KORG

KORG is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electronic musical instruments . From its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, the company maintains a worldwide distribution network. The company began “like so many” with the idea that it could do something better. For more than five decades, KORG has been a technological pioneer in musical instruments and tools: from the production of the first synthesizer in Japan to the development of the Music Workstation, the invention of the first portable tuner and much more. The drive to constantly bring innovative, user-friendly and high-quality products to the market is the driving force behind the entire company.

It all began in the early 1960s when the founder of KORG, Tsutomu Katoh, was a club owner. Tadashi Osanai, a well-known Japanese accordionist, played regularly at Katoh’s club. Katoh had the idea of underlaying his employee’s accordion playing with the rhythm of a rhythm machine. Osanai, himself an engineer and graduate of the renowned Tokyo University, was sure he could build such a rhythm machine himself and convinced Katoh to finance his efforts. In 1962, Katoh rented a small factory on the Keio railroad line, where the two men began development. The fledgling company was named Keio Electronic Laboratories, which later became KORG, a combination of the words “Keio” and “ORGel”.

The most important Korg products

• 1963 Donca matic DA-20
• 1966 Donca matic DE-20
• 1973 Mini-Korg
• 1975 WT-10 (the world’s first hand-held tuner)
• 1975 Maxi-Korg
• 1977 PS-3300 (fully polyphonic, semi-modular synthesizer)
• 1978 MS-10, MS-20, MS-50, VC-10 (vocoder), X-911 (guitar-controlled synthesizer)
• 1979 Micro-Preset Synthesizer
• 1979 SIGMA, DELTA Synthesizer
• 1979 CX-3 (Stage organ)
• 1980 Mono/Poly
• 1980 Trident (A large digitally controlled analog synthesizer consisting of three sections: Synthesizer, Brass, Strings. Countless functions and one of the most expensive devices ever produced by Korg).
• 1981 Polysix
• 1982 Poly 61 (push-button version of the Polysix with digital oscillators – Korg’s first “controllerless” synthesizer)
• 1982 Trident MK II (the second version of the Trident with a few more functions and 32 user-writable memory locations)
• 1983 Poly 800 (first fully programmable synthesizer that sold for less than $1000 and had digitally controlled analog oscillators all running through a filter)
• 1984 DW-6000 (Korg’s first digitally controlled synthesizer with digital waveforms and analog post-processing)
• 1985 DVP-1 (Digital Voice Processor – polyphonic synthesizer with 8 waveforms and vocoder in one device)
• 1986 DW-8000 (8 polyphonic voices, with two of 16 digital waveforms selectable by the user, plus one analog filter per voice)
• 1986 DSS-1 (sample-based sound generation, (12-bit with additive synthesis), free waveform generation, delay and analog filters)[2]
• 1987 DS-8 (Digital FM Synthesizer)
• 1987 DT-1 (digital tuner; automatic tuner in compact cassette format)
• 1987 DSM-1 (expander/rack version of Korg’s first and only sampler DSS-1)
• 1988 AT-1 (Auto Chromatic Tuner, the seventh tuner from Korg)[3]
• 1988 M1 Music Workstation (first music workstation)
• 1989 T1 / T2 / T3 Music Workstation
• 1990 Wavestation
• 1991 01/W Music Workstation
• 1993 i3 Interactive Music Workstation (Korg’s first arranger)[4]
• 1993 X3 / X3R / X2 Music Workstation (successor to the M1)[5]
• 1994 X5 Synthesizer
• 1995 X5D / X5DR Synthesizer
• 1995 Trinity Music Workstation, Prophecy Synthesizer
• 1996 Z1 Multioscillator Synthesizer
• 1996 N364 / N264 Music Workstation, N5 / NS5R / NX5R, N1 / 1R Synthesizer / Soundmodule
• 1997 ix300 Interactive Music Workstation[6]
• 1998 i30 / i30HD Interactive Music Workstation
• 1999 Triton Workstation/Sampler
• 1999 Kaoss Pad effects unit
• 1999 Electribe Groovebox, Sampler, Synthesizer
• 2000 MS-2000 (virtual analog synthesizer; physical modeling)
• 2000 Pa80 / Pa80HD Professional Arranger Workstation
• 2000 CX-3 new edition (Stageorgan)
• 2001 Karma
• 2002 Triton Studio Workstation/Sampler
• 2002 microKORG Compact synthesizer and vocoder
• 2003 Pa1x pro/ Pa1x pro élite Professional Arranger Workstation with 76 keys, without loudspeakers (Pa1x with 61 keys and 2-way bass reflex loudspeaker system)
• 2004 Legacy Collection (models of older synthesizers are available as software synthesizers, also known as plug-ins).
• 2004 Triton Extreme Workstation/Sampler
• 2004 Pa50
• 2005 Legacy Collection Digital Edition (Korg’s M1 / T1 / T2 / T3 was realized as a software synthesizer plug-in)
• 2005 Electribe Series
• 2005 OASYS (“Open Architecture Synthesis Studio”), workstation with open architecture
• 2005 AX3000 effects unit, guitar (AX3000G) or bass version (AX3000B)
• 2006 Korg TR Music Workstation (successor to the Korg Triton Le)
• 2006 RADIAS / RADIAS Rack Synthesizer/Vocoder
• 2006 X50 Music Synthesizer (Some sounds were taken from the Triton.)
• 2006 microX Synthesizer/Controller
• 2007 Pa800 Professional Arranger Workstation
• 2007 M3 Music Workstation/ Sampler
• 2007 Pa2x Pro Professional Arranger Workstation
• 2008 Pa500 Professional Arranger Workstation
• 2008 Pa500 Turkey and Oriental Edition with oriental drums, rhythms and sounds
• 2008 Nano series consisting of Nano-Key, Nano-Pad and Nano-Kontrol, portable controllers
• 2008 M50 entry-level workstation based on the M3
• 2008 Kaossilator Dynamic phrase synthesizer and loop recorder
• 2009 Microkorg XL Compact synthesizer and vocoder, new edition of the Microkorg, release of the SV1 Stage Vintage 1
• 2010 Kaossilator Pro Revision of the Kaossilator, similar to the KP3
• 2010 Monotron Analog Ribbon Synthesizer Pocket Synthesizer
• 2011 Kaoss Quad Pad effect unit, 4-fold effect control at the same time, looper
• 2011 microPiano Small piano keyboard with grand piano and battery operation
• 2011 Nano2 series Successor and revision of the Nano series, PC controller
• 2011 Oriental Wavedrum Wavedrum with oriental sounds and percussions
• 2011 Pa3x Pro Professional Arranger Workstation
• 2011 Pa3x Pro Musikant Edition with German drums, rhythms and sounds
• 2011 KRONOS Workstation
• 2012 KRONOS X Workstation
• 2012 KROME Workstation
• 2013 KROSS Workstation
• 2013 King Korg (Analog Modeling Synthesizer), Korg MS-20 Mini
• 2013 Volca Keys (Analogue Loop Synth)
• 2013 Volca Bass (Analogue Bass Machine)
• 2013 Volca Beats (Analogue/Digital Rhythm Machine)
• 2014 Volca Sample (Digital Sample Player)
• 2015 KRONOS 2 Workstation
• 2015 Pa4X+ Pa4X musician (workstation)
• 2015 Korg Electribe Sampler (Music Production Station)
• 2015 Korg Electribe (Music Production Station)
• 2016 Volca FM (digital FM synthesizer)
• 2016 Volca Kick (analog bass drum synthesizer)
• 2017 Kross 2 Workstation
• 2017 Pa1000 Professional Arranger
• 2019 KROME EX Workstation
• 2019 Volca Drum
• 2019 Volca Modular
• 2020 Volca Sample 2 (Digital Sample Player)
• 2021 Nautilus Workstation
• 2022 Pa5X+ Pa5X musician (workstation)