MicroKORG Patch Bank by Thoracius Appotite 
The affordable, travel-friendly, microKORG is by far the most popular synthesizer of the last decade-and-a-half. It was the first digital synth capable of reproducing a convincingly analog sound. The factory presets it ships with, however, are dated, tacky, and thin-sounding. They don't even begin to hint at what this synth is capable of.
I've owned my microKORG since 2003. I began creating patches to use for my own music, but through the years developed a passion and talent for sound design.
Despite its limitations, the microKORG is remarkably versatile and powerful. I've spent endless hours exploring every last nook and cranny of the MicroKORG's synthesis engine — and pushed it to its limits — in order to produce the patches in this patch bank.
For only $24.99, make your synth sound like a $1000+ synth.
Vintage, Retro, and Lo-Fi Inspiration
For this patch bank, I’ve recreated the sounds of legendary vintage analog synths (Minimoog, Polymoog, Moog Modular, Juno, Jupiter, Buchla, EMS Synthi, CS-80), retro early digital synths (DX7, D50, SQ80, Casiotone & Portasound), vintage keyboards (Mellotron choirs, Farfisa organ, Clavioline, Wurlitzer electric piano, analog piano, Eminent string machine, Hammond organs, Clavinet, Harpsichord), as well as some acoustic sounds (toy piano, marimba, church bell, male baritone voice).
Recording artists I’ve drawn inspiration from include John Carpenter, Tame Impala, Giorgio Moroder, Edgar Froese, Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre, Isao Tomita, Survive (Stranger Things OST), Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks OST), Air, The Cars, Clio, The Doors, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelinn, Mac Demarco, Wendy Carlos, Gary Numan.
Musical styles that inspried this patch bank range from lo-fi, electronic avant garde, kraut rock, new wave, horror/soundtrack, electro pop, space disco, garage rock, ambient, new age, psychedelic pop, dream pop, and all sorts of pop.
There are leads of every kind, classic polysynths, ambient pads, phat basses, electro drums, horns, arpeggios and sequences — all sorts of sounds. For each patch I've gone through and tailored an arpeggio pattern.
How To Transfer Patches Onto Synth
The download includes the patches in four different formats:
- Windows microKORG Sound Editor (.PRG, .SET)
- Mac microKORG Sound Editor
- SysEx (.MID)
- Human-readable "Recipes" (.TXT)
The easiest way to load these patches onto your microKORG is to use KORG’s free MicroKORG Sound Editor software to transfer the patches from your computer to your synthesizer via MIDI. If you don’t already have a MIDI interface, a USB-MIDI cable costs $7-$30 these days, and will save you hours of work. If you run into any trouble, check out my troubleshooting guide.
You can also manually input the patches using the knobs on the synth, using the recipe files as a guide. This however is time intensive.
Compatibility
This patch bank is compatible with the following synths:
- KORG microKORG
- KORG microKORG S
- KORG MS-2000 and variants
For the microKORG XL and XL+, see my
patch bank for those synths.
Frequency Asked Questions
Q: Are you still selling these?
Yes! The file will automatically download once you’ve paid via PayPal — you just need to make sure to click the link at the end of the process to return here. If for some reason it doesn’t download, just
email me and I’ll get it to you.
Q: I don’t have a MIDI interface. Is there any other way to load the patches onto my MicroKORG?
The amount of time you’ll save is worth the ~$10 it costs to buy an inexpensive USB MIDI interface such as this one on NewEgg.com
. But if you’re hellbent on mindnumbing repetitive labor, you can use the included recipe files to manually enter the patches into the synth using the knobs.
Q: Will these sounds overwrite the factory sounds, or can I have both?
You cannot fit all the factory sounds and all of my sounds on your synth at once. My patch bank contains over 130 patches. The original microKORG only has 128 memory slots (all of which ship with factory sounds), while the microKORG S has 64 extra empty "user" slots.
Typically what you would do is use your computer to store and manage your extra patches. To do this you need a MIDI interface (such as a cheap USB-MIDI cable). KORG has free software called the MicroKORG Sound Editor that lets you manage your patches. You can copy entire banks (sets of 128) patches back and forth between your microKORG and your computer, or transfer individual patches. So you can easily switch back and forth between my patch bank and the factory sounds, or create a bank that contains your favorite patches from both.
Q: I'm looking for the synth sound from [some song]. Can you make it?
A lot of the patches in this pack are the result of requests. So if you're looking to have your microKORG reproduce a certain sound, send your requests my way and I'll take a crack at it!
Q: I already bought the patch library from you a while ago, but you’ve since added so many more cool patches to it. Can I have those too?
Yeah, no problem, just email me.
