Product details
Between 1977 and 1981, 50 people were lucky enough to get their hands on a unit of the PS-3300 synthesiser, which was produced in very limited numbers. Today, Korg has announced the forthcoming release of a large-scale reissue. On the menu:
A semi-modular architecture with three PSU-3301 synthesis blocks, a mixer and a PSU-3302 utility section.
Three oscillators, several filters, envelopes and amplifiers per note
A modernised three-band resonator
Storage for 256 patches in 16 banks
49-key keyboard
49 voices of polyphony
The Korg PS-3300 is one of the legendary synths from back in the day, the fully polyphonic semi-modular is one of those holy grail synths -the amount of electronics packed in the 49 note polyphonic synthesizer (the original had only 48) is not to be underestimated.
If you've ever seen one in the flesh, they are impressive. Korg have decided to go for it, and are not minifying or microfying it either - they are going full fat on this - hence the FS tag.
The PS-3300 FS is a full-scale reissue of the original Korg PS-3300, a legendary and ultra-rare synthesizer designed by legendary Korg engineer Fumio Mieda and produced by Korg in very limited numbers from 1977 to 1981.
The PS-3300 FS reissue marks a new milestone in synth history, and the latest achievement by the same Korg engineering team that brought back iconic machines such as the MS-20, ARP ODYSSEY, miniKORG 700 FS and ARP 2600.
“Bringing back to life these legendary machines is not only a process of reproducing circuits and sounds, but also of learning and embracing the essence of the philosophy and development of synthesizers.
Through this project I was able to relive the history of Korg and a critical moment in the evolution of our synthesizers. This was an extremely valuable experience that provided an opportunity for Korg's philosophy and technology to be carried on to future generations.”
- Yoshihito Yamada, Chief Engineer of Korg Analogue Synthesizers
Key features
49 keys / 49 voice analogue polyphony (the original model had 48 keys / voices)
3 Layers: The PS-3300 consists of three synthesizer units (PSU-3301) and a mixer & utility section (PSU-3302)
Three independent oscillators, plus multiple filters, envelopes and amplifiers for every note on its keyboard, for a total of 147 synth voices of raw analogue power
Microtuning knob x12 on each PSU-3301 unit
New panel memory function (16 programs per bank and 16 banks = 256 slots)
Modernised for contemporary music use with the inclusion of USB / MIDI jacks, and a dedicated librarian app for easy preset management
Semi-modular
3-Band Resonator: Three frequency bands can be emphasised, a feature unique to the PS-3300 (original was a Cadmium sulfide circuit, but it was replaced with modern components for safety and to comply with regulations)
Keyboard unit (PS-3010) included