Korg PS-3300 - Architecture

Architecture

The layout of the front panel clearly shows the modular origins of the Korg PS-3300. Oscillators, filters and envelopes are all arranged in vertical narrow strips, much like the front panel of the Moog modular synthesizer with patch points at the bottom of each strip. No patching is required to start playing since all the normal connections have been made internally, this is often referred to as a "semi-modular" configuration and is easier to use than a conventional modular with unconnected modules.

The Korg PS-3300 is actually three complete synthesizer units in one box where each synthesizer unit is almost identical to the smaller Korg PS-3100 and is labelled as "PSU-3301" on the front panel (PSU, abbreviation for Polyphonic Synthesizer Unit). The unique feature of 48-note polyphony means that each unit has 48 oscillators, low-pass filters, envelopes and amplifiers, which makes for 144 oscillators, 144 filters, 144 envelopes and 144 amplifiers in total for all three units. Each Oscillator, called Signal Generator by Korg, has 6 waveforms (Triangle, Sawtooth, Wide Rectangle, Narrow Rectangle, Pulse and Pulse Width Modulation), as do the LFOs, called Modulation Generators by Korg, (Triangle, Sawtooth, Ramp, Rectangle, Pink Noise and White Noise). The filters have the usual Frequency Cut-off and Resonance (called Peak by Korg) control knobs and the envelopes have Attack, Decay and Sustain control knobs plus an unconventional Release function which can be controlled by a foot pedal acting much like the sustain pedal on a piano. The envelopes and LFOs are notable for their wide range, for example the Attack of the envelope can be several minutes at its most extreme and the LFOs are very fast, extending into the audio range.

An example of an LFO-modulated sound on the Korg PS-3300 can be heard on the tracks "Magic Fly" and "Fasten Seat Belts" by the 70s French synthpop band Space. Here, they're using the Sawtooth LFO waveform to modulate the Filter Frequency Cut-Off to create the fat rhythmic synthesizer backing beat for both tracks, the Korg PS-3300 being clearly distinguishable by its unique oscillator and filter sound. This approach was a common method used to create synthesizer beats before the existence of MIDI and software sequencers.

Each of the three PSU-3301 synthesizer units has its own individual audio output and many Control Voltage output and input options for oscillator, filter, envelope and LFO. This semi-modular design provides a vast number of modulation possibilities, being freely patchable by making connections with cables. There's also a Resonator (see below) per unit and two positional crossfade knobs which sets varying Volume and Filter Frequency Cut-off for a synthesizer unit across the keyboard allowing complex layers of sound to be created when all three units are played together. Further amplitude modulation with the LFO as modulation source can be controlled with the Amplitude Modulation knob, enabling constantly evolving sounds as the different layers fade in and out. LFO modulation of oscillator and filter also have their own dedicated intensity control knobs and here lies some of the secret behind the big sound of the Korg PS-3300. The effect of an ensemble of instruments can be created since it is possible to modulate each of the three oscillators and three filters per key with an individual free-running LFO, for a total of six free-running LFO modulation sources in parallel. Jean-Michel Jarre put the big sound of the Korg PS-3300 to good use on the album "Concerts In China", and recently dusted it of for his 2008 Oxygene Live tour.

Another example of the Korg PS-3300's big sound and prowess as an orchestra of synthesizers can be heard on Keith Emerson's soundtrack for the film "Nighthawks" where the Korg PS-3300 was used for virtually all the synthesized sounds, including synthesized orchestral brass, fat Moog-like bass, synthesized timpani and orchestral string effects. The Korg PS-3300 was also heavily used on the Emerson, Lake and Palmer album "Love Beach", for example on the track "Canario". Indeed Keith Emerson loved the Korg PS-3300 so much that he became the official endorser for both the Korg PS-3300 and the PS-3100, appearing in Korg product catalogs and on posters. It was a bit of a coup for Korg since Emerson was known to be a big fan of Moog synthesizers, which at the time was the industry leader.