I have never consciously listened to one of these before. Never really heard of it. What a sound though. Such a growly beast. Just fantastic. Thanks for the awesome vid.
I’ve had at least 7 or 8 of them since I was gifted one that was found in a dumpster in 2003. Being my first second and third synth you can imagine my absolute disgust when I preordered my first modern analog synth and plugged it in to hear those perfect oscillators and filters! Lol I sold it within a week, ‘twas serial number 114 of the first run of the Moog sub37. Thank you for doing a video, albeit short, on my favorite mono synth! They will never be able to smt clone this one! Long live the Korg 770!!!
When I hear some of Alex demos I instantly think it sounds industrial. As someone who loves industrial music this suits me fine. Alex makes wicked tunes in general. It's experimental and outside of the box creative.
Korgs stuff has always had a great sound to it, especially that early stuff, and you show it off perfectly here. Looove jam 1. One of my favourite vids from you I think. Wish you the best.
One thing I have noticed about these early Korgs- they have rarely come up for sale, people really hang onto them! I have been looking in pawn shops, Ebay & Gumtree since the 90s!
Old Korg is 100% my bread and butter Im beginning to learn. I swear I almost don't even care about other synths with how perfect the earlier korgs are to me.
That sounds great doesn't it. I love how different the Korg aesthetic was/is from Roland's - I've got a Minilogue (OG) and it still has something of that barky, pokey quality, always a bit keen to get noisy and rough round the edges. Also thank you for digging out Neil Bold, you are both a font of knowledge and have a knowledge of fonts... I'll go now.
Over the years I've always thought of Korg as producing the working class, proletarian's synths. Solid, gritty and don't mind hard work. And smutty too.
Absolutely, the ironic thing is that these "cheaper" synths from the era have a superior build quality, which is why they're still working and still in good condition. Then there's the sound. 😍
The "Tweedle Dee" track reminded me of a band called Liaisons Dangereuse, who were big on using Korg monosynths for those kind of bass and percussion sounds.
@@AlexBallMusic What Liaisons Dangereuses did with their Korg MS20/SQ10 set-up was absolutely groundbreaking. And again, the way you bring these old synths to live...a joy to watch and to listen to.
@@AlexBallMusic I saw them live as an 18yr old in 1982 (do the math...jeez...) in Groningen in the Netherlands. They used a TEAC 4-track to play all their home-recorded sequences and added a bit of bleeps with a MS20 and an OBX. More punk than punk :)
What a wonderfully characteristic sounding synth and great tracks again, Alex. Definitely worth the hard to explain search suggestions which will now inevitably (and unpredictably) haunt my public browsing, given the video's title.🙂
This is my Holy Grail synth. It's been on my must have list for 15 years. I just turned bright green with envy. I have the Univox Minikorg but have always coveted the 770. Thanks for sharing!! LOVE what the little intro track. Smutty indeed!
Yep, very hard to find, especially in this condition. Hopefully you can find one! There's one other 70s Korg mono I've been waiting years to get hold of and I might have just got one of those too. Fingers crossed.
I had a Maxi-Korg 800DV, not sure where it fitted in the family but it had the same traveling filter and the rest. It was a very unique synth and had a sound that was holy it’s own. Had to sell it when I emigrated but yeah, all the older Korgs were very growly 😂
Korg, man. What a sound! I love their stuff but the tone of those early Korgs is magical. Fantastic demos, I was left wanting to hear the full songs for all of these.
I once asked a friend of mine to DJ a party I was throwing. He showed up with his normal gear and also one of these and a drum machine and proceeded to create the most legendary live drum and bass.
It's amazing that something of that age still sounds so great. Demo 2 did it for me. That Korg may be more smutty than a 70s comedian I know (showing my age). Great vid
What is fantastic is that this synth has its own personality and that's the main reason I love this kind of old gear and the 770 definitely fill the blanks in that matters, love the looks too, very 70'S. Human League use one in the Dare album, I got my vynil copy and is listed there. Thanks Alex!
I LOVE how you will easily throw down any number of banging beats complete with the leads, the bass, and all trimmed and etched out so well!! And you’ll do every part of it with the same single highlighted piece of synth history! Great job again, Alex!!
This is the siren synth. Looks so aesthetically beautiful, lures you in with it's mesmerizing sounds and then kills you with is raw roar. Probably the most beautiful synth ever designed in my honest opinion. The "tweedle dee" sounds a bit like a trabi-factory in DDR - and that's a good thing. "Sister Transitor" is what I mean by siren synth. Nice video as always Alex - you and analogaudio1 really does a great job showing of these rather odd synthesizers of yore.
That's some awesome pieces of music there that you've coaxed from this little dirt machine, Alex! This synth is all over early Human League material and I Iove it!
I used to play around with a Korg 770 in Grinnell's (downtown Detroit musical instrument store) after school in the late 1970s. I wanted it so badly but my folks never coughed up the the $300 or so asking price. I wasn't about to try the more expensive Rolands, Yamahas, etc.Thanks for the memories! So glad the Grinnell's staff tolerated me.
You made these sound like the best synth and synth drum machine combo ever, and then you proceeded to teach me and give me food for thought. I think I’ve had the chance once to play one of these narstiest of 1st gen Korg synths. ANYWAY CHEERS AND THANK YOU 🥹🥳
Probably my favourite Korg. Love it so much I still have two of them to play leads with my 800dv. For me the 770 is a sort of civilized Polivoks (way less temperamental and with a better keybed - not really difficult there).
That's a really inspiring -sounding synth. The massive modular doesn't hurt either. I have an old delta in desperate need of recapping and a VERY sad polysix that I had from new.
@@AlexBallMusic waggle waggle! It reminded me a bit of Daft Punk’s _Scratchin’ and Rollin’_ in the way that the texture was more the point than the melody!
Great review, Alex....love me some 70's Korg! "Korg-a-licious" in fact LOL This puppy is good at dishing the dirt...sounds great.The demos were fun...from 70's TV series incidental fills to Berlin electronica through to indie movie soundtrack. Me likey!
It sounds bloody great... I don't really know much about their stuff before the MS range. Have always loved Korg stuff. Oh and I loved Distant Traveller Demo #4!
The smut box . ????? That's hilarious 😂 probably the funniest name I have ever heard for a synth. Smut box. Well you kicked ass with it. Thanks for uploading and the laugh. Kudos from Ireland 🇮🇪.
Great vid. As always. I find it much punchier than the later Korgs. Those envelopes are really snappy. Softer sounds towards the end of the vid sound quite Aphex Twin like.
its one of my favorite monos, i use it more often then the mini or the arp just because its so small and easy to move arround, its great to sample to obtain a poor mans 3100, the ring mod is so much fun
Excellent, never seen or heard one of these...what a great sounding mono! Really like the look & form factor as well ( much nicer than the mini Korg).....Surprised Korg haven’t considered a remake?
Great name. Scored a Novation Mininova. Sounds really fun. I will run it through my Korg NTS-1 effects. Ran the Behringer TB-3 through it and it sounded awesome with the shimmer reverb and tape delay.
This has an amazing dirty growl, moniker suiting. I have yet to hear anything that sounds like it, it would if released today sell a ton. Peter would approve!!
@@AlexBallMusic time period would be about right as the original cartoon came out in 1974, I remember it well as it was on children's television BBC 1, after Playschool and Blue Peter etc, you're too young to remember, lol...
Filthier than my browser history.
Not filthier than mine luv!
You need to give that keyboard a wipe down I recon 😂😂
Wish my missus was that filthy.
BAHAHAHA
equal amount of smut i'd imagine
Fantastic video! Really enjoyed every piece, mate!
Hey dude. A fun synth indeed.
Hopefully some 70s Korgs can get a damn good Hainbaching at some point.
@@AlexBallMusic If you Googled "damn good Hainbaching" it seems like you'd get all kinds of NSFW images
@@AlexBallMusic I’d just like to volunteer my infinite time and availability to shoot the above mentioned images.
Alsways love seeing korg on the channel! I feel like some of their vintage stuff doesn’t get the love it deserves!
Agreed - would love to see a review of the Korg Trident myself - I once owned one - a vastly underrated synth imho!
More Korg stuff in the pipeline. A lot of it actually. 😀
I agree. I get bored of the same old Roland vids about everywhere. Seeing and hearing these old Korgs is so refreshing to the ears.
I have never consciously listened to one of these before. Never really heard of it. What a sound though. Such a growly beast. Just fantastic. Thanks for the awesome vid.
I’ve had at least 7 or 8 of them since I was gifted one that was found in a dumpster in 2003. Being my first second and third synth you can imagine my absolute disgust when I preordered my first modern analog synth and plugged it in to hear those perfect oscillators and filters! Lol I sold it within a week, ‘twas serial number 114 of the first run of the Moog sub37.
Thank you for doing a video, albeit short, on my favorite mono synth! They will never be able to smt clone this one!
Long live the Korg 770!!!
Wow. Something about this just sounds great. Teamed up with the minipops you had my head bopping on my drive home.
The SR-120 thumps hard, great sounding box. Even better when it slaps the ring mod.
Love to hear a vocal track go through this bad boy could you imagine the absolute joy you'd have
Would wind up sounding like a Dalek. 😀
Some real Front 242 vibes in those sounds. Excellent demo and explanation!
When I hear some of Alex demos I instantly think it sounds industrial. As someone who loves industrial music this suits me fine. Alex makes wicked tunes in general. It's experimental and outside of the box creative.
Korgs stuff has always had a great sound to it, especially that early stuff, and you show it off perfectly here. Looove jam 1. One of my favourite vids from you I think. Wish you the best.
Thank you. Yes, a special place in my heart for these Korgs. Very unique.
One thing I have noticed about these early Korgs- they have rarely come up for sale, people really hang onto them! I have been looking in pawn shops, Ebay & Gumtree since the 90s!
Perhaps in the case of the 770 you ought to be looking in porn rather than pawn shops?!
@@MisAnnThorpe Right next to the latex, vibrators and dildos?!
Old Korg is 100% my bread and butter Im beginning to learn. I swear I almost don't even care about other synths with how perfect the earlier korgs are to me.
Character bursting out of them, definitely.
can't believe I'd never seen this beauty till now....discovering yet another gem on your channel (great demo)
Yeah, not very easy to find these days. I've been hoping to borrow one for years.
@@AlexBallMusic and that slant panel and wood cheeks, huh?!
Korg is punk and metall of synths
Love every bit of their gear
That sounds great doesn't it. I love how different the Korg aesthetic was/is from Roland's - I've got a Minilogue (OG) and it still has something of that barky, pokey quality, always a bit keen to get noisy and rough round the edges.
Also thank you for digging out Neil Bold, you are both a font of knowledge and have a knowledge of fonts... I'll go now.
Yep, a very different flavour to Roland. Adore them both.
Fonts - of course, always go Font hunting!
the Minilogue onboard analog delay gets smutty, and the crossmod can too.
Great jams with this thing! I love the sound of early Korgs. I have a vintage 700S and this does sound a lot like it. Very smutty indeed!
Very closely related to the 700S with the different ring mod types and scaled noise.
Very naughty synths.
Over the years I've always thought of Korg as producing the working class, proletarian's synths. Solid, gritty and don't mind hard work. And smutty too.
Absolutely, the ironic thing is that these "cheaper" synths from the era have a superior build quality, which is why they're still working and still in good condition.
Then there's the sound. 😍
What a beast of a synth! Your arrangements are fantastic. Tweedle Dee especially 😎
The "Tweedle Dee" track reminded me of a band called Liaisons Dangereuse, who were big on using Korg monosynths for those kind of bass and percussion sounds.
Thanks for the tip, I'll check them out.
@@AlexBallMusic What Liaisons Dangereuses did with their Korg MS20/SQ10 set-up was absolutely groundbreaking.
And again, the way you bring these old synths to live...a joy to watch and to listen to.
@@kohlemainen Yeah, I checked out one of their liveshows after Chris' suggestion. Sounds so ahead of its time.
@@AlexBallMusic I saw them live as an 18yr old in 1982 (do the math...jeez...) in Groningen in the Netherlands. They used a TEAC 4-track to play all their home-recorded sequences and added a bit of bleeps with a MS20 and an OBX. More punk than punk :)
Goes to show you it’s possible to make great music with a simple synth and a multitrack, really liked the soft melody segment 😍
Thanks Simon. I guess a few great sounding parts are all you need and the synth delivers those.
What a wonderfully characteristic sounding synth and great tracks again, Alex.
Definitely worth the hard to explain search suggestions which will now inevitably (and unpredictably) haunt my public browsing, given the video's title.🙂
This is my Holy Grail synth. It's been on my must have list for 15 years. I just turned bright green with envy. I have the Univox Minikorg but have always coveted the 770.
Thanks for sharing!!
LOVE what the little intro track. Smutty indeed!
Yep, very hard to find, especially in this condition. Hopefully you can find one!
There's one other 70s Korg mono I've been waiting years to get hold of and I might have just got one of those too. Fingers crossed.
@@AlexBallMusic Behemoth Univox MaxiKorg?
@@toitoitoy I played one of those recently, but that's not the one I was referring to....
@@AlexBallMusic Lambda?
EDIT: Nope that one is polyphonic, oops.
That 770 looks brand new! I've never even seen one in person before... Thanks so much for letting us all hear & experience it Alex!
I love the grit on those old Korg synths. In the hands of a skilled musician such as yourself, it sounds fantastic.
I had a Maxi-Korg 800DV, not sure where it fitted in the family but it had the same traveling filter and the rest. It was a very unique synth and had a sound that was holy it’s own. Had to sell it when I emigrated but yeah, all the older Korgs were very growly 😂
Korg, man. What a sound! I love their stuff but the tone of those early Korgs is magical. Fantastic demos, I was left wanting to hear the full songs for all of these.
You managed to get so many different and interesting sounds out of this SMUTBOX omg this piece is fantastic and so gritty I love it
Thanks, it's so much fun.
I once asked a friend of mine to DJ a party I was throwing. He showed up with his normal gear and also one of these and a drum machine and proceeded to create the most legendary live drum and bass.
Wow, demo 2-Tweedle Dee. The soundstage, the quality of the recording, the tune itself. So good xxx
Looks like a nice little noisebox with a lot of versatility!
I just realized, while Audio Pilz is doing Bad Gear, you're out here doing Good Gear.
Man, this thing looks like brand new! Like you just unboxed it.
Great video! (As ever. ;) )
A pretty fresh one, yeah!
Such a great synth. Also used by Mick Mcneil in the early Simple Minds days, along with his Jupiter 4. What a combo ^^
Outstanding as always. I don't remember this one at all and I'm 100 years old.
"I'll get right on it..." Uli Behringer
It's amazing that something of that age still sounds so great. Demo 2 did it for me. That Korg may be more smutty than a 70s comedian I know (showing my age). Great vid
Korg has some really gnarly filters. Great video, as always!
Yep, a whole flavour of their own.
Excellent stuff Alex, a true synthesist, wasn't aware of the 770 what a cool little synth.
I loved Distant Traveler so much. Wish it was a full release.
You jam hard bro. Love your videos.
What is fantastic is that this synth has its own personality and that's the main reason I love this kind of old gear and the 770 definitely fill the blanks in that matters, love the looks too, very 70'S.
Human League use one in the Dare album, I got my vynil copy and is listed there.
Thanks Alex!
Yes, used with the 700S for those early Human League albums with System 100 on drums. Later the Jupiter-4 joined the party.
Adore that sound too.
I LOVE how you will easily throw down any number of banging beats complete with the leads, the bass, and all trimmed and etched out so well!! And you’ll do every part of it with the same single highlighted piece of synth history! Great job again, Alex!!
Thank you, they're a lot of fun to do!
This is the siren synth. Looks so aesthetically beautiful, lures you in with it's mesmerizing sounds and then kills you with is raw roar.
Probably the most beautiful synth ever designed in my honest opinion.
The "tweedle dee" sounds a bit like a trabi-factory in DDR - and that's a good thing.
"Sister Transitor" is what I mean by siren synth.
Nice video as always Alex - you and analogaudio1 really does a great job showing of these rather odd synthesizers of yore.
#1 Thing I like about you is your Music !
So happy to have nabbed my serving of smut before the young pups became aware. One of my faves. History and grit.
Yes indeed. A little bit slept on, but what a sound!
@@AlexBallMusic It's funny, these often pretty little differences are exactly what compel us to possess them. Great video, as always, Alex. 🙏🏻
That's some awesome pieces of music there that you've coaxed from this little dirt machine, Alex!
This synth is all over early Human League material and I Iove it!
Yes yes! More obscure Korg stuff!
In the pipeline..
I used to play around with a Korg 770 in Grinnell's (downtown Detroit musical instrument store) after school in the late 1970s. I wanted it so badly but my folks never coughed up the the $300 or so asking price. I wasn't about to try the more expensive Rolands, Yamahas, etc.Thanks for the memories! So glad the Grinnell's staff tolerated me.
You made these sound like the best synth and synth drum machine combo ever, and then you proceeded to teach me and give me food for thought. I think I’ve had the chance once to play one of these narstiest of 1st gen Korg synths. ANYWAY CHEERS AND THANK YOU 🥹🥳
Thanks Keith. They are quire the pair, yes!
Hope you got another chance with one of these singing "travelers".
These jams were so good I kind of hope Alex develops one or two of them into full songs. Tweedledee is an absolute banger in the making.
Probably my favourite Korg. Love it so much I still have two of them to play leads with my 800dv. For me the 770 is a sort of civilized Polivoks (way less temperamental and with a better keybed - not really difficult there).
Interesting comparison, I’ve owned maybe 7 of them, never the polivoks for more than a trade bundle minute.
That's a really inspiring -sounding synth. The massive modular doesn't hurt either. I have an old delta in desperate need of recapping and a VERY sad polysix that I had from new.
The massive modular never hurts. 😀
Yeah, get those two back to life if you can!
@@AlexBallMusic I just need a space to do it really. Id like to get the Kiwisix kit for the poly - it seems to be the way to go.
If you have a 5u modular, Tony Allgood has a variant of the traveler filter called the Journeyman. th-cam.com/video/N37KQY7HVrE/w-d-xo.html
Great job here! All the sounds from this synth are wonderful and I’ve learned about this synth aI’ve never even heard of.
Ah, my favourite schyinteschizer. Very shexy.
Really like the sound - very powerful and full of life.
Indeed.
Great stuff, Alex! Great demos and explanations. What a crazy design.
Hello and I have a Korg 700s which is a Univox K2. I appreciate a Korg evolution
Ah yes, badged and sold by Unicord. I have the 700FS which is the reissue with some added benefits. Use it pretty much every day.
@@AlexBallMusic there is a sound you rely on with warmest gear; like a pillow you rest your head.
Most productive when you’re most comfortable friend
sounds really nice - one of the nicest styled synths ever !
Thoroughly enjoying your “listen to these filters!” performance in the first track :)
I thought "what shall I do for the intro?"
Then realised that just waggling the filters will seal the deal.
@@AlexBallMusic waggle waggle! It reminded me a bit of Daft Punk’s _Scratchin’ and Rollin’_ in the way that the texture was more the point than the melody!
Nice bit of kit! Love a bit of vintage Korg. Would you consider doing a review of the Trident?
Oh god, yes! Watch this space.
It has a really unique voice and you do a great job of playing it!
Demo 3 sounded like a lost track from NIN's Hesitation Marks album :D Very nice demos and a great sounding intrument!
This is the (mono) synth I regret selling the most.
'Disgustingly' good as always! Loved the demos.
That first demo sounds downright prodigyesque m8 it's awesome
Great review, Alex....love me some 70's Korg! "Korg-a-licious" in fact LOL This puppy is good at dishing the dirt...sounds great.The demos were fun...from 70's TV series incidental fills to Berlin electronica through to indie movie soundtrack. Me likey!
I still regret selling my Korg 770. Thanks for the memories!
That early 70’s Korg sound is my favorite. Aggressive, whinny and/or sad, I love it all!
According to a helpful guy on the Internet, it's the diode ring VCF design.
@@AlexBallMusic :)
@@AlexBallMusic Yes, and you can get some very similar characteristics in the AJH Synth Sonic XV Diode Wave Filter. Vactrol filters sometimes, too.
It sounds bloody great... I don't really know much about their stuff before the MS range. Have always loved Korg stuff.
Oh and I loved Distant Traveller Demo #4!
Proper naughty! Your demos are absolutely fabulous.
Cheers :)
It sounds so brilliantly squelchy and moist!
The smut box . ?????
That's hilarious 😂 probably the funniest name I have ever heard for a synth.
Smut box.
Well you kicked ass with it.
Thanks for uploading and the laugh.
Kudos from Ireland 🇮🇪.
It's a box full of smut, what can I say? 😉
These Demos are a PLEASURE to listen under headphones 🎶🎹🎧
Cheers!
Oh, never heard of this one before. It sounds great!
Not that well known I guess. Used on the early Human League stuff along with the 700S.
@@AlexBallMusic I do like the early Human League stuff, so...
Great informative video of this early KORG-gem. I MUST get my MiniKorg fixed now. :) Thanks.
Got the mini fixed, yeah! Is it the 700 or the 700S?
@@AlexBallMusic The 700, my very first synth! :)
Growly and aggressive, it sounds great.
It does!
I am loving demo 2... Great video
Loved demos 2 and 3!
Nice vid and demos, Alex. And yes, very very smutty.
Great vid. As always.
I find it much punchier than the later Korgs. Those envelopes are really snappy.
Softer sounds towards the end of the vid sound quite Aphex Twin like.
Yeah, totally. It has the envelope time settings like the Yamaha CS-30 so it really allows for the full range, despite having just the one envelope.
Damn that’s one angry, dirty sounding synth Alex! You do it justice!!👍
Cheers
it sounds so phat and gnarly, i love it!
The GAS is strong in this one! And you forgot to mention how beautiful looking it is :)
its one of my favorite monos, i use it more often then the mini or the arp just because its so small and easy to move arround, its great to sample to obtain a poor mans 3100, the ring mod is so much fun
I have never wanted a synth so badly. Sounds like it would fit perfectly on my tracks
Yeah, it's instant character isn't it!
@@AlexBallMusic imagine putting distortion on that thing and letting it scream and also using another synth for the bass under it.
I actually had one a couple of years ago. This is the first time I regret selling it. Great demo of the dirtiest synth ever! 😃
Ah no! Yeah, not one to leave behind.
Excellent, never seen or heard one of these...what a great sounding mono! Really like the look & form factor as well ( much nicer than the mini Korg).....Surprised Korg haven’t considered a remake?
Great name. Scored a Novation Mininova. Sounds really fun. I will run it through my Korg NTS-1 effects. Ran the Behringer TB-3 through it and it sounded awesome with the shimmer reverb and tape delay.
This has an amazing dirty growl, moniker suiting.
I have yet to hear anything that sounds like it, it would if released today sell a ton.
Peter would approve!!
Sounds Amazing!
Wow Tweedle Dee was sick as hell! Need to expand that track there :P
Just awesome sounding. Like burning circuitry.😄
Yep, I have no idea why their filters were so fuzzy and screamy, but I'm not complaining.
That’s a perfect way of describing the sound! 😄👍
Brillant - Kind of Genius, as ever!
A lovely little machine
Simply AWESOME 😍
:)
Cool song at 1. 30, like a, YMO outtake
What a magnificent beast.
A thoroughbred.
Glorious noise!
The right kind of wrong.
That's got a cool sound
brilliant synth indeed, also good for more smooth emotive things
Gnarly video Alex, keep up the awesome work! All hail Korg!!! 🎹
Cheers Andy.
First demo, the lead sound is in Roobarb and Custard theme tune territory. Great review, never heard of this synth, must be pretty rare.
I'm pretty sure there is a traveler Korg of some description on Roobarb and Custard.
@@AlexBallMusic time period would be about right as the original cartoon came out in 1974, I remember it well as it was on children's television BBC 1, after Playschool and Blue Peter etc, you're too young to remember, lol...