Korg M1 Piano Samples
Remember that classic piano sound from 90′s house records? The ubiquitous Korg M1 Piano patch was the 90′s equivalent of the DX7′s EP patch or the Fairlight’s Orch5 stab.
A long time ago, a cohort on the KvR forum, a guy from Norwich by the name of Kriminal, sampled his M1 keyboard and made the piano patch available as a soundfont, I believe. Being an avid Akai user, I asked him if I could convert to the Akai S5/6000 and Z Series formats, to which he agreed. Those are still available here:
S5/6000 (16 bit)
Z Series (24 bit)
Today, Nick at SonicState.com put out a call for the M1 piano sound and he has converted them to EXS24 format and shared them accordingly:
So I thought I’d share the love too 
Thanks to Kriminal, Nick and of course Korg 
Little Boots – Live
The delectable Victoria Hesketh, aka Little Boots, performing “Remedy” on Later… with Jools Holland.
Note the Yamaha Tenori-On, MicroKorg XL, DSI Prophet 08 and Moog Little Phatty
Coldplay Studio clearout !!
Risking yet another deluge of idiots asking me if *I* still have these itmes for sale, I noticed that Coldplay are having a bit of a spring clean. Items include…
Emu SP1200
Roland SH-101
Pearl Syncussion SY1
Korg PolySix
Roland Jupiter6
LinnDrum LM-2
Oberheim Stretch DX
Korg MonoPoly
And just to remind anyone thinking of emailing me asking about these items and whether I still have them for sale or if I can ship to some Aussie backwater hick town, population 5, where the father is also the mother’s brother, I WILL hunt you down and rape you !! ;o)
The Yamaha Uber Synths
A recent thread on the Fusion forum prompted me to do this post.
The question in the thread was…
If you could have one more synth, and money was no object, what would it be? Your absolute fantasy synth in pristine condition. The one that haunts your dreams.
Of course, my initial response was the Fairlight CMI IIx. Without question.
However, I also hanker after the Yamaha Uber Synths.
Well, Yamaha never called them the “Uber Synths”. That’s just my description. So what are they ?
Well, there’s the GX-1, the EX-1 & the FX-1. Most people know the GX-1. It’s the big 3 manual analogue precursor to the CS-80. Emerson had two, Stevie Wonder also had 2 ! As big as a house and twice as expensive ! John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin had one aswell (although he sold his to Emerson).
So what’s so special about these big boys ?
Well, these were the indulgent test beds that future synths were derived from. It’s just that Yamaha actually released these for sale or use by the public, even if you had to be a rock superstar to be able to afford one. The original Korg OASYS…
…was a one off device, housed at KORG HQ, from which the Prophecy, Z1 and other MOSS (Multi-Oscillator Synthesis System) based instruments were derived. The eventual release of the OASYS synth 2 years ago was nothing like the original, fabled machine of the 90′s.
Yamaha released these three machines under their Electone brand. They were seen as niche, performance instruments, in the mould of theatre organs. The GX-1 was Yamaha’s major foray into the world of polyphonic analogue synthesis. The EX-1 was an extension of that, and the FX-1 was derived from the FM test bed. The CSDX…
…was also the first proper DX synth that eventually morped into the DX1.
So why do they hold so much fascination for me ? Well, I guess it’s the sheer size of these things. They represent that 70′s/80′s over indulgence that we don’t see anymore. It’s too risky and costly for a company to produce a behemoth of a synth merely to prove that they can. Nowadays, it’s all costed and modelled in a computer before a single part is constructed. In fact, most synths are now software based so the chances of seeing anything like this again are rare. True, the Korg OASYS is a throw back to that era, but we are unlikely to see more of the same.
So, indulge in these pictures and enjoy the links 
)
By the way, if anyone can tell me how to recreate the GX-1 string sound used by Stevie Wonder in Village Ghetto Land, from his seminal Songs In The Key Of Life album, in the Arturia CS-80V, or better still, provide me with the patch itself, I’d be most grateful )
You can watch Stevie playing his GX-1 in the Classic Albums episode on the afore mentioned album.
The GX-1
The EX-1
The FX-1
Jimmy & The YAMAHA FX-1 from Matrixsynth
GX-1 at Vintage Synth Explorer
A GX-1 that was for sale in Australia
An article on the GX-1 in Sound On Sound by Gordon Reid – Pt.1
An article on the GX-1 in Sound On Sound by Gordon Reid – Pt.2
(Gordon bought my old Godwin Symphony 849, fact fans !)
Prepare for a bizarre Oktoberfest !!!
Picture the scene….
You’re sat in a massive marquee, surrounded by strapping German dudes in Lederhosen, and equally strapping German lasses balancing 20 pints of finest German ale on their ample bussoms.
The “Oompah” band in the corner strike up a tune straight out of the heart of the Bavarian hills, when all of a sudden, young Uter, the accordian player, throws down his usual weapon of choice and picks up his newly modified……..
KORG PROPHECY !!!!!!!!
WTF ?!?!?!
The usual parping of wind over reeed is replaced by screaming analog models…..SCHMACK MEINE BITCH UP !!!!!!
This bizarre modification is currently selling on eBay in Austria here..
…and the description translates (with a little help from Babel Fish) as….
For Sale: Korg Prophecy in very good condition! The Synth is converted with a button system for Balkan musicians as well as Balkan music. The modification was accomplished by the well-known master Arsenijevic in Kragujevac. Connoisseurs will therefore know how good this is. Bag, as well as power cable included. Much fun guaranteed!
More pictures of this poor little Prophecy that should have never lived…!!
A more strange synth mod I doubt I’ll ever see ! Pisses on all those circuit benders efforts !! LOL ;o)
Some top Korg Prophecy noodling….
Found this on YouTube whilst viewing the Random Video’s on the right of this page.
His site features this and many other wierd and wonderful synths. Go visit !!
Korg Trident for sale
Ok, this is poper synth pr0n !
A gorgeous Korg Trident, in what seems to be showroom condition. More pics at the auction [LINK IN TITLE]
