NAMM 2025: The NAMM show is THE place to get up close with all the latest kit and our team on the showfloor won't stop until every new bit of kit has come under their microscope.
Live from the show floor we got up close and personal with Korg’s ‘new’ 700Sm. We say ‘new’ because not only is this a remake of Korg’s first synth but is actually the second time that Korg has produced a faithful reissue.
“We did the remake of the full-size version a couple of years ago and we thought we’d bring it back, make it a little more compact and accessible in a mini version,” explains Korg brand ambassador, Luke Edwards in our video.
“The original Mini 700 was a single oscillator synth and then a couple of years later we brought out the 700S which added a second oscillator and that’s what this is based on, so it’s a two oscillator synth.”
It’s a quirky, genius bit of synth history with a sound all its own and – due to its early placing in synth history – more than a few unique ways of getting the job done.
In our video, Edwards goes in deep regarding the 700’s famous ‘traveller’ filter, with both high and low pass slider controls with a physical stop on the knobs that prevents them from crossing over. “But it does come with knobs without the notches so you can replace the knobs and switch over, and use the filter in a different way,” he explains, showing that Korg has listened to feedback from users old and new and is keen to imbue the new remake with all the quirks and features users loved about the original.
Other notable features include the 700’s three ring mods, each with their own unique sonic character and its built in physical spring reverb. “It’s the same spring reverb that we built into our ARP 2600 mini, as the full size one wouldn't fit in the case,” confirms Edwards.
Check out all of the 700Sm’s unique features via our exclusive video above and stick around and hear it for yourself in our hands-on playtest at the end.
