfoDisco]

Great ear, sir! From roughly the 4 minute mark onward, all music in this video is MicroKorg-made. I believe the audio from that portion you've mentioned came from this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5eyh4qOgNt_qLM

[@TheRealModiK]

nice vid

[@InfoDisco]

Thank you, and thanks for taking the time to watch!

[@GUSCRAWF0RD]

Welcome to guitar word where the oldest guitars which are electronically not meeting a backwoods Chinese factory qa standards are worth like 100s of k

[@ryanstevens3822]

where are the many videos to come???

[@InfoDisco]

Sitting un-edited on a hard drive 😅 I hope you enjoyed this video though! ☺️ A feature length documentary will arrive some day.

[@ryanstevens3822]

@@InfoDisco dont let the perfect be the enemy of the good!

[@UnitedPebbles]

Yeah dude. It took an hour to set it to the ideal tone. Or more!?

[@evewack7445]

4:44 YOU KNOW NOTHIJG ABOUT SYNTHESIZERS

[@evewack7445]

NO SUCH THJNG AS AN OBSOLETE SYNTHESIZER THEY ARE ALP BEAUTIFUL

[@lundsweden]

Guitars are even worse, 1950s Telecasters and Strats still being sold as the latest models, at full price!

[@jdssurf]

crosley record players are the worst thing ever made, open it up, you won't believe the inside.

[@sK3LeTvM1]

Whatever the possibillities and features. I want real size synths. No keychain toys. Next.

[@lundsweden]

Introducing the Behringer JT4000