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, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox (musical equipment), Vox brand name, they also manufacture Guitar amplifier, guitar amplifiers and Electric guitar, electric guitars.
Korg was founded in 1962 in Tokyo by Tsutomu Kato and Tadashi Osanai as ''Keio Gijutsu Kenkyujo Ltd.''. It later became because its offices were located near the Keio Corporation, Keio train line in Tokyo and Keio can be formed by combining the first letters of Kato and Osanai. Before founding the company, Kato ran a nightclub. Osanai, a Tokyo University graduate and noted accordionist, regularly performed at Kato's club accompanied by a Wurlitzer Sideman rhythm machine. Dissatisfied with the rhythm machine, Osanai convinced Kato to finance his efforts to build a better one.Julian Colbeck, Keyfax Omnibus Edition, MixBooks, 1996, p. 52.
The company's first product was an electro-mechanical rhythm device, the Disc Rotary Electric Auto Rhythm machine, Donca Matic DA-20, released in 1963. The name "Donca" was an onomatopoeic reference to the sound the rhythm machine made. Buoyed by the success of the DA-20, Keio released a solid-state version of the Rhythm machine, the Donca matic DE-20, in 1966.
In 1967, Kato was approached by Fumio Mieda, an engineer seeking to build Keyboard instrument, keyboards. Impressed with Mieda's enthusiasm, Kato asked him to build a prototype, and 18 months later Mieda returned with a programmable Organ (music), organ. Keio sold the organ under the name ''KORG'', created by using the first letter of each founder's name plus "RG" from their planned emphasis on products targeted for the Electronic organ, organ market (emphasizing the letters R and G in the word "organ"). In 1970 the firm name changed again to Keio Giken Kogyo Inc. (京王技研工業株式会社).
Keio's organ products were successful throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. Concerned about competition from other organ manufacturers, Kato decided to use the organ technology to build a keyboard for the then-niche synthesizer market. Keio's first synthesizer, the Korg miniKORG, was released in 1973.
During the 1970s, Korg's synthesizer line was divided into instruments for the hobbyist, and large expensive patchable instruments such as the PS series. In the early '80s, Korg branched into digital pianos.
Korg is credited with a number of innovations. The "key transposition (music), transpose" function was Kato's idea after a singer at his club needed her accompaniment played in a lower key, which the accompanist wasn't able to do. Korg was the first company to feature effects on a synthesizer, and the first to use a "sample + synthesis" sound design. The Korg M1, M1 workstation, released in 1988, sold over 250,000 units, making it the bestselling synthesizer ever at that time. The M1 is still to this day regarded as the perfect workstation.
Korg Mourns the Passing of Chairman Tsutomu Katoh
", Keyboard Magazine, March 15, 2011
Korg home page
US
UK
Australia
Japan
Korg Middle East home page
Korg Arrangers Home Page
Korg Page at Synthmuseum.com
Korg Kornucopia - Korg analogue synthesizer information, manuals and resources
information on Korg's analogue vintage instruments
Korg museum
korgaseries.org
- A decade old online resource hosting photos, product info, effects, mailing list and manuals for Korg's A1, A2 and A3 effects processors.
Audio interview with Mitch Colby - EVP / CMO of Korg USA
Korg - Review
NAMM Oral History Interview
Tsutomu Katoh discusses his favorite of his many musical products, the tuner. October 16, 2006.
Fumio Mieda Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2022) {{Authority control Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Manufacturing companies established in 1962 Synthesizer manufacturing companies of Japan Guitar manufacturing companies Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Japan Privately held companies of Japan Guitar effects manufacturing companies Japanese brands 1962 establishments in Japan
History
Korg was founded in 1962 in Tokyo by Tsutomu Kato and Tadashi Osanai as ''Keio Gijutsu Kenkyujo Ltd.''. It later became because its offices were located near the Keio Corporation, Keio train line in Tokyo and Keio can be formed by combining the first letters of Kato and Osanai. Before founding the company, Kato ran a nightclub. Osanai, a Tokyo University graduate and noted accordionist, regularly performed at Kato's club accompanied by a Wurlitzer Sideman rhythm machine. Dissatisfied with the rhythm machine, Osanai convinced Kato to finance his efforts to build a better one.Julian Colbeck, Keyfax Omnibus Edition, MixBooks, 1996, p. 52.
The company's first product was an electro-mechanical rhythm device, the Disc Rotary Electric Auto Rhythm machine, Donca Matic DA-20, released in 1963. The name "Donca" was an onomatopoeic reference to the sound the rhythm machine made. Buoyed by the success of the DA-20, Keio released a solid-state version of the Rhythm machine, the Donca matic DE-20, in 1966.
In 1967, Kato was approached by Fumio Mieda, an engineer seeking to build Keyboard instrument, keyboards. Impressed with Mieda's enthusiasm, Kato asked him to build a prototype, and 18 months later Mieda returned with a programmable Organ (music), organ. Keio sold the organ under the name ''KORG'', created by using the first letter of each founder's name plus "RG" from their planned emphasis on products targeted for the Electronic organ, organ market (emphasizing the letters R and G in the word "organ"). In 1970 the firm name changed again to Keio Giken Kogyo Inc. (京王技研工業株式会社).
Keio's organ products were successful throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. Concerned about competition from other organ manufacturers, Kato decided to use the organ technology to build a keyboard for the then-niche synthesizer market. Keio's first synthesizer, the Korg miniKORG, was released in 1973.
During the 1970s, Korg's synthesizer line was divided into instruments for the hobbyist, and large expensive patchable instruments such as the PS series. In the early '80s, Korg branched into digital pianos.
Korg is credited with a number of innovations. The "key transposition (music), transpose" function was Kato's idea after a singer at his club needed her accompaniment played in a lower key, which the accompanist wasn't able to do. Korg was the first company to feature effects on a synthesizer, and the first to use a "sample + synthesis" sound design. The Korg M1, M1 workstation, released in 1988, sold over 250,000 units, making it the bestselling synthesizer ever at that time. The M1 is still to this day regarded as the perfect workstation.
Relationship with Yamaha
Yamaha Corporation has always been a major partner of Korg, supplying them with circuitry and mechanical parts. In 1987, shortly before the release of the M1 Music Workstation, Yamaha acquired a controlling interest in Korg. The takeover of the company was amicable, with Kato drawing up the terms, and the two companies continued to independently develop their product lines and compete in the marketplace. In 1989, Korg recruited the design team from Sequential Circuits as they were relieved of their duties by then-Sequential owner Yamaha. In 1993, after 5 successful years under Yamaha's control, Kato had sufficient funds to repurchase most of the Yamaha shares.Recent history
Korg has since diversified into digital effects, tuners, recording equipment, electronic hand percussion, and software instruments. In 1992, Korg acquired Vox (musical equipment), Vox, then primarily a manufacturer of guitar amplifiers. Korg was the exclusive distributor of Marshall Amplification product in the US for decades. This arrangement ended in 2010. Kato died of cancer on March 15, 2011.", Keyboard Magazine, March 15, 2011
Products
See also
* :Korg synthesizers * Electronic tunerReferences
External links
*Korg home page
US
UK
Australia
Japan
Korg Middle East home page
Korg Arrangers Home Page
Korg Page at Synthmuseum.com
Korg Kornucopia - Korg analogue synthesizer information, manuals and resources
information on Korg's analogue vintage instruments
Korg museum
korgaseries.org
- A decade old online resource hosting photos, product info, effects, mailing list and manuals for Korg's A1, A2 and A3 effects processors.
Audio interview with Mitch Colby - EVP / CMO of Korg USA
Korg - Review
NAMM Oral History Interview
Tsutomu Katoh discusses his favorite of his many musical products, the tuner. October 16, 2006.
Fumio Mieda Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2022) {{Authority control Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Manufacturing companies established in 1962 Synthesizer manufacturing companies of Japan Guitar manufacturing companies Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Japan Privately held companies of Japan Guitar effects manufacturing companies Japanese brands 1962 establishments in Japan