Korg 707

A good entry level digital synth. It's small in size, simple in its design and offers fairly easy editing. It is a digital FM type synthesizer which makes some very thin and digital but sometimes interesting sounds. The synth engine is similar to the DS-8 without on-board effects. It isn't necessarily useful for any professional work but if you want a lo-fi cheesy digital sound from a toy-like synthesizer then give the 707 a try! It can even be strapped on like a guitar. It is used by Juan Atkins.

23 Visitor comments

1xeach

February 11, 2013 @ 10:17 am

@Nik: Take the Casio CZ-1000 and you will get some astonishing sounds and easy programming.

The missing fx unit is the biggest problem of this synth. Especially the chorus effect can make the thin sounds fat, and that's what you get from the DS8 8 (and hardly will need when using the CZ-1000)...

Nik

February 5, 2013 @ 3:11 am

This is rated as "Humdrum" and "Toy-like", while the DS-8 gets "It's good"? Name one other vintage synth with full sized keys, velocity and aftertouch that can also be used as a keytar! Cheap FX like delay, chorus and flange are not so important nowadays. I definitely prefer the 707 over the DS-8 because of its' compact and versatile design.

By the way, has anybody tried using Atari Portfolio ram-cards on this and the DS-8? I read somewhere that the 64k ones were compatible.

Guru Guru Complex

January 18, 2013 @ 12:21 pm

Humdrum ?? no no ;-) a superiour BEAST YES !!!

sonic

December 12, 2012 @ 4:52 pm

I bought a 'faulty' 707 from ebay for 99p. Yes thats right 99p !
I put batteries in and it works fine but some of the sounds go a little glitchy when I manipulate the sliders. It even descends into white noise at some points. Is this normal or is this the 'fault' ?
Anyway it seems to be a pretty good keyboard to me, you can edit the presets instantly with the three dedicated sliders and voice creation took me about 10 mins to work out. I can see it being a useful keyboard for spacey pad sounds.The bass sounds are good and it can also make cutting lead sounds. What else do you need for 99p ?

rené

October 2, 2012 @ 10:07 am

The more I use the 707, the more I realize its potential. It's encased in durable plastic (albeit with sometimes sticky buttons), can be used as a MIDI controller and as a keytaur! The parameters are very easy to edit (my favorite is editing the modulation) and has multitimbral ability with panning effects! With the option to choose between poly and unison mode and connected to a sound effects processor, this "cheap" and "toy-like" synth is suddenly rivaling the mighty DX-7! I'd recommend this for ambient, experimental, Industrial and synth-pop music. Wow, look at those Ebay prices!