Korg i3 Workstation: A pioneering 90's arranger

The sounds of this keyboard are probably the most 90's thing I've ever heard!
If you want to buy/sell music gear globally, check out Gearfacts on Facebook :)

[@markstevens5442]

I still have mine, bought it brand new when it first came out in 1993 :)

[@shadrachjackson752]

Wow, that's been 30 years. You really took good care of that keyboard.

[@markstevens5442]

@@shadrachjackson752 - Yep, still fully functional and in great condition :)

[@shadrachjackson752]

@@markstevens5442 Good deal man that sounds awesome. I've been looking at a Korg M-50 88 myself.

[@user-xr9xx7pj8w]

​@@shadrachjackson752かくきかくここかくきか😅

[@hari-hi6bn]

Dose korg i3 have protamento ,legato?

[@Alex-kk5yh]

A Korg Keyboard without Combis? I remember playing this keyboard when I was younger.... Pretty good warm sounds, classic 90s Synth Korg sounds! Thank You Gearfactis for sharing another Beautiful Review! God Bless!

[@MRB2809]

I owned an i3 for many years until it was replaced by the i30, both superb keyboards.

[@gearfacts]

Couldn't agree more!

[@DuayneHoward]

My friend used to work at Korg. I remember when he brought over the new M1 to rehearsal...

[@flexokorg1]

Good old i3. Legendary. Amazing 🎹🎶🎵🍻🎹👍👍👍

[@ShellyAnderson0624]

Impressive sound, actually, for that decade! Great video :)

[@EliErshofficial]

It actually looks pretty good for a old keyboard the triton in the 1999 was one of those keyboards that everyone knew I've personally never heard of the korg i3 but seems hella dope soon I want to get both the triton le and the Roland fantom

[@bandungbusdriver5256]

i can say i3 is the mother of all modern entertainer keyboard...

[@pianokeyjoe]

This keyboard was popular in churches and sold in music stores dedicated selling to churches so.. that says alot about the sounds and the setup

[@markstevens5442]

Don't be fooled by that, it's a very capable machine and will handle way more than just Church Music :)

[@markstevens5442]

The ones that were sold to Churches were totally wasted - granted they had some great organ sounds on there but there was way more to it than you think. The Rival at the time was the Technics KN-2000 which I was originally going to buy until I got introduced to the i3 - Totally different machine and I am glad I bought the i3. I remember going to meet another i3 owner back in the day as he had soundbanks that I did not have and vice versa. We arranged to meet for swaps. I demo'd some tracks that I had done on the i3 to show him what it was capable of (Whitesnake - Here I go again and Is this Love) to mention a couple. He was blown away by what he heard :)

[@hari-hi6bn]

Very good sound editing ❤ love it

[@kimthompson5871]

Now that sounds pretty darn good !

[@madness8556]

This was Korg's answer to the Roland E and Yamaha PSR series arrangers at the time. The i3 was assertively a Korg X3 minus combination mode with great arranger functions added.

[@gearfacts]

Yep 👍

[@doordedeur]

It has the sound engine from the 05R/W, but it misses the combis, which make Korg synths sound so rich.

[@MrThegravy70]

You can load combines in to the 16 track sequencer.

[@geatyeatyeat]

I found this piano forgotten on the grass. Thanks god, I found it because I need a piano to practice my school solo, and the best part is that I fix it that shows how good this piano is.

[@gearfacts]

Excellent I think it’s so cool to fix up abandoned or faulty gear. A keyboard that’s looked after well should last for 100 years easily.

[@stevewebb7126]

I used to have the Korg I4s .That was a good keyboard , especially the synth pads, Korg do the best synth pads .

[@gearfacts]

Agreed!

[@agst2006]

got incarnated thirty years later ...

[@mas3974]

Had one of these from new during the 90's. I wanted to make dance music, but I know looking back now it was the wrong option LOL.

[@gearfacts]

Hmm maybe, yeah. What other options did you look at then? I spent the 90's with a Yamaha DJX :)

[@mas3974]

I was very naive then. After buying the i3 I began looking more at Roland gear ie 909 303 etc. I did but a yamaha SY85 which wasn't great. However after a few year I discovered Reason software and then Logic which took me to another level @@gearfacts

[@glenesis]

Another great board :) ai2 standard banks in this, right? Very rich sounds. Looked like a heck of a workstation in its day. Auto accompaniment sounded very Portasoundish :) Of course it's a nice MIDI player, but it should have all the M1, T, and N waveforms in there for programming ai2 4-layer sounds. The only editor I could find for this tho was MIDI Quest, and that is pricey.

[@markstevens5442]

The accompaniments were loosely based around certain bands and songs. The Bonus was being able to actually programme those accompaniments to the song that you wish to play, all the instrumentation was already set up for you :)

[@waspcameras5836]

Hi gearfacts sounds like the krog i3 showing it's age

[@gearfacts]

Yep, we've come a long way in 30 years :)

[@gagikpetrosyan3770]

come riportare ripristinare tutto in base di fabrica????

[@waspcameras5836]

Hi gearfacts I really the 2 organ sounds on the korg i3 a lot

[@bestrickie2]

A good old synth though not completely user friendly. I owned one years ago, recorded a few demos using the 16 TRK sequencer.

[@gearfacts]

Yeah it's a weird one to use. Maybe jog wheels hadn't been fully introduced to the industry at the time..

[@ecclesoul]

It sounds like a lesser version of the M1. Am I wrong??? I'm asking because I have the software version of the M1 from Korg.

[@gearfacts]

Certainly lesser than the M1, less imaginative.

[@pegadadoaviao]

qual tutorial que ensina a criar os ritimos?

[@gearfacts]

All I can suggest is looking at the manual online, you just enter the model number for lead by “PDF” and it should appear

[@dawnr8511]

Well, thank goodness 3 1/2" floppy disks are still available to make backups, but I don't like using them. Put one in the disk drive and ya get rarr rarr, rarr p-tang click rarr rarr zoop and hope there are no read errors!

[@gearfacts]

Yep. There's a PCMCIA slot on the top that I didn't mention, too. No moving parts but still pretty haphazard when it comes to reliability. Didn't have a suitable card in my spare parts drawer.

[@davidm3569]

I'd be pretty happy with that still, good stuff to tease out. 😁 Bought a Roland GW8, used a while back and love some of the styles and really impressive sounds. Check out the KZbin versions of Hotel California and Ocean Breeze? ( Outrun arcade racer tune ) love the guitars 👍

[@gearfacts]

Oooooh those guitar sounds, yikes! I remember Outrun, I'll check it out.

[@davidm3569]

@@gearfacts Found it....... Ignition metal guitar Roland GW8 is the demo I said about........WOW 👍

[@waspcameras5836]

Hi gearfacts can you please make a video about the Casio ctk 480

[@CheminRecords]

Disculpe sabe como programar este teclado? Tengo uno desprogramado

[@gearfacts]

It’s not really a question that I can answer in one comment :-) but you can still get the manual online by searching, the model number followed by a “PDF”. It’s quite a lot of reading, but it has all the answers. Good luck :-)

[@ramofficial2725]

How do I install the GOTEK emulator on the Korg i3 keyboard?

[@gregodessite]

Used to have it, excellent instrument. What year exactly was it released in?

[@gearfacts]

1993

[@rafiqtagizade.87]

👋

[@vicky7915]

Could you please guide me how to set chords settings ? Chords isn't playing it's simply gives the selected voice sound instead of chords sound.

[@markstevens5442]

Sounds like you are in prog mode rather than either Arr Play or Backing Sequence modes (these are the buttons either side of Prog mode) Select Arr play for playing along and Backing sequence to create your own tracks using the Accompaniments :)

[@itistrish]

I"m trying to get my program "example" C 6-8 to come up and it won't now. Is there a place I can reset the programs or do you know why it won't come up?

[@gearfacts]

I'm pretty sure you can do an Initialization of the entire memory by holding Edit/Style and Arrange/Play while turning it on.

[@trishscheller7442]

Thx

[@trishscheller7442]

How does the new korg i3 compare to the vintage one in sounds and operating?

[@gearfacts]

Better in every way :)@@trishscheller7442

[@itistrish]

I didn't have to do that yet... I'm getting it to work with pushing the buttons for the arrangement sounds I need but it still doesn't show up anything has changed on the screen. It stays showing 1-1 arrangement not matter what button I push. Does that make sense? Hard to describe. I could take a video and send you?@@gearfacts

[@abedmusicstudio6353]

Hi Gearfac I have i3 from 90’s and the backup battery if is finished and need to replace it, could you please help with a short video clip how to replace the battery thanks.

[@gearfacts]

I don't have this keyboard anymore sorry, but I expect there'll be a video on this topic somewhere :)

[@stevehofer3482]

I remember being really impressed with this keyboard, but it was really expensive. Supposedly it had the same sounds as the T1. It seemed to me to have a better piano than the T1.

[@Am71919]

It had the same sounds as the T1 but they were of better quality

[@vicky7915]

Can anyone suggest me how to fix Korg i3 fault? It's automatically off when I start playing.

[@gearfacts]

Does this happen instantly every time you play? I could be a contact problem near the power input. Touching the keyboard might be just enough movement to stop that electricity getting in. If that's what it is, it's fairly easy to fix with a soldering iron.

[@vicky7915]

@@gearfacts thanks this problem is solved. But now new issue is this that my chords setting is out it does play with beat but when I want to play chords on my left hand without beat it doesn't play. It's just giving the selected tone sound. Can you please suggest me how to fix ?

[@joannearmstrong3268]

Hey, im hoping to get this keyboard tomorw, but theres no power lead, is it just a standard kettlebell lead? Like from a guitar amp? Thanks

[@gearfacts]

Hmm I can't remember to be honest, I sold it a few weeks ago. You can still look at the manual online by searching "Korg i3 PDF". If it's a power adapter, just grab a generic replacement from an electronics store, don't order one from Korg. Hope that helps :)

[@markstevens5442]

Yes, it is a standard Kettle lead, I still have my I3 and the original lead :)

[@waspcameras5836]

Hi gearfacts how do I find the keyboards your saleing on Facebook

[@gearfacts]

facebook.com/groups/Gearfacts

[@user-KORG]

Есть клёвые звучки!

[@gearfacts]

Yeah, very good for its time :)

[@spencer-cy6md]

Any one won't by one 2 owner from new not mark on it 350

[@gearfacts]

I buy the new version for $350, but not this older version :-)

[@trishscheller7442]

Is vintage Korg i3?

[@gearfacts]

Yes this is the vintage version. The new one is better in every way.@@trishscheller7442