Korg DS-8

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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.

The DS-8 and 707 use the same YM2151 / YM2164 OPM chip set as the Yamaha DS-9, FB-01, and CX5M computer. (source CX5m.net)

 

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Demos & Media

Korg DS-8 4 Op FM Performance Synthesizer Demo
by
zibbybone
ManualOriginal owner's manual available as free PDF downloads.
Factory PatchesStandard factory loaded patches in MIDEX format.

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

Resources

Images from Synth Site.