Korg PS-3300

PS-3300
Korg PS-3300
Manufacturer	Korg
Dates	1977 - 1981
Price	New price (Japan, 1977): ¥1,200,000 S/H Price (SOS UK, 2003): £10,000 ($17,000) S/H Price (Ebay US, 2008): $25,000 (£17,000) S/H Price (VEMIA UK, 2014): £23,700 ($38,000) S/H Price (VEMIA UK, 2016): £27,230 ($40,000) S/H Price (VEMIA UK, 2016): £33,165 ($45,000)
Technical specifications
Polyphony	48-note polyphonic
Timbrality	Multitimbral
Oscillator	144 VCOs (3 per key)
LFO	6 LFOs
Synthesis type	Analog subtractive
Filter	144 Low-Pass VCFs (3 per key) 9 Band-Pass VCFs
Attenuator	144 VCAs (3 per key) 144 Envelopes (3 per key)
Input/output
Keyboard	48 keys
External control	CV/Gate, Retrofit MIDI kit by Kenton

New price (Japan, 1977): ¥1,200,000

S/H Price (SOS UK, 2003): £10,000 ($17,000)

S/H Price (Ebay US, 2008): $25,000 (£17,000)

S/H Price (VEMIA UK, 2014): £23,700 ($38,000)

S/H Price (VEMIA UK, 2016): £27,230 ($40,000)

The Korg PS-3300 is a polyphonic analog synthesizer produced by Korg, between 1977 and 1981.

The Korg PS-3300 is one of the biggest and rarest analog synthesizers ever made, and it has become one of the most collectable synthesizers as well with auction sale prices exceeding £30,000 in the UK in 2016. Less than 50 units were produced (some say as few as 20) by Korg over a 4-year period from 1977 to 1981 after which it was discontinued. The high production costs of this very complex instrument gave it a price tag that was out of reach for anyone but the wealthiest musicians of the day. It is a much coveted synthesizer by professional musicians and collectors alike as it has a big and unique sound which has been described as an orchestra of synthesizers. It has attained near mythical status due to its rarity and the fact that it was adopted and revered by many of the artists that were the synthesizer pioneers, such as Vangelis,Jean-Michel Jarre,Kraftwerk,Klaus Schulze and Keith Emerson. Even Bob Moog was so impressed with the PS-3300 that after he was given a demonstration of it he is quoted as saying that it was "the best synthesizer for fat sounds". At its release back in 1977, along with the smaller PS-3100, it was a landmark synthesizer in many respects. It was in fact the world's first fully fledged polyphonic synthesizer where all 48 keys could be played at once and articulated independently of each other. Still to this day, the Korg PS family of synthesizers (PS-3100, PS-3200, PS-3300) remains the only fully polyphonic analog semi-modular synthesizers in existence.

The layout of the front panel clearly shows the modular origins of the Korg PS-3300. Oscillators, filters and envelopes are all arranged in vertical narrow strips, much like the front panel of the Moog modular synthesizer with patch points at the bottom of each strip. No patching is required to start playing since all the normal connections have been made internally, this is often referred to as a "semi-modular" configuration and is easier to use than a conventional modular with unconnected modules.

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Wikipedia