Vintage Synth Explorer

Korg • DW-8000

Take Korg's first digitally controlled analog synth hybrid (DW-6000) two steps higher and you get the more popular DW-8000. Sound is digitally generated from the DWGS (Digital Waveform Generator System) and has been doubled from 8 sampled digital waveforms to 16 simple analog to complex digital waveforms. The DW-8000 has 8 voice polyphony in two modes, or one monophonic mode with all eight voices stacked. The analog VCF resonant filter and VCA both have independent ADBSSR envelopes. Parameters can be altered in real time via a single programmable slider. There are 64 presets that can be reprogrammed by the user.

When the DW-8000 succeeded the DW-6000, it expanded it to 8 notes polyphony, 16 sampled waveforms, a velocity sensitive keyboard with programmable aftertouch, auto-bend, a simple arpeggiator and a digital delay unit. The Digital Delay was an astonishing goody for the time, offering up to 512ms delay, phasing, flanging, chorusing and other time effects. Both the Arpeggiator, Auto-Bend and Digital Delay make this synth an inspiring and great sounding machine to use for great 303 basslines, techno and house bass and synth sounds and more! The EX-8000 (pictured above) is a rackmount version of the DW-8000. Several 3rd-party developers offered expansion boards for the DW-8000 providing up to 1024 presets, layered sounds, keyboard splits and Sample+Hold for the LFO. Though later overshadowed by the M1, the DW-8000 has been used by Divine Masquerade, Juno Reactor, Depeche Mode, Dream Theater, Joe Zawinul, and Keith Emerson.

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Posting Rules: Please keep your comments relevant! Do not post requests for help, do not use for sales, do not post unless you have something interesting to say about this instrument, or we may delete your post.

 

Kain

Posted 29 days ago

I own one with the Musitronics Expansion,it's got 512 Patches now and belive me it rocks!!!
Best Synth for Basses and Pads.

Goofy

Posted 54 days ago

The EX-8000 - I love it. I just bought my second one! Well it is not the most famous synthesizer but it's got an excellent sound. Like someone on 'amazona.de' said - it reminds sometimes to an Oberheim. Ok - sometimes, it can sound 'analog' but even 'digital' because of the stored Waves. So it is a early Rompler - but with excellent filters that reach selfoscillation. The sound can be compared with the Oberheim Matrix 6/1000 and the Waldorf Microwave.
Now I have two of them in my rack, and none will leave it.
I remember SAGA on tour with two EX-8000, two Akai S-900 Samplers, Korg P3, Roland D-20, D-110 and Kawai K1m - I think it was in 1988. One more reason to use the EX-8000 :-)

Shawn

Posted 102 days ago

Even though this synth is old it is very tweakable and sounds even better when run through an external filterbank and a digital signal processor. It's fun going through a guitar distortion unit too. Another neat feature is that the key contacts are self cleaning. If you find your keys not working their best just depress them rapidly a few times and you will find that they usually come back to life just fine.

Eric

Posted 144 days ago

I've owned mine since the day it came out. While all the others came and went, this machine will always be a part of my rig. It's highly underated in my opinion. It's a great machine that can manipulated easily to fabricate a huge array of sounds. Go get one and see for yourself.

JACOB

Posted 150 days ago

this synth was used in Black Celebration depeche mode album!!!!! i have two of this,,,,,,,

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