Superbooth 23: Korg Berlin teases a new method of synthesis that blends physical and electronic sound generation techniques

Korg Acoustic Synthesis Phase 5
(Image credit: Korg)

Superbooth 23: Korg’s Berlin office, which is headed up by the company’s former Chief Engineer Tatsuya Takahashi, has put us on notice that it has something potentially very interesting on the way - the Acoustic Synthesis_phase 5.

The news was broken on the Korg Berlin Instagram page by way of a side-on shot of what looks like an early prototype. Gearnews reports that this was followed by a press release that says that the Acoustic Synth_phase 5 will present “a form of acoustic synthesis which unites the sonic richness of real physically vibrating bodies with electronic control.”

An additional image that shows what looks like the top of the instrument, which appears to have moving parts and 12 strips that may or may not correspond to the 12 notes in a musical octave. 

Beyond that, we know very little, but we’re hoping to find out more at Superbooth later this week. 

Tatsuya Takahashi is seen as one of the most influential figures in 21st century synth design, having brought Korg back into the analogue game in 2010 with the Monotron and gone on to work on the Volca range, the Minilogue and the ARP Odyssey reboots. As such, the first synth to come out of Korg Berlin is eagerly anticipated.

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Ben Rogerson
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.