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The Korg Wavestation was a vector synthesis synthesizer marketed in the early 1990s. Its design resembled early vector designs such as the Sequential Circuits Prophet VS. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1563x535, 1237 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Korg Wavestation ...
Korg Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments. ...
Synthesis (from the ancient Greek σÏν (with) and θεσις (placing), is commonly understood to be an integration of two or more pre-existing elements which results in a new creation. ...
Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be similar in structure to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. ...
Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis characterised by the application of an audio filter to a source signal. ...
Polyphony is the property of an electronic musical instrument which describes how many notes it can sound at one time. ...
Oscillation is the periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure as seen, for example, in a swinging pendulum. ...
Often used in the realm of digital keyboard synthesisers, an instrument that is multitimbral is one which allows you to combine several voices or timbres at the same time. ...
A voltage-controlled filter is a signal processing device in a modular analog synthesizer positioned after the oscillator. ...
Hello People who love keyboards!!!!!!!!!!!! Headline text This article is about keyboards on musical instruments. ...
This article is about the year. ...
1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...
Korg Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments. ...
Vector Synthesis is a type of audio synthesis introduced by Sequential Circuits in the Prophet VS synthesizer during 1986. ...
The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...
Sequential Circuits Inc. ...
The Wavestation lineup consisted of four variants: the Wavestation / Wavestation EX keyboards and the Wavestation A/D and Wavesation SR rackmount sound modules. A Sound module (sometimes referred to as tone generator) is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a keyboard, for example. ...
Concept and features
All modules shared a unique design by Korg standards at the time, very different from their traditional music workstation designs. The idea was to mix different waves in sequences and control their volume balances and parameters using the integrated joystick or other performance controllers. Those "wavesequences" were played in real time by the performer, making all kinds of evolving, organic-textured sounds and even semi-arpeggiated and rhythmic patterns. A large number of preset, factory-created wavesequences and sounds were shipped on the internal memory, and the user could make his/her own sounds and patterns using the programming facilities. A music workstation is piece of electronic musical equipment providing the facilities of: a sound module, a music sequencer and (usually) a musical keyboard. ...
Joystick elements: 1. ...
The internal synthesis architecture was based on the "AI synthesis" system used in Korg's previous M- and T- series synthesizers. The Wavestation offered 32-voice polyphony, up to four digital oscillators per patch (generating sounds from sampled waveforms in ROM), with a simple low pass filter (non-resonant) and an amplifier block for each oscillator. Modulators, LFOs and envelope generators were offered as control sources for those blocks. The effects section was also taken from previous designs: two DSP blocks capable of a wide range of processing algorithms, such as reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, etc. Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ...
Oscillation is the periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure as seen, for example, in a swinging pendulum. ...
An audio filter is a type of filter used for processing sound signals. ...
Generally, an amplifier is any device that uses a small amount of energy to control a larger amount of energy. ...
For the musical use of modulation, see modulation (music). ...
LFO may refer to: In electronic music, a low frequency oscillation. ...
An ADSR envelope is a parameter used in synthesizers, including those that produce sound by subtractive synthesis, to control the sound produced. ...
When sound is produced in a space, multiple reflections may build up and blend together, creating reverberation, or reverb. ...
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time[1]. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating...
The chorus effect is a condition in the way people perceive nearly the same sound coming from more than one source. ...
Flanging is a time-based audio effect that occurs when two identical signals are mixed together, but with one signal time-delayed by a small and gradually changing amount, usually smaller than 20 ms (milliseconds). ...
A phaser is an audio signal processor used to filter a signal by attenuating a series of notches in the frequency spectrum. ...
The Wavestation's synthesis engine differed from other PCM-based sample playback synths ("romplers") in two respects. First, as an alternative to playing single waveforms, each oscillator could be assigned to play a series of waves ("wavesequence"); each step in the wavesequence could be given a different pitch, fine tuning, level and crossfade amount. This resembled in some respects the wavetable synthesis seen previously on the PPG Wave and later on Waldorf's MicroWave series. Second, any two or four oscillator patch could vary the volume blend of its oscillators over time via a dedicated envelope, the front panel joystick, or other controllers. When done with four oscillators this is known as vector synthesis. It was also possible to combine the two techniques, vectoring four evolving wavesequences together. This was the key to the Wavestation's power as a pad machine. PCM is an initialism which can have different meanings: Phase Change Material Pulse-code modulation, a way to digitally encode signals representing sound and their video counterparts Potential Cancer Marker Communist Party of Mexico Plug Compatible Manufacturer Power-train control module, a computer in a car which controls the car...
Rompler is a nickname for an electronic musical instrument that specializes in the playback of samples stored in ROM chips. ...
Wavetable synthesis is used in digital musical instruments (synthesizers) to produce natural tone-like sounds. ...
No sequencer or arpeggiator was offered on the Wavestation series. The lack of sequencer on the keyboard versions could be seen as a sales limiting factor, because in the early 90's almost all keyboard synthesizers at this price point were offered with some sort of sequencer. Machines that could record entire songs using onboard multitrack sequencers were very much "in". Even Korg at the time was producing almost only sequencer-based synthesizers and rackmounts, and the Wavestation was a rare exception to the standards of the era. In the field of electronic music, a sequencer was originally any device that recorded and played back a sequence of control information for an electronic musical instrument. ...
An arpeggiator is a tool/feature available in some hardware synthesizers and also in software form, which allows the user to play alternating notes or chords automatically based on input, most often from a MIDI controller. ...
Musical impact The Wavestation was known as the best synth-pad generator, and was (and still is) used by many electronic musicians to explore uncommon synthesis textures, albeit limited by the non-resonant filter and lack of complex synthesis structures, such as ring modulators. It was also used by many mainstream artists on the early 90's, such as Jan Hammer, Phil Collins, and Genesis. In fact, most of the synth pads and background sounds found in Genesis' We Can't Dance album were recorded directly from the Wavestation, as Tony Banks (the band's keyboardist) stated in several interviews. Jan Hammer (born 17 April 1948, in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a composer and musician. ...
Philip David Charles Collins (born January 30, 1951 in Chiswick, London) is an English rock and pop musician. ...
Genesis is a Grammy Award winning English progressive rock band formed in 1967. ...
We Cant Dance is an album by Genesis, recorded and released in 1991. ...
Tony Banks can mean: Tony Banks the musician, from Genesis Tony Banks the politician, MP for West Ham Tony Banks the NFL quarterback This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
As the mid-90's approached, the vector synthesis lost appeal in the synthesizer market (though it never drew massive attention), and newer technologies such as virtual analog and physical modelling synthesis were taking over. The Wavestation's lack of arpeggiator and resonant filter, along with the inability to load user sampled sounds, surely didn't help its fading market position. An arpeggiator is a tool/feature available in some hardware synthesizers and also in software form, which allows the user to play alternating notes or chords automatically based on input, most often from a MIDI controller. ...
Legacy Today the Wavestation remains as a unique synthesizer and commands average prices in the used synth market. Korg has recently produced a collection of software-based synthesizers (Korg Legacy Collection) that incorporate the Wavestation original samples, wavesequences and presets, making the vector synthesis concept more affordable and known to a wider audience than the past one.
Korg's latest flagship music workstation, the 2005's OASYS, has a full-blown wavesequencing and vector synthesis implementation (complete with joystick), along with virtual analog, sample-based synthesis, and a massive 16 MIDI + 16 digital audio tracks. The Korg Oasys is a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005 featuring a 76 or 88-key keyboard and Korgs OASYS (Open Architecture Synthesis Studio) technology. ...
The sound of the wavestation is familiar to users of the Apple Macintosh, since the startup chime that has featured on every mac since the Quadra 700 to present day was created on a Korg Wavestation by Jim Reekes. The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ...
The Macintosh Quadra 700 was introduced (along with the Quadra 900) in October 1991, as Apples first computers to use the Motorola 68040 processor, as well as the first to feature built-in Ethernet networking. ...
This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ...
The Sequential connection It's not a secret that the Wavestation was designed by Dave Smith, famous engineer that designed the Prophet-5, Prophet-VS and, along with Roland, invented the MIDI protocol in the early 1980s. His synthesizer company, Sequential Circuits, declined its marketshare and position in the late 1980s and eventually disappeared. A part of the Sequential Team, including Smith, was taken by Korg and designed the Wavestation, refining many Prophet-VS concepts. Other parts of the team were recruited by Yamaha and designed vector-based synths under the SY series, though arguably less successfully than Korg's designs. Dave Smith is an American audio engineer who first proposed the MIDI standard in 1981 in a paper to the Audio Engineering Society. ...
Roland Corporation TYO: 7944 is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. ...
Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or MIDI, is a system designed to transmit information between electronic musical instruments. ...
Sequential Circuits Inc. ...
The Yamaha Corporation (ヤマãƒæ ªå¼ä¼šç¤¾; TYO: 7951 ) is a Japanese company with a large number of product areas. ...
Variants - The original Wavestation. Keyboard version (61-key), it appeared in 1990 and premiered the vector synthesis and wavesequencing concepts under the Korg brand (some Yamaha SY-series synths along with the Prophet VS had previously introduced the vector synthesis concept to the market). Its 2MB soundset was synth-oriented, lacking conventional acoustic sounds or drums. It could take Korg's own format PCM and RAM type expansion cards. The user interface comprised a large backlit, graphical LCD and several function and numeric buttons.
- Wavestation EX. It was almost the same Wavestation keyboard with twice the ROM, several new samples added (most notably piano, acoustic sounds and drums), and some new effects. Clearly, it was an attempt by Korg to reach a wider market, offering more "bread-and-butter", general-use conventional sounds. Also, acoustic and piano sounds are less suited to "evolving" wavesequences.
- Wavestation A/D. It was the first rackmount version of the Wavestation technology. It replaced the lever-type joystick with a smaller one and the large display of the keyboard was retained. A unique feature was its analog inputs, capable of accepting guitar, mic and line-level signal; it allowed the effects blocks of the machine to process those signals in realtime (particularly useful with the vocoders in the new EX effects). This version was highly valued by guitarists. Most of the keyboard's front panel buttons also survived the transition, thus making the programming process very similar to the original Wavestation. The A/D inputs also were an option when creating wavesequences, incorporating the input signal into the synthesis engine in realtime. This gave way to some unique and interesting sounds.
- Wavestation SR. The last implementation (and perhaps the least sought-after) of the Wavestation technology, it was a 1-unit rackmount variant. It lacked the A/D inputs of its predecessor, the screen was downsized to a character-based LCD, and most buttons and function keys disappeared. It was marketed basically as a preset module version of the technology, featuring several ROM preset banks that were previously sold as expansion cards. The module was programmable but, without an external MIDI sound editor, it was a very difficult task.
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1404x257, 553 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Korg Wavestation ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1404x257, 553 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Korg Wavestation ...
Notes Many models of the Wavestation's LCD suffered premature dimming and eventual failure of the backlight. Though the LCD continued to display characters and information properly, it became even more difficult to program the keyboard from its front panel. There are currently several editor programs (primarily Windows-based) that allow for easier programming of the multi-layered architecture of the Wavestation.
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