N364
Music Workstation

image source: korg.com

The three on-board demo songs:

1.  Music Lab  - a great potpourri of pop/rock and fusion genres.

2.  MissionMan  - a cool, impressively-sounding ethnic electronica meets Mission Impossible tune.

3.  Ghost Page  - hip-hop, jazzy number.

Stream all audio demos below

and to conclude, a selection from the GM bank -

Korg N364 pictures (click on thumbnails to enlarge them)

               
 

Korg N364 manuals

PDF Manuals found at Korg sites

• AI2 synthesis system for sparkling digital sounds;
• light and compact, portable;
• useful arpeggiator;
• floppy disk drive

at Korg sites

• Review in "Keyboard magazine" Janfebmarch 198___

And here are the official data from Korg:

Korg's taken performance and function in affordable music workstations to an exciting new level

Let's face it, a musical instrument is only as good as its sounds; and themmore the merrier. The new N264 and N364 are absolutely brimming with 936 programs and combos based on 8MB of PCM ROM featuring 430 Multisounds and 215 drum sounds. And the N-Series sounds rely on Korg's renowned AI2 Synthesis System, the same system that's found in the 01/W and X-Series Music Workstations.

Whether you're creating complex sequences or using rich layers of sound, the new N-Series with 64-note polyphony can keep up.

RPPR, Real-time Pattern Play and Record,lets you record and save musical phrases and ideas as patterns. You can play a pattern back by simply pressing the key you've assigned it to.

The N-series has 100 RPPR pattern memory locations. Use the ones that come from the factory (we think they're pretty cool), edit them, or create your own. You can even store RPPR patterns on a floppy.
Specifications subject to change without notice

N364 - 61 Key Music Workstation   Sound Generation Method:   AI2 (Advanced Integrated) Synthesis System     Sound Source:   64 voices, 64 oscillators (single mode); 32 voices, 64 oscillators (double mode)     Keyboard:   61 notes, with velocity and after touch sensitivity     Waveform Memory:   PCM 8Mbytes Effects: 2 digital multi-effect systems, 47 effects     Program/Combination:   ROM 200 programs + GM 128 Programs + 8 drum programs/200 combinations; RAM 200 programs/200 combinations     Arpeggiator:   5 types, 4 octaves     Sequencer Section:   10 songs, 100 patterns, maximum 32,000 notes, 16 tracks, 16 timbres (Dynamic Voice Allocation)     Real-time Pattern Play and Record:   100 patterns, 10 pattern sets, 60 pattern assignments per set Floppy Disk Drive: 3.5 inch 2HD/2DD     MIDI:   IN, OUT, THRU     Display:   Custom LCD display with backlit     Power Supply:   AC, Local Voltage     Power Consumption:   11 W     Accessories:   AC cord, Preload program disk     Dimensions:   1076.4(W) x 338.3(D) x 106.1(H) mm     Weight:   10.9 kg     OPTIONS:   EXP/Volume pedal XVP-10     Foot Controller EXP-2     Volume Pedal KVP-002     Damper Pedal DS-1     Pedal Switch PS-1 / PS-2     Realtime Pattern Play & Record:   When first introduced back in the 1980s, the Music Workstation caused a revolution. For thefirst time, it was possible to sketch, compose and perform a complete song, with all of the parts, on a single instrument. The Music Workstation opened the door to thousands of people who wanted to develop their musical ideas without investing in multiple instruments and recording equipment. Over the next 15 years or so, the Music Workstation improved with better sounds,more memory enhanced control and greater user interfaces. So now it's 1997 and Music Workstations sound great, have great effects, can record more notes, have more voices, etc., etc., etc. What now? How about making the process of composing and constructing a song simpler? Seems like a good idea, but where do you start? Let's explore an area that challenges a large number of musicians: drum grooves and rhythm tracks. This is supposed to be one of the fun and easy parts,right? How many times have you said, "I'll lay down a simple groove and build on that," just to find out that you can't get it to feel right, or you aren't satisfied with the parts you played? Then you have to develop the rest of the song, finding the parts that will work in the chorus, solo, and on and on...What if this process could be made easier? Well, it can. The function of the Pattern has been around longer than the Music Workstation. Patterns can be used to create and assemble drum grooves and rhythm tracks, but they haven't made the process all that much easier. With the new N364/264, Patterns take on a whole new meaning. The Real-time Pattern Play (RPPR) and Record function of these instruments gives you the tools to simplify creating those illusive rhythm tracks. The Real-time Pattern Play and Record tool starts with an old idea and expands it into to a new and creative device in your song writing arsenal. Let's look at the basic application. The N364/264 come with a library of patterns. This library is independent of any song and canbe loaded and saved to disk as its own file. Using the RPPR function in the sequencer you can select up to 100 patterns and assign them to keys for playback. Press a key and the pattern starts. Release the key and the pattern stops. Now comes the fun part. Pick a basic tempo and press any of the keys that are assigned to patterns. Play with different pattern types. Or juggle the order. Once your ideas have taken shape, put the sequencer in record, and just play your patterns by pressing the corresponding keys (in real-time) into the sequencer. That's it! Gone are the individual drum hits, and the stubborn battle with timing and feel. Gone are the multiple passes for different drums and cymbals. Now you have a wide selection of patterns to choose from. And the ability to concentrate on the structure of the song. For more adventures, let's take it a step further. The library of patterns is great for many situations, but sometimes you might need something a bit different. That brings us to second R in RPPR: the Record Pattern Function. With the N364/264, you can create your own patterns and add them to the library,from the ground up. Remember, you can save a pattern library to disk so you can create as many as you like or need. By using the Pattern Create Function, you can select from the various drum kits in the N364/264 and record the patterns you need. Save them in the library and use the Real-time Playback to finish off your tracks. In total, you can have ten sets of patterns in the N364/264 at one time, giving you a library of 100 patterns to work with. So far, we've looked at how RPPR can be used to streamline the writing process, but how can it be used in a performance situation? As you will see, RPPR adds a considerable amount of flexibility to live application settings. First of all, a Pattern is not limited to drums and rhythms. Any program in the N-Series can be used in a Pattern. Each Pattern has its own tempo parameter, as well as a selection for the type of trigger mode. You can set the trigger mode to play a Pattern once, play continuously, or play as long as the key is pressed. Link to diagram of RPPR Play Mode So with up to 100 Patterns assigned to the keyboard, there can be drum, bass, and backing parts with different tempos and notes for different sections of a song. Instead of having a fixed sequence to playback, you now have the freedom to change the structure of a song in real-time, because you're triggering and arranging the Patterns on the fly, and not merely playing a fixed, pre-recorded sequence. RPPR in a live situation lets you use the power of a Music Workstation, the sounds and effects, but removes the performance constraints that you get when using a fixed sequence. You're once again free to be spontaneous, changing the song based on that particular performance. Many times, instruments that incorporate new technology or tools can actually take away from the creative process-not so with RPPR. For both writing and performance situations, Real-time Pattern Play and Record removes limitations, brings new options, and streamlines the entire process.   Specifications subject to change without notice