Korg family "The KORG MIDI system" 2-page ad, Keyboard 1984

 Korg "The KORG MIDI system" two-page colour advertisement including the Poly 800 and Poly-61M synthesizers, EX 800 expander module, RK 100 Remote MIDI keyboard, KMS 30 MIDI synchronizer, the 4 Track sequencer and Music Scoring software from the inside front cover and page 2 of the October 1984 issue of  Keyboard Magazine.

I didn't post this ad because it appeared on the inside front cover of Keyboard magazine from October 1984 through January 1985 before Korg replaced it with their DW-6000 ad in the February 1985 issue.

Nope.

I didn't post this ad because of the awesomeness that is this Korg MIDI system that includes the Poly 800 (I own the version with the reversed coloured keys!) - or the EX 800 that is so awesome that it takes up waaaaay to much space in a rack!

Nope.

I didn't post this because of the awesomeness that is the KMS 30 synchronizer (I own two! One for the studio and one that I just bought to sync machines for live gigs!)

Nope.

I didn't post this because of the reference to the DDM-110 and DDM-220 drum machines that only sync to DIN-sync in that lovely little "system diagram".

Nope.

I posted this for one reason, and one reason only. I'm still fixating on KORG's announcement of the ARP Odyssey!!!!!

If you live under a rock or haven't read my last post or two, maybe you didn't you hear... Korg is resurrecting the ARP Odyssey.

Didn't see that coming - and anyone not intimately involved with the project who said they did see it coming - well - they just didn't. Punch them in the neck for lying. Say it's from me.

As far as I'm concerned, that news blew everybody and their favorite synthesizer news outlet out of the water. And, interestingly, it was one of the first times ever that synth news hit me through *Facebook* before any of my other usual news sources.

Sure, possible take-away: I'm on Facebook too much.  :)

But seriously, when the original press release appeared on Korg's Web site on the morning of February 17, the news spread faster than a zombie apocalypse. Some of my favorite sites that eventually covered the news included:

MATRIXSYNTH
SOS Magazine
Attack Magazine
CreateDigitalMusic.com
Synthtopia
Fact Magazine
MusicRadar
KVR audio
Even Engadget!

And the list goes on and on.

As a marketing and communications "professional" (or "hack" as some [many] of my colleagues might call me), I'm intrigued when news spreads that quickly. I get a serious kick out of watching marketing and social media teams jump into action to get their message out there.  Especially when its such interesting, out-of-the-box, unexpected news such as this.

I can image Korg's marketing peeps huddling together for weeks on end prep'ing their strategic communications plan. Hovering over the corporate and communications objectives. Tweaking their key messages and tactics for hours with a fine-toothed comb.

You got to be ready when the media and general synthesizer public comes calling...

Or... um... maybe not... 

Now I thought I recalled getting the news in my Facebook news feed directly from Korg, but when I went back to check, I couldn't find a single post about the topic on either Korg US or Korg Canada's Facebook pages.  Looking at the Twitter feeds for Korg USA, Korg UK, and Korg Canada, they all seem eerily silent about this big news as well. Not even a simple link back to the news release.

Huh? Is it just me?  I question my findings basically due to my combination of lazy and not-that-good-at-searching-social-media. So, check it out for yourself.

It kinda makes sense though. The new Odyssey isn't coming out until September 2014 at the earliest (unless, of course, Korg surprises us *again*, and drops it in the middle of the summer. And, *that* wouldn't surprise me).

Point is - there isn't a lot more information to push out there yet.

In other words, the product isn't imminent.  

But leaks could happen.

Heck, after the whole Roland TB-3/TR-8 thang, I'm betting that synthesizer hardware leaks are almost as lucrative as Apple iPhone leaks.

So, as far as I'm concerned, when it comes to Korg's reissue of the the ARP Odyssey, it wasn't a matter of "if" the news would leak, but "when". Maybe they just wanted to beat the rumor mill?

And the best way to do that is to get the news release out there and then let the synth community do the heavy lifting. If you've noticed, most, if not all of those articles, link directly back to the original Korg news release. Not to prototype videos. Not to teaser articles from Korg. That dang Korg news release. There isn't much else available officially from Korg.

But Korg has plenty of time to get the package ready - the machine isn't due out for another six month.

And I'll be waiting with my wallet open.

And drooling.

And watching their communications strategy. :)

Korg Poly-800 eight page fold-out poster/brochure, 1984

Korg Poly-800 eight page fold-out poster/brochure from 1984.

I totally forgot I had this piece. But, after my last blog post on the Poly-800 introductory ad, I was flipping through my Korg sales brochures and came across this. I unfolded it, and, as usual, immediately looked for a print date. 1984. As soon as I saw that date on the poster, I was quickly reminded of that last bit of ad-copy from the ad:

"Or send $3.00 (check or money order) to Unicord, 89 Frost St., Westbury, New York 11590 for a Poly 800 demo record, color brochure and poster."

Could this be that color brochure and poster? Both in one printed piece? It would make sense. Now I just had to find a way to scan it.

Its real size is a rather large 16 x 21.5 inches. Too big for my home scanner and the local UPS store scanner/printer. So, I actually scanned it in four chucks to a side, and, unlike most of my scans, combined the pieces together in Photoshop. Gah!

Once created, I uploaded through Blogger, but because they were over 1600x1600 pixels, Picasa shrunk 'em down. Boo. So, in the end I uploaded them to Live.com. You have to do an extra click to view the larger version, but its worth it. :D I also dumped both of the hi-res images into a PDF.

What an awesome piece this brochure/poster is. So much reference information, all clearly laid out with some great design. So detailed are the step-by-step instructions, that in many cases, the text in this poster replaces the need for a manual.

And where readers don't find step-by-step instructions, Korg provides other detailed information about the keyboard. For example, just look at the info under the "6 Parameter Digital Envelope Generators" section. Korg provides lots of info for their "Newly Developed ADBSSR System". Nice! Another example - the big photo of the Poly-800 with the alpha-numeric references that lead readers to more detailed info below. Excellent.

The front of the poster/brochure is just as cool. The front image of the Poly-800 in space reminds me of the classic "cat on a synth in space" Web page (there might be pop-ups on that Web page - click at your own risk). And the other side of that section contains all the reference specs for the keyboard, as well as a great list of all the accessories that were available from Korg in 1984. AND another photo of the back of the synth.

Flip that side of the poster upside down and you get some more great photos of Chuck Leavell and the Poly 800 in a few not-as-awkward-as-the-ad photos.

But for me, one of the most interesting features of the poster is the photo of the reverse keyboard displayed next to the computer. I find this particularly fascinating because if this poster/brochure was actually the one promoted in the introductory Poly-800 ad, then that means that the reverse keyboard version was actually available early on, or even at the same time as the launch of the original version. Or at least a prototype was. Which means Korg had the forethought to produce a cool alternative version right from the start.

Just one more observation before I go. In the introductory ad, Korg refers to the synth as the Poly 800 (no hyphen). But, on the poster, as well as on the piece of gear itself - its listed as the Poly-800 (with hyphen). Okay. No point really. Or, if there is one, I guess it is that I prefer consistency. :D

Anyways, I love Korg. Seriously.

Korg Poly 800, Keyboard 1984

Korg Poly-800 synthesizer two-page and one-page advertisements from the inside front cover (and/or page three) in Keyboard Magazine starting in February 1984.

This was the first Korg ad to feature the Poly 800 - and Korg obviously wanted to hit the press with a loud synthesized bang. And as far as I'm concerned, they *almost* did everything right.

First, they kept the marketing campaign running for an extended period of time. The two-page version of the ad ran in that costly front-of-mag advertising space for a full six months - from February to July '84. Then, they switched it up with a one-page version of the ad for the August and September '84 issues of Keyboard for a total ad run of eight months. Then, after a bit of a break, Korg brought back the one-page version of the ad to page three of Keyboard from July to November '85.

Next, the layout it top-notch - well balanced, bright, with adequate white space. The ad contains a nice centre-fold photo of the instrument with the name of the instrument in big fat letters. Even the rather long winded tag-line is well placed and comes with a dash or wordplay.

Also, unlike a lot of introductory synthesizer ads that feature a HUGE photo and little or no ad-copy, Korg made sure to use those two pages of space to get a fair bit of synth info about the Poly 800 out to the masses. They give details on the eight voices, 64 programs, 50 parameters of control, the polyphonic sequencer, noise generator, on-board chorus, 4-way joystick (awesome!), MIDI and even the headphone jack.

If that isn't already enough of a feature buffet, Korg also let readers know that the keyboard also doubles as a 13-pound keytar! Although, I do think they could have used a better photo of Chuck Leavell rockin' out on his Poly 800. Not only does the one hand position look a little uncomfortable, but Chuck himself looks like he is having an awful hard time trying to lift that thirteen-pounder. Don't get me wrong, I respect his musicianship, but I think Korg was smart to not try and cram that photo into the one-page version of the ad. Just sayin'.

And finally, to put the icing on the cake, Korg even advertises a price. All this for "less than $800". Normally, I would have suggested going with the ol' psychological $799 price tag, but providing a number that lines up the price of the instrument with it's name is another small win for Korg.

The only thing Korg seemed to have missed out on with this product launch was the lack of any promotion in the Spec Sheet section of Keyboard. If there was one, I never came across it. But that's small potatoes with this smooth launch.

For real Poly 800 fans, the most awesome surprise about the instrument was still to come. The month after this ad stopped running in 1984, the October '84 Spec Sheet section of Keyboard let readers know that they could also strut around on stage with a reverse color keyboard version of the synth:

"Korg Synthesizer Keyboard. A limited edition of the Korg Poly 800 with a reverse color keyboard is now available. All other features of the Poly 800 remain unchanged: 64 memory positions, 256-note sequencer, MIDI, and six-segment envelopes are standard. Price is $849.00. Korg, 89 Frost St., Westbury, NYT 11590."

Korg even had the balls to charge an extra 50 bucks for the privilege of sporting those reverse keys around your shoulders! Worth every penny.

I happened to come across a reverse key version of the Poly 800 a long while back at my local music store. It was just sitting there all lonely. So, ten minutes and $99 later, it was at home, strapped around my shoulders, and plugged in.

Quite honestly though, back then, it just didn't do it for me at first. I thought there were just too many limitations. I was a bit of a synth-snob back then.

But over time, the more I played with it, the more fun it became. The chorus adds good movement to bass sounds without being too noisy. And combine that the noise generator together with the organ-like DCOs (each with its own extended envelope!) and you can start coming up with some great sounds. I use it a lot as a sample source for my chiptunes. It can almost sound Nintendo-ish sounding.

My GF came over and saw it on the floor as I was trying to take a picture for this blog post, so I just had to try it on for her. The next thing you know, we were trying to emulate Chuck's pose from the ad. The results....? About as uncomfortable as getting an open-mouth kiss from your drunk aunt during a family reunion.

Chuck must have very flexible wrists and knee joints of steel... :D

End note: And yes, that is a Green Lantern pillow on the chair behind me. It rawks almost as much as my reverse colour keyboard Poly 800.

Korg Electronic Music Instruments General Catalog, 1984

Korg Electronic Music Instruments General Catalog from 1984.

We interrupt my ongoing fetish for everything that is "E-70 organ"-like for this special scan.

Somehow, back in the day, I chucked this Korg catalog sheet into a box with a wack of other papers, all of which then quickly became lost for the next decade or two.

Then, just a short time ago, I was digging through some old boxes with a friend to show off some Moog modular "patch" sheets that included handwritten instructions from Bob Moog, and remembered I had this.

Wow. What a great summary of Korg's electronic products - all beautifully laid out within two pages. That's one jam-packed time capsule.

What I find most fascinating is how it so clearly demonstrates the design transition the synth industry was going through in the early to mid-80s. From the dino-3200 to the futuristic Poly-800. From knobs and jacks to buttons and digital displays. Wood paneling to plastic.

And how about that PME-40x "modular" pedal board? How cool is that?!?!? To think all of this was available in 1984.

It's also nice to be able to see what wasn't available. In particular, I'm talking about one of my favorite pieces of gear - the KMS-30 MIDI syncronizer. It's the glue that ties together most of my 80's XOX gear to my 2005 computer :o)

But, alas, the KMS-30 wasn't available until later. Too bad - would have looked nice in this little catalogue.

Korg Poly 800, Keyboard 1985

Korg Poly 800 synthesizer from page 2 of Keyboard magazine September 1985.