KORG opsix SE and SE Platinum: The Stretching Continues!
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KORG opsix SE · Source: KORG
KORG opsix SE · Source: KORG
KORG opsix SE · Source: KORG
KORG opsix SE Platinum · Source: KORG
KORG opsix SE Platinum · Source: KORG
KORG opsix SE Case · Source: KORG
Hot on the heels of the much anticipated and delayed wavestate SE, KORG finally deliver the 61 key version of the opsix they originally teased at NAMM in 2020.
I don’t know about you, but I got VERY excited when KORG nailed a new keyboard to their wall at NAMM 2020. It was a 61-note affair sporting what looked very much like a set of 32 FM synthesis algorithms. Nobody on the KORG stand would be drawn on it. The best we got was, “Uh… we don’t really know what it is or if it will get made!“. It was, as we say in the U.K., a proper tease! And that’s where we were left. For a while, anyway…
Korg opsix leak · Source: Reddit
opsix – FM for the Masses
By the end of the year, we had the opsix in our hands. KORG’s Altered FM synthesizer had been shrunk down to 37 keys, none of which were aftertouch sensitive. The case was all plastic and, as it transpired, the whole thing was based on a Raspberry Pi variant board. What it did do, however, was bring six-operator FM synthesis back to the masses at a decent price. It also gave the user an easier programming paradigm. For decades, Yamaha’s interpretation of FM had been baffling people left, right and centre.
Source: KORG
opsix SE and SE Platinum
The opsix went down very well, spawning a native plug-in version too. And hot on the heels of last week’s long-anticipated reveal of the wavestate SE & SE Platinum, KORG has graced the opsix with the same treatment. We have a 61-key keyboard with aftertouch (huzzah!) but no mention of the wavestate SE’s release velocity feature. But with the extended keyboard and metal housing, this seems to be mostly the same, spec-wise, as the 37-key opsix. The wavestate’s new version gave us a Mk.II engine, albeit with not much more than expanded polyphony. The opsix SE just gives us the latter.
Just like the wavestate SE, the UI has been plonked dead centre, but this is less of an issue with the opsix as there’s no joystick for you to reach for mid-performance as there is on the wavestate SE.
Source: KORG
opsix SE Under the Hood
opsix SE now has 80-note polyphony, three LFO’s, three ADSR envelopes, FX and five operator modes (FM, Ring Mod, Filter, Filter FM, Wave Folder). Up to 500 sounds can be stored, split half and half between factory and user patches. It’s pretty much business as usual. Oh, and just like the wavestate SE, the opsix SE also comes with its own custom hard case (nope, I don’t know why either) and the Platinum edition swaps out the black metal casing for a shiny silver one.
Source: KORG
FM at a Premium
We learned very quickly last week that after waiting for so long for the wavestate SE, that extra size came at a cost. I’m afraid to say the same applies to the opsix SE, coming in at a not-so-cool €2189 EUR/£1899 GBP. The opsix SE Platinum costs another €200/£200! I’m not so sure a premium of nearly £1500 is justified here, but others may disagree.
Now I guess the question on everyone’s lips is, “When’s the modwave SE coming out?”.
KORG opsix SE Case · Source: KORG
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13 responses to “KORG opsix SE and SE Platinum: The Stretching Continues!”
Korg clueless as usual.
Desktop version, or included aftertouch.
That’s all you had to do, Korg. You had two easy options for extreme people-pleasing and good synth creation.
Could have easily gave it a better processor for that giant price increase and extended the synth’s functionality. Could have done any number of things.
This didn’t even get an upgrade like the wavestate Mk2 and SE did.
Just sad.
Yeah, except that it does have aftertouch!
“We have a 61-key keyboard with aftertouch (huzzah!)”
Also, from the Korg website “With a premium all-metal design, 61-keys, and aftertouch, it unlocks a new world of sonic capabilities.”
Why would you come on here and comment about it having now aftertouch, when it clearly says that it does?!
I’m with you on the desktop / module version though.
Many hoped for a desktop version as well including myself, although I wonder if Korg is approaching this as a “this could be the next generation’s DX7!!” moment, releasing as a fully fledged velocity sensitive keyboard with aftertouch. Regardless, the price is absurd for what it is, especially after releasing the original at a much lower price.
Korg website says:
Max. Polyphony
80 stereo voices (The maximum number of voices is varied depending on the setting)
You state it’s 32 note polyphony.
Yes, apologies. Our initial press release from KORG stated 32, but I have corrected the article accordingly.
Does this mean there could actually be more firmware updates for the Opsix? Was worried they’d just given up on th synth tbh
The biggest gain with this is for all of us who bought any of these Raspberry PI machines when they touching under 500€, as we got the perfect price/quality/features product, and now we can also feel assured they last for another couple of years at least, since they now exist both as plugins and ridiculously priced SE models. Thank you KORG!
I think Korg, Roland and Yamaha know that Behringer spells trouble for them. The broad market for $2000+ synths really is over. I’m thinking this is a narrow premium offering, but these bigger companies better wake up. On the other hand, you look at what the Yamaha MODX+ can do comparatively for $1,600, and it’s not even close.
Or the Kurzweil PC4 76, for around 1700€ … With VAST, FM and much more, on top of that, 256 voices….
You’ve already got a DX7 replacement on the Yamaha MODX+ a better technical spec at a very much lower price no aftertouch keybed though
Even the Montage 6 is the same price as the opsix SE and does WAY more. The pricing just seems way off for me.
Unpopular Opinion: I think the SE elevates the opsix to a real professional level synth.
l want a digital keyboard with speakers and real keys weighted if possible in the $200 range
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