KORG modwave mkii

[kritikon]

Is there much difference between mk1 and mk2? From what I could see the mk2 Wavestate pretty well only doubled the voices to 96 with not too much else under the hood so it really didn't offer that much. 48 voices is not exactly stingy to start with. Opsix mk1 to mk2 was more worthwhile - wasn't it FX operators in mk2? Did they add more stuff to Modwave 2?

[_leras]

The modwave just blows my mind every time I fire it up. I do think one may need to be under influence to get the most out of the synth. I just can’t imagine the intelligence required to be being highly intentional and creating a very specific complex sound you are after that touches more than like 30% of what this synth is capable of. Basic sounds, with run of the mill modulation sure. But ones where you modulate the modulator of modulations with chaos pad’s physics controller and use a few sequence lanes, these are probably 20-30% intent and the rest happy accidents. So happy for a nice, robust randomization engine to make up for my lack of competence.

Yeah, there's a lot to explore without even trying to make a sound. Lots of wavtables, tons and tons of automation options. Even if you get all that down, there are so many combinations.

I doubt I'll get this one out of mainly trial error exploring and happy accidents. Tiny tweaks can also really change a sound, which makes it quite unpredictable in a fun way.

[AcrossTheSky]

...couldn't believe ... last week my modwave's mk2 display went black - failed - just after switching it on ... I sent it back now for a free repair. I hope to get a module as a replacement ( politely requested ) .. buying from ebay is not an option anymore I think (was lucky with older korg gear
Worth having warranty active ... - Still older Radias module going strong .. how come Korg's new products have that issue ( Reddit site ) ..

[egbert101]

Yeah, that's not a good sign. I think I'll stick with the software version.

[HTT]

I picked up Modwave and Wavestate native from the winter sale. The two synths have a modern sense but hearken to back-in-the-day. They bring back memories of my Poly 61, DW8000, and M1. I would appreciate more throw-back patches. Maybe Korg could team up with some OMD, Depeche Mode, etc. for some patch banks for Modwave and/or Wavestate? I don't have time for sound design anymore. I love the Kaoss function on the Modwave, manually and the physics patterns. Korg did very, very well with the two.

I am toying around about getting the Multi/Poly. I will probably wait until the native version is for sale. It was announced at NAMM 2025.

[jdoo]

If youre looking for vintage patches/sounds that are mapped to controls on the Modwave and Wavestate - it is worth taking a look at Maik Schott soundsets. Maik's patches have modulation mapped across the timbres to controls that make tremendous sense. If you're just looking for sounds that have vintage synth waveforms/ timbres.. there are hundreds of samples and waveforms bundled with these synths. Create a template, and point to the included wavetables/samples. It is dead easy, and like i said.. hundreds included. It wont get you real-time timbre shaping control without spending a little time mapping important modulation and timbre shaping synth controls to performance knobs, key controls ( velocity or aftertouch ) or mod wheels, etc. THAT... can be a lot of work. If you create a good template, you can speed up this process. Or... look for a soundset that has already mapped important controls. Maik's stuff does that extremely well. If youre looking for soundsets that have static sounds pre-mapped to included vintage samples/wavetables ... there is some excellent stuff out there. You can start with those, and map them to your controller. A little more work, but you will find these are mostly free. So... a ton of patches are out there. Some already pointing to the included samples/wavetables of vintage instruments, and some which have included fresh samples/waveforms that are provided. Some free. Some $$. Or..... dive in and create your own, with the included samples/wavetables.

/two cents

Joe

I picked up Modwave and Wavestate native from the winter sale. The two synths have a modern sense but hearken to back-in-the-day. They bring back memories of my Poly 61, DW8000, and M1. I would appreciate more throw-back patches. Maybe Korg could team up with some OMD, Depeche Mode, etc. for some patch banks for Modwave and/or Wavestate? I don't have time for sound design anymore. I love the Kaoss function on the Modwave, manually and the physics patterns. Korg did very, very well with the two.

I am toying around about getting the Multi/Poly. I will probably wait until the native version is for sale. It was announced at NAMM 2025.

[HTT]

Thanks for the heads up. Mr. Schott is quite a talented sound designer! He has a number of banks. I will need to closely review them. I am getting option over load. So much great stuff.

I have also found that Ian Dixon has some excellent Modwave and Wavestate soundsets.

Thanks again!