Korg Collection 6 is immensely powerful — but it’s also inconsistent$399 / $99 upgrade from Collection 5, korg.com
The sixth edition of the Korg Collection has arrived, bringing three new additions to the stable of classic instruments from the Japanese synth giant.

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Among the new inclusions are plugin versions of the monstrous and incredibly rare PS-3300 semi-modular divide-down synthesizer, the TRINITY multitimbral workstation synth, and the SGX-2 piano software instrument. Like all the plugins in Collection 6, each of these provides a completely different sonic ecosystem suitable for creative applications like music production in a wide range of styles, as well as film and video game scoring.
As far as installations go, Korg Collection is a real pleasure to set up, with the ability to pick and choose exactly which instruments you plan on using, and completing the activation process is only a few clicks away. For the most part, each plugin is a joy to use, with the strength of classic Korg hardware interface design leading you through a great range of sounds.
However, because most of the plugins are created with hardware-style control platforms, this can also be a major weakness. While some plugins are so seamless and intuitive, some of the more complex synth interfaces become hard to love, especially on a laptop-sized display.

What makes Korg Collection fun to use?
As most of the stronger plugins in the Collection offer something specific, it helps a great deal when you know exactly what instruments and effects suit your workflow and fit the style of music you’re trying to make. For me, the Polysix stands out immediately, with its unmistakable sound and a simple but effective interface that lets you dive into sound creation without relying on the patch library.
In almost the same way, the ARP Odyssey captures the magic of the original, with a cleverly scalable interface that lets you hide the keyboard or access the arpeggiator and effects section, which adds a new dimension to this classic synth. The next gem I unearth, which is far from an undiscovered secret, is the microKORG. As one of the biggest-selling hardware synths of all time, you could argue that the winning formula was already written. However, the Korg team has truly outdone itself again with easily one of the most accessible and fun-to-use synth plugin recreations available.
Like the microKORG, many of the other virtual analogue and wavetable synths truly shine in Korg Collection’s plugin format. Instruments that had slightly ungainly interfaces, with plenty of menu diving, like the Prophecy, TRINITY, or the KAOSS PAD, become far more fluid sound creation platforms in plugin form. This allows you to exploit sweet spots quickly, rather than being bogged down by dated hardware or being limited to endlessly browsing the patch library.
Although it may appeal more to Korg fanatics in particular, one of the other standout features of the Collection lies in the simplicity and immediacy of instruments like the ELECTRIBE-R. While the interface is a long way from many of today’s sound design tools, it acts like a creative time machine that takes you transports you instantly back 20 years to a completely different music production era. Whether you’re on a purposeful side quest for sounds of a bygone era to use in a particular project or simply feeling nostalgic, instruments like the M1 and the WAVESTATION have a unique character that isn’t readily available elsewhere.
TRINITY. Image: Press
The old and the new
There’s no question about Korg’s ability to design fluid, functional plugin interfaces, but you start to experience a noticeable divide when switching from some of the newer instruments in the Collection to the older ones. While the sound engines are undeniably great, the household names like the MS20, Mono/Poly, and Polysix start to seem a little dated and behind the times compared to the miniKORG 700S, the microKORG, or the ARP Odyssey, which have a decidedly modern edge to their look and feel.
However, the overwhelming nature of scaled semi-modular synth interfaces like the new PS-3300, the ARP 2600, and even the classic MS20 is an elephant in the room that must be confronted. There is simply no logical reason to have access to every synth parameter on a single page, and it results in a decidedly unmusical user experience. Korg could easily revise the designs of these incredible synths and transform them with slicker interfaces, as it has with the multi/poly native and other recent offerings.
The discrepancy in the user experience between the different plugins becomes more apparent when you explore the non-synthesis-heavy plugins, such as the EP-1, the VOX Super Continental, and the new SGX-2, which allow you to find and sculpt dynamic sounds with spontaneity and ease.
SGX-2. Image: Press
Why would you buy Korg Collection 6?
Despite being comprised mostly of recreations of hardware from a single manufacturer, Korg Collection offers an incredibly diverse collection of instruments that can take you from the 1970s or 1980s to the 1990s and beyond in a matter of seconds, provided you know what you’re looking for.
There is no doubt about the strength of Korg Collection, especially the analogue and digital synths, but unfortunately for Korg, the competition is immense in this area, with a myriad of options from Arturia, Roland, and Cherry Audio (with Cherry having just released its own version of the Korg Trident – go figure).
With this in mind, Korg has its work cut out to keep up with the competition. The musical heritage of Korg instruments is as relevant as any developer in this space, but I don’t feel this sentiment comes through as clearly as it could with Korg Collection.
However, with a few facelifts of the classics and some unique additions from the Korg back catalogue like the SE-500 and the DVR-1000, this legendary manufacturer could easily get this spaceship back on course.

Key features

Collection of 20 instruments and effects (AU, VST3, AAX)
PS-3300, ARP 2600, and MS-20 developed with Component Modeling Technology (CMT)
Sound libraries from original hardware
New additions: PS-3300; SGX-2; TRINITY

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