Korg - Nu:Tekt NTS-1 Digital Synth Kit

It’s 2021, the silicon shortage is still impacting all areas and you can’t buy a graphics card or a car for a sensible price. Not a great year.The Korg NTS-1 has been out for a couple of years now but what’s remarkable is it’s still available for its original retail price. Buy one now before it goes up in price or becomes available. What you get for the price is almost unbelievable.Yes you build it (screw it together, no soldering required) yourself. Yes it’s monophonic. Yes it’s digital. Yes it looks like a toy with its skeletal design and tiny ribbon keyboard.But none of that matters.What you’re buying is an expandable, open-sourced synthesiser with a phenomenal effects unit capable of processing external audio, possibly making it the audio bargain of the decade. Thanks to the open-source design the downloadable librarian software allows you add new third-party oscillators, modulators, delays and reverbs, and if that’s not enough you can create your own.Out of the box and powered up for the first time it sounds like it looks. As basic as a square wave. And then moments later you’re listening to a rich, expansive sound that belies its looks and price. It’s far more fully featured than you’d guess with a comprehensive MIDI implementation allowing external parameter control via CC. It only features a single MIDI-IN via 3.5mm jack but this is sufficient for a sound module at the end of a chain. Sync-in and out ports are present for compatibility with analogue equipment and it’s an obvious choice for any Volca owner.There’s a micro-USB port for power and unlike the Volcas there’s no provision for batteries so you’ll need a USB power bank, USB 5v mains adapter/charger or a computer. The USB port allows uploading/downloading sounds and effects, as mentioned, but it also acts as a USB MIDI interface alongside the 3.5mm input socket. No USB audio I/O but that’s not a problem.As a stand-alone device it’s a capable monophonic synth with great effects which absolutely transform and lift the sound, but it’s big selling point for many will be that effects section. I’ve already mentioned the Korg Volca series a couple of times but the NTS-1 is a no-brainer for any Volca owner, especially the Volca Keys. It works with any audio souce though and there are a range of input attenuation settings available in the global options, just another example of how feature-packed the NTS-1 is.It’s a steal at the price.

Not sure what I can add to the mny glowing reviews the Korg NTS-1 has already received on this Amazon product page.The NTS-1 is a small, self-assembly synth with built-in effects engine giving you chorus, flanger, phaser, reverb and delay effects right out of the box.Putting together this little flat-pack marvel took around 20 minutes and it only took that long because I have rubbish eyes and was straining a little with some of the smaller screws and the placement of the keyboard ribbon. A small screwdriver is included in the package along with instructions and I don't think many people would struggle to make it. The only really scary bit is snapping the boards apart when you first start making it. I was worried I would damage something, but I needn't have worried. It was a relief though plugging it in and getting power - and sound.The only real issue I had, which was frustrating for half-an-hour or so, was my PCs inability to detect the NTS-1 when it was plugged into a USB port. I had already downloaded the Korg Librarian software and the updater. Seems that I had previously installed too many midi devices onto my PC and the Korg needed to be in the "top ten" of midi devices, so I had to uninstall some older Midi devices I no longer used. That sorted the problem, but it was pretty frustrating for a while.Once I'd got the synth hooked up to my headphones and Arturia Keystep via a TRS/Midi Cable (annoyingly not supplied) then I was blown away by the sound and range of this little marvel. Due to the size, you have to get used to using muti-function buttons, for instance, holding down certain buttons and turning knob A or B, gives you more options than simply just twiddling those knobs.The ribbon keyboard is pretty dire, but I never expected it to be great, but you can easily play it with a stylus rather than fingers. The Arp works brilliantly with multi play modes available.There is a single digital oscillator and multiple mode filter with high, low and band pass options, plus three LFO types.While I love the sound of this little synth, for me, the icing on the cake and the main reason for purchase was the on-board effects. They sound stunning and the beauty of the NTS-1 is the ability to route external hardware through the box, so you can use other external synths with the effects.And, there's more, there's a thriving community of enthusiasts who have created custom oscillators and effects that can be loaded onto the NTS-1 via the aforementioned Librarian software. Some are paid for, some ask for donations and some are totally free. This makes a brilliant products even more brilliant.As my review heading states, this Korg seems too good to be true, it really is one of those rare products that comes along and blows all its competitors out of the water. For around £80 you can get a multi effects pedal/engine and a brilliant mono synth with arp, with the ability to load literally hundreds effects and oscillators!I'd give this ten stars if I could. Buy. One. Now.