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10/18/2026

1995 - Korg Trinity

A flagship workstation featuring high-quality sounds, touchscreen operation, powerful effects, and expandable synthesis options.

ACCESS (Advanced Control Combined Synthesis System) PCM synthesis with touchscreen interface, expandable DSP options, and professional effects processing.

One of the first major synthesizers with a large color touchscreen interface. Its studio-quality effects rivaled dedicated rack processors, and optional expansion boards added physical modeling and other synthesis methods.

One of the defining workstations of the mid-to-late 1990s. Widely used in professional studios, live performances, worship music, and television production before being succeeded by the Triton series.

This is the keyboard workstation that supercharged my music production career. Fantastic sounds, touchscreen interface, 16 track sequencer & much more. When projects that I produced using this instrument were heard, I got more requests than I could accept.

I kept this keyboard in my studio longer than any other. It was only a MAJOR studio upgrade to computer-based sounds & keyboard controllers that prompted me to let it go. I did recently purchase the software emulation (lower pic) for my retro project studio. Having those career changing sounds again is pretty cool!

09/30/2026

1992 - Ensoniq ASR-10

A legendary professional sampling workstation celebrated for its expressive sound, intuitive workflow, and exceptional onboard effects. 16-bit stereo sampling with advanced synthesis, sequencing, and real-time effects processing.

Combined a high-quality sampler with synthesis, sequencing, and one of the best effects processors available in a keyboard. Its real-time modulation and performance features were years ahead of many competitors.

Revered in hip-hop, R&B, gospel, film scoring, and electronic music. Used by producers including Kanye West (early in his career), Timbaland, The Neptunes, and countless gospel musicians. It remains one of the most respected sampling keyboards ever built.

I bought this keyboard because I was producing hip-hop / rap music for clients. It served a valuable service for a very short time. Then, I sold it to purchase my next keyboard workstation that changed my career...

09/26/2026

1991 - Korg 01/W

A major evolution of the M1 with richer sounds, more realistic instruments, and significantly enhanced synthesis capabilities. It became a flagship workstation for professional studios and touring musicians.

AI² (Advanced Integrated Squared) PCM synthesis featuring Waveshaping, improved effects, and an onboard sequencer.

Introduced Waveshaping, which added harmonic complexity and a more expressive, dynamic character to sampled sounds. It also featured larger wave memory, better effects, and higher overall sound quality than the M1.

One of the most respected workstations of the early 1990s. It was widely used in pop, gospel, film scoring, new age, and worship music, though it never surpassed the M1's massive commercial success.

While the M1 gave me my music production start, the 01/W got me going professionally producing backing tracks for my church & other clients.

It also taught much about editing & mixing various sounds into professional compositions.

Great keyboard workstation, but Korg hasn't made a software version of it for me to include in my virtual studio set-up.

09/05/2026

1990 - Korg Wavestation

An atmospheric synthesizer designed for evolving textures, cinematic pads, ambient soundscapes, and complex motion.

Vector Synthesis combined with Wave Sequencing, allowing samples to change continuously over time.

Introduced Wave Sequencing, enabling sounds to evolve rhythmically and tonally in ways never previously possible. This became highly influential in film scoring and ambient music.

Although not as commercially successful as the M1, it became a cult classic and remains highly respected by film composers, ambient musicians, and sound designers.

We purchased our Wavestation after demoing it at Guitar Center. It sounded awesome, but didn’t quite fit into our music production process at the time. We ended up exchanging it for the next keyboard on my list. I did find the software version of the keyboard (lower pic) on the Korg website and I purchased it as it fits in nicely with my current virtual studio set-up.

08/31/2026

1988 - Korg M1

A complete music workstation combining sampled sounds, multitimbral sequencing, and onboard effects in one keyboard.

AI (Advanced Integrated) PCM sample playback synthesis with digital effects and an integrated sequencer.

Widely considered the world's first successful all-in-one music workstation. Included professional effects and sequencing without requiring external equipment.

One of the best-selling synthesizers of all time. Its famous Piano, Organ 2, Universe, and M1 House Piano sounds became standards in pop, dance, gospel, and house music.

The M1 was the 1st keyboard workstation that I (co)owned with my brother, Roger. This was the keyboard that started my music production career.

I produced my first full songs using its sounds and on-board sequencer. It had the best combination of drum & instrument sounds on the market at that time.

Later keyboards included better, larger screen interfaces that were touch enabled and made entering data much easier & faster.

The Korg website has the software version of the M1 (bottom pic) that I purchased for my virtual studio.

08/29/2026

1987 - Alesis HR-16

An affordable digital drum machine that brought professional-quality sampled drums to home studios and project studios. It offered a wide selection of realistic drum kits and flexible programming.

16-bit digitally sampled drum sounds with pattern/song sequencing and velocity-sensitive dynamics.

Delivered high-quality 16-bit drum samples at a budget-friendly price, making professional drum programming accessible to musicians outside major recording studios.

One of the best-selling drum machines of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It became a favorite among songwriters, churches, home studios, and independent musicians because of its ease of use and realistic sound.

We got our HR-16 for add-on drum sounds to the next keyboard in my studio technology history. It had the most realistic sounds we'd heard to date. Just not much variety.

08/25/2026

1987 - Roland W-30

Roland's first integrated sampling workstation, combining a sampler, sequencer, keyboard, and disk drive into one instrument.12-bit digital sampling with onboard sequencing and editing.

One of the earliest all-in-one sampling workstations, allowing musicians to sample, edit, sequence, and perform without external equipment.

Popular with producers of hip-hop, dance, pop, and industrial music. It helped make sampling more accessible before higher-end samplers became common.

The W-30 was one of the first keyboards that I had full access to. The church I attended and ran sound & media for purchased one for music ministry. Really new and cool technology back then. To be able to record (sample) any sound - percussion, voice, effects and then play them on the keys was so much fun.

They never made a software version because this keyboard had no sound library to speak of. You kind of created your own with it.

08/19/2026

1983 - Roland TR-909

A hybrid drum machine that combined analog punch with digital realism. It became the defining rhythm machine of electronic dance music.

Hybrid analog/digital design featuring analog-generated kick, snare, toms, and sampled cymbals with MIDI and step sequencing.

The first Roland drum machine to include MIDI, allowing synchronization with synthesizers and sequencers. Its driving grooves helped shape house, techno, trance, and electronic dance music for decades.

Although only moderately successful at launch, it later became one of the most sought-after drum machines in history and remains a cornerstone of electronic dance music production.

The Roland TR-909 was one of our first actual home studio purchases. However, it became just a fun drum sequence creation device (like a drum game) as we never actually used it for recording.

08/19/2026

I don't got no money.

08/19/2026

Always the solution.

An easy solution 😉