Korg DS-8

DS-8
Manufacturer	KORG
Dates	1987
Price	$ 1400
Technical specifications
Polyphony	8
Oscillator	2
LFO	Triangle, Square, Sawtooth, Sine
Synthesis type	FM Synthesizer (2 operators)
Filter	1 per voice
Attenuator	ADSR Envelope
Aftertouch expression	Yes (monophonic)
Velocity expression	Yes
Storage memory	100 Programs and 10 Combinations
Effects	Manual Delay, Long Delay, Short Delay, Doubling, Phaser, Chorus, Portamento
Hardware	YM2164 (OPP)
Input/output
Keyboard	61-key
Left-hand control	Joystick
External control	MIDI

The Korg DS-8 is two oscillator digital FM synthesizer released by Korg in 1987 which used the FM synthesis engine.^[1][2]

Features[]

The DS-8 is 61 Keys in length, is velocity sensitive with aftertouch and stores up to 100 programs and 10 combinations in its internal memory. By using one of the optional non-volatile (but battery-powered) Korg RAM cards MCR-01, MCR-02, or MCR-03 this program memory can be expanded by extra programs and combinations: 100/10 for the MCR-01, 200/20 for the MCR-02, or 400/40 for the MCR-03. Programs can be backed up and received via standard MIDI dumps.

It features one joystick controller for bending pitch, timbre and modulation speed, one card slot for the aforementioned Korg RAM Cards, MIDI IN/OUT/THRU jacks, a damper pedal, assignable pedal, assignable switch, program up pedal, one balance slider, four keyboard modes (Single, Layer, Double and Multi) and two slider controls which indicate the ability to edit the two oscillators from fast to slow. The three editable banks shown on the right side of the board (Function, Voice Parameter and Combi Parameter) provide multiple ways in which the user can edit the programs, banks and patches.

At $1400 RRP the DS-8 was a revolutionary, cheap and affordable product for its time.

Notable users[]

• Rick Wakeman

References[]

Further reading[]

• "Korg DS8 Digital Synthesizer". Sound On Sound. March 1987. pp. 60–63. ISSN 0951-6816. OCLC 925234032.
• "Korg DS8 synthesizer". Music Technology. Vol. 1, no. 9. July 1987. p. 68. ISSN 0957-6606. OCLC 24835173.

External links[]

• Korg DS-8 Manual

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