Korg M1

The Korg M1 is a digital synth that has been around for a long time. It has very good on board sounds and some of them I still use to this day. I really don’t pull it out much but when I do get this board out and plug it up and get right to work with these old school type of sounds. Most of them where used in music 10 plus years ago but I still love the way they sound.


UTILIZATION

Its very easy to use and navigate on this board, but I was having some issues with the sequencing on this board. A lot of people don’t like the sequencing on this board at all. Its not very good, reminds me of a sequencer that would have come on a cheap keyboard back in the 90’s. But this is not a cheap keyboard by any means, actually when it first came out it was consider a very high class board and most people couldn’t afford it. But now you can find them on eBay for pretty cheap.


SOUNDS

Sounds are great, not as good as the sounds on the M2 or M3 but still good. The good thing is if you have used all of the M line series you can really see how the keep progressing with the boards. So the Korg M’s will be a brand of boards that I will always use and purchase. With the M1 you really don’t have as much control over you sounds as you do on the M2 or M3. Seems like they just didn’t have the on board technology when they created this board to do what you can do with the next versions of it.


OVERALL OPINION

Overall, great board. Buy one used and you will love it and use it a lot then you will probably put it on ice for a while and not use it because you will run out of sounds or get board with the old school type of presets. But you will still pull it out from time to time and have a heck of a time.

The Korg M1 is a board that has been used all over the world and still is used today even though it’s the old model of the M versions from Korg. The M1 has great control with the pitch bend and modulations not to mention card slots and expansions. You don’t have expansions too much on other boards such as this one.

UTILIZATION

Great board, sequencing isn’t anything spectacular just the basics and you probably wont like it too much like most people. I suggest upgrading to the most recent korg board because it puts this one to shame.

SOUNDS

Sounds pretty good, Korg always keeps good solid soundsets when they come out with a board or module. At first glance with this board you will be blown away by some of the synths and piano’s, but keep in mind that these are very old. Then being very old is probably what will blow you away, that the synths sounded this good back in the day. But if you used this board today, im sorry to say your sounds will be out dated. Most all musicians at a higher level have messed with the M1 to some extent and can probably tell you when they hear a sound off the top of their head if its from the m1 or not.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall a great board, but its very outdated. Today I wouldn’t pay more than 250 for it used. Mine as well save up the money and just get the Korg M3 because it has better sounds that are up to date and it’s a monster all around from the sounds to the parameters and editing options. Plus the Korg M3 isnt too expensive anyways, but if you have the M1 already keep it, or if some one is offering you a great deal on it I would get it because it’s a classic board.

The Korg M1 is a board that has been used all over the world and still is used today even though it’s the old model of the M versions from Korg. The M1 has great control with the pitch bend and modulations not to mention card slots and expansions. You don’t have expansions too much on other boards such as this one.

UTILIZATION

Great board, sequencing isn’t anyting spectacular just the basics and you probably wont like it too much like most people. I suggest upgrading to the most recent korg board because it puts this one to shame.

SOUNDS

Sounds pretty good, Korg always keeps good solid soundsets when they come out with a board or module. At first glance with this board you will be blown away by some of the synths and piano’s, but keep in mind that these are very old. Then being very old is probably what will blow you away, that the synths sounded this good back in the day. But if you used this board today, im sorry to say your sounds will be out dated. Most all musicians at a higher level have messed with the M1 to some extent and can probably tell you when they hear a sound off the top of their head if its from the m1 or not.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall a great board, but its very outdated. Today I wouldn’t pay more than 250 for it used. Mine as well save up the money and just get the Korg M3 because it has better sounds that are up to date and it’s a monster all around from the sounds to the parameters and editing options. Plus the Korg M3 isnt too expensive anyways, but if you have the M1 already keep it, or if some one is offering you a great deal on it I would get it because it’s a classic board.

The M1 is twenty years old now, and has a basic 16 channel midi implementation only, as well as pitch bend and modulation.It does have four outputs which isn't bad for an old synth and a card slot for extra sounds. The on board effects are probably it's best feature and the keyboard is also very nice to play if you can find one in good condition. I must say I've never really got into the sequencer on this thing as it's not easy to master and the lack of the beloved knobs and sliders is a shame, though the M1 was designed during a period of change in which digital synths took over the world.

price paid: 300.00 GBP

UTILIZATION

As mentioned the sequencer is pretty horrible, but the basic navigation and sound editing is a breeze. The only thing I would change is the sequencer with one that was a little more user friendly.

SOUNDS

Well as you know this by todays standardsth M1 is an old school beast, but it still sounds great. It has been previously argued that korg rely heavily on effects for their sounds. This is true to an extent with the M1 but the effects are really pretty cool, and the overall combination of sample and effect is a good one. By modern standards your not going to be blown away by the presets, though the classic piano still sounds great and the organ still pops up on house and garage records from far and wide, plus in combi mode you can make some pretty monstrous sounds if your willing to persevere a little. For me the reason I have stuck with this synth and would buy another one if it died on me, is that it is so easy to make new sounds with very little effort. I understand that hip hop heavy weights The Neptunes use an old 0/1W as one of the main stays of their set up and I read that they make subtle changes to the presets to make new sounds. They do this by trying different internal effects or taking a standard patch like a piano and scrolling through the different wav forms and samples with the same synth parameters applied. This is what I have done for years with my M1, reason being that I always get results. I have some sounds on my M1 that you would never believe it could produce and the fact is, they were very easy to achieve. In terms of out and out sound 'quality' it's not capable of the lofty realms of sonic perfection you get with modern soft synths but to me that's no bad thing. The analogue outputs take the edge of it and it still sounds top notch, and can hold it's own in a professional environment with ease.

OVERALL OPINION

I have to say this thing is very well made, there are loads of them still around in full working order, mine has been gigged all over the UK, it's been dropped a couple of times and is still in good shape. I've never had it repaired though the internal battery died after about 19 years It cost me about £1.00 for a new one which was a bit of a git to fit, but after a bit of swearing and violence it went in fine.

Oh I love this thing, I just love it, maybe because it's now very familiar to me like an old jumper or pair of slippers, or maybe because it is just such a beast of machine. I love the way it plays, it's so easy to edit the sounds, it still looks pretty cool to me and it's solid as a rock and the effects are superb. Long live the Korg M1.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: breakbeat-cafe (January 0-, 2005)