KORG 707 Digital Synthesizer 1987 | HD DEMO
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- (c) 2020 by AnalogAudio1
Synthesizer demo of the digital "performing synthesizer" Korg 707 from 1987.
I used an original Korg SDD-3000 for delay effects and a Lexicon MPX-500 for reverb effects. In the intro music, the Korg 707 was played along with a Dynacord EC 280 analog delay. All the sounds were programmed by me.
The Korg 707 is a digital synthesizer based on Yamaha's FM (frequency modulation) synthesis. Forerunner of the Korg M1 optical design. It has a "performance editor" containing parameter sliders which allow sound tweaks in realtime - this is a great feature! Unlike the similar Korg DS-8, you can store the tweaked sounds. MIDI multimode. Fat unisono mode, layer and split capabilities. It can be used as a remote keyboard with a guitar strap and it can run on batteries. Very well playable keybed, clearly borrowed from Yamaha. it's capable of some excellent (but not too complex) digital sounds! I love its sound, design and feel!
I love this little synth - used extensively both live and in recrodings for many years. Very expressive and easy to work with. The artifacts gives it a distinct character which makes it stand out well in a mix.
Exactly :-)
Yes it is a cool one . I own two . I used always one live with my band Ntrsn years ago .
I bought one of these for £200 back in 1989, it’s currently gathering dust up in my loft. After watching this I should dig it out and see if it still works
I'm amazed at how year after year you keep presenting synths I've never heard of, despite the fact that I feel like I should have heard of them. 707 makes most of us think of a drum machine. This is quite a little beauty of a synth, thanks for sharing it with us.
It came in different colors too. I had a red one. You could also put a guitar strap on it.
It was the litlle brother of the Ds8 and Korg answer to Yamaha Dx series .
excellent demo as always, which shows how interesting this synthesizer is, it sounds beautiful, beautiful melodies too, my cat also enjoyed this video, thank you!
I BOUGHT THIS KEYBOARD BACK IN '95 OR '96 AND STILL HAVE IT. LOVE IT STILL. CREATED A LOT OF SONGS WITH THIS.
I played this synth, at a music store when new. I believe this was meant to play like a guitar. Very raw sounding, love it! 😎
Like a DX-7, this machine has a some awesome bass sounds. The Laser Bass factory preset sounds really nice and comes alive when played with a weighted piano keyboard controller. The 707 has a decent keyboard, but I prefer to play it with an 88 note controller to get more expression out of the EP, Piano and Bass sounds. Very underrated little machine.
Man I didn't think things got that plastic and ugly until the 90s. Truly ahead of it's time!
I found my 707 in a pawn shop 20 years ago and still have it. Has an interesting spin on FM synthesis.
A truly underrated synthesizer, which never had the same amount of success as their arch nemesis Roland D-50.
Thank you for showing off a few sounds from this synth. I am currently considering buying one, and this was a very helpful video in that regard...
I had two of these hooked up to MMT8 Alesis sequencer and a Alesis HR16 Drum Machine. My first MIDI setup. Now I have Korg Kronos, E-MU Proteus 2000, and a Nord Lead A1. I do long for the beauty of the 707.
The Alesis's are still great machines today - great early setup! The Korg 707 ist still great as long as it's not the only one synth in the setup.
My sister had similar set up! She regrets getting rid of the drum machine. She still has the sequencer
@@vintagegirl1961 No I do not still have the sequencer. Got rid of both AND the amplifier and the CONCERT speakers. Damn it SO Pissed off!!!!!
Keyboard synthesizers are "expensive" Good luck finding one under $200 . The guitar amp will work but I have to be careful not to blow the speakers.
This thing is my TX81z with all the hidden features brought out front. Same chip, different day.
A totally forgotten KORG-beauty!
Just subscribed because of this upload!
Back in 87 I joined a band that did everything from Rush to Cher and in between. I was a metal bass player but looking for something different, boy did I find it. Since a lot of bass parts were keyboard I went out and bought one of these. Still have it in very good condition sitting in my studio. One really nice feature I found out about later is you can adjust the tuning on it, making it usable to those that detune.
My sister has this same exact one. She bought it brand new and it's in mint condition. She loves it!
My first synth... you nailed more than most of us did on the true potential of this piece of gear. Simplified fm synthesis on a cheap plastic board. Rare it is indeed as it is under estimatwed though I would never sell mine. If you'd like to share your patches I'd be more than interested in analysing them. Mine is gathering dust but god, how basses and strings did sound good on this board without any onboard chorus nor any sfx section. Keep up the good job on these ''unwanted'' beasts.Cheers
thank you!
This is a pretty cool sounding synthesizer.
This thing had some really 90s design cues. It’s actually pretty ahead of its time in that regard
Indeed... they obviously fired the previous designer (Korg DS-8 and older Korgs - 1983-1987). A good move in my book
That sounds great . I’ve never seen one . I’m more of a guitar guy who collects older keyboards .
Very nice synth, good sound design and well presented.
thanks!
I had Korg ds-8 (the same synth engine) and I loved it a lot! Very easy to program. Such an amazing synth! Now I regret selling it :(
I have mine still from 1987. Can I play it on a 10W guitar amplifier? I heard it's possible but I have to make sure not to put the volume up too high on the Korg. Has anyone tried it?
yp lp usaba en midi combinado con un kaway spectra. sonaban infernal!!!!
3:54 sounds like the patch that was used in the song 'digital delay'.....by i forget who, but it was from the 80's...
i think it was one of prince's comrades
Digital Display by Ready For The World! Yeah, it's definitely a similar sound on that track!
It's a sample and hold lfo controlling the pitch - a classic "hacker/early computer" sound
@@dmhrpr756 i know what it is..
It just sounds like that exact patch.
I tried looking for the song, but in not sure who its by or what it's called
I looked this synth up after seeing people trashing it in a forum... Sounds cool to me!
Perfect demo - thanks!
Thank you!
I got me one in me shed right now.
this is actually a DX7 in a Korg shell. Look it up
It's a 4 OP FM synth so closer to DX11
Классные звуки! Космос! Сейчас такого мало где услышишь, мало кто использует! Надо больше продвигать эти синтезированные звуки!))
Woah! What a dark sounding FM synth!
You are all brainwashed with this darkside crap!
@@wolfgangmarkusgstrein8522 Yes i totally agree why use the term dark to describe a synths sound cause any synth can be dark depending on the filter&env settings , maybe people should be more specific and say this synth gets a bit/lot brighter than this other synth etc.
Loved mine in 1988 white version , the ds8 is the same engine
amazing!!!
I didn't think about this until now, but there needs to be special holidays for producers/DJs.
In this case, it would be July 7th.
wow, thats a cool machine!
機材も良いけど、機材を使いこなすところがカッコ良い！
Digital display!! Ready for the World!! 1985!! At 3:54!! Awesome 😎 awesome 👏🏻!!!
thanks! But it was 1987 ;-)
I’ve had one of these for about a year and the feel of the keybed is better than my Krome EX 73. My opinion of course - but man, it’s a great feel!
Love your stuff. Any change you'll sell these patches someday?
The Korg 707 was my very first synth, and it got stolen some 30 years ago. Despite now having quite a collection of great synths, including a brand new Digitone Keys, I still have such nostalgia for my old 707. Fortunately, I snatched one up in excellent condition on eBay today! Any chance you'd publish your presets? They sound great!
Had one of these ages ago. Didn't keep it, although it looked cool and started elements for the M1 family (buttons & wording). It's basically a multitimbral DX100 (same FM chip as far as I know?) but with only 2 algorithm settings equivalent to "1" & "5" and no odd operator frequencies, big limitations for FM programmers. If I remember there was a "pseudo" MIDI delay, same as on the DX11. No chorus, only double up for 4-note poly. Velocity response was it's only saviour. Korg bought a stake in Yamaha in 1986, hence this. Within a year or two we had sampled based keyboards out like the D50 and M1 with proper built in effects which, for the music of the time, blew this (and it's older brother the DS-8) out of the water.
and it got aftertouch. If it had built in chorus it will be much better, because it sounded thin without effects
Used to have one of these as a teenager
Never heard of this synth :) thanks
6:15 ...oh yeah
WOW, so good!
I hear some Weval in those presets ..they make great use of this synth
The 707 was basically the same synth as the DS-8, except it was billed as being "wearable" because they put strap buttons on it and used a shorter keyboard. The things used to be everywhere. My first synth was a DS-8, and if I could find a 707 cheap enough, I might be convinced to buy one, except that the real-time control can be a bit limiting....
Wwwoow! You blew my mind and I am in awe. How did you have the patience to create such rich sounds? I have to sit down and WORK! 😂 Did you use an editor or just the synth?
Respect!
Thank you! I created the sound on the synth itself. I also have to sit down and work, the patches don't fly to me ;-)
I remember playing this in the music store back then. Eventually went for a Kawai K1.
PCM waves were much more popular than FM in 1988.
You made the better choice imo
I HAD A KAWAI K11 GOT SICK OF IT AFTER 10 YEARS
This sounds pretty great
but the signal oon the wideo is not raw, after fx. had it. without effects it sounds thin. Worse than some of the Yamaha FM home keyboards
@@keyhoarder that's true of almost all keyboards though, they need some effects added to sound their best. This certainly produces some sounds I enjoyed hearing.
@@sitedrm yeah but when is see a demo of synth its far more relatable when its raw. Otherwise you can put a lot of FX and make a plan FM home keyboard sound great.
I was dissapointed with Korg 707 because consumer home FM keyboards with similar sound engine like Yamaha PSR-36 sounded better (yeah, it's one of the best home keyboards ever, it has double/detune option). Also many of the Yamaha consumer keyboard models from this era had built in chorus effect which didnt affect polyphony, called "stereo symphonic" (yamaha ps-55, mk-100)
It goes pretty good with FM sound. Why they didn't include any chorus in Korg 707? Don't know.
I must say, that i liked the form factor - compact 49 keyss with velocity and aftertouch.
my demo of this synth
czcams.com/video/lzV94gXXHUE/video.html
Hmm, are those guitar strap lugs I see? Always loved your color-mask format AA, never change! :)
thanks! Yes, those pegs are for a guitar strap
Yeah. I think you're supposed to play it like a lead instrument buy putting your left hand behind and use the performance controls by curling fingers round the back edge.
Please can you share the patches that you used in this video? I have a 707 and while it's clearly capable, I have great difficult getting it to sound as good as you do.
Awsome demonstration & great sounds! Any chance you could share/sell the patches? Pls let us know :)
Those transparent round grey buttons on the interface remind me of the Korg "prophecy"?
they are the same, also the mod/pitch wheels...
@@AnalogAudio1 You're right. I noticed that to.
Back then I had the impression the 707 was meant to be plugged into the A3 and MIDIed to the M3 and so on, for the expressionist keyboard players who wanted to get to the front
3:53 👽
Not even remotely rare 😅😅😅 It was a very popular cheap synth, and in the 80's I think every high school band had one. Lord knows, we had ours, and I still have it. Great demo! Fun! We never had a memory card for it. I hope I can add the card to my arsenal. This board loads DS-8 patches too! Happy Sunday :)
Lots of reviews saying this is a cheesy and mediocre FM synth. Listening this demo, I think they were wrong, lots of cool sounds are possible, as shown here.
per essere digitale, suona un sacco bello!
Ci sono molti bei synth digitali, il suonare un sacco bello non è una prerogativa solo degli analogici :-)
@@mima85 ma infatti io non ho mica fatto una critica o una discriminazione. Ho solo detto che, per essere digitale ha un suono molto bello. I digitali tendono ad essere piuttosto freddi e taglienti, mentre questo korg 707 suona molto caldo e rotondo. Va da se che i synth digitali suonino diversi dagli analogici. Poi va a gusti. Il D-50 è digitale ma è stupendo... tanto per citarne uno.
@@pinocarella_00 OK, come non detto. È che ormai ho letto talmente tante volte di gente che ripete il solito cliché di "analogico=bello, digitale=schifo" come se fosse un mantra, che non riesco più a distinguere quando uno effettivamente critica e quando no.
@@mima85 hahahahaha.. si si ti capisco. E' vero, capita anche a me. Poi diciamoci la verità.... di parlatori è pieno il mondo, gente che non sa una favazza di musica e di strumenti che però parla... parla... parla... Ma chi macina synth da una vita, sa distinguere la fuffa dalla roba bella e ben fatta. Il DX7 è digitale... e stikazzi vogliamo parlarne? Ha segnato un'epoca! Il D-50 è un capolavoro! Sulla fascia allta: Fairlight CMI... digitale. Aiuto! Synclavier: digitale. Tanta roba! Scendendo di prezzo, Access Virus Ti: digitale. Usato da tutti me compreso. Fa spavento. E poi Hartmann Neuron: digitale, un synth ostico, che ha avuto poco successo ma con un carattere pazzesco. E anche Korg Z1, altro digitale di scarso successo ma dalle possibilità infinite. E anche il fratellino minore, il Prophecy, monofonico. Un vero piccolo capolavoro che prima o poi mi ricompro. E poi le workstation... Kurzweil serie K (ne ho due) e me le tengo strette. Digitali ma sono il centro del mio setup. Potrei andare avanti per ore... hehehe Attualmente c'è un synth che mi attira: Arturia Matrixbrute 2.0 ......mi fa gola!
Year of the yamaha QY 10 sequencer.
The QY series begins with the QY10 in 1991...
шикарно звучит
The Korg´s DS-8 brother but without the (useful) FX effects processor and with a less "professional" looking. One of the things I like from this 707 is that you can store the modifications you do with the faders. DS-8 can´t do that. Another great thing about these synths is that they are VERY easy to program even from their own interface.
IMO, this 707 and DS-8 are two very underrated FM sounding synths.
Indeed, beeing able to store modified patches via sliders is a big pro for the Korg 707. I personally also like the design more than the DS-8, which is bulky and big.
I believe the Korg 707 and DS8 are arranged as 2x2 operator synths. That way they can be programmed more like an analog synth. The results are very harsh though. The DS8 may have different presets that come closer to the Casio CZ series. Comparing a Casio CZ-1000 to a Korg 707: the Casio sounds warmer and more analog. The Korg has more low end and more bite.
Yes, both sound very different... The Casios can produce filter sweep-kind of sounds, which the Korg doesn't have. The overall, the (FM) bass sounds are much stronger. Both of them can sound partly analog-like. But the digital sounds are what they do best.
The Casio CZs are often talked about as FM synthesis copies. That's why I called it up as a direct alternative. But they're more like wavetable synthesis. Only when you use the ring modulator, you get FM-like sounds. With an FM synth you can't switch the 'ring modulator' off, to get analog -like sounds.
I'd like to hear some nice brass, or strings sounds out of a 707.
@@doordedeur 6:16 you hear good strings... but only in layer mode they sound good
Thanks for the info. reverse is about to get a sale
nelsen inc. 1113 reverb?
I bought a Rogue G-10 guitar amplifier for my Korg 707. I works fine because I do not intend on blasting it. I am using it just to practice. I have the setting on the amp at 1 and the same on my Korg and that is already LOUD. This amplifier is awesome!
I used an external microphone from my computer to record sound coming out of the amplifier
VIDEO:
Rock lead guitar:
czcams.com/video/Odsr8lJK7uY/video.html
Sounds a lot like the DX synths of the era.
What's the price pls because my favorite keyboard is korg
I have seen them for 100 to 200 the most nowadays!!
If i had to guess an early VPM synth from Korg.
Is this easier to program than DX series?
well, it depends... here you have to do with oscillator 1, 2, ADSR, brightness, etc., but not with operators, algorithms, rate/level parameters and feedback levels... for someone who never understood FM theory, it's indeed easier
I own the Korg DS-8 (same synth but with some minimus differences) and I think It´s very easy to program. I have programmed many sounds just from the synth (no soft editors) and without any user´s manual.
You can hear those sounds in this demo: czcams.com/video/RGEElbExKgU/video.html
😲HEY EVERYBODY... WHATS THE 707 THAT CAME WITH A CROWD ACCOMPANIMENT??? THERE WAS A BUTTON YOU COULD HEAR A HUGE CROWD! IT WAS GREAT, I JUST CANT FIGURE OUT IF IT WAS A KORG 707, OR A YAMAHA 407 or 707?? I JUST CANT REMEMBER! I WAS A KID, AND IT WAS 1982 AT A BRENDLES STORE.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU THINK IT IS?!
THANK YOU!!! 👍👌👋
Jeremy
I think you confuse it with some Yamaha keyboard of the PSR line from the 90ies... has nothing to do with it
@@AnalogAudio1 hey thank you for the help on that keyboard, BUT, it definitely had an audience accompaniment on it, and it was silver...Yamaha, or KORG I'm not sure of, but if was a nice little keyboard for $489.00 USD
Awesome demo! Unrelated question, do you think you'll get the ASM Hydrasynth and possibly sell patches for it?
How the hell do you know? :-) YES! I'm figuring out how it's working right now
@@AnalogAudio1 awesome! :D
'yeeah..yeeeah....ye...ye...yeeeeah....ye..............that would annoy after while. lol.
never heard of this thing....sounds pretty cool though.
wow, now is available thru the volca key ? and other synth
Probably not the Volca keys. Might be able to get some similar sounds from the FM, but it's more based on the Yamaha DX 7 though it'd hardly exact. FM synthesis is a challenge to learn, but if you learn it well enough to approximate some of these patches, that's your best bet for sounding like this with a Volca.
I think this came just a year before the M1 and was killed in that avalanche of PCM waveforms.. this one was an affordable DX9 alternative perhaps sounding better than it also
Yes, and another reason was, that 1987 Yamaha had many FM synths in every price range to offer
To my understanding, Yamaha had bought into Korg at this point in time as a lifeline, and this along with the DS-8 were rapid synths meant to keep Korg afloat until the M1 hit.
Wicked keytar! The Poly 800 has a stwp sequencer. Does this one have a sequencer as well? Awesome sounds man🎹🤘
no sequencer...
@@AnalogAudio1 I'm sure one can be attached🤔
@@KeytarKris with MIDI always :-)
I ended up purchasing one of these. I love it. Thanks for sharing!🎹🤟
1:00
Great demo. Are those presets? It sounds much better than I remember it.
those were all my own creations...
@@AnalogAudio1 Great job!
@@FOCtv Thanks!
I hope Behringer will re-release it. Pls
Hahaha... not everything needs to be re-released...
Its a direct descendant of the Korg Prophecy
It really looks like :-) I always found the optical similarities funny, technically they have nothing in common. But wait.... both have the "performance editor" with additional sliders or knobs.
Did you know about the Roland JX 1?
Not only that I know it, I even have it here :-)
@@AnalogAudio1 really... are you gonna make a vid from it?
@@tabimelec you bet :-) but I have many synths here waiting to be demoed
Somehow, it remind me of my Venom
No, it was not rare...it was everywhere! The shops tried to push it when I really wanted a Poly 61 for generic sounds. The 707 didn't sell because the presets were useless!
just a few thousands were made (Yamaha DX7 was sold 200.000 times)... compared to other Korgs it's rather rare
Definitely a nice synth, although It was considered kind of a loser at the time because you already had the Dx7ii which IMO was a better synth, better build quality and massive library. And the d50 existed as well. So this wasn't really doing much new. I believe it's the brother to the korg DS8 which has a nicer keybed.
True, I worked in a shop and no one bought one, we had one on display for a year. The M1 came out and we had to discount it further
@@dmomcilovic9185 After that discount I'm sure you couldn't say not to that sweet little synth and keytar, right? :-)
Bought one somewhere in '87-'88. Had it for a couple of years, tried to but never liked it.
The Korg 707 is not everybody's darling... But I love it, a very nice little synth
@@AnalogAudio1 Yeah, really...once you discovered the KORG-sound, you'll never get rid of loving it!
Not rare, no one wanted this when it came out. I worked in a synth shop, and no one bought one in the year we had in on display
It has the same synth engine, as DS-8, i think
I have two loool
I had one and played live with it. Basicly it sucked to be honest.
Looks really ugly but sounds pretty cool in your capable hands.
More to it than meets the eye!
Thanks! Well, I like the looks. Somewhere between Korg M1 and Prophecy
It looks cool
Весьма жирненько звучит!
101
Tuve uno en esos años.......formato muy feo ......lo usę para un tipo de musica que no servía.terminó sin pena ni gloria para mi reemplazandolo por M1
Sorry. I hated the 707. I thought KORG was making toys for kids when it came out. I remember thinking it was hard for me to take KORG seriously. It wasn't till the M1 came out that I liked them again.
Cool vid....but it's not rare.
Thanks! Only few thousands were produced... not impossible to find, but rather rare
It’s rare, hardly ever see any here in Australia.
Wish synthesisers had stayed Analog (with the exeption of some like the DX7), instead of the detuned digital shit we have now that just sounds like a swarm of insects.
Spicy take there, bro
Fm synthesis is versatile. I found subtractive synthesis to be overrated and expensive, vintage analog costs a lot of money and when it breaks those parts lol.
it aint that rare
only few thousands were produced
I'm desperately looking for factory patches for my Korg 707.
Can anyone help me? Thank you.