Korg’s Collection is updated with three classics from three different eras: the 70s, 90s and 2000s. They didn’t get the 80s Special memo, then…

It’s our 80s Special issue and you’ll note quite a few emulations of some classic synths from that era in this month’s reviews section. An update to Korg’s mighty Collection, filled as it is with emulations of the company’s classic synths, might well have been the best way to open this festival of 80s goodness. However, as 80s-based as the core of the Collection is, this latest v3 update adds three Korg synths from the 70s, 90s and 2000s – anything but the 80s then!

Before we get into the new (old) three additions, just a quick recap. Collection is actually an update to one of the oldest sets of softsynths ever, the Korg Legacy Collection, released back in 2004, then comprising the Korg MS-20, Polysix and Wavestation. We heaped a 10/10 on that in issue 73, and since then there have been several variations, notably the Digital edition (with the Wavestation, the M1 and the MDE-X effects) and Analog Edition (with the Polysix, MS-20 and Mono/Poly).

Eventually and thankfully – it was a bit confusing – the whole lot were put together into Korg’s Collection version 1, featuring the five synths and effect plus the fantastic ARP Odyssey emulation (Korg had produced the ARP hardware by this point). The Triton was added for Collection v2 and now this latest Collection 3, adds a miniKORG-700S, Korg Prophecy and Triton Extreme. This means you now get 10 synths plus the MDE-X effects for $399, a significant saving over buying them individually (as they are each priced between $99 and $249). So let’s have a look at the latest additions.