Korg PS-3300 - Resonators

Resonators

A much desired feature of the Korg PS-3300 is its Resonators which is a set of three band-pass filters per PSU-3301 synthesizer unit. The frequency of each of the bands can be set with control knobs on the front panel or modulated with an LFO or an envelope to add animation to the sound and there is also a depth control for the level of resonance. These band-pass filters are in addition to the usual low-pass filters that are common to all analog synthesizers. It is these Resonators that partly gives the Korg PS-3300 its distinct sound and sonic flexibility. For example, large synthesized choir or orchestral type sounds (often referred to as "pad" sounds) can be made to sound more authentic and richer than those obtained with just a low-pass filter since the Resonators, when static, can be used as formant filters. There is also great scope for phased, spacey and abstract synthesizer sounds by modulating the peak frequencies of the Resonators as previously described to produce sweeping effects, a much favoured technique used by Vangelis, for example on the track "Chung Kuo" from his album "China" where white noise was passed through the PS-3300's sweeping Resonators.

Vangelis can be seen playing his Korg PS-3300 in the "Chariots Of Fire" video, positioned right next to his Yamaha CS-80, both keyboards can be spotted around 1:40 in the video. The Resonators can be heard in all their glory on the Space track "Blue Tears", at 1:59 in the track a rich synthesizer bass sound is introduced which gets brighter throughout the track in a very throaty wovel-like way, a signature sound that only could be achieved with the Korg PS-3300 Resonators back in the 70s.