Korg DS-8

Korg DS-8 Image

The DS-8 is Korg's contender among synths like the Roland D-50 and Yamaha DX7. It is a digital FM synthesizer with 4-operators per voice, 8 voices of polyphony and 8 parts multitimbrality. It's good for percussive, strange effect noises and such because its sound (similar to the DX7) is so unique. It has some digital effects such as chorus, flange, delay and analog-like controls for modulators, envelopes and the LFO. A joystick provides control of modulation and pitch bending. It also has a performance section for quick edits on the fly using (3) real-time sliders to control timbre, EG1 and EG2. A nice alternative to the common DX-7.

57 Visitor comments
Daniel
September 14, 2008 @ 10:05 pm
It's a great synth really...My portamento works fine.
Matt Windsor
September 13, 2008 @ 2:24 pm
I have a DS-8 and am not sure whether I like it (though I'm new to synths, and only own this and a DX7mk1, so my views might be somewhat flawed because of that).

While the joystick and timbre/EG slider make the voices very flexible and quick modulation stabs very easy, and the 100-preset memory is large compared to the DX7's 32, the default presets (or at least the presets that were on it when I received it, they seem to be factory presets to me) seem quite low-quality (they tend to have a muffled, whiny sound to them for me), the internal build is convoluted (you'd have to remove the circuitry in order to get to the keys), and, being an FM synth, the programming aspect is impossible to experiment with unless you read a lot into it (which I haven't).

The portamento is also hopelessly broken on mine (not sure if it is on other DS-8s).

On a more positive note, the dual/split/multi voice facility is a welcome sight, coming from electronic keyboards that almost always sport these.
 
Post Comment!
VSE Rating

It’s Good

User Rating

Rated 3.91 (374 Votes)

  • Specifications
  • Polyphony - 8 voices (4 FM-operators per voice)
  • Oscillators - 2 oscillators
  • LFO - 1 LFO: saw / triangle / square / sample & hold
  • Filter - None
  • VCA - 4 DCA (1 per operator)
  • Keyboard - 61 keys w/ velocity & aftertouch
  • Memory - 100 user, 10 multi patches, external card slot
  • Effects - 1 unit effect (delay, chorus, flanger, double)
  • Arpeg/Seq - None
  • Control - MIDI (8-parts)
  • Date Produced - 1987

Errors or Corrections? Send them here.