M1
Digital synthesizer Music Workstation
The Korg M1 in my opinion is, together with the Yamaha DX7 and the Roland D-50, one of the three classic synths of the 80's. Still today, playing patch 00, "Universe" gives me goose-bumps.
Korg M1 audio demos in mp3
Korg M1 factory songs
| PROG | |
|
Preset Prog with demo |
My comments |
| 00 Universe | One of the most famous synthesizer presets of all time, "Universe" is the outstandingly beautiful "Choir" sample with a backwash of "Lore", an intriguing and mysterious percussion loop - generously bathed in reverb and delay. I personally think that this single preset, I00 Universe, that greeted the user upon turning the M1 on, was responsible for many, many of the sales of this instrument. |
| 01 Piano16' | The famous M1 piano. At the time, this was considered a nice piano sound. Nowadays, it's considered "plasticky". At any rate, during the early 90s it was quickly adopted as THE piano for House music - and it appears on many hit house records from that era. |
| 02 Brass1 | Nice brass ensemble |
| 03 Ooh-Ahh | Another signature M1 sound - the ethereal choir |
| 04 Guitar1 | Warm acoustic guitar |
| 05 BottleBell | Very typical Korg series M/T sound |
| 06 Fretless | Famous, outstanding preset - very realistic and expressive fretless bass. |
| 07 Symphonic | Nice string ensemble |
| 08 PanFlute | Great sound. In the late '80s and early '90s, sounds like these were de rigueur - for New Age styles. |
| 09 Drums#1 | Solid drums. Back in 1988, quality drums like these on a synthesizer were unheard of - a very marked line still existed between synths and drum machines. |
| 10 PanMallet | Another classic M1 mix |
| 11 E.Piano1 | Classic M1 electric piano, heard in many songs |
| 12 Trumpet | Realistic trumpet, with cool vibrato engaged by mod wheel |
| 13 Nimbus | Beautiful preset that mixes a pad with the great Koto Trem sample. |
| 14 DistGuitar | Nice distorted electric guitar |
| 15 Vibes | Beautiful and expressive vibraphone |
| 16 PickBass | Another famous M1 preset, this sample exudes coolness ;-) |
| 17 Organ2 | Very, very famous preset - House music of the early 90s basically lived on this preset and the TR-909, at some point. Also works as intended, as jazz organ. |
| 18 Flute | Realistic flute |
| 19 Pole | Another M1 signature sound |
| 20 DreamPad | Awesome synth pad, very 80s, regal and powerful. |
| 21 MagicPiano | A cross between the piano and magic organ |
| 22 SoloSax | Nice and honest tenor |
| 23 Choir | Nice choir, great for pads |
| 24 12-String | So-so 12-string guitar |
| 25 Kalimba | Excellent kalimba, sampled well |
| 26 A.Bass | Realistic pizzicato contrabass, very jazzy |
| 27 Strings | Thin strings |
| 28 SynMallet | Hypnotic percussive synth |
| 29 Drums#2 | More solid drums |
| 30 Lore | The Korg M1 sound, on which "Universe" is based |
| 31 Harpsicord | Great-sounding harpsichord - with a nice room reverb |
| 32 DoubleReed | Warm and reedy bassoon! |
| 33 Bottles | More sounds for the New Age crowd |
| 34 KotoTrem | Classic sample - many M1 presets are based on this |
| 35 BellRing | Very nice bell play |
| 36 SynthBass1 | Classic Minimoog style synth bass. |
| 37 Timp&Bells | Very nice timpani and bell split |
| 38 SoloSynth | Expressive and powerful solo synth |
| 39 Pop | Nice "Popcorn" style lead synth |
| 40 Magician | Characteristic and evolving synth |
| 41 Piano8' | M1 piano, an octave higher |
| 42 Overture | More strings |
| 43 Angels | Ethereal choirs |
| 44 Sitar1 | Nice ethnic flavor |
| 45 Tubular | Beautifully sampled church bells |
| 46 SlapBass | Awesome slap bass! Was the M1 used for the "Seinfeld" theme? |
| 47 PipeOrgan | Beautiful pipe organ!!! |
| 48 Wire | Nice digital synth |
| 49 Drum#3 | More drums, very good ones |
| 50 BambuTrem | Another classic trem sound |
| 51 E.Piano4 | Wider, more chorused electric piano |
| 52 TubaFlugel | Realistic! |
| 53 VoiceWave | Very cool sample (Voice Wave) |
| 54 Guitar2 | Nice electric guitar, open |
| 55 MetalHit | Yep |
| 56 SynthBass2 | More contemporary syn bass |
| 57 StringRise | Exactly |
| 58 PanWave | Quirky synth |
| 59 Hammer | Yes |
| 60 CloudNine | Beautiful soundtrack synth pad! |
| 61 Clav | Weird-sounding Clavinet.. |
| 62 TenorSax | Clean and realistic sax |
| 63 Voices | more nice choirs |
| 64 RockGuitar | Nice chorused electric guitar, very '80s |
| 65 WindBells | Ok |
| 66 SynthBass3 | "Liquid" sounding syn bass |
| 67 Organ1 | Great jazz Hammond |
| 68 Block | It is |
| 69 FingerSnap | Yep |
| 70 MagicOrgan | Another famous M1 preset, an organ mixed with a mysterious bell synth |
| 71 E.Piano2 | Variation on the FM piano |
| 72 Brass2 | realistic |
| 73 FVWave | based on the Fv wave |
| 74 PickGuitar | Ok |
| 75 Digi-Bells | Pretty digital bells |
| 76 AnalogBass | Fat syn bass |
| 77 PingWave | Sounds like a whale lament- great! |
| 78 VibeHit | Cool delays in this one |
| 79 Pluck | Awesome cavern reverb |
| 80 Good&Bad | The classic Morricone sounds |
| 81 Digital2 | Very digital and 80s |
| 82 MuteTrp | Miles |
| 83 Stratos | Beauty!!! pad |
| 84 Sitar2 | More India for you |
| 85 Flexatone | Cool! |
| 86 Digital4 | more digital goodness |
| 87 SoftHorns | That's what they are |
| 88 HellsBells | Interesting atmospheric preset |
| 89 Drop | Yes |
| 90 Zephyr | BEAUTY!!! |
| 91 E.Piano3 | Another FM piano |
| 92 SynthBrass | The obligatory Oberheim Jump sound |
| 93 Digital5 | More digital sounds |
| 94 E.Guitar1 | Cool Strat |
| 95 Rhythm | Very nice ethnic rhythm |
| 96 MonoSynth | Cool digital solo synth |
| 97 Hold... | Beautiful ambient/soundtrack synth |
| 98 Wait... | ...the trem comes in ;-) |
| 99 Surprise!! | The flutes come back at you. |
| COMBI | |
|
Preset Combi with demo |
My comments |
| 00 FilmScore | Powerful combi - orchestral setup |
| 04 Fuji-san | Vague oriental flavor |
| 08 Pyramids | Nice amalgam of synth sounds |
| 14 Atlantis | Excellent ambient setup |
| 28 Clock Shop | Cool ;-) |
| 34 Venice | The beautiful Venezia |
| 63 Madness | Yep! |
| 64 China | Nice instrumentation |
| 66 The Hunter | Full horn ensemble |
| 80 ThePlanets | Beautiful ambient synth combi |
| 81 Barbarians | Massive choir and bells |
| 89 Luna-Pad | Nice classy pad |
| 99 Please->->->-> | because the other instruments are coming! |
Additional Korg M1 sound demo
Here's a demo I put together for the Synthesizer forum at www.harmony-central.com years ago:
Notice how many presets are
recognizable from movie soundtracks, tv ads, etc.
Video demos
Korg M1 pictures
(click on thumbnails to enlarge)
Korg M1 Features
- mythical synth, a bestseller and considered the first true workstation ;
- deep programming possibilities;
- can be expanded through program and sample cards;
- tons of sounds available
Korg M1 Manual
Links
| SITE | Type of resource | DESCRIPTION |