Korg first shipped wave sequencing on the WAVESTATION, and the wavestate MKII rebuilds that idea on a modern engine. Under your hands sit 37 keys, four layers and a ceiling of 96 stereo voices. Presets are plentiful. The real interest starts once you begin moving things around.
The engine
Wave Sequencing 2.0 runs everything. Out of the box come 261 Performances, 799 Programs and 1,042 Wave Sequences, with space for many thousands more of your own. Each of the four layers carries a patch of its own, plus an arpeggiator and key or velocity zones. Editing works much as it does in a digital audio workstation, holding your changes in place, so filing each element away by hand stays optional.
Gigabytes of raw material
Sample content runs to gigabytes, more than a thousand times what the original WAVESTATION carried. Inside you get a bank from Plugin Guru, fresh recordings made by Korg, and selections lifted from the NAUTILUS, KRONOS and KROME libraries. Every sample from that first machine, options included, is here too, along with a large collection of its wave sequences. Anti-aliasing playback keeps the top of the range clean.
Filters with history
Three models carry obvious vintage character. Two of them come from the MS-20 and bite hard when driven, while the Polysix leans sweeter. Alongside them sits a full set of resonant 2-pole and 4-pole types, from low pass and high pass through to band pass and band reject. Korg's Multi Filter is the odd one out, blending several modes at once and letting you modulate that mix.
Effects on every layer
Three effect slots belong to each layer, and the Performance adds a master reverb plus a four-band parametric EQ on top. Compressors, choruses, flangers, phasers and stereo delays cover familiar ground. Among the stranger options are the Wave Shaper, Talking Modulator, Reverse Delay and Multiband Mod Delay, plus the Overb from the OASYS. Guitar amp and wah models from VOX, a multi-head tape echo and a set of classic pedal emulations round it out.
Roll the dice
A button on the front panel, marked with a dice icon, generates fresh sounds through guided randomisation. Scope is up to you, whether that means the whole patch or one element such as the filter, the sample lane or the effects. Some results land immediately. More often what comes back is a starting point you then edit into shape.
Set lists, transitions and connections
For a gig or a rehearsal, Set Lists group your Performances so there is no hunting through banks between songs. Smooth Sound Transitions let previously played voices and effects ring out naturally even after you select a new patch. A balanced pair of outputs feeds a desk or an interface, and a headphone jack in stereo covers quiet practice and onstage cueing. DIN sockets and class-compliant USB handle MIDI to computers and outboard gear, and Korg gives away the Editor/Librarian and Sample Builder software.
See it in action
Specifications
| Keyboard | 37 keys (velocity and release-velocity sensitive) |
|---|---|
| Sound generating system | Wave Sequencing 2.0 |
| Maximum polyphony | 96 stereo voices |
| Sounds | Ships with 261 Performances, 799 Programs and 1,042 Wave Sequences. Storage for tens of thousands of user Performances |
| Structure (Performance) | 4 Layers, Reverb, EQ. All edits are stored in the Performance, DAW-style (saving as separate Programs, Wave Sequences and so on is supported but not required) |
| Layer | Program, Arpeggiator, Key and Velocity Zones |
| Program | Wave Sequence, Filter, Amp, Pre FX, Mod FX, Delay |
| Filters | 2-pole LPF, 2-pole HPF, 2-pole BPF, 2-pole Band Reject, 4-pole LPF, 4-pole HPF, 4-pole BPF, 4-pole Band Reject, Multi Filter, MS-20 LPF, MS-20 HPF, Polysix |
| Modulation controllers | Mod Wheel, Pitch Wheel, Vector Joystick X/Y, 8x Program/Performance Mod Knobs |
| Other sources | 3x Envelopes, Vector Envelope, 3x LFOs, 2x Mod Processors, 2x Key Track, Step Sequencer Lane, Step Pulse, Tempo, Program/Performance Note Count, Program/Performance Voice Count, Poly Legato, Velocity, Exponential Velocity, Release Velocity, Gate/Gate+Damper, Note-On Trigger/Note-On Trigger+Damper, Note Number, Aftertouch/Poly Aftertouch (external MIDI only), MIDI CCs +/-, MIDI CCs + |
| Destinations | Most parameters can be modulated, including parameters of individual Wave Sequence Steps. Depending on Wave Sequence length, there can be more than 1,000 potential modulation targets per Program. |
| Pre FX | Decimator, Graphic EQ, Guitar Amp, Modern Compressor, Parametric EQ, Red Compressor, Ring Modulator, Tremolo, Wave Shaper |
| Mod FX | Black Chorus/Flanger, Black Phase, CX-3 Vibrato Chorus, EP Chorus, Harmonic Chorus, Modern Chorus, Modern Phaser, Orange Phase, Polysix Ensemble, Small Phase, Talking Modulator, Vintage Chorus, Vintage Flanger, Vintage/Custom Wah, Vox Wah |
| Delay | L/C/R Delay, Multiband Mod Delay, Reverse Delay, Stereo/Cross Delay, Tape Echo |
| Reverb | Early Reflections, Overb |
| Performance EQ | 4-band parametric EQ |
| Inputs/outputs | Headphone (6.3 mm stereo phone jack) |
| Power supply | AC adapter (DC12V, 2500mA) |
| Power consumption | 5 W |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 565 x 338 x 92 mm / 22.24" x 13.31" x 3.62" |
| Weight | 2.9 kg / 6.93 lb. |
| Included items | AC adapter |
| Accessories (sold separately) | DS-1H damper pedal, PS-1 pedal switch, PS-3 pedal switch |
Specifications from Korg. Appearance and specifications are subject to change without notice.
