Hacking the Korg Phase8 to uncover NEW SOUNDS

video upload by Oscillator Sink

"The Korg Phase8 has been present in the collective synth-nerd consciousness for a few years, as Korg’s Berlin skunkworks department have slowly released details and demo’d prototypes, most notably at the last two Superbooth events. An iconic, mainstream synth manufacturer like Korg, exploring and experimenting with an entirely new concept in how synthesis can be used was an exciting prospect, and captured a lot of people’s imaginations - mine included.

I was lucky enough to find time to explore those prototypes at the previous two Superbooths, and even more lucky to have Korg approach me with a completed production model to make a video about.

The final model is an impressive physical instrument, with Korg Berlin’s industrial design chops on display, but I’m here mostly to talk about the sound and the functionality of the Phase 8, so in this video I’ll explore how it operates solo, how it can be integrated into a larger setup, try out some “extended techniques” and discuss where I feel the Phase 8 could be pushed further.

Transparency notice: Korg kindly sent over the Phase8 to make videos about. They haven't requested or been granted any oversight of the contents of the videos. I haven't otherwise been paid, but I do get to keep the unit shown in this video."

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:04 What is Phase8?
03:36 Voices, Resonators and Tuning
06:17 The voice controls
07:58 The Air Control
09:03 The Mod Effects
12:44 The Sequencer
17:51 "Strum"
18:57 Control Voltage and Sync
22:13 MIDI control and CC
27:25 Can it DRONE?
29:35 Acoustic Feedback
31:53 Phase8's Untapped Potential
40:30 Final Thoughts