Korg phase8 synthesiser

General

There is not much on offer in terms of electro-acoustic synthesis. So hats off to Korg for putting the phase8 synthesiser on the market. This is, to put it simply, not a mainstream synthesiser. It is even conceivable that it will not catch on at all among mainstream synthesiser users either. Those awful "Jump" chords are not going to happen with the phase8, and neither are the trumpets from Blade Runner. What it does have is a touch of Rhodes, a touch of xylophone/marimba/kalimba, combined with the experimentation of a prepared piano. Well, find a category for that. But take those acoustic instruments mentioned, and imagine that they suddenly have knobs and buttons on them. Then you get a phase8. And then it will be interesting to see what you can do with it!

Features of the Korg phase8

Does the phase8 represent any value if it is so 'different'? Sure, you just have to think about it as a user and approach the device with an open mind. If you are open to that, the phase8 is actually surprisingly fun. There are thirteen metal plates, of which you use a maximum of eight at a time. Those plates have different lengths and represent different notes. The maximum range is an octave, but within this range you can use different plates to create a different key. The vibration is converted to a voltage - a bit like the Rhodes story - after which you can update the sound with a simple envelope and some modulation options. The most important sound processing, however, is in the metal plates. You can influence the way they vibrate by touching them. Or put a pencil on them, or a small stone, or a piece of paper. So this is exactly the aspect of the prepared piano, and it opens up a wide range of possibilities. And all this is not so easy to describe using traditional synthesiser parameters.

Target group and added value

Partly due to the step sequencer, there is quite some 'groove' in the phase8, moreover, parameters can be adjusted via (USB/TRS) MIDI. Of course it is not a big keyboard, but if you have an external effect device with pitch-shift, for instance, you can of course adjust some things to your liking. Anyway, external effects are recommended for the phase8, especially if you're more into the New Age genre, or maybe even film music. And that's also a nice summary of the phase8: it's the colourful sauce on your music, an addition in other words. It certainly won't be your only synth, but it will be an unusual extra layer on top of your music. And maybe that one octave will be enough, just like a kalimba does not have a large range, but can be an equally colourful addition to your music.