Korg 01/Wpro digital synthesizer, 1991. Serial number 00027.

Japanese company Korg was founded in 1962, as Keio Electronic Laboratories, and produced the first synthesizer in the country, the miniKorg, in 1973. Korg is now one of the largest manufacturers of Electronic instruments and processors. The 01/W was produced between 1991-1995 (the serial number of this one suggests the earlier date). It introduced a novel feature called "Waveshaping", whereby each sample value was run through a non-linear function, producing new harmonics, similar to the way an analogue valve amplifier distorts sound, with 59 different waveshapes available to transform/distort sounds. This feature aimed to overcome the perceived ‘generic’ sound of digital PCM-sampled sounds, thus giving the sounds produced by the 01/W more character and individuality.

It also had an internal floppy disc drive capable of loading and storing sequencer data and program patches.

The 01/W is a relatively early example of a synthesizer workstation, combining synthesis, sampling, sequencing and other functions for music production – making it both a concentual descendent of the Fairlight CMI already in our collections, and an ancestor of today’s digital audio workstions (which are on our wishlist for future collecting).

01/W users include Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks, Keith Emerson, Phil Collins, Jan Hammer, Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, Rod Argent, Dave Stewart, Moby, and Peter Gabriel.