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Posted by bpierre 8 hours ago

KORG phase8 – Acoustic Synthesizer(www.korg.com)
138 points | 70 commentspage 2
H1Supreme 5 hours ago|
Wow, this is really innovative. It really takes "physical modeling" synths to another, more literal level. Would love to have been a fly on the wall when the idea was proposed.

This + an Ekdahl Moisturizer would be an interesting pairing.

asdhtjkujh 5 hours ago||
Glad to see this has finally been released after years of R&D :) can't wait to see what Takahashi-san and team cook up next.

In principle, Korg Berlin looks like a great model for satellite incubator within an established organization. Would absolutely love to work there.

kennywinker 4 hours ago|
I was wondering to myself why korg berlin exists. Like i would be shocked if they sell enough of these to pay for the preceding five years of rent much less the salaries. Is it genuinely moonshot r&d, like a bell labs or xerox parc? Is it just to prevent Takahashi from starting a competitor? Something else? Whichever reason, i’m glad it exists… it just feels improbable.
asdhtjkujh 3 hours ago|||
Agreed, its existence is implausible, but I assume they're consulting on other projects for Korg Japan in addition to developing Phase8 and other prototypes. They're undoubtedly taking a loss (despite low European salaries) but their contributions across the board could also scale non-linearly.

I also imagine that it's the olive branch that brought Takahashi back to the company after he left. He brought Korg back from the dead and they were probably and rightfully desperate to find a way to retain their top performer.

ericwood 2 hours ago|||
It's honestly incredible they're bringing this to market! This style of incubator tends to work on a lofty goal and the research and ideas explored on the way trickle down into other parts of the company and find their way into more accessible products. Really similar in theory to the over the top concept cars manufacturers build that never see the light of day.
bsaul 6 hours ago||
Is there a demo ? i couldn't find it on the page
rolivercoffee 5 hours ago||
Red Means Recording made a nice video with it: https://youtu.be/mpMxHfxuNco
rwmj 6 hours ago|||
Loopop did a very thorough review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHlYvj0Ge7I

artimaeis 6 hours ago||
Demos are on the feature page: https://phase8.korg.com
whilenot-dev 6 hours ago||
Or on the page of the prototyping stage: https://korg.berlin/products/phase8
yetkin 6 hours ago||
Looks really neat. I wish I had one, I am curious but it just sounds like an FM to me. In the demos I hear very decayed percussive FM sounds or mellow bell like FM sounds.
CompoundEyes 1 hour ago||
I agree. I have a Nord Drum 3P that’s FM percussion modeling with drum pads. I can get close to these sounds and a lot more stuff that bends when you hit the pad harder. About half the price on Reverb. The Phase 8 is a cool idea.
ssalazar 2 hours ago|||
It looks most similar to a Rhodes piano-type electromechanical keyboard, where tuned metal elements are somehow actuated and then sonified with a guitar pickup. Unlikely theres any FM which would require independently digitizing each of the resonators and just generally a lot of complexity that doesnt seem warranted.

The similarity in timbre isn't coincidental though -- FM is noted for its ability to emulate complex timbres like bells/metallic tones (such as electric pianos) that are challenging for more traditional subtractive synthesis architectures.

jimmyjazz14 5 hours ago|||
Yeah as far as I can tell the bars are just producing sine waves and everything else is done within the electronics, interesting concept but honestly not all that exciting to me.
embedding-shape 6 hours ago||
If I understand correctly, it is doing frequency modulation somewhere, but the main point is that you can physically interact with the resonators, and influence the sound that way.
techblueberry 4 hours ago||
And here I told myself I wasn't going to buy anymore synthesizers.
racl101 6 hours ago||
If Kraftwerk were still doing their thing this would be right up their alley. But they probably got their own special gear.
Lio 1 hour ago|
Kraftwerk are still doing their thing.

I know because I totally failed to get tickets to see them at the Royal Albert Hall in June[1].

https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2026/kraftwer...

jihadjihad 6 hours ago||
I guess I am left wondering why the person in the photo is playing it with a pencil and a truffle.
lewispollard 6 hours ago|
Says right underneath:

> Beyond adjusting parameters, phase8 invites physical interaction. Sculpt sound by touching, plucking, strumming, or tapping the resonators – or experiment by adding found objects for new textures.

Like prepared piano.

hackomorespacko 4 hours ago|
Congrats, this was news more than 2 years ago. Maybe next time post an Wikipedia article instead.
kennywinker 4 hours ago|
It’s news because you can actually buy one now. If you’re gonna be mean it’s best not to be mean AND wrong.