Every one of them packs so much gear into such a little package. And the legends are all there - Korg Trident, Polysix, PS-3200, Mono/Poly, MS-10/20/50, VC-10... the list goes on and on. It all makes me so happy.
But out of all the gear spread across the three pages, one rather unassuming section of this catalog gets my full attention every time.
THIS:
I can hear you say it... "What? Bags? SOFT BAGS...?!?!?"
But if you look closer, they just aren't just bags. Some of them aren't even just Korg-branded bags. Three of them are PRODUCT BRANDED.
The funky blue bag proudly exclaims in bright yellow that it was specifically made for the LP10 electric piano. It kinda reminds me of my 80's blue and yellow Adidas gym bag I used to lug around. Or maybe that was the colour of my pants? Or shirt? Maybe both.
Anyways... back to those bags. That fire-engine red one? You can see it clearly written that it was designed to hold an X-911 guitar synthesizer.
And, although its hard to make out in the photo, the grey writing underneath the logo on that smaller brown bag at the back says "RHYTHM" - clearly made to carry their KR-55 and/or KR-33 Rhythm drum machine. You can see a photo of a KR55 snuggled right in on Polynomial's KR-55 Web page.
photo from MATRIXSYNTH!
The larger brown bag doesn't say what it was destined to carry in its belly, but I have seen it on MATRIXSYNTH - its made to fit the MS-10 perfectly. Drool.
For me, these bags are right up there with Roland's black and silver TB-303/606 vinyl carry bags. But unlike those bags, I've yet to trip over one of these Korg product bags IRL. In fact, I've only ever seen the red and blue bag in Korg catalogs.
So, if you have one of these bags, I'd love to see a better photo - preferably with an X-911 or LP-10 sitting it 'em.
Korg 1979 (?) General Catalog featuring PS-3300, PS-3200PS-3100 and PS-3010 polyphonic synthesizers, PS-3040 dual foot controller, PS-3050 60p junction box, PS-3001 60p cord, PS-3060 programmer remote controller, MS-10, MS-20,MS-50, Korg Sigma, M-500SP, 800DV, and 770 monophonic synthesizers, SQ-10 analog sequencer, MS-03 signal processor, MS-02 interface, MS-01 foot controller, VC-10 vocoder, PE-2000 and PE-1000 polyphonic emsembles, KA-180 keyboard amplifier, V-C-F effects, Mr. Multi effects pedal, SE-500, SE-300 stage echos, EM-570 echo mixer, SP-2035 speaker system, SM-20 Doncamatic Stageman, Mini Pops 120W and 120P, Mini Pops7, Mini Pops45, Mini Pops35, Mini Pops Junior, Korg Quartz tuning fork, WT-10A and GT-6 guitar tuner, RT-10 rhythm trainer, FK-3 2-channel volume pedal, FK-1 VCF pedal, Type S foot swtich, Type J foot switch, cords, hard cases, soft cases and stands.
Well... that was a mouthful.
I've posted a few vintage Korg general catalogs, including this one from 1984, and this cooler one from 1982, but the one I'm posting today is really really special. This little mini-catalog only measures about 4"x5", but it holds a big space in my heart. And it also holds a wack of juicy vintage Korg products. Unfortunately I couldn't find a print date, but based on the gear promoted (and more about what wasn't promoted) I came to the conclusion it was probably printed in early 1979.
For example, gear released by Korg in 1980 (according to Vintage Synth Explorer's interactive timeline) such as the Korg Trident and X-911 are not listed in the catalog. But the Korg Sigma, released around 1979, is included. Interestingly, other Korg gear released in 1979 like the Lambda and Delta are not included either. Which is why I considered an early 1979 print date for the catalog.
The catalog is tattered and worn - water-damaged to the point that the staples have left rust marks around the binding. But I still treasure it. And I knew that eventually an occasion worthy of such a celebratory posting would finally present itself.
So, what exactly am I celebrating, you ask?
The arrival of my Korg MS20 Mini!
Look over there (yay!) ----->
In fact, this catalog would be a great blue-print for Korg on all the gear they should reissue in their mini resurgence. Please, Korg? Pretty please? :)
You might recall that I also celebrated when Korg first announced the perfectly replicated MS20 Mini last January at NAMM, when I posted a lovely (and in much better condition) Korg MS-10/MS-20/SQ-10 brochure. As time went on after that announcement, rumors of short supplies and slow pre-order deliveries only made me want one more. And made me think that an early possession date was probably not going to happen.
My wishing apparently paid off, because it was with great happiness and surprise that one happened to land in my lap last week. And luckily it fits very nicely on my lap because that is where it will continue to sit until I can find time to rearrange my studio to fit it in. It's small, but not that small.
First-world problems, right?
There are a lot of great things about this mini-catalog. First and foremost, it makes all the products in the catalog look... well... mini. Just like the adorable new Korg MS20 Mini (did I mention I already got mine? :). And I can only hope that there are more Korg Mini products on the way.
Another reason this catalog is fantastic is that it is bilingual - English and what I'm gonna guess is Japanese. Very unique.
The products in the catalog are split up into logical sections, including my favorites - the poly synths, the mono synths (including the original MS20 of course!) and the rhythm machines sections.
It's that rhythm machine section that peaks my interest the most. I've had the opportunity to play on some of those Korg synths, but all of those Mini Pops rhythm machines have continued to elude me. My curiosity with drum machines in general is usually a good eight out of ten, and these Mini Pop machines push it to eleven.
The real problem is that older drum machines are like a drug - they are relatively cheap compared to vintage synths, and take up a lot less room in the studio. My growing drum machine collection is proof of my addiction. No, its not anything near Moby-scale [yet!], but lets just say there has been more than few vintage drum machines popping up locally for very reasonable prices. Can't turn that down.
I honestly didn't even realize the Mini Pops series was so varied until I had finally come across this catalog. I thought there was maybe one or two different machines, tops. Not six. And many of the series are quite different from the others in looks (mmmm... wood panels) and sound. The catalog, in particular, makes the Mini Pops45 sound intriguing: "Original circuitry for natural metallic percussion".
One day I'll finally get my hands on 'em.
But until them, I'll just keep this YouTube video bookmarked :D
Korg Accessories "Do you feel locked in" 1/2-page advertisement including MS-02 Universal Interface, MS-03 Signal Processor, MS-01 Foot Controller, SQ-10 Analog Sequencer, MS-50 Monophonic Synthesizer, and PCK-1 and PCK-2 Synthesizer Patch Cord Sets from page 8 in Keyboard Magazine February 1980.
Putting the design aspects of this ad aside for a second, I gotta say this has always been a stand-out ad for me. From a gear-freak perspective it puts some of the Korg pieces I've always craved to play with into a very small space. From the perspective of my appreciation of their marketing strategy, the first sentence of the ad-copy sums up Unicord/Korg's positioning of all this gear in the market:
"Do you feel locked-in because you can't expand outside your synthesizer brand?"
Synthesizer companies, including Korg, had spent years developing their own proprietary technologies, and on purpose or not, "locked-in" their users by implementing their own controls. It wasn't a perfectly walled garden, but it did a pretty effective job at keeping owners from buying outside their brand. Until quite recently (relative to the appearance of this ad), most consumers were only buying one or two synthesizers due to their high costs, and it was a lot easier to sell the consumer the second instrument if all those other synthesizers and sequencers from other companies weren't compatible with that first one they bought.
But, as prices for synthesizers dropped and synth stacks grew, demand also increased for gadgets that could link different brands of synths together. Korg acknowledged this situation and wanted to make sure they could accommodate these growing needs.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the ad (I'll get to that in the second half of the blog post), not much could be said about each piece of equipment. But luckily two of the products made it into the Spec Sheet section of Keyboard Magazine two months earlier in the December 1979 issue.
"The MS-50 synthesizer expander module has a multi-mixable waveform VCO, VCF, two VCAs, a highpass filter, two envelope generators with normal and inverted outputs, an LFO, a variable voltage supply, a 3-channel amp, a signal inverter, a ring modulator, a sample-and-hold, a pink/white noise generator, waveform dividers, an envelope follower/trigger detector, an AC/DC meter, a manual triggering switch, a headphone amp, and multiples."
"The SQ-10 analog sequencer is a 3x12 sequencer with separate portamento
controls for two of the outputs, linear and exponential clock speed
inputs for step spacing variation, and remote start, stop, and step
capabilities. the unit can be used to drive up to three separate
synthesizers. Pirce is $500.00. Korg, 89 Frost St., Westbury, New York,
11590."
To find out more on the other pieces of gear, Google away. Lots of good info online - for example, this MS-02 page.
So, about the design of this ad....
Just as Korg was acknowledging that many musicians felt "locked-in" by their synthesizer brand, I'm sure the designer felt "locked-in" when someone broke the news to him that he was building the ad. I'm guessing that this is how the conversation went down*:
(* some kind of legal disclaimer: This is very likely NOT AT ALL how the conversation went down)
Creative director: Hey Bob, finally got all the pieces of that new Unicord ad for you.
Designer: Awesome. I'm a big fan of Korg gear.
CD: Okay. Great. First, here's five photos of Korg gear Unicord wants to includ in the ad.
Designer: Wow - nice stuff. These will look great in a full page spread.
CD: Yah, about that. Since this is really just promoting Korg's line of accessories, they've decided to go with a half-pager.
Designer: Huh. * thinks a little bit * Okay, no problem. The photos will be a little dark when printed so small, but we can maximize each photo's size to fill the available space and can select a few accent colours to help balance everything out.
CD: Um... actually, it's a black and white ad. The budget was really slashed for this one since for the last two years Unicord has really been burning through cash placing multiple full-page advertisements in pretty much every issue of Keyboard - the MS-10 and MS-20 synthesizer, Sigma synthesizer, Lambda Polyphonic Ensemble, and VC-10 vocoder. So, yah - this one is black and white only. Did I mention half-page?
Designer: * nods head *
CD: Great. Oh, and here is the ad-copy. I know it looks a little long at around 200 words, but you can fit all those words in around the images, can't you? Try using really compact letters.
Designer: They're called "fonts".
CD: What? Whatever. No one will ever have to know technical terms like "fonts". Hey - also, try using something fancy, like italics. Those always look good in ads.
Designer: Italics will make the words harder to read, especially in such a small forma...
CD: * interrupts * Whatever. Just do it. Oh, did I mention the VP of Marketing's son is taking "Space" in his
grade two science class and it would be really great if you could include a large unnecessary
photo of the Earth in the ad?
Designer: Ummm... *grabs sketch pad* Here... kinda like this...?
CD: Yaaaaah... no... Could you put it right in the centre of the ad? Oooh, yeah, like that. Now make that Earth photo larger...
laaaaarger. You know, the photo of the Earth represents Korg's growth and world-wide presence. We're sending a message to the reader.
Designer: I got that. But it really takes up a lot of space that could be used to help layout all that content you just gave me. And don't you think the three or four full-page Korg ads that have been appearing in each issue of Keyboard for the last two years has already given readers the impression that Korg is a world-wide company?
Korg Family of Products advertisement including the ES-50, Delta, Sigma, M500 Micro Preset, MS-10, MS-20, MS-50 and Trident synthesizers, CX-3 and BX-3 organs, LP-10 electric piano, KR-55 and KR-33 drum machines, SE-300 and SE-500 Stage Echo effects units, and X-911 guitar synthesizer from page 42 and 43 in Keyboard Magazine January 1982. Also included some tuners - meh.
And so the Korg love continues!
It had been quite a while since Korg had summarized their keyboard and drum machine offerings in a single ad. Oh yeah... Um... Never.
They had previously smooshed a couple of different instruments together in smaller ads, but I can't recall anything like this. Readers had the relatively rare privilege of viewing this ad in the January, February and June 1982 issues.
And it was about time it showed up. Competitor ARP had turned the "product family" photo ad into an art form back in 1976. Oberheim had also featured a family photo ad back in 1976, and Roland in 1978. And Sequential Circuits Inc. was about to join the family photo party with their ad starting in February of the same year this ad showed up.
It was also about time because for the previous few years, Korg and been pushing a lot of different products in Keyboard, sometimes three or four ads in an issue. A reader could easily get overwhelmed by it all. So, by putting "it all together" into a single ad, Korg helped readers wrap their heads around everything available in a nicely laid out 2-page package, while at the same time pounding their chests a little at some of their competitors. Korg big! Korg smash!
The collection of synthesizers Korg brought together for this ad is nothing but spectacular. It's definitely not every piece of gear Korg had on offer. But it's a good summary. And including products like the MS-20 or Sigma, gear that hadn't been advertised for over a year or two, were nice gentle reminders to readers that these instruments were indeed still available in 1982. For readers today, it provides a perfect summary snapshot in time. A great historical resource.
The design of the ad is a little chaotic. "Korg" in bright neon-red may almost be too big, and to me, looks like it is pushing what was once a nicely lined-up set of instruments into the column of text. Maybe that was the intent, but it makes reading the ad-copy a little more difficult than it should be. And that poor MS-10 in the upper-middle of the ad facing the wrong direction. What's going on there? It's like it never got the memo.
But those small small criticisms aside (from the guy, almost 30 years later, with 20/20 hindsight) just makes me love this ad even more.
The most interesting reference from this ad is right at the bottom: Get a full color catalog and 20" x 28" Keith Emerson color poster for three bucks. Good to see Korg take a page out of ARP's playbook and throwing a bit of name-dropping into their ads.
The funky blue bag proudly exclaims in bright yellow that it was specifically made for the LP10 electric piano. It kinda reminds me of my 80's blue and yellow Adidas gym bag I used to lug around. Or maybe that was the colour of my pants? Or shirt? Maybe both.
