page_title: Korg Wavestation
section_title: Models
hierarchical_section_title: Korg Wavestation / Features and specifications / Models
caption_attribution_description: Korg &#160;Wavestation SR
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: Wavestation (1990) – The first Wavestation keyboard to reach the market, it premiered the vector synthesis and wave sequencing concepts under the Korg brand.  Its 2MB soundset was synth-oriented which lacked acoustic piano sounds and drums, relying instead on sampled waveforms from classic synthesizers of the 80s, most of the Prophet VS waveforms, and numerous attack transients and instrument samples from Korg's sample library. It could take Korg's proprietary PCM and RAM type expansion cards. The user interface comprised a 64×240 backlit, graphical LCD display with soft-key menu system (the buttons under the display), a data entry dial similar to that used on Roland's Alpha-Juno keyboards, a numeric keypad and other function buttons.  A 61-key semi-weighted keyboard, pitch and modulation wheels, and a vector joystick comprised the player controls.  The Wavestation received much critical acclaim, including Keyboard Magazine's "Hardware Innovation of the Year."
  Wavestation EX (1991) – Identical in form to the original Wavestation keyboard, Korg created the EX in response to player feedback and criticism.  The EX doubled the ROM to 4MB by adding 119 new samples (most notably piano, drums, and the remaining Prophet VS waves), and eight new digital effects.  Bugs in the operating system were also fixed (though several still remained).  Those who had purchased an original Wavestation could buy the EXK-WS upgrade kit to convert their keyboards to the EX version.  The iconic Macintosh start-up sound was generated on a Wavestation EX by Apple sound designer Jim Reekes.
  Wavestation A/D (1991) – It was the first rackmount version of the Wavestation technology. Korg replaced the large joystick with a smaller version, the same display from the keyboard versions was retained, and an additional RAM bank added. A unique feature was its analog inputs, capable of accepting guitar, mic and line-level signal; it allowed the effect processors to process those signals in realtime (particularly useful with the vocoders in the new EX effects). All of the keyboard's front panel buttons also survived the transition, making the programming process identical to the original Wavestation.  The A/D inputs also were an option when creating wave sequences, incorporating the input signal into the synthesis engine in realtime.
   Wavestation SR (1992) – The last hardware implementation of the Wavestation was a 1-unit rackmount model. It lacked the A/D inputs of its predecessor, the screen was downsized to a character-based 16×2 LCD, and most buttons, function keys, and the joystick disappeared. Marketed as a preset module, it featured eight ROM preset banks with Patches and Performances previously sold on expansion cards from Korg and Sound Source Unlimited, Inc. Without an external MIDI sound editor, programming was a very difficult task due to the small display, although all parameters can be edited from the panel.
   Software Wavestation (2004) – Fourteen years after the first Wavestation appeared, Korg released a software-based emulation of the synthesizer which also included all the instrument patches from Korg's line of expansion ROM cards. In late 2006 Korg released version 1.6 of the software Wavestation which added a resonant filter. Also, "50 new Performances, 35 new Patches, and 32 new Wave Sequences are added to take advantage of this new resonant filter."
  iWavestation (2016) – This is a native program for the iOS platform (iPhone and iPad) which recreates the physical synthesizer. It can be downloaded from Apple's AppStore. It includes all the instrument patches from Korg's expansion ROM cards as in-app purchases. Current version (as of March 2017) is 1.0.1.
caption: Wavestation SR
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