Korg have announced their latest hardware in the form of a step sequencer, named the SQ-64, due out in 2021.

Featuring a 64-pad matrix, OLED display, and a serious set of outputs, this compact aluminium-built sequencer means business.

This device sets out to be the centrepiece in your sequencing workflow and will be able to control an assortment of hardware analogue synths, Eurorack, and drum synths.

SEE ALSO: This open-source mastering tool is free…and it actually works great!

Set to cost €299, the unit will provide “seamless control over all your instruments so you can focus on what matters most”.

Along with the 64 step sequencer pads, there are transport controls and a number of encoder knobs for expressive control.

 Each step has graduated lighting; the higher the modulation value, the stronger the button lights up to give you a clear visual on what’s going on in the sequence.

The device allows for three melody tracks with up to 16 patterns of 64 steps, as well as a drum track which has 16 Sub-tracks also with up to 64 steps each, that can be played, chained and edited in a variety of ways.

This sequencer may prove to be the heart of your modular synth setup, or perhaps the new brain of your Volca collection.

Alongside the hardware, buyers will get a selection of free software (though the paragraph seems lifted straight from that of the Volca Sample as seen below).

Assuming this is correct for the SQ-64 as well and just a typing error, expect to get Izotope Ozone Elements, Skoove, and Reason Lite.

You can view the product here.

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KORG have unveiled their latest music workstation synth, the Nautilus, featuring nine synth engines and a full-colour 7-inch touchscreen screen.

Coming in three configurations, the 61 and 73-key Nautilus offers synth action, while the 88-key version offers a more piano-like hammer action.

Expected to start shipping early next year, Nautilus will cost £1949 for the 61-note keyboard, £2199 for the 73-note version, and £2549 for the 88-note version.

Nautilus harnesses nine synthesizer/sound engines into a single, integrated musical instrument.

Dynamic voice allocation and new technologies allow all sound engines to smoothly share a stable, enhanced hardware platform.

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It features a 16-track MIDI + 16-track audio sequencer and recorder to build entire songs and projects.

The 16-track audio recorder simultaneously captures up to four tracks of 16-bit/24-bit uncompressed data at a sampling rate of 48 kHz.

There are also 16 internal effects, with 12 inserts, 2 master effects, and 2 effects applied to all tracks at the final stage of mixing.

Synthesis Types

• SGX-2: Premium Piano (Acoustic Piano)
• EP-1: MDS Electric Piano (Electric Piano)
• HD-1: High Definition Synthesizer (PCM)
• AL-1: Analog Synthesizer (Analog Modeling)
• CX-3: Tonewheel Organ (Tonewheel Organ Modeling)
• STR-1: Plucked String (Physical Modeling)
• MOD-7: Waveshaping VPM Synthesizer (VPM Synthesis)
• MS-20EX: Component Modeling Technology (Analog Modeling)
• PolysixEX: Component Modeling Technology (CMT Analog Modeling)

Nautilus also offers 14 “build-in expansion PCM libraries” ranging from a variety of pianos to historical keyboards and synths, as well as drums, SFX, and hits.

The 7-inch touchscreen (though curiously listed as 8-inch in some marketing material) has a resolution of 800x480p.

In addition to simply selecting a sound or choosing a parameter with the touch of a finger, the enhanced Touch-Drag ability allows more detailed control of parameter values.

Interactive instruments and panel graphics provide the ability to do everything from adjusting the lid of a grand piano to connecting patch cable on a semi-modular synthesizer model.

Alongside the touchscreen where you can select main settings and sounds, there are six RT (real-time) knobs at the top left of the panel. These give you direct control over changes to the PROG and COMBI sounds.

A variety of functions are assigned to each knob that lets you enjoy making changes to sounds, such as the filter cutoff and effect depth, the gate time, tempo and swing of the arpeggiator or drum track, the type of snare drum and more. 

Sampling is also possible, and the Nautilus is capable of sampling it’s own performances. AIFF, WAV, SoundFont 2.0, and AKAI S1000/3000 format samples can be loaded into memory via USB memory.

Additionally, you can use a USB Ethernet adapter to exchange large amounts of sample data with your computer at high speed. Instruments or samples that you’ve previously created on your PC can be used to construct a music production setup based on just the Nautilus itself.

The Nautilus comes with a diverse variety of music software from Izotope including “Ozone Elements” which lets you not only create songs but also master them using AI, “Skoove” which will help you improve your keyboard playing skills, “Reason Lite” DAW software, as well as software synths from KORG and other brands.

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FOLLOWING the announcement of the Roland MC-707 Groovebox, beat-making hardware is a hot topic. As such, it seems proper to highlight all of the best grooveboxes on the market today.

While there are many historic examples, they can hit high premiums, even second hand, so this article will focus on those that are still available and common for first-hand buyers.

Roland MC-707

While not technically out yet, this piece of hardware is worth mentioning so readers can make an informed decision, in case they are seeking a new groovebox. It is a very promising-looking piece of gear and so it may be worth waiting until the end of the month if you are considering something from Roland. Read more here.

Roland TR-8s

The Roland TR-8s is seen by many as the successor of the Roland TR-8 Rhythm Performer. It is a professional-grade performance surface with detailed circuit-models of the 808, 606, 909, 707, 727, and even several modified versions.

Novation Circuit

The Novation Circuit combines a two-part synthesiser and a four-part drum machine with a 4×8 RGB velocity-sensitive grid-based sequencer.

It allows you to combine up to 128 steps of synth and drum patterns; save up to 32 sessions, each comprised of up to 8 patterns per track.

While it is considered to be a “sketch” surface more than a full production surface, it will allow you to make grooves and the basis for tracks.

It works as a great complement to a larger production setup, or as part of a DJ/production hybrid setup.

Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator Po 12 Rhythm

The Pocket Operator Rhythm is a drum synthesizer and sequencer with parameter locks, individual step re-trig and punch-in effects.

While it is by far the most bare-bones option on the list it still offers great potential, and the PO-Rhythm is great for lo-fi and chip-style performance and production.

Korg Volca Beats

Perhaps the best bang-for-buck option on the list, the Korg Volca Beats is both affordable and versatile.

It works great in conjunction with other Volca products, as well as part of more advanced setups.

It offers real analogue sounds created with reference to classic rhythm machines and is compact with battery power options for portable setups.

Korg Volca Drum

Similar to the Volca Beats, the Korg Volca Drum is a beat-making device of the same form-factor.

Where it differs though, is it has a digital (instead of analogue) drum engine and has, for each layer, five types of oscillator waveforms and three types of Pitch Modulation.

Elektron Digitakt

Coming in at the higher-end, the Elektron Digitakt Drum Machine features a digital sound engine, eight internal audio tracks, eight dedicated MIDI tracks, a 64MB sample memory and 1GB of drive storage.

Pioneer TORAIZ SP-16

The Pioneer DJ Toraiz SP-16 is a great piece of top-end kit, suitable for creating full tracks or supplementing a DJ set.

Designed to work well with existing Pioneer DJ gear, it will allow DJs to add elements of production to their sets, as well as act as a handy synth, sequencer, sampler, and drum machine.

Kitted out with a Dave Smith filter and deep control including track FX and 256 patterns, the Toraiz also boasts 8GB storage to hold samples and recordings.

It also has the most intuitive interface with sensible menus and touch screen control.

What did we miss? Comment your suggestions below.

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MUSICAL instrument makers Korg has announced a brand new $100 synth which you build yourself. The Nu:Tekt NTS-1 digital KIT is a unique, flexible, and easy DIY synthesizer that you can assemble, without any soldering. 

The NTS-1 is the first in a line of DIY synths from the manufacturer and will be officially released in November.

The first of its kind from KORG’s DIY-focused Nu:Tekt brand, NTS-1 packs a powerful synth and multi-effects engine into a compact form factor that you can carry and connect anywhere. Its DIY nature means it’s also very customizable.

NTS-1 is also completely compatible with their logue-SDK (which allows you to run custom presets with their other synth ranges), so it is possible to run any custom oscillator and effect content available for minilogue xd and prologue, or, create your own. 

They do note however that when using 3rd party plugins on the NTS-1, the content may sound differently than with minilogue xd or prologue, based on polyphony.

Despite its small size, this unit looks like it can deliver a good range of sounds, and while it won’t offer the flexibility of a full-sized keyboard synth, the limitations may allow for unique creative potential.

Korg has packed a large number of features into this $100 synth saying:

“Belying its size, the Nu:Tekt NTS-1 features a digital oscillator inspired by the MULTI engine as found on the acclaimed prologue and minilogue xd, along with an extremely capable arpeggiator including multiple ranges, scales, and modes, plus dedicated spatial, modulation, and delay sections, each with multiple settings to explore.

“With a single monophonic digital oscillator, one multimode filter, on EG, three LFOs, three stereo effect processors, and full arpeggiator, the NTS-1 is a very powerful, flexible, fun-to-explore synth.”

The whole DIY thing is a bit of a gimmick, with the main role of the building stage to assemble the pre-made parts.

This will give most users a sense of achievement when making the synth, but in reality, it won’t satisfy the itch of intermediate to hardcore circuit benders – unless they start tweaking beyond the manual that is!

Korg has also created a playlist of sounds made by the Nu:Tekt NTS-1 on their Soundcloud page.

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