Korg Opsix Altered FM Synthesizer Now Available For $330, Was $750

Korg appears to be blowing out its remaining stock of the Opsix Altered FM Synthesizer, with Reverb.com, American Musical Supply and other retailers now listing it for $329 USD, 69% off the original list price and less than half the previous retail price.

The Korg Opsix was introduced less than 2 years ago, after being previewed earlier in 2020 at NAMM in more of a flagship keyboard design:

The Korg Opsix has been well-reviewed since its introduction. Reviewers have critiqued the Opsix’s build quality, which has a lighter and more plastic build than recent Korg keyboards like the Minilogue and Prologue, but have praised the Opsix’s sound engine, which sounds great and makes FM synthesis easy to use.

The Korg Opsix is described as an “altered” six-operator FM synthesizer, because the keyboard’s sound engine goes far beyond traditional FM synth capabilities. While it has a six-operator FM sound structure, like classic FM synthesizers, the Opsix goes further, featuring new operator modes, 11 filter options, 30 effects, a polyphonic step sequencer and more.

Last year, Korg updated the Opsix to version 2, adding a feast of new capabilities, including an Effect Operator, which lets you feed that oscillator signal and input signal into one of 10 different effects: Peaking EQ, Shelving EQ, Phaser, Short Delay, Comb Filter, Distortion, Drive, Decimator, Waveshaper & Punch.

The update also added Noise Pink and Noise Blue as oscillator waveforms, and added support for aftertouch as a control source for LFOs, EGs, and the Virtual Patch.

Earlier this year, Korg introduced wavestate native and opsix native, fully-compatible software versions of their wavestate and opsix hardware synthesizers. At the time, Korg said that the soft synths give you the best of both worlds, by having software and hardware versions that are fully compatible. But the availability of the soft synths may have also impacted their hardware sales.

Here’s the loopop review for the Korg Opsix:

And here’s Nick Batt’s Sonic State review for the Opsix:

Korg Opsix Audio Demos:

At the new price, the Korg Opsix may be a no-brainer purchase for many.

What do you think? Leave a comment share share your thoughts on the Opsix and its new pricing!

52 thoughts on “Korg Opsix Altered FM Synthesizer Now Available For $330, Was $750

  1. Had both a Wavestate and Opsix, and sold the Opsix (for $500!) the day after I received the software. While I find that the hands-on capability of the hardware Wavestate makes it easier to visualize and change what is going on within programs, I found no such advantage with the Opsix. So, it isn’t surprising that Korg came to the conclusion that the software killed the hardware sales. Because of its cheap construction and flimsiness, there really is no advantage of the hardware over the software.

    1. Synthtopia put links to retailers that have the Opsix on sale in the first line of the article.

      You might want to read more than the headline before you comment, next time!

  2. I’m sorry but the article is bullshit

    Korg does not appear to be blowing out anything

    Two retailers mentioned above have it at a low price

    Everywhere else is the same regular price

      1. “You can also get it for the same price through several retailers if you prefer.” Can you give some names of these retailers, e.g. in Europe?

        1. This seems to be a Korg USA inventory clearance. Those of us outside the US are out of luck (Sweetwater will ship internationally but I suspect duty, shipping and tax would kill this deal).

    1. “I’m sorry but the article is bullshit
      Korg does not appear to be blowing out anything”

      I’m sorry, but your comment is bullshit.

      If you follow the first link in the article, the seller is KORG USA Warehouse Outlet. So, like the article says, Korg itself is blowing these out for $329.

      Many other retailers have matched that price, if they have any stock left. Sweetwater was doing it yesterday, but it sounds like they ran out of stock.

          1. synthtopia is a website.. on the internet.. visited by people from all over the world

            That it’s based in the US is moot point

            Given that people from all over the world will see the article, the statement “Korg appears to be blowing out its remaining stock of the Opsix Altered FM Synthesizer” isn’t true for probably more people than it is true

            1. Are you actually being serious?
              It has $ prices in the headline.
              The first sentence says “American Musical Supply”.
              It’s really not that hard to grasp.
              Korg USA obviously have a large stock holding compared to other regions.

            2. Whether or not Korg blows out their remaining stock via one store or dozens, they’re still selling their remaining stock at a huge discount, which is not ‘bullshit’, it’s news that a lot of synth fans will want know about.

              I picked up an OpSix for $329 yesterday, thanks to Synthtopia.

              You’re mad that Korg sold their remaining stock via Reverb, instead of someplace like Thomann, and you’re blaming Synthtopia for, it instead of Korg.

              Also, you said “the article is bullshit, Korg does not appear to be blowing out anything”, which is obviously incorrect, instead of “It’s not on sale in Bophuthatswana” – or wherever you may be.

              1. What a pig ignorant racist thing to say

                Typical American imperialist attitude to believe the world revolves around yourself

    1. If you lobe off the keyboard and put a small strip of wood to fill the opening…..eh voila…a desktop unit. I saw someone do this to a Wavestate.

  3. The market failure of this amazing synthesizer just goes to show the limited knowledge of the synth community. Basically, if you can’t turn one knob to get an analog filter sweep, nobody understands WTF the rest of the instrument capabilities are, nor do they actually take the time to learn.

    1. Not sure.
      If I’m programming FM I’d much rather have everything in front of me: all the envelopes, harmonic spectrums, etc., like in any FM VST (including the opsix one).
      If I’m playing FM I want a robust keyboard.
      So this one, while really quite beautiful, fell between those two gaps for me, and maybe for many others too.

      1. I don’t know how much more “in front of me” it could get than having a hardware slider for each envelope, but I get that some people don’t want to use hardware. For many of us, it’s exactly the opposite. And the keybed isn’t an issue for most people who care about keybeds because they probably already have the one they use and love as a controller for everything else. Given modern needs and younger buyers, I think the OpSix landed directly where it needed to be, but cost and lack of FM understanding were the key issues. Notice how fast it moved at the discounted price.

        1. Thanks, yes, you may be right about the lack of understanding. Actually I initially intended to say, “you may be right, although I’m not sure”.

          Would have been amazing if the synthfluencers/Korg had made videos that really explained how you program FM using the OpSix. They could have explained where to put the ratios like this to get this sound, add on which envelope to get this effect, and so on. Like the very nice webpage by Javelin Art.

          Instead it mostly seemed to be people just loading patches and wiggling faders. Sonic State, which I normally like, spent a lot of time loading DX7 patches and talking about switching to a different algorithm. I get that it’s handy to have the DX7 starting points, but switching algorithm makes no sense except as giving a random starting point. It wasn’t really giving people an idea that they can master FM using this.

          As for in front of me, I do like in Dexed or FM8 that I can see all the envelopes for all the operators simultaneously, which is maybe where programming starts to make sense. I don’t think you can have that in opsix, but I may be wrong.

  4. There are many ways to get FM if you feel up to the heavy lifting. The Opsix has a rather elegant approach that would appeal to me if I wasn’t already covered up with wavetables, physical modelers and useful FM samples. They deliver too well for me to expend time riding a wad of operators. The market will always be fickle.

    I’d like to think that if people got a chance to play one of the more upscale keybeds that was creamy & dreamy, the demand for more of the same would rise. Problem is, you have to try it to understand and that’s harder now than its ever been. Too bad, because a solid keyboard with poly AT takes you to a different dimension.

  5. Kind of a shame imo, but a great opportunity for people looking to get into a useful FM synth. I work as a sound effects designer in games, and this synth has been tremendously useful to me. The intuitive hands-on interface and the more user-friendly/fast approach to FM synthesis in general has made it a great generator of source material for my work. I never get the whole sound I want out of the thing, but I’ve generated a lot of source material that I’ve layered up with other recordings to make new sounds. It’s outstanding for magic and sci-fi sound design.

    I’m glad I’ve got one, not planning to ever sell it. It does feel a bit cheap, I’ll admit. I hope it holds up long term.

  6. This is a tough decision.

    Korg sells the VST equivalent for $199. Offers a discount for the VST at a price of $49 for OpSix hardware owners.

    This means getting both would cost about $370 versus just the VST for $199 — just over half the price.

    1. Agreed. I wish Korg would stop putting such cheap feeling keybeds in their instruments because their synthesizers are great. I don’t expect it to feel like a 4K Kronos, but some of these cheaper actions are just brutal to play.

      An example of reasonably priced instruments that feel good and have aftertouch: Novation Bass Station II and Ultranova. If they can do it, why can’t Korg?

      1. Agreed.

        If you look at the Minilogue, it feels solid, the front panel and knobs seem pretty indestructible. It listed for $200 less than the Opsix and has been a hit.

        If the OpSix had been priced similarly to the Minilogue and had similar build quality as the Minilogue, it would have sold just fine.

        But at $750, that puts it in the same territory as the Digitone, which is built like a tank and is much more powerful. It also puts it the price range of a lot of synths that have great build quality.

        For $329, though, the OpSix is a no-brainer purchase. I picked on up and plan on getting the VST, too, and having the best of both worlds.

    2. It sure would be nice if REV2 was given this kind of discount. I’ve been waiting for quite a while. Freaking catastrophically expensive right now.

  7. Yeah the price went back up to six hundred and something. I think it may have been a mistake on the website that was subsequently corrected.

    1. It wasn’t a mistake. The Reverb listing was Korg’s Warehouse Outlet and they sold over 1000 units. Korg was even advertising the sale on Instagram. The sale didn’t last long at all with retailers that participated because the limited stock they had sold almost immediately.

  8. Just recently bought Opsix for 549 €, and thought it was kind of inexpensive then. I love the sound engine and actually I also like the build quality with very light touch on the keybed. I have enough heavy burdensome keyboards. I also have FM-8 software and in my opinion there are many sounds in Opsix just not possible to achieve with FM-8.

  9. I wasn’t planning on ever buying an Opsix but that price was a steal!!! I have FM8 and some other software, but I NEVER get inspired by fiddling around with software. I have more VSTs, Softsynths,Plug-ins than I know what to do with, yet I almost never use them…Something about touching hardware does it for me. Not to mention in 10-15 years there is a good chance all the thousands spent on software might no longer work. 20 years? Might have to keep an old PC around with spare parts to make sure you can always use them. With hardware that never happens, and you can resell in the future. Don’t know about the keyboard, but I have my MatrixBrute and Hydrasynth is I need some good keys….Fingers crossed they need to unload some Wavestates. lol

  10. I wasn’t planning on ever buying an Opsix but that price was a steal!!! I have FM8 and some other software, but I NEVER get inspired by fiddling around with software. I have more VSTs, Softsynths,Plug-ins than I know what to do with, yet I almost never use them…Something about touching hardware does it for me. Not to mention in 10-15 years there is a good chance all the thousands spent on software might no longer work. 20 years? Might have to keep an old PC around with spare parts to make sure you can always use them. With hardware that never happens, and you can resell in the future. Don’t know about the keyboard, but I have my MatrixBrute and Hydrasynth is I need some good keys….Fingers crossed they need to unload some Wavestates. lol

  11. I’m still waiting for a 5 octave wavestate. Weird people at Korg HQ to announce it and never release it…in Europe that is…

  12. I just got mine today and it has a bad screen. Very, very dark, in the useless range. I’ve noticed online that many people who bought this synth on this sale also got dark screens. It looks like Korg was doing some dumping rather than offering a great deal. Since they sold out they aren’t offering to replace. You can send it back or take it to a service center. Very cheesy of Korg to dump their defects like this. It’s a nice synth though. It has a great sound. I could turn knobs and get weird sounds but because of the screen being black I’m not sure what is actually happening, but the sounds are good.

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