The Korg PS-3300 is a polyphonic analog synthesizer, produced by Korg between 1977 and 1981.
History
The Korg PS-3300 is one of the biggest and rarest analog synthesizers ever made, and it has become one of the most collectable synthesizers in the world. Only around 25 were produced (according to synth historian Alex Ball) by Korg over a 4-year period from 1977 to 1981 after which it was discontinued. The high production costs of this very complex instrument gave it a price tag that was out of reach for anyone but the wealthiest musicians of the day. It is a much coveted synthesizer by professional musicians and collectors alike as it has a big and unique sound which has been described as an orchestra of synthesizers. It has attained near mythical status due to its rarity and the fact that it was adopted and revered by many of the artists that were the synthesizer pioneers, such as Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze and Keith Emerson. Even Bob Moog was so impressed with the PS-3300 that after he was given a demonstration of it he is quoted as saying that it was "the best synthesizer for fat sounds". At its release back in 1977, along with the smaller PS-3100, it was a landmark synthesizer in many respects. It was in fact the world's first fully fledged polyphonic synthesizer where all 48 keys could be played at once and articulated independently of each other. Still to this day, the Korg PS family of synthesizers (PS-3100, PS-3200, PS-3300) remains the only fully polyphonic analog semi-modular synthesizers in existence.
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 (technically 12 oscillators and 36 frequency dividers), 48 low-pass filters, 48 envelope generators, and 48 amplifiers. Combining the 3 units, this makes for a total of 144 oscillators (technically 36 oscillators and 108 frequency dividers), 144 filters, 144 envelope generators, and 144 amplifiers. 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 Cutoff 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 switch 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 at their maximum rate.
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 pioneers Space 1977 album Magic Fly. Here, they're using the Sawtooth LFO waveform to modulate the Filter Frequency Cutoff 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. Before the existence of MIDI and software sequencers, this approach was a common method used to create synthesizer beats in the absence of an analog sequencer. Their PS-3300 can also clearly be heard in the intro (and throughout) on the track "Just Blue" and spotted at 0:18 in the video, played by Didier Marouani. The unique sound of the PS-3300 can also be heard on the Gino Vannelli track "Appaloosa" and throughout the 1978 album Brother To Brother.