A
musical instrument manufacturer, concentrating on
synthesizers and related
gear.
Korg was founded in
1963 by a
Tokyo night club owner
Tsutomu Katoh with
Japan's top
accordion player
Tadashi Osanai. The duo originally set up to produce a better backing-
rhythm device than Onasai's
Wurlitzer Sideman. The
company started off using the name
Keio Gijutsu Kenkyujo Ltd., later changing it to
Keio Electronic Laboratories.
Korg didn't became the
official name until the mid-
80s.
Korg's first product was a
drum machine called the
DA-20 Doncamatic. They soon moved on to
organs and eventually
synthesizers (starting with the
MiniKorg 700). The company became known for their
innovative products, being first with features like the
key transposer and
PCM synthesis.
International success first came with the
Poly-800 and
PolySix models. But the most major one arrived in
1988 with the
Korg M1 workstation, the best selling synth ever.
Yamaha had hit gold by
acquiring a large amount of Korg
stock just before the release of M1.
Korg equipment featured in Everything2:
Last updated: May 15, 2002