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 MS-20 and MS-10 synthesizers and SQ-10 sequencer "The Second Generation of Korg Synthesizers" brochure from approximately 1978.
Gorgeous, eh? I know.
I've been going strong on my Strider System posts but then last week Korg came out swinging at NAMM and I just had to interrupt my thought process to post this baby. We'll get back to Strider on Thursday, but today here's my way of toasting Korg's balls for not only doing what they did, but apparently doing it RIGHT.
If you are not aware, Korg has introduced (eeerr... reintroduced?) the Korg MS20 Mini. From the Korg Web site:
"Korg’s MS-20 monophonic synthesizer, first introduced in 1978, is still a coveted instrument to this day, thanks to its thick, robust sound, its powerful, iconic analog filter, and its versatile patching options. Over 300,000 people have enjoyed the distinct MS-20 sounds from the original, from Korg’s MS-20 plug-in synth, or the iMS-20 iPad app.
Today, the sounds of the MS-20 have been reborn in hardware, as the MS-20 Mini. The same engineers who developed the original MS-20 have perfectly reproduced its circuitry and fit into a body that’s been shrunk to 86% of the original size, yet retains the distinctive look of the original"
Perfectly replicated, PLUS MIDI in and a USB connector. Hello!
Even before it was officially announced, the rumors spread fast. Vintage Synth Explorer's forum, MATRIXSYNTH and pretty much everywhere else. I'm surprised it was kept quiet for as long as it was.
Now, I love my original MS-20, but I will be first in line at my local store to pick one of these up. Heck, I may even sell my MS-20.
Well, actually... probably not. But you get my drift.
This brochure is awesome in so many ways. The font choice - spectacular. And also the front cover family photo and all the individual portrait photos of the MS-10, MS-20 and SQ-10. And also all those delicious features and specifications that accompanies each piece of gear sitting on each of their opposite pages.
Those are some nice spreads - each one would have made made it onto my bedroom wall beside my Annie Lennox poster.
And speaking of the spreads, there was a good reason that I ended up loading the inside pages separately instead of as individual spreads. Blogger has a size-limit for images, and will shrink down larger images if you upload above the limit. When I did full spreads, they horizontal width triggered resizing and shrunk 'em down to a point that the specifications weren't even legible.
Even if you shift-clicked on the images and zoomed in, the detail just wasn't good enough. I've included them below. For comparison, the above individual images were uploaded with a width of 1600 pixels. The below spreads had a width of 3200 (double). You can definitely see the difference in resolution with you shift-click on the images. Boo.
But even at this smaller size they are still mighty impressive.
The back page of the brochure is probably my favorite - both the colours and the photo are excellent. With the Stage Echo sitting there beside the synths.
One disappointing thing about this brochure is that there is no date to be found. I gave it a date of 1978 considering this is when the gear ads originally started showing up in CK - but that was back in November, so this brochure could very well have been printed in 1979 or even later. But I'm an optimist. :)
Looking back at my other posts for the MS-20 and MS-10, I realized I never posted the Spec Sheet promo that appeared in the January 1979 issue of Contemporary Keyboard, shortly after the ads for these instruments started running.
"Korg Synthesizers. The Korg MS-20 synthesizer features two 10-octave VCOs, two VCFs, a 3-octave keyboard, two envelope generators, and a programmable control wheel (modulation routing can be set up however you like). Also included are a second VCA and a white and pink noise generator. A patch panel allows interfacing with another instrument, or the MS-20 can be patched internally into routings other than those provided in the hard wiring. The Korg MS-10 is a single VCO version of the MS-20 with a 2 1/2 octave keyboard. Prices are: MS-20, $750.00; MS-10, $450.00. Unicord, 75 Frost St., Westbury, NY 11590."
With the release and no doubt crazy popularity of the new MS-20 Mini
imminent, I'm hoping we can expect Korg to release mini versions of the
MS-10 and SQ-10 as well. And maybe it will also be the kick in the pants Roland
needs to FINALLY try and bring out new versions of their XOX- line.
Korg "A universe of sound" family of synthesizers ad including MS-20 Monophonic Synthesizer, SE-500 Stage Echo, VC-10 Vocoder, MS-10 Monophonic Synthesizer, SQ-10 Analog Sequencer, PS3300 synthesizer, PS3100 synthesizer, GT6 Guitar Tuner, and EM-570 Echo Mixer from page 16 and 17 in International Musician August (UK) 1978.
Hello! Now were talking!
Rose-Morris is really starting to kick it into high gear - and it didn't hurt that Korg had something new to talk about - most excitingly the MS-10 and MS-20 synthesizers, as well as the VC-10 Vocoder. IM readers started hearing about these instruments in August 1978, but readers of Contemporary Keyboard wouldn't start gazing at these instruments in Korg ads for another three months ( November 1978).
But, in my opinion, it would be worth the wait since those US ads consisted of those awesomely recognizable one-pagers that ran for an insanely long number of months. These ads would eventually make it into IMRW, but not until March 1979:
Like I was saying - this 2-page ad is a treat. Gone is the often crowded text found in the two previous IMRW ads - "Seven hundred and fifty words..." and "Synths for all the music you'll ever need". The font is still a little small, but that is a small price to pay for a bit of white space. Aaaaaaah - room to breathe. Each new instrument is given it's own little space with a sub-title, paragraph box and photo.
If I hadn't seen the ad, but heard the title was "A Universe of Sound", I would almost expect someone to take the easy road and plaster this ad with space imagery. But no! Three big cheers to the designer for maintaining some level of dignity. I'm thinking maybe they learned a lesson from that earlier Korg accessories "Do you feel locked in..." ad. :)
Also really interesting is how Korg is starting to take on a more dominant position in these ads. Korg products are starting to gain recognition and respect with readers, and so it makes sense that ads would want to take advantage of this. For example, the Korg logo is starting to get relatively larger in relation to the size of it's distributors logos. You see it in this Rose-Morris ad, and you also begin to see it this side of the pond in the Unicord ads. Compare them to earlier Korg ads where the distributors have equal billing or even a larger presence than Korg. Yikes.
I'm hearing it already - "A-ha! But in that last ad example, the word 'Korg' in the background of the ad is larger!". But I would have to reply that the word "Korg" and the logo-type "Korg" are two TOTALLY different things. And I'm sticking to that story :)
The other thing I find interesting is that even though this ad is promoting its new line of synthesizers, the PS3300 and PS3100 are still getting a nod. Including these older machines may not have been a good call considering all that new juicy Korg goodness that was also been promoted, but in defense of the ad, I'm guessing these older synths were either worth mentioning because they had already gained some good cred among musicians, or they needed an extra push because they weren't selling too many of them.
Similar to the last Korg ad in IMRW, this ad was also part of a Rose-Morris advertising feature that spanned a series of pages. If you recall from the last ad, Rose-Morris didn't do a very good job of distinguishing their set of ads from the rest of the mag. But this time, they started off the feature-set of ads with this awesome photo:
That was a great splash of colour and a great lead-in to the Rose-Morris stable of products that followed.
Rose-Morris is definitely on a roll. And if you can believe it... it's gonna get even better! :)
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 General Catalog, Electronic Musical Instruments, Volume 1, 1982.
This was a total surprise.
I had already pretty much finished my blog post for the Korg "...we put it all together" family of products ad from the January 1982 issue of Keyboard Magazine, when I went back to re-check something. I pulled a different copy of that January issue off the shelf, and wouldn't you know it, stapled into the centrefold of that ad was this miniature Korg catalog.
We are talking 10 juicy pages of Korg products (well, 8 pages, plus a cover and mailing label), folded down to just under 7 x 10 inches. And, unlike in the two-page ad where Korg was a little more limited by space, this catalog contains not only three pages of photos of all their current product line-up, but another three pages of all the reference info for those products - over 25 of 'em! An historical reference gold mine.
I've scanned and posted the front side of the catalog as single pages, but merged the back pages into two larger scans due to the way text and images flowed between the pages.
That front cover of the catalog is very intriguing to me. I'm always trying to figure out what the designer was thinking at the time they were creating ads and brochures - especially those with staged photos. In this case, someone decided that the front cover theme should be a humid terrarium of some sort, with the reader wiping away the droplets of water to see in to... the... er... plants and synthesizers. But wait! If the reader wiped the glass of the terrarium, that would mean it was really humid outside the terrarium. Or, maybe it was just raining outside. And the wet observer is creeping around someone's window...
Gah. Whatever. The effect is still nice. And it's always nice to stick something organic like a plant into a synthesizer ad. A nice touch.
The centrefold ad that accompanied this magazine mentions that you could send away for a full colour catalog. And since this catalog includes a mailing address page, I'm betting this was, in fact, the catalog being referred to in the ad - and included in the January issue of Keyboard as an extra. Excellent work, Korg!
Where it gets really interesting is comparing this 1982 catalog to the one Korg put out in 1984. In particular, it is interesting to see just how many products were still available. Only two new polyphonics became available in those two years - the Poly-800 and Poly-61. But in Korg's defense, they did update the Trident, as well as expand other areas of the business as can be seen in the piano/organs and rhythm/sound effects sections of that '84 catalog. Also interesting is how Korg was definitely increasing the plastic-to-wood ratio.
But the absolutely crazy-coolest thing about this catalog is the "Possible Connections" section located underneath all those lovely Korg accessories. I love diagrams, and I guess Korg was making their point: "We put it all together". And now I know my MS-20 will work with an MS-02.
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.
