Looks rubbish? I don't think so! The microKORG looks just like a small version of some of those enormous 80s analogue synths that had those really deep panels. If Korg had made it with full sized keys then it would probably have looked even worse with huge keys and a tiny panel strip along the top. I personally think that because of the small keys, this makes the microKORG (Korg staff, feel free to quote me on this) a beautifully proportioned synth. Believe me it's real wood on the ends too...

Take a look at one of the Nord series - Great sounding synths no question, but you will see that because of the way it's constructed, there is a small, square gap at the top left and right hand corners of the keybed where the metal is bent around to create the recess. On the model I looked at (NordLead 3 I think) you could see the internal circuit boards close to the pitch bend controllers. There's no such gaps in the microKORG's casing and while the plastic chassis may make it feel a little fragile, to the eye it looks a perfectly solid little synth. Look after your investment and respect it and I'm sure it will perform.

It's a great sounding synth so if anything I guess it could be a great incentive for some of us to reduce our calorie input - so we become thin enough to use the Micro directly.

It definitely seems that the microKORG is a love-it-or-hate-it machine (I love it, of course!) but lets face it I find it highly unlikely there will be any other synth quite like this one.

To all those out there hating its 'toy' build and looks + the preset descrptions, thank you! why? cause there'll be less of us out there using them which is fine by me. the fact that it looks shit is fantastic in my opinion - a wolf in sheeps clothing. theres one guy who complains about it having a bank of presets labelled 'hip-hop' - i for one hope synths for a long time stay that way always makes me laugh seeing stuff like that. its a shame how electronic music seems to attract humourless geeks without any sense of irony. stay in your bedrooms where you belong!

yes the mini keys suck but i guess korg had to make a choice between 3 octives mini or 2 octives full size. personally i agree with them.

has anyone tried the FREE editor software on the Korg website? i have and it rocks.

with its diminutive size and weird looks the micro is destined to become a classic. if you can't see that them more fool you

Surely enough the small keys won't be your cup of tea, however, I enjoyed it nontheless. This little keyboard actuly sparked some nifty idea's while programming sounds.

Kutos to korg. This little bugger goes out for about $250, so don't think twice when tring to decide on the ms 2000k for 600 or the ms2000r for 500, at 250 bucks you just cant beat it!

The only features missing, is the knob UI, and the 16 step sequencer, but I can live without :)

The vocoder section is flawless. Even with that cheap mic, you can bust out with some awesome voices!

Don't let the quirkyness fool you...