Korg

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Korg
Korg

Korg

Korg Corporation is a Japanese corporation that manufactures electronic devices. All their producst are somehow music related. In the music world Korg is a respected brand


History

The comapny was founded in 1962 in Japan by Tsutomu Kato and Tadashi Osanai. Korg was originally named "Keio Electronic Laboratories". The company's first produced was released in 1963. It was an electro-mechanical rhtyhm device alled the Disc Rotary Electric Ayto Rythm machine Donca matic DA-20 . The succes made Korg release more rythm machines in 1966. In 1976, Kato (director in these days) was approached by Fumio Mieda, an engineer with a dream of building keyboards. Impressed with his tnrhusiasm, Kato asked him to make a prototype. Mieda did this, and 18 months after the requist he came back to Korg to show his product. Korg (still called Keio back then) sold the keyboard udner their name and then combined the name organ with the name Keio, this is how the name Korg is born Their organ products were succesfull between the '60s and the late 70's. Korg became concerned about the competition from other manufacturers and Kato decided to use the technology in their organs to make a synthesizer. Their first synthesizer, the MinKorg, was released in 1973. It was a succes and Keio kept producing new synthesizers. They also branched out into the music recording and electric effects market with succes.
Yamaha Corportaion has always been a major Korg partner, doing their suplies. Yamaha showed more and more intrest in Korg's stock. After some time Yamaha amicable took over Korg. Kato could still work with his comapanie independetly and made more succesful years. After five years Kato had enough money to rebuy most of yamaha's shares back in 1993.

MicroKorg
MicroKorg

Timeline of Products

1963 - Donca-Matic DA-20
1966 - Donca-Matic DE-20
1973 - Korg Mini-Korg 700
1975 - Korg WT-10: World's first hand-held electronic tuner
1975 - Korg Maxi-Korg 800DV
1977 - Korg PS-3100, PS-3200, PS-3300
1978 - Korg MS-10/MS-20
1978 - Korg VC-10 Vocoder
1979 - Korg m500 Micro Preset
1980 - Korg Mono/Poly
1981 - Korg Polysix
1983 - Korg Poly-61: The successor of the Polysix with digitally-controlled analog oscillators; Korg's first "knobless" synthesizer
1983 - Korg Poly-800: First fully programmable synthesizer that sold for less than $1000, notable for using digitally-controlled analog oscillators and sharing a single filter for all 8 voices
1983 - Korg SAS-20: The SAS-20 was Korg’s first arranger keyboard. A built-in computer analyzed the melody played on the keyboard, and generated a complex accompaniment. This was the world’s first auto-accompaniment function of this kind added to a keyboard. Also, a more traditional chord recognition system was included.
1985 - Korg DW-8000: 8-voice polyphonic, user selected two digital waveforms out of 16 total. Used an analog filter.
1985 - SuperDrums and SuperPercussion: Low-cost digital drum machines
1986 - Korg DSS-1: Sampling keyboard with additive synthesis, waveform drawing and effects, with some similarities to the DW8000
1988 - Korg M1: PCM rompler with built-in effects and sequencer, the M1 introduced many to the concept of a Music Workstation, a keyboard that could handle live performance, MIDI, sequencing, expandable sound banks, effects, and more in a single package.
1989 - Korg T series (T1/T2/T3): Some improvements over the M1 with added features.
1990 - Korg Wavestation: Vector synthesis and Wave Sequencing
1991 - Korg O1/W: PCM rompler with more waveforms and effects than the M1
1991 - Korg Wavestation EX
1991 - Korg Wavestation A/D
1992 - Korg Wavestation SR
1993 - Korg X3 / Korg X2 / Korg X3R: Music Workstation
1993 - Korg i3 Interactive Music Workstation
1994 - Korg X5
1994 - Korg i2: Korg introduced the i2, an i3 "on-steroids" with a 76-note keyboard and a new Piano sound.
1995 - Korg i1: In 1995 a further improved version of i3 was introduced: the Korg i1, that included an 88-note weighted keyboard, a huge piano sample, and built-in speakers. Other features were similar to the i3, even if new styles were added.
1995 - Korg i4S: The i4S (where "S" stays for "Speakers"). This keyboard was something like an i3 with speakers, but with a smaller feature set.
1995 - Korg i5S: The i5S was a scaled-down version of the i4S, with a plastic chassis and a reduced set of features. Some new sounds and styles were added.
1995 - Korg i5M: A module called i5M was also introduced, with specifications similar to the i5S, but with no amplification and, obviously, no keyboard and joystick. This product was really appreciated by accordionists, happy to discover at its heart some added traditional styles and sounds (shared with the i5S).
1995 - Korg ih: In 1995, singers also welcomed the "ih Interactive Vocal Harmony", that allowed for creation of vocal harmonizations, starting from chords played live in Style mode, or recorded in a Song's track. This unit is still a best-seller on the second-hand market, thanks to its excellent price/quality ratio.
1996 - Korg Prophecy: One of the first successful virtual analog synthesizers
1996 - Korg Trinity: The most important workstation release since the M1 almost 10 years earlier.
1996 - Korg N364/264: Introduced RPPR
1996 - Korg X5D
1997 - Korg Z1: Providing a new technology: MOSS (Multi-Oscillator Synthesis System)
1997 - Korg iX300: The iX300 Interactive Music Workstation was introduced, back to a unit without speakers but offering new sounds and more than 100 styles.
1998 - Korg iS40: iS40 included new sounds (among them, a gorgeous stereo piano sample), new styles (128), and several new features. One of the most appreciated new features, Keyboard Sets, allowed for immediate recalling of keyboard track settings.
1998 - Korg iS50: iS50 was the low cost version of iS40, lacking just a minor number of features from its bigger sibling.
1998 - Korg i30: The i30 Interactive Music Workstation was introduced, claiming to be the first arranger featuring a Touch Screen Display. This model was speakerless, 64 notes of polyphony, and included some more sounds compared to the iS40.
1999 - Korg Triton
1999 - Korg Kaoss Pad, Electribe dance synthesizers
1999 - Korg i40M: Korg introduced a successor to the i5M: the i40M module. Specifications were similar to the iS40 (obviously, with no keyboard or joystick), but included a Vocal Harmonizer as standard. Furthermore, the module included 3 different pre-programmed MIDI setups, to make connection with various accordions even easier.
1999 - Korg iS35: iS35 was a new version of the iS40, featuring the same specifications, and adding a Vocal Harmonizer as standard.
1999 - Korg iS50B: iS50B boasted the same specs as the iS50, but in a Dark Blue chassis.
2000 - Korg MS-2000
2000 - Korg Pa80: A new range of arranger from Korg was introduced in year 2000: the Pa Series. Pa80 was the first model introduced in December 2000 with a stunning sound inherited from our award-winning Triton, a wide selection of highly-musical Styles made by some of the best musicians in the world, a Multitasking Operating System and a revolutionary Dual Sequencer design. This new keyboard will bring the benefits of Korg's stunning songwriting and music production/performance to a whole new generation of musicians.
2000 - Korg Pa60: The new Pa60 Professional Arranger was introduced. Apart from fewer features like sampling and Harmony Board compatibility, it is same instrument as the "top-of-the-range" Pa80.
2001 - Korg KARMA featuring a form of arpeggiator more elastic and musical than previous forms
2001 - Korg Triton Studio featuring an onboard cdr drive
2002 - Korg MicroKorg: A portable version of the MS-2000 synthesizer
2002 - Korg Triton LE
2003 - Korg Pa1X Pro: During this year, a new line of professional arrangers debuted, starting from the flagship - the Pa1X Pro Professional Arranger. Including some ot the most advanced technologies available in the musical instrument world, it marked the return of Korg to the speakerless, studio-oriented interactive composer type of arrangers. It also marked the beginning of a factive cooperation with the renowned studio gear manufacturer TC-Electronic.
2003 - Korg MS-2000B: new version of the MS-2000 synthesizer with updated sound set, black metallic color scheme and dedicated vocoder mic; Korg MS-2000BR: rack-mount version
2003 - Korg microKONTROL: portable MIDI keyboard controller
2004 - Korg Legacy Collection: Includes software emulations of three famous Korg synthesizers: the MS-20, Polysix, and the Wavestation
2004 - Korg Pa1X: Short after the launch of the Pa1X Pro, the Pa1X Professional Arrangers was introduced. This is the speaker-fitted, shorter-scale version of the Pa1X.
2004 - Korg Pa50: After the top-of-the line, ultra-luxury Pa1X Pro, Korg release its most inexpensive arranger ever - the Pa50 Professional Arrangers. Despite the low purchasing price, it boasted most of the same features of the revered Pa60, making it a true bargain.
2004 - Korg Triton Extreme: An updated version of the Triton is released to a highly-anticipating public. It boasts many new features. Most notable is the Valve Force circuity, or, the integration of a 12AU7 tube into the workstation. Nicknamed "Russian Bullet," these tubes are rumored to last a minimum of 10 years. Another notable feature is the drastically increased ROM size: 160 MB, featuring 32 megs of all new acoustic samples.
2005 - Korg Oasys (Open Architecture Synthesis Studio workstation)
2006 - Korg TR: enhanced Triton Le music workstation
2006 - Korg Radias massive re-tooling of the Korg MS-2000B analog-style synthesizer
2006 - Korg PadKontrol drum-trigger style MIDI controller
2006 - Korg Kaoss Pad 3
2006 - Korg MicroX compact X50, half sounds from the TR, half new, with the X50's software capability
2006 - Korg X50 a stripped-down Korg TR with no sequencer but a software-linking editor librarian
2006 - Korg Pa 800 Successor of the awardwinning Pa 80 but boasted with features like in the Pa1X Pro
2007 - Korg M3 newest flagship workstation, diverging from the famous Korg Triton line, often called a "mini-Korg Oasys"
2007 - Korg R3 updated MicroKorg with Radias technology
2007 - Korg mini-KP - At 4.25" x 4.5", this smallest installment of the KAOSS series products packs all the punch of it's larger brethren and offers both battery and AC power.
2007 - Korg ZERO Mixers - Console style (Zero8) and DJ style (Zero4) mixers. Each incorporate a multi-channel FireWire audio interface and full DSP with a customizable MIDI control surface. Interfacing and performing with all types of software become seamless. Both mixers have received Traktor Scratch Certification.
2007 - Korg KM Mixers - KM202 and KM402 are Korg's 2 and 4 channel DJ Mixers. They feature the full Korg MiniKP interface and effects, which can be applied to selected channels. 8 different EQ models (including full cut isolator), selectable by a large dial on the panel, are another unique offering.
2007 - Korg Kaossilator - Extremely compact dynamic phrase synthesizer which features 100 programs including acoustic, percussion, and electronic sounds, a gate arpeggiator, 31 scale types ranging from Chromatic and Blues to Egyptian and Gypsy, and an 8 layer 8-step sequencer for producing loop-based music.

©copyright note: this list isn't written by the writer of this wiki, but by the writer of This wiki.
The Toneworks products are not in this list due to low on information.