1977 Korg PS-3100 Analog Semi-Modular Synthesizer Part 1

[master3000gt]

where i can found intro song in better quality?



[theonepoet]

This is like watching an old doctor who episode... :S

[gridsleep]

Stunningly beautiful sounds.  So pure and clear, it's like a mountain stream turned into music. With a separate signal path for each key, there can be few if any other keyboards that sound like this.

[AutomaticGainsay]

@gridsleep Absolutely... VERY unique design, very unique synth!

[lownrgy]

i would never had money to buy ps-31000, but instead got dv800 + trident mkI which makes nice combination of old korginess, has ring mods, ensembles, vcfs.. im happy, but would swap anytime for this beast!!

[AutomaticGainsay]

@lownrgy This is probably my second favorite polyphonic in the world, but I've ALWAYS wanted a DV800!

[YoussefFishere]

Does this have loop/delay?

[AutomaticGainsay]

@YoussefFishere I'm afraid not.

[shrogg2]

Any ideas on how to fix the keyboard on one of these?

Because i picked one up for $10 NZD at a garage sale, but sadly i get no feedback from the keyboard.

Cheers

[AutomaticGainsay]

@shrogg2 Oh my GOD. There's a good chance the contacts are just dirty. If it's not that, there's the possibility that the keyboard has become disconnected from its card internally. If not that, there's the possibility that the connector for the card that the keyboard connects to is broken, as the connectors age and break in PS-3100s. No matter which of those it is, or whatever it is, for that price, you should be ECSTATICALLY HAPPY, even if you have to pay two thousand NZD to get it running.

[shrogg2]

@AutomaticGainsay Yeah, and i originally brought it for the keyborad, (i was going to root it for parts) but then i googled it...

[AutomaticGainsay]

@shrogg2 I don't own mine anymore, alas... but it's the one synth I've ever sold that I probably regret selling! Get it fixed and hold on to it for awhile... I guarantee it'll still appreciate in value, if you didn't want to use it. If you do want to use it, it is a fantastically unique and interesting sounding synth!

[ultimatenerd22]

ok, one question, is the two ports that say controller midi?

[AutomaticGainsay]

@ultimatenerd22 While they are five-pin jacks, those ports are not MIDI, alas!

[ProbTron]

I think it sounds absolutely wanna have :)

I could do awesome things with this Korg.

Thanks for the demo.

[doom705]

like the sound of my moog better. but i love ur modular synth . nice song to :)

[AutomaticGainsay]

@doom705 The PS is quite distant from a Moog sound, it's true!

[InsertName125]

@AutomaticGainsay No it isn't.

[AutomaticGainsay]

@InsertName125 Okay.

[InsertName125]

@AutomaticGainsay I'm sorry. Did you sign up for the 5 minute or the 1/2 hour argument?

[AutomaticGainsay]

@InsertName125 No, it ISN'T!

[InsertName125]

@AutomaticGainsay Yes it IS!

[UTUBESUCK666]

Somehow, reminiscent of the commodore 64 SID chip!

[petersedin]

haha..nice music! 

[AutomaticGainsay]

@petersedin Thanks! 100% PS-3100!

[HolyKatana]

I wish I lived next door to you. So many synths.

[Mikemaniax]

That kinda reminds me of "The Boy In The Plastic Bubble" by Paul Simon

[plungerdrum]

What's the name of that theme music?

[AutomaticGainsay]

@plungerdrum I think I gave it some embarrassing title like "PS-3100 Jam," or something.

[plungerdrum]

@AutomaticGainsay Well, embarrassing title or not, I think it's pretty groovy.

[AutomaticGainsay]

@plungerdrum Thank you! I'm quite fond of it, too. I worked very hard to come up with sounds which demonstrate what the synth can do.

[plungerdrum]

@AutomaticGainsay There's a synthesizer place I go to that I just love. It's where I got my Odyssey and Axxe. The guy there has an all original PS-3100, plus, I'm pretty sure he has a PS-3200 as well! The thing is, they need work, but he's going to fix them up so he can sell them.

[illuminatijews]

@plungerdrum

is there anywhere i can download that song ?

[snowboarder7791]

4:06 remiends me of atari 2600

[jtruns]

@snowboarder7791 instantly amde me think of River Raid

[FierceMerv]

I used my Arp Odyssey combined with an old 70's Echoplex to cover "last christmas" if you wanna check it out just google parenthetical girls "last christmas" There's this really cool Odyssey swoon at the end of the song.

[FierceMerv]

What a shame. How much did you let it go for? May I ask Why?

[FierceMerv]

I own an Arp Odyssey MK-II. I bought it about 9 years ago on Ebay. I got it with a flight case for $750. I see that they now go for about 2 grand. I'm wondering how much one of these goes for and what the appreciation has been since you bought yours. Thanks!

[AutomaticGainsay]

@FierceMerv I no longer have it, and do not know what they're currently worth!

[FierceMerv]

@AutomaticGainsay What a shame. How much did you let it go for? And if you don't mind answering, why?

[HolyKatana]

@FierceMerv You got an Odyssey MK-II for $750? Damn.

[z3z4z3z4z3z4z3z4]

ta soando super bem.

Mas e apenas nessa composiçao?

se for maninho, quero um desse !

[chandin69]

which bands used this?

in what songs?

[Desmaad]

Fully polyphonic _and_ patchable! I bet his fellow engineers thought he was out of his gourd!

[anoteoftruth]

amazing. I wish Korg were still making quality synth's like this.

[thrcman]

@anoteoftruth: I agree. Mostly what comes out of Korg and Roland nowadays is digital plastic that makes/process sounds. Shame.

[douro20]

Do you have a CD-quality WAV file of that intro music?

[destruktobot]

I don't know if it's just the lighting in your space, but it looks like you've put different colored LEDs in it - I got the same impression from your Mono/Poly video. Is this just a trick of the camera?

[douro20]

I believe he partially rebuilt this synthesizer.

[douro20]

And the perceived LED color change is just a camera artifact.

[destruktobot]

Ah, well - thanks!

[tuscanod2]

Yes sir, my keyboard player had one of these (in the late 70s, mind ya!) and the Korgs' oscillators were actually more stable than either my ARP's(Avatar) or my Moog (Taurus), even though either one had a fatter sound. A little signal processing fixes that .Very good educational piece here and thanks for providing it, Great job !

[n01special05]

I saw this video about a year ago and still I catch myself singing aloud the little intro bass part and recreating (trying) it on my modest novation x-station. Hopefully when I'm out of grad school I can afford a true analog synth. Cheers!

[coledeluxe]

Drooooooooooooooooooooool. I need this to live. Fuck Oxygen.

[ShadowOrin]

I like that it has a 8bit sound like the old NES

[AutomaticGainsay]

This can do a great deal more than the NES. If the sound reminds you of the NES, it's just that you don't remember when the NES came out and we all said, "listen to how poorly it tries to sound like great synthesizers." ; )

[douro20]

I like how they made it so you don't have to tear the machine down to tune it.

[douro20]

Sounds like this would be a perfect synthesizer for producing electric-piano-like sounds...

[TB303CC]

Damn I still love that theme song at the beginning:)

[AutomaticGainsay]

Thanks!

[SQUARENOISE]

the love mascine

[sleestack808]

When you play the synth from a monophonic CV gate source can you play poly sounds like strings and stuff? With a long release. Or does it ac like a?

monosynth

Thanks

[AutomaticGainsay]

You can't play the synth from a monophonic CV source. It is divide down. Each note has its own fixed oscillator (well, divider, but same outcome).

[sleestack808]

so you......have to .........play it?

[AutomaticGainsay]

ha ha ha yep

[thrcman]

God I love retro Korg stuff far more than retro Moog. It has its very own special sound that sounds similar to no synth ive ever played.

[undemanding]

Used to play this fantastic machine. I used to write down all the settings so I could duplicate the sound, which took the most time...

[skylerstupid]

goddamn that oscillator sounds fucking incredible

[beatmania3rdmix]

I found what synthesizer Akira Yamaoka uses!

[AutomaticGainsay]

Why?

[djsmithy]

Probably the water bassline, i think its funny though!

[fionnion]

agreed

[blue280z]

Most organic sounding synth I ever had the pleasure to repair.

[stewielad]

hours of fun

[southtrunk]

too bad there is only ONE oscillator! not much fun without at least two,,,

[AutomaticGainsay]

It depends on what you're doing... but this notion that no synth is good or fun without two oscs is just patently false. You only need two oscs to create detuning in most synths. Would the PS-3100 be more fun with two oscs? Sure... but it is plenty of fun and completely usable with one. The theme you hear is 100% PS-3100. Does it sound like it needs another osc? : )

[djsmithy]

Thats so true,

theres too many synths out there with lots of weak osc's that need to be detuned just to get a *cough* "fat" sound, where as a classic like this sounds fat with just one.

[myrmur]

Roland Jupiter 4 say: "Yeah! You're right!"

:-)

[xxsmokeymcpotxx]

If you still have this synth, I think you should do a video similar to the ones you're doing with the MS-20, exploring the patch panel and so on.

[bigjoescientist]

What a wonderful machine!

[Strekmann]

Wow.. thats like... amazing!

[hoodgang7]

AMAZING! Plus, I think I recognize some of these sounds from Daft Punk's, "Discovery"

[thankyousomuchfolks]

nice funky tune!

[AutomaticGainsay]

Thanks!

[thankyousomuchfolks]

swing beat!

[DennisBastian]

Wow, i honestly think this must be the coolest synth ever! Does anyone know how this compares to an MS20?

[AutomaticGainsay]

It is so completely different from the MS-20. It's Korg, semi-modular, and has a similar design scheme... but those are pretty much the only similarities. The sound and functionality are quite different.

[DennisBastian]

Ok cool. Someone once told me that the ms20 was pretty much a monophonic version of this one, guess he didnt know what he was talking about. Anyway, great sounding and looking piece of hardware, consider yourself a lucky man ;)

[AutomaticGainsay]

The PS doesn't have a highpass filter, and the oscillators used in divide-down synths like this one sound quite different from those used in monos like the MS-20. Those things plus different functionality lead to quite a different sound. I'm not a lucky many anymore, I sold mine!

[Enigmaticland]

Vintage synths will always RULE no matter how much software ones exist or how good they could be!

[Tyler11440]

wow imagine if that thing broke somehow, you would have a load of free potentiometers and switches omg

[AutomaticGainsay]

Yeah, and if a Triton broke, you'd have a lot of free PCBs... and if software "broke" you'd have nothing.

[atlanticus]

this 'machinery' can be completelly replaced by single cheap notebook these days, analog soft synths ftw

[AutomaticGainsay]

Oh, absolutely. Wood can be replaced by chipboard with decals. Handcarved wood ornamentation can be replaced with molded resin. Painting can be faked with software, too. In fact, writing, performing, engineering and production can all be easily faked with software. Welcome to the Garage Band era. If you think "replacement" is occurring, it merely demonstrates that you are unaware of the value of quality and craftsmanship.

[atlanticus]

I see, you are some kind of collector of these. Sound of this relic-wooden-buzzer is very basic, shallow and not-fat to be gentle to that thing and btw, Wiki 'Korg' it is not even an American company, man.

[haaxeboys]

Thank god KORG is not american! Americans would have never made such a perfect machine cuz they are stupid and shortminded like you atlanticus. The Japanese know how to make legendary machines like no other!!!

[clubdore]

lool

[dolofonos]

Japanese engineering has always depended on their skill in the imitation of Western inventions; I don't know what you're talking about, haaxeboys.

[xxsmokeymcpotxx]

While that is true in some respects, namely how they got their start is computing and electronics, but when it comes to synthesizers, what what the American equivalent of of the Yamaha CS-80? The Roland SH series?

[dolofonos]

Well, I suppose I just would like to say that American electronics (at least with synths) aren't so much junk as as they are simply a market not so well pursued as by the Japanese--the niche is somewhat filled. Don't get me wrong, I always look eagerly for the 'made in Japan' stamp on products but it's more out of avoiding the mark of any other Asian country. Roland is actually a Japanese company, by the way; but in the world of organs and pianos don't forget Baldwin and others!

[groundhog713]

the Oberheim OB-X is the US equivalent of the CS80.....

[xxsmokeymcpotxx]

Nowhere NEAR. No velocity, and no polyphonic aftertouch. Not a tenth of the expression of a CS-80, which is the whole point to getting one. Also, it doesn't touch all the features on CS, either.

[Tyler11440]

so true, nothing compares to the real thing, but a lot of the time software is very cheap in comparison to the real thing.

[AutomaticGainsay]

Uh, yeah... and broken glass is WAY cheaper than diamonds... ; )

[Thalassa77]

Hello , I've posted the video on switchedonsynthesizer.blogspot dotcom.

[entertheredfox]

how would you get your hands on one of these?

[shipdip666]

oh man what is this song!! frickin rules

[AutomaticGainsay]

Thanks!  It's a song I recorded using only the PS-3100 in order to demonstrate its sound.

[destruktobot]

Thanks for this, Automatic Gainsay. As you noted, there are very few examples of this PS series in action, and I appreciate the thorough demonstration. You've done analogue fans a service with this.

[AutomaticGainsay]

Thank you, and thank you for watching!

[lobot666]

After listening to this clip I realize how many of these sounds were used for early 80's video games sound effects. Thanks for posting this!

[int3kk]

not really, all the 80's video games tunes and sounds were made with a SID (sound interface device) this has only 1 oscilator and sounded very cool, there's a tracker for game boy, it's called LSDJ, search it in google

[Dothackfreak11]

haha yea cuz in the 80's they could put recorded music in videogames

bahaha

[lobot666]

oh no i angered a nerd!

[Heyde1979]

awsome classic synthesizer

[mospotski]

that triangle is amazing

[Amishman35]

Play Comic Bakery! This is an awesome SID sounding synth.

[jessefreelance]

just got one of these, it is incredible, this video helps sooo much, a huge thankkss

[AutomaticGainsay]

I'm glad it's helpful! Enjoy your PS!

[zeit23geist]

wish Arturia would do an emulation of this!

[uglyguido]

thanks for putting this up here, I'm reading Sound Synthesis and Sampling by Martin Russ and I've never seen one of these before.

[kennykeyboard]

I had one of those back in the late 80's when they were less than $500 a pop. It was definately a keyboard player's synth with the ability to tweak whilst comping. I liked the PWM patched on the wheel to emphasize a phrase. So many different things could be done, though. I wanted an extra set of oscillators so I ditched it in favor of a polymoog which crashed and burned. Live and learn.

[turfguy87]

good lord you need a phd for that thing

very cool future from the 70's; I think this is where they got alot of 80's video game music & sound effects from... glad you kept this thing alive!

[drphonic7]

I have one exactly like this. I don't suppose you have a manual do you?

[AutomaticGainsay]

I think Ben Ward's site might! Search for PS-3100 Ben Ward on Google. What are you looking to do?

[drphonic7]

Killer! Thanks. I've never had that much luck with the patches & wouldn't mind checking out the manual for help - mainIy to manipulate a saxophone. Mine definitely doesn't look like it's in as good condition as yours.

[ratsouffle]

What's the polyphony on this?

[ratsouffle]

Just looked it up, WOW. 48 voice of polyphony for 48 keys. That's INSANE.

[JohnsySHR]

this is one for the synth enthusiast with taste! :)

[gercek03]

oooo yeeaaaa

hahaha

[ursamage]

A REAL hands-on synth. Another reason why I love analog synths.

[Thirit]

awesome! :D i love it

i love analog music is pure!

[aussie1981]

wow sounds like an atari game. awesome lol

[KeithPhillips]

Hey AG I saw that you got an ARP2600 on VintageSynth, can you PLEASE make a video of that for us here? :D

[AutomaticGainsay]

Hey, Keith. You got it! It'll take awhile, though.  I have to learn it. It's going to take more than one video... there is simply too much functionality! But, it's in the works.

[KeithPhillips]

Thanks a lot man, really appreciate it, the more video parts the better. ;) I probably will never have an ARP 2600 myself, so your vid(s) will have to do. :D May get a few Doepfer modules though! :))) I like these PS-3100 vids; I didn't expect that synth to be so good for the 70s...kinda like how the Mono-Poly was a bit ahead of its time too.

[myleftnutts]

U know Keith ya could be "Wrong" bout that! consider this

could ya ever accept a "2600" Clone,and i don"t mean

virtual?.Analog and some digital functions.ya think ya could

handle that Keith?.

[sabbath994]

didnt john paul jones of zeppelin use one of these?

[groundhog713]

Yep...

[MATTHEWFLANAGAN]

lovely!

[Brandotuomikoski]

You Sure can have fun with these!

[Jrayk1]

Is there any interesting history behind this synth?

[TB303CC]

When will your CD be finished? :) Really looking forward to it!

[rrbeats2004]

this is incredible,this groove is unheard,im going to do some serious research on synths after hearing this

[petrokemikal]

thats super friend..big fan of your contributions.. how do you think this stands against your sonic six and monopoly..

[AutomaticGainsay]

This will forever be my second favourite synth. It's quite different from the Sonic Six or Monopoly. I would take it over both, but not because it's necessarily better... they serve different functions, really... but because this synthesizer has a sound I truly love.

[CassetteMaster]

Awesome piece of equipment!

[TB303CC]

Too bad this is history, almost unbelieveable:(

All that crap digital noise today means nothing, these machines have a soul!

[AutomaticGainsay]

It's funny how these instruments were considered clinical and soulless in their time... but in comparison to computerized instruments and software, performing on one of these today is like playing a violin!

[moonlitesymphony]

I feel like analog is performance oriented and computerization is more composition oriented.

[TB303CC]

The tune at the beginning of the vid got my hair straight up and it won't come down for the next two hours... What a beauty! Let me know when your album is ready!

[AutomaticGainsay]

Thank you very much! : )

[spikegr12345]

i like it!~

[mesmoland]

I had an Ms-10 and ms-20 which I whish I still had (for me the best was the pwm on the ms-10)the sounds on your PS-3100 are definatley realated.

[vvaaddiimm]

hehe i love it :) excellent vibes, lots of memories coming to my mind.

[vvaaddiimm]

so you're the composer of the melody at the beginning?

[AutomaticGainsay]

Yes... the music is multitracked, but performed on the PS-3100 in real time.

All of my synthesizer videos feature my music. : )

[fibibullshitfuckyou]

I would realy like to hear a PS-3300. When do you gonna by it?

[AutomaticGainsay]

Immediately upon the moment where I get about $10,000.00, AND one becomes available. ; )

[sprintbass]

my dad at one tiume had 2 arp 2600's these old things are fantastic and alot of fun to play with and come up with things, but my god did theyhave thier share of problems too...still, its funny to see people like nord lead around, people just got to have thier buttons and knobs, and who could blme them!:) thanks for posting this this is fantastic in showing people some history

D

[AutomaticGainsay]

Yes, I once paid $585 for a repair on this device. Wow... TWO 2600s? I actually envy that. : )

Yes, it's knobs and sliders or nothing, for me. It's either a computer, or a synthesizer. : )

[petercsololo]

like sittin in a cockpit from a plane^^ cool tough

[pulsekreator303]

I envy you. Indeed a rare find nowdays and very costly when available. Thanks for the demo!

[AutomaticGainsay]

Thank you!

[AnotherUsersAccount]

I would love one of these!

[acousvnt]

Any reason you did this one like a mime with subtitles?

[AutomaticGainsay]

LOL! Well, it certainly wasn't to pay homage to mimes. There was originally a narrative track, but it didn't record well, so I cut it out and added the subtitles. I tried to convince myself it would be better for an international crowd... but I've since unconvinced myself. : )

[Trance88]

Freaky and funky tones!

[LedZepTheWho]

no digital can ever do this...

[lupytron]

un sinte maravilloso..polifonico y semimodular,que mas se puede pedir.Es un mounstro

[alchemyx]

amazing

it reminds me playing with sid on c64. but not as 1/100 good as that synthesiser :)

[jsiegers]

Wow, really nice demo on how different settings influence the sound. I never realized how two different sounds are just discriminated by a single setting.

[CoBHateCrew]

dude..that thing fucking rules...reminds me of nintendo theme songs and shit.....

[HabbibJamal]

Analog synths are great. I have an Oberheim OB-8 and I'm still finding new things to do with it.

[mungo23]

Hey, great vid! I have a korg 770 (mono) and its my first synth, I love it. Recently added a farfisa mini compact and blow all of these through a vintage fender champ tube amp. You ever thought of using this through a tube amp? I think its vital! Great sounds! Wild man! Lemme have a turn?

This is magnificent. I really appreciate what Aphex Twin is trying to do for Analog electrical music. It has a magical old world futuristic charm and dignity, that digital can NEVER conquer. Thank you for posting this magnificent film, we are all very honoured.