Korg DSS-1
Category: Products / samplers / other samplers
Added: 05-Jan-99 | Author: admin
New price: discontinued (RRP £2259.00) | S/H price: £500 - £1300
Company Link: Korg UK
Company Link: KORG USA
Korg DSS-1
All I know about the DSS-1 is that it is fabled for it's sound & filters. There was also a rackmount version the DSM-1 which featured 16 individual outs. The best information I could find is this review by Thomas Kolb. Visit his website, he's reviewed alot of kit click
So here's some clips from his review:
THE KORG DSS-1 - Author: Thomas Kolb, 1998
The DSS-1 is one huge and powerful machine. Not only in its physical size which is quite substantial, but the possibilities to create your own sounds are nearly endless. The synth features both conventional digital subtractive synthesis, harmonic synthesis and sampling for its sound source. There is even a possibility to actually "draw" your waveform with a data slider.
The sampling board uses 12-bit resolution, but the quality of the samples are not very high - in fact they sound amazingly grungy, full of strange artefacts, specially at the low end of the keyboard. The provided memory is ridiculously low: only 256 KB and no possibility to upgrade, allowing the synth a total of 5.5 seconds of sample time at 48 kHz. So forget about drum loops and sampled guitar licks - the DSS-1 is a first and foremost a synthesizer, and synthesis is what it's good at. I found that the best samples are no more than just ten milliseconds, cycled to create new, complex synthesizer waveforms.
The harmonic synthesis function is nice but completely useless - there is no way I will sit down and edit hundreds of parameters just to make one waveform. And as far as I know, there is no computer interface to the DSS-1.
The "slider draw" function is the most efficient way to create a waveform - you just punch a button to start recording and "draw" your waveform with one of the data sliders. The result is completely unpredictable, which is quite fun. Of course you will quickly realise that rapid, jerky movements of the data slider will produce timbres with lots of overtones and harmonies, while slow and gentle movements will make dull and soft timbres. Creation of different pulse-waves is dead simple - just move the slider from one end to the other in one quick move.
Once the waveforms have been created, there is a vast number of parameters to be set to tailor each sound to your liking. Most of the parameter settings are fairly straightforward and should give no problem to the experienced synthethist - although some parameters, like "bit resolution" are not so clear in their function and the result they yield.
To further spice up the result, there is a dual digital delay section provided, with echo, chorus, phaser and flanger effects. The dry signal appears at the centre of the stereo field and one effect per channel, left and right can be set individually.
There is also a great "unison" feature in which all oscillators are slightly detuned and fire at once for each key depression, which makes it possible to create some real big and impressive, fat monophonic noises.
Unfortunately the usage of this machine is all but user-friendly, and the teensy LCD display - although backlit - does little to help. My biggest complaint is that the sounds are all stored in volatile memory - they will vanish into cyberspace when the unit is turned off and need to be reloaded from disk. You have to remember to keep saving, saving and saving all the time - the waveforms, the setups, the parameters. And the disk drive is a slow bastard - probably the slowest one I've ever seen - it takes a full minute to load one sound bank.
It's a pity, because with some careful effort, the machine can be made into one of the cruellest sounding beasts I've ever heard so far - and I've tried a lot of synths, believe me.
Good review!...... and that's pretty much how I know of this unit outside of the spec's. It has an amazing sound, and although the memory is small, it's a sonic ....like he says... a beastie !!...... well worth checking out if you see one... they are very rare & like most old & rare MIDI kit nowadays they command big prices
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Category: Products / samplers / other samplers
User Comments
Product: Korg - DSS-1
Name: Digiphallus
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 20-Sep-99
An absolute analog ass kicker!! It's heavier than Roseanne Barr after a Pie-Eating contest, but it's built like a tank! According to the manual It uses (take a deep breath) MF2DD 3.5 double sided, double density, double track 135 TPI (Tracks Per Inch)disks...but most 750 DD disks will work. Sometimes the Diskdrives go bad...but there's info on the net to help you if that's the case. The analog filters on this bizatch are great, switchable 12/24 db's. Possibly the best filters I've ever heard on a Korg. It also has Osc sync and a Unison mode that would make many analog's like the Juno106 seem silly in comparison. There additive synthesis, but it's really clunky. Waveform drawing is cool, that's where you can get unbelievably organic sounds.
This is best used as a constantly ugradeable synthesizer...it's more for acquiring new waveforms and mutilating and mutating samples, not good for breakbeat loops, phrases etc. although it DOES make an awesomely crunchy drum module (don't pay crazy money for an Sp1200/Sp12!)
These are largely underrated machines, but don't pay more than $300/350 u.s. for one, it only has 1 multitimbrality, the sample memory is ridiculously low, and the ddrive is SSSSSLLLLOWWWW. But otherwise, it's a definite beast! To quote somebody "Similar to a Dw8000 that can sample it's own waveforms".
Product rating out of 5:  |
Product: Korg - DSS-1
Name: nicmar
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 22-Sep-99
Cool! =) I have a Korg DSS-1... but I only use it as a midi keyboard along with cubase and SbLive... Cause it's too messy to mess with the disks i think!
Anyone does anything similar to me with his DSS-1? :)
I'd like some tips & tricks what I can do... and to program the pitch-bender to have different ranges was really confusing... sometimes it works... but not often! :)
See ya!
/nicmar
Product rating out of 5:  |
Product: Korg - DSS-1
Name: nicmar
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 22-Sep-99
The rating 3 is cause i don't know how to use it... hehe.. it's probably much better.. :)
I paid a little less than $200 for it.. is that a good price??
What year is it manufactured?
Well.. see ya :)
/nicmar (agaiN)
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Korg - DSS-1
Name: ovi
Email: Email supplied but hidden
www.ampui.com
Activity: Professional
Date: 09-May-03
asa ii casa
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Korg - DSS-1
Name: steinke.martin@freenet.de
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 02-Jan-10
Hello, I like to bay a good working Korg DSS 1. I'm living in Germany (ruhr area). Can anybody offer a working one, may in Germany?
Thanks for answering. Martin
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Korg - DSS-1
Name: Kevin.Butler
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 16-Aug-10
[quote] steinke.martin@freenet.de wrote: Hello, I like to bay a good working Korg DSS 1. Im living in Germany (ruhr area). Can anybody offer a working one, may in Germany?Thanks for answering. Martin [/quote][quote] steinke.martin@freenet.de wrote: Hello, I like to bay a good working Korg DSS 1. Im living in Germany (ruhr area). Can anybody offer a working one, may in Germany?Thanks for answering. Martin [/quote]Hi Martin,are you still looking for a Korg DSS1..I have one for sale with full sound library(about 40 disks)if you are interested get in touch..Kevin.
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Korg - DSS-1
Name: Matthew
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: part-timer
Date: 11-Feb-11
Hello,
I have a Korg DSS-1 for sale with 50+ disks and manual. This beast is fully functioning.
I am looking for 300USD and I'm near Toronto Canada.
Regards,
Matt
matty_son@hotmail.com
| Product rating out of 5: |
Product: Korg - DSS-1
Name: Matt
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 21-May-11
[quote] Matthew wrote: Hello,I have a Korg DSS-1 for sale with 50+ disks and manual. This beast is fully functioning.I am looking for 300USD and Im near Toronto Canada.Regards,Mattmatty_son@hotmail.com [/quote]
Matt from Toronto: I just bought a DSS-1 but I have no disks. I'd be willing to pay you a decent price for the disks...you'd actually make more in the end, most likely, selling them separately from the keyboard itself. That is, if you haven't already sold everything.
| Product rating out of 5: |
Last added comment
Product: Korg - DSS-1
Name: Matt
Email: Email supplied but hidden
Activity: Hobby-ist
Date: 21-May-11
[quote] Matthew wrote: Hello,I have a Korg DSS-1 for sale with 50+ disks and manual. This beast is fully functioning.I am looking for 300USD and Im near Toronto Canada.Regards,Mattmatty_son@hotmail.com [/quote]
Matt from Toronto: I just bought a DSS-1 but I have no disks. I'd be willing to pay you a decent price for the disks...you'd actually make more in the end, most likely, selling them separately from the keyboard itself. That is, if you haven't already sold everything.
| Product rating out of 5: |
'Korg DSS-1'
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Total stars: 50 | Total votes: 11
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