Korg M1
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| W × H × D (mm) | 1058 × 110 × 356 |
|---|---|
| Weight | 13.5 kg |
| Type | AI digital synthesizer music workstation keyboard |
| Keyboard | 61 keys |
| Manufacturer | Korg |
| Release date | 1988 |
| Parts | 8 |
| Max polyphony | 16 |
| Normal presets | 100 Programs** 100 Combinations** |
| Expansion | PCM DATA Slot PCM Card* (MSC) PROG/SEQ DATA Slot ROM Card* (MPC) MCR RAM Card |
| Effects | 2 Multieffects Systems (33 effects) |
| *Also includes third party cards. **Would be reduced to 50 Programs and 50 Combinations if 7700 notes worth of memory are allocated to the sequencer instead of 4400. |
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The Korg M1 is a 61-key digital synthesizer music workstation released in 1988. It's the first KORG synthesizer utilizing Korg's AI (Advanced Integrated) synthesis technology. It features 16 voice polyphony, 8 part multitimbrality with an 8-track sequencer to boot, presented all on a 2-line 40 character display.
The Korg M1 is one of the most successful and famous keyboards in history, with many of its sounds being hard to avoid in music in the late 80's and well into the 90's. Some famous sounds include Programs like Piano 16' or Organ 2 being very popular in the techno and house scene of the day.
Sound Generation
The Korg M1 introduces the Programs (PROG) and Combinations (COMBI), which are a sound organization system on many subsequent KORG synthesizers.
Programs are what make up the main preset sounds on Korg M1, being made of up to 2 multisound (waveform) oscillators, to which a combination is made up of multiple programs, which both can be processed over the dual stereo effects unit on the M1.
Programs have 3 oscillator modes:
- SINGLE - Single Oscillator
- DUAL - Dual Oscillator (brings down the maximum voice counts to 8)
- DRUM - allows for arranging multisounds across the keyboard as a drum kit.
Combinations have 4 types:
- Single - a single program as a combination.
- Layer - Layers 2 programs over each other.
- Velocity Switch - Allows for velocity to trigger 2 different programs.
- Multi - Effectively allows for full 8-part MIDI multitimbrality without the sequencer, letting any program to be assigned to any part and to any MIDI channel with adjustments being able to be made over MIDI. Most indepth COMBI mode of the 4.
Variants
Korg M1R
The KORG M1R is a 2U rackmounted version of the KORG M1, maintaining all of the utility and specs of the M1 rearranged for the new form factor.
Korg M1EX/M1REX
The KORG M1EX is an expanded variation of the M1 with a doubled waverom size and a different set of presets making use of them (coming from the KORG T-series). There were also firmware expansion kits for upgrading M1s/M1Rs to become these expanded versions.
Korg M3R
The KORG M3R is a scaled down 1U rackmount version of the M1 released in 1989, having a smaller waverom and only 1-oscillator Programs, and presents that on a smaller 16 character 1 line display, released to the likes of other 1U budget modules like the Roland U-220 or E-MU Proteus/1 at the time. This module was also released with a programming/remote editor unit called the KORG RE-1.
Korg M1 VSTi
The Korg M1 VSTi is a VST instrument plugin of the Korg M1 that was released in 2005 in the digital version of the "KORG Legacy Collection" software bundle. It reproduces the M1 synthesizer system, but introduces many upgrades such as:
- 256 Voice Polyphony
- Resonance Filter & VDA MG (Modulation)
- All of the MPC/MSC ROM cards, and T-series sounds are built in as presets, as well as having a unique bank of 100 programs and another for 50 combinations made for the VST.
- In Combi mode, every one of the 8 parts supports its own 2 effect inserts (which means programs loaded in a combination don't have their effects compromised), on top of the original pair of effects for processing the whole combination, making the M1 VST support up to 18 effect inserts.
- The VST has 8 Stereo outputs (as opposed to the original M1's 2).
The M1 VST received an update in 2020 adding a modern scalable higher resolution GUI, calling the plugin "M1 V2" and is still sold as part of their "Korg Collection" software bundle.