This is an audio recording of 'A Little Respect' by Erasure sequenced by myself of the Korg T3 music workstation (circa 1991).
Everything you hear is all from the Korg T3 - all the sounds, effects and processing.
The recording was made from the stereo output of the T3 into a cassette deck around 1991/92.
There is no external processing apart from running it through Izotope Ozone in Logic Pro X for a bit more ‘oomph’.
There are not many videos on YouTube about the Korg T series. I have seen a few videos showing off the factory sequences so here are some I programmed myself to give you and idea of what could be done. The sequences were created via mix of step and real time recording and also fine-tuning a plethora of MIDI note values via the front panel buttons - quite tedious but I had a pretty fast method for it. All sounds are from the T3.
Please keep in mind that while the T series had an excellent 50,000 note sequencer, and for its time it was quite advanced, it was only able to sequence eight tracks at a time. Luckily this included a stereo drum track so you could have another seven tracks for other instruments simultaneously.
However, with only 16 note polyphony you would often get some ‘note stealing’ or more frustratingly a noticeable ‘slow down’ in tempo when you had lots of tracks using lots of notes at once. You can hear this effect on these sequences, especially where there are lots of overlapping instruments like pads etc. I think that is why many of the factory demos from Korg sound quite good as they were selective with instrumentation and notes and avoided the note stealing issues.
If required I was able to be quite creative and get around the eight track limit by inserting program changes throughout a song to change to another patch. The effects were great but you had to choose carefully what you wanted to use as (from memory) only two effects were available simultaneously. These choices are also reflected in the sequences you hear here.
Overall I think I did pretty well with the programming back then and it was fun recreating some of my favorite tracks. Any electric guitar or bass parts were later played live over the sequences (see below) but these examples are only show to off the Korg T3 - no overdubs.
My cover versions were performed as a duo with my friend Nigel (who also had a T3). We would use one T3 for the sequences and play live parts on the other, along with electric guitar or bass (depending on the song) plus vocals. We didn’t last as a duo for long, only playing a couple of weddings and a party or two but we had a good time.
I bought my T3 in 1990 brand new after researching it alongside other workstations. My friend had a Korg M1 which was really good so I knew the T series must be even better (as they were the successor to the M1). The floppy drive and extra sequencing power was well worth it, along with the two sets of MIDI IN/OUT/THRU, 2x sets of audio outputs, the huge LCD and the great sounds. Originally I had the T2 (76 key version) while my music dealer was waiting for stock of the T3 to become available. They kindly leant me the T2 in the interim.
I bought a couple of third party T series floppy disks in 1991 at Guitar Centre on Sunset in LA which were cool. I still have the disks. I sold the T3 in 1992 to finance a new Trace Elliot bass rig but I kept all the floppies of the sequences I made along with copies of the factory disks and other disks with original sequences that I also created. I recorded everything I had on the floppies to cassette before I sold the T3.
Around 2011 I picked up a Korg T2 EX (76 key with extra sample ROM) for a very good price.
It was great to be able to load and play my old sequences on the T2 EX again, some 20 years later. In 2000 I bought a new Korg Triton, having fond memories of the Korg workstation experience. The Triton series are great keyboards.
The T2 EX and my disks are all now in storage (along with the Triton).
As I mentioned there is not much info out there on the T series which is a shame - it is the M1 that gets all the love but the T series is a much better version of the M1 in my opinion - far more capable. They also came in three sizes - 61 key (T3), 76 key (T2) and 88 key (T1). The T1 had a very nice piano weighted keybed and the extra sample ROM. The later EX versions of the T2 and T3 bought them up to the specs of the T1 (minus the piano keyed of course).
I was very pleased to see Korg included all the T series sounds (and the extra cards) in their M1 Legacy software plug in. The sounds are 100% like the original T series and it is great to hear and use them again alongside all the extra sounds I never had back in the day. I have used many of the Korg Legacy sounds in my new work and don’t have to worry anymore about limited effects or note stealing :)
