M1

Korg M1 is an old synthesizer, but due to the age one can still hear this synthesizer in many tracks nowadays tho. When this synth came out it was equipped with 100 sampled waveforms, 100 presets, 100 combination's and a sequencer of 4200 notes split up on 10 songs. You could reconfigure it to have 50 presets & combination's to get an additional 3500 notes in the sequencer.

The M1 VST has vastly expanded beyond these boundaries. First of all you have all the cartridges for the M1 built in from the start. Lots of these cartridges has extra waveforms beside the presets and combination's they hold. That's not enough. All the diskettes released for the Korg T1, T2 and T3 synthesizers are also built in. Some of these disks has extra waveforms beside the presets and combination's they hold expanding the sound database even further.

The VST has a special multi mode that lets you use one instance to play 8 presets at once. This replaces the sequencer mode in the original M1. There is the same problem of voices suddenly being silenced due to the fact that you played too many notes at once. Luckily the Korg M1 VST can compensate with up to 256 voices polyphony.

Selecting a preset is simple. You can either do it through the categories available, or you can do it on a cart / disk basis. So if you want a fat electro bass you just click on the bass category, then the fat and synthesized sub categories and you got a list to choose from. A similar process is utilized when you select waveforms.

If you are after a "bread & butter" synth then there is enough marmalade here for you to enjoy it. Although a tad bit oldskool presets there is still enough variation available for you to actually get some decent sounds out of it. Adjust the waveforms and you're ready to go. The price is a theft if you ask me. €199 for all these presets and combination's a definitive bargain with all the benefits this plugin has. If you are after a good hiphop synth then this is the way to go. Looking for a trance / dance synth with all the basic building blocks then this is your best bet.

Over and out.Read Review