Korg have released a native version of yet another of their hardware synths and the latest to get the treatment is the multi/poly analogue modelling synth. This hardware synth has some nice features like the Kaoss physics engine.
https://www.korg.com/uk/products/software/multipoly_native
The first problem I can see is that the Kaoss touchpad doesn’t translate as well in software, I mean it can be mapped to a laptop touchpad and my Novation Ziosynth also has one, but there are plenty of controllers out there that simply don’t have that option. As this is one of the best features (for me) the fact the plugin doesn’t make it work as well as it possibly could is a big issue. Mind you, I can’t see how or why a lot of people would buy the plugin when it is priced at the full price of $199 as that is (again) far too expensive compared to its peers. Even though it sounds nice, plays well and has some great features, when plugins are getting to be such large amounts of money and you then also need a nice fully featured controller to make the best use of said plugin you may as well buy the hardware version. I know costs have risen but the prices are just getting way too much for some manufacturers. Take not Korg – you are around the bottom of the pile for value for money right now! That being said, I can see how prices are rising across everything, so perhaps I am being unfair, but it is a pet peeve of mine how prices have risen pretty quickly…
So how does it sound? Well actually I do like the sound. Like a modern VA, with a large range of controls plus the nice Kaoss physics that can make sequences and sounds have depth and movement is great. We have seen a huge rise in plugins with granular processing and ways to make sounds move in recent years because a PC/Mac are really well suited to those kinds of processing, especially if the system is pretty new. Some great sequences, pads and leads are all present, and the bass can blow the low end hearing all around if you so wish. It is a shame that the cpu usage can be huge though, with no options I can see to help that out. Even my Ryzen 8core 16thread cpu occasionally struggles so you will probably have to freeze/flatten parts often to keep this in check, which is a shame. Korg recent releases have shown this to be an issue with the 2600 plugin being particularly guilty. Users with older systems (say 5+ years old) might want to consider this to not be a great plugin for you if you use multiple instruments in tracks often. In this respect it falls behind say Arturia who nearly always have various ways to reduce the quality to keep cpu usage lower!
In light of this it has resulted in lower scores in this review…
Korg multipoly native plugin
Pros
Good GUI and sounds great
Well modelled for those imperfections which add to the "analogue" sound
Nice range of presets and making sounds from scratch is pretty easy too
Cons
Price – $199 is too much again when there are a wealth of cheaper plugins out there.
The modelling is great but it comes at a price of high cpu usage. This won't be great on older systems
Suffers compared to the hands on nature of the hardware version. Whilst not Korgs fault you need to have decent controller(s) to get the best from it!
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