Korg KingKORG Neo: Behemoth VA Synth returns in compact form
3,5 / 5,0 | 
The rather underwhelming VA synthesizer has returned to terrorise us in a smaller and more manageable format. Can the KingKORG Neo restore our faith in Virtual Analog?
KingKORG Neo
Korg seems to be on fire with these pre-NAMM releases with a cool little beatbox and a revamped MicroKORG. But the KingKORG Neo sits somewhere on the other end of the scale. Originally released in 2013, the KingKORG used Korg’s new XMT or eXtended Modelling Technology to emulate analogue sounds, while the front panel offered plenty of hands-on control over synth parameters and effects. It was enjoyed for its huge range of sounds, PCM content and lightweight design and scorned for sounding like a software synth. Can the KingKORG Neo bring some added spark?
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KingKORG Neo has the same XMT sound engine and essentially, bar a few additional oscillator algorithms, is the same as the original as far as I can see. Korg says that this synthesizer “stands in a league of its own… Designed for today’s musician” and yet it seems to stand in a decade-old league that received very mixed reviews.
What’s Neo?
Let’s focus in on the changes to see if we can shed some light on what’s KingKORG Neo. The size and shape is obviously different, fitting nicely into the compact range of recent Korg synths. It’s a bit like with the Volca series; once Korg finds a format it likes, it sticks with it. A few connections have been rearranged, but comparing the specs to the original, I’m a bit stumped as to see the differences. Is it all in the paint job?
In any case, what the XMT engine brings is a pair of timbre layers, each running three oscillators that can be VA, PCM, DWGS or audio inputs. There are 138 oscillator algorithms and 18 types of filter in KingKORG Neo. You get two envelopes and two LFOs that you can route around using six virtual patch sets. You get a bunch of pre-FX, mod-FX and reverb/delay, an 8-step arpeggiator and a 16-band vocoder. None of this is new, although a mic is now included for the vocoder, which offsets the loss of the tube-driven amplifier.
Neo money for old rope?
So, if it sounds the same as the older one, what’s the point of the KingKORG Neo? Well, to start with, the KingKORG is no longer available, so it resurrects an old synth and makes it available to a new generation of players. While the KingKORG wasn’t a massive hit with reviewers, it still had a lot going for it in its range of very accessible sounds, hands-on controls and portability. It may not have stunned the connoisseur, but it was a lot of fun for everyone else, albeit at a price.
The KingKORG Neo offers the same experience but in a more appropriate size, perhaps making it appeal to a wider demographic of synth users. In 2013, most of us were still wedded to the idea that we could do everything inside the computer, and so maybe a synth that sounded like a VSTi seemed a bit pointless. Today I think we might welcome the idea of controllable soft-synth sounds without a computer a bit more readily.
The KingKORG Neo is going to be great for beginners and gigging, and it is the easy-to-use synth that will fulfil a multitude of roles. I think it looks great and would be an exciting machine to discover at the back of a music shop. However, I’m disappointed that it doesn’t have something, anything that could give it a renewed wow factor, because as it is, it’s not living up to its name. Now, a GodzillaKORG, that would be something.
The price, although better than the original, still feels a little high at €1099.
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- NAMM 2024 sponsors: REMISE 3
- KingKORG Neo: Korg
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10 responses to “Korg KingKORG Neo: Behemoth VA Synth returns in compact form”
Sad. I owned a KingKorg, and really loved… the sound. I sold it within a year because the keyboard was trash. …and given this form-factor, I’m sure this one is absolute $#!7. Alas. …hopefully they offer the native VST soon, because I really did enjoy the sound of it. Great filters, interesting oscillator modes, nicely simple to keep you in the zone. …and dont forget Lingus was played on a KK!
…by the way, you have a typo. You call it the KingKONG at one point. Ooopsie!
I’m pretty sure that was deliberate 😀
It’s a Godzilla reference…
this looks intriguing, but I’m waiting for something that’ll replace the Radias, which had more parts, a useable sequencer, and sounded incredible. it looked good too.
Hopefully it’ll happen.
Looking at it I thought this was going to be a £400-500 offering
Agree. I almost did a spit-take when I saw the $1099 price. There must be something else we don’t know about this synth to make that price justifiable.
$1000? Lol. Good luck with that….
I still have my KingKorg.
I like the keyboard and pitch stick and the sounds are great.
I don’t use the vacuum tube and wish it had more f/x.
Must be a very expensive mic at this price.
Wish it had pitch & mod wheels instead of the tiny joystick.