Korg’s miniKORG 700Sm: Vintage Analogue Charm Meets Modern Connectivity

The miniKORG 700Sm is Korg’s tribute to their original Mini Korg 700, blending vintage design cues with a raft of contemporary features. At 86% the size of the original, it’s compact enough for modern setups but still retains the front-panel control layout that made the 1970s version so playable. This layout, originally intended for organ-top performance, puts every key parameter within easy reach—ideal for expressive bass and lead lines.

Korg’s approach here is to honour the past while addressing the needs of today’s studio and live performers. The addition of an XY joystick, aftertouch, patch memories, and an expanded arpeggiator all point to a synth that’s as comfortable in a DAWless jam as it is in a traditional keyboard rig. The result is a machine that feels both familiar and freshly relevant.

At the heart of the 700Sm is a pair of authentic analogue VCOs, a clear nod to the 700S revision from 1974. The oscillator section offers triangle, square, saw, and pulse-width modulated waveforms, with the ability to detune and blend the two VCOs for classic duet or ring modulation textures. The inclusion of white and pitched noise expands the palette for percussive and experimental sounds, and the balance fader lets you isolate or combine oscillators as needed.

The Traveller filter section is a defining feature, with both low-pass and high-pass faders equipped with removable lugs—allowing for bandpass operation or unrestricted sound shaping, depending on your preference. Resonance (labelled as “bright”) and an envelope follower add further character, while an LFO-driven vibrato (“travel vibrato”) brings motion to the filter. Colour-coded controls make navigation intuitive, and the four-way joystick and aftertouch introduce expressive real-time modulation options that go well beyond the original’s capabilities.

The original Mini Korg’s arpeggiator was a simple repeat function, limited to single-note pulses. In the 700Sm, Korg has expanded this into a fully-fledged arpeggiator with multiple modes, including up, down, up-and-down, and random. Accessing these is straightforward—hold the bank button and flick the repeat switch to cycle through the options, making it easy to inject rhythmic variety into your patches.

A hold function allows for hands-free operation, freeing you to manipulate other parameters while the arpeggiator runs. This upgrade turns the arpeggiator from a basic utility into a genuine creative tool, ideal for both composition and live performance. The video demonstrates how quickly you can shift between modes and keep ideas flowing without breaking stride.

Patch memory is a standout addition, letting users save and instantly recall up to 14 sounds across two banks. This is a significant leap from the original, which offered no such convenience. The panel button ensures what you see is what you get, snapping the sound to the current knob and switch positions—a thoughtful touch for anyone who likes to tweak on the fly. Combined with the included Librarian software, managing and backing up patches becomes a seamless part of the workflow, bridging hardware and software worlds with minimal fuss.