Wavestation

Wavestation
Korg Wavestation
Manufacturer	Korg
Dates	1990–1994
Price	$2195
Technical specifications
Polyphony	32
Timbrality	16
Oscillator	32 DCO
LFO	64 - Triangle, Square, Sawtooth, Ramp
Synthesis type	Digital Vector Subtractive
Filter	32 low-pass
Attenuator	32 ADSR envelope generators
Aftertouch expression	Yes - Channel (mono)
Velocity expression	Yes
Storage memory	see memory allocation chart
Effects	2×47 or 55
Input/output
Keyboard	61-key
Left-hand control	Pitch and Modulation Wheels, Joystick
External control	MIDI

The Korg Wavestation is a vector synthesis synthesizer first produced in the early 1990s and later re-released as a software synthesizer in 2004. Its primary innovation was Wave Sequencing, a method of multi-timbral sound generation in which different PCM waveform data are played successively, resulting in continuously evolving sounds. The Wavestation's "Advanced Vector Synthesis" sound architecture resembled early vector synths such as the Sequential Circuits Prophet VS.

Designed as a "pure" synthesizer rather than a music workstation, it lacked an on-board song sequencer, yet the Wavestation, unlike any synthesizer prior to its release, was capable of generating complex, lush timbres and rhythmic sequences that sounded like a complete soundtrack by pressing only one key.Keyboard Magazine readers gave the Wavestation its "Hardware Innovation of the Year" award, and in 1995 Keyboard listed it as one of the "20 Instruments that Shook the World."

The Wavestation lineup consisted of four models: the Wavestation and Wavestation EX keyboards, and the Wavestation A/D and Wavestation SR rackmount sound modules.

The two primary synthesis concepts designed into the Wavestation were Wave Sequencing and vector synthesis, the latter Korg dubbed "Advanced Vector Synthesis". Although the Korg Wavestation was the first keyboard that used Wave Sequencing, its roots can be traced back to the preceding variations of wavetable-lookup synthesis, including the multiple-wavetable synthesizers realized as PPG Wave that was produced by Palm Products GmbH in the early 80s, and the vector synthesis realized as Prophet VS by Sequential Circuits, Inc. in 1986 and Kawai K1 in 1988.

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