Woody Piano Shack’s Minilogue Review: Four Notes, One Big Rave Bunker Question

The Minilogue’s build is a proper mashup—plastic on the back and bottom, but a slick aluminium control panel up top that feels lush under your fingers. Woody’s loving the tactile experience: the knobs, switches, and even the mini keys all feel surprisingly premium for the price.

Sure, there’s no aftertouch, but the velocity-sensitive mini keys get a nod for quality. Don’t let the plastic fool you—this thing feels like a proper instrument, not a toy.

Here’s where the Minilogue’s rave bunker starts to wobble: four-note polyphony. Woody demonstrates the heartbreak—play a five-note chord and watch notes drop like flies at a toaster-fight. It’s fine for simple triads and bass, but try anything lush and you’ll be left frustrated.

Woody doesn’t sugarcoat it: for players who want to stretch out with pads or big chords, four notes just isn’t enough. He even calls it a deal breaker for his style, preferring a digital synth with more voices over analog limitations. The Minilogue’s voice modes and unison tricks are fun, but they don’t fix the core problem—this synth just can’t keep up with your chord ambitions.

Woody puts the Minilogue’s polyphony in brutal context: synths from the ’80s like the Juno 6 and Prophet 5 had more voices than this so-called modern marvel. He’s baffled that, decades later, we’re stuck with fewer notes and calls out Korg for dropping the ball.

For Woody, the Minilogue could have been a dream synth with six or eight voices. As it stands, it’s a bit of a crippled street weapon—great for mono duties or simple chords, but not for lush pads or complex arrangements. If you can live with the limitations, it’s still got that vintage analog charm. If not, you might want to keep hunting for your next rave bunker hero.