The beloved KORG microKORG 2 has just received its biggest update yet, and it’s a good one. Firmware Version 2.0 introduces logue SDK support for custom oscillators and effects, new Looper upgrades, a split-keyboard performance mode, and a bunch of workflow improvements that make this portable powerhouse feel like an entirely new instrument.
Key Features
- logue SDK support for custom oscillators and effects
- Expanded loop recorder with step recording, slicing, and import/export
- Split-keyboard mode for bi-timbral layering and performance setups
- Oscillator 3 can now operate as an LFO for complex modulation routing
- New user effects including modulation, multitap delay, and reverse reverb
The original microKORG earned its place in synth history as the go-to first keyboard for countless producers and performers. It was simple, hands-on, and endlessly fun, and the microKORG 2 built on that legacy with modern usability, a brighter display, and expanded sound design potential. But now, with this 2.0 update, KORG have turned the microKORG 2 into a proper creative hub for musicians who love to tinker, perform, and push the limits of a compact synth.
The headline feature here is logue SDK integration, KORG’s open-source platform that lets users create and load custom oscillators and effects. It first appeared in instruments like the minilogue xd and prologue, and its arrival on the microKORG 2 brings that same deep-level sound design to an ultra-portable format. You can download user-made oscillators, effects, and reverbs from the growing logue community or even design your own, giving this synth an endless life cycle of new sounds and textures.
“If you don’t know, logue SDK is basically KORG’s custom platform for developing oscillators and effects,” Lachy explains. “You can design your own or browse a library full of community-built oscillators and effects, download them, and port them onto your KORG instrument.”
“We can go to oscillator one, cycle through to ‘user’, and now it’s taken what’s in unit one of our custom oscillators… you can sort of see the different wave shapes here.”
Lachy shows this off beautifully in the video, switching between custom oscillators, modulation effects, and reverse reverbs that completely change the instrument’s personality. For a synth that’s already known for its playful workflow, it’s kind of wild how deep you can now go without diving into a computer.
“You can also build custom modulation effects,” he says. “Cycle through the units you’ve loaded, like this morph EQ, multitap delay, or reverse reverb, which is kind of cool.”
Another major upgrade is the Looper. You can now step record, slice, import and export loops – turning the microKORG 2 into a powerful sketchpad. It’s great for capturing melodic ideas on the fly or layering vocal lines using the onboard vocoder. The process is quick, hands-on, and immediate – exactly what you want from a creative companion synth.
“You can now import and export loops as well as step record, which is a big thing for a lot of people,” Lachy says.
“If I just want to record something, all I have to do is press record – it counts me in… and now we’ve got a loop going!”
“Go to another patch… what the hell?” he laughs, after layering two sounds mid-jam, one of those happy accidents that proves just how fun the Looper can be.
Then there’s the split-keyboard mode, which takes advantage of the microKORG 2’s bi-timbral engine. You can now assign one sound to the lower range and another to the upper — think bass and pad, or arpeggiator and lead. For live sets, that means one instrument can handle multiple parts without ever leaving the front panel. Combine that with stereo panning between the two timbres and you can even create wide, ping-pong-style performances that sound way bigger than this thing looks.
“Previously on the microKORG, you could only play one sound,” Lachy notes. “On the microKORG 2, you can actually play two, and now you can split them across the keyboard.”
“So now we should be hearing a kind of ping-pong effect… if we’ve set this up right!”
Under the hood, Oscillator 3 can now run in low-frequency mode, turning it into a flexible LFO source. That gives sound designers another modulation option without needing to sacrifice an oscillator. It’s the kind of addition that feels small on paper but opens up a lot of creative routing possibilities when paired with the synth’s modulation matrix.
“You can now send oscillator 3 into LFO rates… slowing down the wave so it modulates other parameters,” Lachy says.
“It’s really clever, basically turning oscillator 3 into a modulation source.”
And yes – it’s still battery-powered, which somehow makes all of this even better. The freedom to take it anywhere, jam, record, or perform without a power brick is exactly what keeps the microKORG line so special. It’s portable, approachable, and musical in all the right ways.
“It’s bloody battery powered, which makes it such a powerful little guy,” Lachy laughs. “You don’t even have to use the included power supply = it’s the Swiss Army knife of synthesizers.”
KORG’s attention to longevity here is impressive. In an age where small synths can feel disposable, they’ve given the microKORG 2 a serious upgrade path, one that connects it to their professional logue SDK ecosystem and ensures it stays relevant for years to come.
If you’ve already got a microKORG 2, this update is a no-brainer. And if you’re new to synths, there’s really no better time to grab one. It’s easy to use, endlessly expandable, and proof that big ideas sometimes come in small packages.
“They’ve really packed a lot into what was already a really fun synth to begin with,” Lachy says in closing. “It’s great for jotting ideas down in the Looper, using the vocoder, or just having fun experimenting with sound design.”
It’s rare for an instrument to stay this relevant over two decades later, but KORG’s approach with the microKORG series continues to show how timeless design and community-driven updates can coexist. Firmware 2.0 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it refines it, empowering musicians to make the gear they already own feel new again.
For many of us, the microKORG was our first synth and with updates like this, it’s easy to see how it could become our last one too.
Watch Lachy’s full hands-on demo below and hear the new sounds in action.
🎥 Watch on YouTube
