Is the Korg M1 Stuck in the 90s?

The Korg M1 is known as the best selling synth of all time and was plastered across the late 80s and early 90s, particularly in the world of dance music. With only 4MB of PCM samples, can this workstation offer composers of 2021 something they can't find elsewhere or is it stuck in time?
Some links:
- Score The Podcast: Seinfeld theme debunked: • Score: The Podcast Bon...
- LFO Store Patches: lfo.store/shop/hardware-synth...
- Korg M1 VST: korg.shop/software/korg-colle...
- Korg M1 for iPad: www.korg.com/uk/products/soft...

[@mwmusic29]

Thanks for sharing this info! I’ve had the M1 for a few months now and have been really happy messing around with the sounds.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Lots of fun to be had!

[@savagevisitor3669]

Fantastic! I had no idea just how much of the soundtrack of my youth could be traced to this synth!

[@Tony_Anthemz]

I had a Korg X3 in 1994 and I was so happy to have that thing I was 17 .. lol

[@adamharris7775]

The Korg M1 patch "Piano8'" was heard in the Kids Incorporated version of the song "Pop Goes the World" on Cousin Skeeter.

[@adamharris7775]

The Korg M1R patch "Piano8'" was heard in the Kidsongs songs "I Can Dance" and "I Can Do It".

[@adamharris7775]

The Korg M1R patch "Piano16'" was heard in the Kidsongs version of the song "Achy Breaky Heart".

[@JustDatBoi]

Lmao

[@kostradamus5739]

I prefer the real deal😊

[@Bkoded]

i didnt realise logic was this powerful as far as sysex integration goes

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Yeah, sadly they have buried it a bit in the last few years, but it’s really quite impressive

[@novachord1]

Loved this! I owned an M1; used to sell them. Wonderful instrument, explained well, plus the Sysex section was fascinating. I owned an OB-8 in the 80s that I sold (which sounds insane now 😄) in order to buy the M1. Having the M1 and a DX7 (and an Atari ST!) at the time enabled me to start my journey to become a media composer via that relatively new system, MIDI. Really enjoyed this, Stephen.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Ah the days of the Atari ST! I would love to get my hands on a DX7 one day, though I’m doing fine with DEXED as a plug-in substitute. Thanks got watching.

[@ShotecMusic]

Amazing video! I have the M1 plug-in which comes with all additional data of cards that were ever made by KORG. Every single time I play around with this plug-in I find some program or combi that makes me go WOW :) Roland must have been really upset that KORG came with this synth-workstation just a year later. I find interesting that KORG M1 has this sample called Fantasia, which sounds like Fantasia preset from D-50. I wonder if KORG bought some samples from Roland or if Fantasia wave comes from even earlier synth like Fairlight.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Thanks for watching! Yeah the M1 is an very inspiring synth. I think Roland eventually got even with Korg when they released the JV1080 which took the ROM based synth to another level.

[@ShotecMusic]

That is true. Actually JV-1080 is the only hardware synth I keep. Made in the same year as I am, so maybe that's why it resonates with me so much.

[@SergeGolikov]

1:17 I thought that the D50 was Roland's LA Synthesis? Enjoying this series, love that the KORG M1 and WAVESTATION are available as VST's, in my collection👍

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Yeah the D50 is a bit more than subtractive, though it does that plus “Linear Arithmetic Synthesis” and PCM.

[@GJW2]

I love Preset 42 "Overture" . It's Amazing sound. You hear it a lot on Bruce Springsteen and Bruce Hornsby's older records.

[@FurtiveSkeptical]

Owned 2 over time (workstation).....played one for 12 years in a traveling band, it was so useful and tough (except plastic bubble button breakage), but it was eventually pretty beat up when I gave it to an electronic tech nerd friend. Found a $ 300 one used in mint condition in BC Canada.....One sysex dump later and my prog/combis I'd tweaked for live sound were back in and boom. My old baby was resurrected. I can spot 09-Drums and 41-Piano 8' in nearly anything from that time, and it annoys me 😅. Hate those 2 patches these days. ( Too familiar lol) Great videos, thanks for making this.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Yeah those buttons get a beating! I had to perform a little button surgery on this one when I got it to reinforce the plastic that springs it back into place. Luckily it wasn’t too hard to do!

[@ruffocracia]

has anyone tried one of these original hw m01 and the nintendo ds/3ds version? what do you think of this digital version of it? sound quality aside of course.

[@als3868]

Great Video Stephen!! Would it be possible, to provide the system excl. Parameters as an Export File to use ? Thx Al

[@SamLee300SL]

Got this in my high school, and after 30+ years I still enjoy designing interesting sounds out of its PCM and digitalized analog waveforms. Granted it's no true Analog or FM synth, but lots of time you can get close if you are good. Compared to D50, M1's acoustic instrument are more realistic, has more transient sounds(or you can isolate out the attack of PCM), which then can be combined with DWGS or PCM loop to create 'synth acoustic' sounds that can only be synthesized by 8-operator FM. It takes a creative mind(certainly not preset player) to fully explore M1's potential !

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Have you got any recordings of sounds you’ve made with it? I would love to hear what you’ve made.

[@SamLee300SL]

@@StephenTallamyMusic Not yet, but I've always wanted to make a video showing M1 can sound like VA or PPG. Well, probably after I go through several hundreds of program and combi I made in the past several years.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

@@SamLee300SL that would be a great video!

[@JustDatBoi]

It looks like a nightmare to program. I can’t stand menu diving to do basic stuff.

[@SamLee300SL]

@@JustDatBoi Not really. In fact the front page allows you to adjust 8 basic parameters like attack, filter cutoff, release, effect mix balance, Osc balance, etc, without going into edit menu. Moreover, you can use the silder to control those parameters there for real time performance, like a draw bar or knob.

[@DickTracy420]

I recently acquired an Alesis qs8 for 100 bucks. Great sounds on it lots of customization possibilities. I love the sound of that era. I was born in 91 so those kind of sounds are nostalgic for me. I look forward to grabbing the M1r sometime in the future for sure

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Wow that was a steal! I might have to see if I can find one (or the qsr version)

[@DickTracy420]

@@StephenTallamyMusic you can find them used for about 400 . It’s 88 weighted keys. Really nice action even after all these years. They open up easily for maintenance and cleaning and it has 3 q card slots. The synths one seems to be a big hit

[@PhilBennett3D]

Great video! I just bought an exM1R; looking forward to playing around with it when it arrives.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Excellent! Have fun - hope some of this walkthrough has given you some ideas

[@madness8556]

The M1REX contains all the waveforms from the T series that were released in 1989. I had a T3EX for over 25 years and it was an M1 on steroids.

[@jackspring7709]

I remember buying the KORG M1 many years ago: It was damaged during a house move recently so I bought the Rackmount version as a precaution: one of my favourite instruments! I got a Behringer Mono/Poly recently, too, and that is very faithful to the original KORG version. By the way: the software version of the KORG M1, with all it's expansion cards, is an amazing bargain package at the price KORG are charging : and many of them still sound very good today.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Oooh don’t tempt me with the Mono/Poly!

[@jackspring7709]

@@StephenTallamyMusic Haha. Sorry. One major thing about the Mono/Poly is you can create extremely realistic, atmospheric wind sounds of varying intensities (using the Level Noise, Cutoff & Resonance knobs), which is great for creating atmos and saves huge amounts of time etc otherwise spent browsing libraries for a specific sound, then looping and editing. I'm going to see if I can also create convincing thunder sounds, but I'm sure I can: once I can do that I won't have to spend time finding specific thunder sounds on the internet and having to worry about quality and copyright.

[@gunnarschillings6782]

@@jackspring7709 Just hang two microphones out of the window during the next storm, and you get stereo thunder.

[@jackspring7709]

@@gunnarschillings6782 I already tried that. I was arrested.

[@gunnarschillings6782]

@@jackspring7709 Why? U too close to neighbors, trying to get U, because U make these strange noises, and they have no clue, why U do that? Communicate, man, communicate, tell them U are the next thing to Elvis. That is what they want to know about U. Elvis.

[@kabukijoe99]

I like Depeche Mode and try to find any informatin about synths they use or used before

[@tommorello8628]

wow what a nice nature walk - i was worried that you would get lost but you didnt. if you did get lost, you wouldnt have been able to play your korg m1 for us and that would have been less that ideal.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Always good to get out in the countryside to get inspired, even if it is to revisit a 30 year old synth!

[@GrootsieTheDog]

The M1 plug-in from Korg is on sale for 50.00. I love technology.

[@rabmccudden683]

I’ve the collection on laptop, but U can get it on iPad for £15 if u wait until it’s on sale. Works in Korg Gadget (Darwin Gadget) I’ve mine through Yamaha HS5 speakers & it sounds perfect.

[@rabmccudden683]

Tbf my copy of collection was free 🫣

[@kabukijoe99]

thank you it works/ I'm not very good at english but subtitles help a lot

[@AnalogFlava]

nice showcase on the M1R! I see you have an old motu / emagic midi interface - on what OSX are you running this???

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Still timing on Catalina. I hear it might not work on Big Sur but yet to try that out!

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

It works on Big Sur also - though I'm not sure if the editor app does. I have it configured the way I want and so as a standard midi device, all still seems OK.

[@codoacodoinicial]

Can you control the hardware M1 with the VST one in real time?

[@LAHegarty]

Good video. What mic are you using in the intro while walking through the forrest?

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

It’s just the onboard mic on my iPhone!

[@mrkeeny]

First time I heard someone playing this live I was awestruck

[@mrkeeny]

anyone who says m1 is too dated to make music with is deluded. amazing tool still in the right hands.

[@sahrkellie9726]

​@@mrkeenybeen using the vst version for FL Studio. Making material for sync. Especially 90s techno and house for background cues

[@Yem1983]

Thanks for your awesome videos.. I was wondering if I buy Korg M1R module and play music on my Yamaha, would be a problem if the battery is low or dead? I mean Can I still play preset sounds on M1R module or I have to replace the battery and install the preset sounds? Im technology challenged, so I’d rather to buy something that doesn’t require to change battery. Please I need your advice before buying the module

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

If the battery is dead then every time you start the module it will have no presets and you to will have to load them back on with a sysex file or from the original preset card (which you may or may not get with the module - more likely not). I talks bit about this at 12:57. You would need to restore presets every time you power it up which could become rather tedious. Replacing the battery isn’t too bad, particularly in the M1R as you only really need to open up the case and the battery is visible. This video shows it quite well: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZCVqJV_aqeSbpY

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

If replacing the battery is something you are uncomfortable with and you can’t find someone to do it for you then look for a module that the user lists as having recently replaced the battery. The battery should last many years but I would expect almost every unit will have needed the battery changed by now, given the age of the module.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Alternatively, if you just want the M1 sound you could get the plugin (provided you have a computer to run it on) which I showed at 23:56.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

If you have a lot more money then you could also consider the Korg Nautilus which came out a few years ago and you can load M1 patches into it (Korg make them available for free on their website).

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

And if you just want a module from this era then take a look at the Roland JV1080/2080 as they have the factory presets in ROM do you don’t need to rely on battery to keep them.

[@LucasMoneme]

Hi guys, do you know how many banks is there on the M1R and how to navigate thru all of them ?

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

There’s only 100 presets on the M1R so there are no banks to manage at all. You can load new presets over sysex

[@stephenmarsh6746]

Still have my N1 (an M1 without the workstation functions)

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Nice one. Does it include the same sounds as the M1? Any difference in functionally of the synthesis engine?

[@madness8556]

N1 is quite a big step forward with 64 notes of polyphony.

[@therobyouknowtv]

I may have posted this here before, and can't find it now, but have a look at WaveRex refill card that enables you to use your own PCM card sounds with the M1, without modding the M1 at all. It's essentially a Flash card that can have your own samples downloaded onto it and structured as Multisounds or DrumKits that the M1 understands for use in your M1 Programs. No affiliation, referral or benefit to me. I paid in full for the WaveRex card and want to share the wonder. Hope my original comment wasn't deleted because it was thought of as spam.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

I’ve been tempted, but did think they were a bit pricy!

[@RedFishBlueFish]

I am curious about your opinion, if I may. Personally, I’m not interested in the sounds this synth comes with because they’ve been so used through the late 80s and 90s. I would like to know your personal opinion on this synth’s capabilities to create completely new sounds in programming mode. I’ve never owned one, so I’d like to know just how capable this synth is of allowing the user to create completely new sounds without too massive of a learning curve. May I know your thoughts? I’ve never owned one and I am considering buying one locally… thanks in advance!

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

I would say that it’s a bit of a learning curve to really get into programming it and getting results will take some investment of time learning the menu system (use using a computer based editor). Certainly there is a rich set of source sounds that you manipulate but it’ll take an investment of time to get the most out of it.

[@RedFishBlueFish]

@@StephenTallamyMusic Thanks! I have an opportunity to pick one up, near mint, for $600 but I’m going to hold off. I really don’t like steep learning curves or deep menu diving in order to craft sounds, and it feels like this is the wrong path for that. Can’t thank you enough for the feedback!

[@terrygatersmusic]

Were do you get the SysEx Librarian?

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

The one I use on macOS is www.snoize.com/sysexlibrarian/

[@jonnyhead]

I think the microkorg took over the title as the biggest selling synth of all time in around 2009. Had them both but still have the rather bashed microkorg. Still love Universe patch 1

[@conan5885]

You've got to be joking.... The Microkorg?? That silly little toy? Wow, that's disapointing... at least it could have been beaten by a proper flagship synth or workstation

[@kabukijoe99]

there is no such option on your video but the other videos have/ I would give you a screenShot but youtube don't like links

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

How odd - it seemed to be disabled for this video - I hopefully have fixed it now.

[@amerism4530]

what is your blue midi interface called mate?

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

It’s a very old one! Emagic AMT8. Emagic were the original makers of Logic before Apple bought them.

[@jaggass]

VST's, Samples of it are still being used on many songs today. If it's in the right hands you can do anything with it. I used to have an M1R and would program my own sounds

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Such a powerful synth

[@excessofficialTV]

The M1 can give more by adding extension cartridges, it delivers new sound capabiities

[@therobyouknowtv]

Yes indeed, with the waverex refill pcm card from synthastix, you can add new pcm sample sounds such as 909 drum kit set, synths or your own sounds structured as m1 multisounds via their Windows or mac app. Connect the waverex card to your mac or pc, via USB, download samples on to it via USB. Then insert the waverex card into the m1 pcm card slot, just like you would any other pcm card. Switch on the m1 and in edit program you can select the pcm sample sounds from the waverex card for use in that program. So the waverex acts like a flash memory sd card in that it is writeable with samples but takes the same physical form factor and pins as a usual pcm card and is seen by the m1 like any other pcm card. Inside the magic is that it's an arm based embedded computer/micro controller with flash memory that talks to the PC or mac host via USB and presents the samples on its flash memory to the m1 which sees it as a usual pcm card. No hardware modding. I'm an owner of m1 for 30 years and have owned waverex card which I fully paid for, a couple of years or so. No affiliation incentive or referral. Just wanted to share this amazing invention.

[@excessofficialTV]

@@therobyouknowtv This is fantastic ! Never know about it, this is really great ! Thank you so much for this information !

[@therobyouknowtv]

@@excessofficialTV you're welcome. I was amazed when I saw it. It works perfectly from my experience as an owner. These innovations working with old hardware are super clever as well as heart warming, extending the capabilities.

[@therobyouknowtv]

PS The waverex pcm card works with m1, m1r and wavestation.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

@@therobyouknowtv Don't botter about the WaveRex. You better find yourself a T2ex/T3ex as that comes with built-in sample support, and those machines are cheaper than a WaveRex.

[@madness8556]

I had a Korg T3EX for over 25 years and milked everything I could from its limited 16 note polyphony, 8 track low resolution sequencer and 2 fx processors.

[@Wondwind]

So what if it is? It is fantastic.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

It was always my dream synth!

[@officialpoa3171]

*Michael Jackson used that extensively in the 90's...*

[@lovemadeinjapan]

Why the reboot at 14:36? Just select another patch and they will be available. Going to look at that sysex control of parameters in detail later. There must have been something about the M1 to ditch the D50 right away. D50's all look immaculate today, M1's are often beaten up. So the rise and fall of the D50 must have been quick. If you are after an M1, look T3/T2(ex) first, often cheaper, and way more versatile. You do want the real machine, the looks and feel are still stellar today.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Nice tip to avoid the reboot! Never tried it that way. The M1 was made for 7 years where the D50 was only 3 years so certainly many more M1s out the getting gigged (and trashed!).

[@lovemadeinjapan]

@@StephenTallamyMusic Production time does not relate to gig time per se.

[@madness8556]

I've written elsewhere that the T3/T3EX is an M1 on steroids with double the amount of waveform ROM at 8mb, 50 note sequencer that's much easier to use thanks to the larger LCD. 4 midi outs configurable in 2 sets allowing the T series to be fabulous master keyboards. The biggest con of the T series was their high price. Luckily, I got a T3 on sale at a price that I could afford, otherwise I would have bought an M1 with a DF1 data filer and upgraded it to an M1EX version once finances allowed.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

@@madness8556 Not any more. The M1 was 4K guilders back then, the T2ex 7K, now I have 3x T2ex for under 700€ combined. That would have bought me 1 and a half M1.

[@conan5885]

@@lovemadeinjapan Thank God for people's ignorance on what the Korg T series really was. A lot of people have no idea, and just want the M1 because that's "the famous one". I played the M1 for almost 20 years (90's to late 2000's) and always lusted after the T3 and 01/W. Now i have all of them. Why would someone want an M1 when they can have a T3 (a lot cheaper these days) is beyond me. I hope people will stay blissfully ignorant, maybe i can snatch me another T3 for €100... 🥳

[@davemaverick8438]

5:43 25:46

[@user-a1a2a3a4a6]

Its 90s by design duuuuu.

[@kabukijoe99]

Please use subtitles for no english speaking people to understund you better

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

There are built-in automatic subtitles on all videos, if you want to enable them selecting the CC icon. On mobile devices you can get to this by pausing the video and clicking the CC icon near the top right. On desktop devices you can hover over the video and CC will be near the bottom of the video on the right side.

[@adriandelgado74]

Nice video. Real studio and not just 'for the picture". Would be better if you clean your dust-covered gear and do some slight cable management.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Yeah dusting is often neglected! Time to get a paint brush out.

[@808music3]

Korg m1 is only famous for its electric piano. Ive used it so much, that it started to show it age. Daw is the future in music workstation.

[@StephenTallamyMusic]

Certainly the electric piano was a staple in a lot of dance music!

[@conan5885]

AHAHAHAHAHA...|| Maybe for bedroom kids and "producer wannabee's" the DAW's are "he future in music workstation" For a musician, who plays on a stage together with other musicians, LIVE, actual Workstations and Synths is still the best way to go.