NAMM 2025: Korg miniKORG 700Sm is a compact reissue of Korg’s first monophonic analog Synthesizer from 1973 with the iconic traveler filter.
At NAMM 2021, Korg unveiled the miniKORG 700S, a modern reissue of Korg’s first monophonic Synthesizer in collaboration with the original developer Fumio Mieda. This reissue came onto the market as a full-size limited edition and sold out quickly. There are still shops where one or the other unit is available—for example, Hieber Lindberg in Munich with a discount.
The miniKORG 700 will make a second comeback at NAMM 2025 starting next week. This time, it will be available in a compact, regular version called the Korg miniKORG 700Sm.
Korg miniKORG 700Sm
The new miniKORG 700Sm is a compact reissue of the iconic miniKORG 700S from 1973/1974 with modern enhancements and new features to meet the needs of today’s musicians.
Like the full-size limited edition, the new compact version offers the same features and was created with the legendary Korg engineer Fumio Mieda. In terms of synthesis, the miniKORG 700Sm is a pretty simple synth with two oscillators, a Traveler filter, LFO, an envelope, and an effect section.
The latter includes three ring modulator settings for weird sounds, portamento, auto-bender, vibrato, repeat, chorus, and noise.
The Traveler filter, which consists of dual 12dB/oct lowpass and highpass, is one of the highlights of both the vintage and the remake, mainly because of how you can interact with it. It features two parallel sliders located below the keyboard called Traveler controller.
With these, players can adjust the cutoff frequencies of the lowpass and highpass filters simultaneously. By moving the levers to the left and right while playing the keys, you can create classic filtering effects and vocal-like wah-wah or muted sounds. The envelope preset switches are also part of the compact version.
New Features
Korg has given the miniKORG 700S reissue in 2021 numerous new modern features that can also be found on the compact. This includes a keyboard with aftertouch support, a spring reverb, and a multimode arpeggiator.
There is more. It also has a joystick for real-time pitch bend and other modulation effects. Another significant feature upgrade over the original is the sound memory, which has 14 slots for custom sounds.
The attached photo below shows the difference between the full and compact sizes. It is noticeable. The Korg miniKORG 700Sm measures 641 x 228 x 107 mm/25.24” x 8.98” x 4.21 and weighs 5.8kg, while the full-size measures 744 x 280 x 122 mm and weighs 8.5 kg.
Connectivity
On the backside, you get a power supply input, an unbalanced mono audio input, an unbalanced stereo output (2x 6.3mm), a headphone socket with a volume leveler, sync in/out jacks, CV and gate inputs, MIDI in, and a USB type B port for data.
The new miniKORG 700Sm ships with a custom soft case and a free software bundle, including synths from Korg and other brands.
Korg miniKORG 700Sm First Impression
Korg’s decision was intriguing to reissue this analog Synthesizer for the second time, this time in a compact version. I am excited to see the response of the synth community.
It’s a simple but unique synth, so I can’t imagine it becoming a bestseller, especially for the asking price, which is still pretty high compared to the FS.
Korg miniKORG 700Sm is available soon for £1169/1399€.
More information here: Korg
Be the first to comment