#dw-8000

Korg reinvents a cult favorite with the Modwave wavetable synthesizer

In 1985 Korg released the DW-8000, an analog-digital hybrid synth that combined at the time cutting edge digital oscillators with analog filters. The Modwave is an all digital take on the DW, updated to fit in with the company’s modern lineup, includ…

Korg DW-8000. A hybrid synth from 1985 that used 16 digital waveforms with analog filters. Amazing bass and pad sounds, plus aftertouch. 

Those 16 original waveforms have been included in pretty much every Korg synth since then, from the million-selling M1 to today’s super-popular microKorg. 

I just picked one up second-hand and yeah, it DOES sound that good, and you can get them for less than $500. 

Quirks and issues:

The memory backup battery is soldered to the motherboard. A competent tech can desolder this and install a proper battery holder (it’s a button cell type) to make it easier to change every 5-10 years or so.

As with any vintage keyboard, there can be dead key, button and potentiometer issues. Thankfully most of the parts for this are still in stock.

There’s no memory card slot. You have outputs for backing up to tape (yes! Tape!) or you can use MIDI SysEx. There was a memory expander called the MEX-8000 which was basically a hardware SysEx storage device, which expands it to 256 patches over the built-in 64 slots.