I'll leave Kendall Wrightson to re-cap on the details of all that in his forthcoming Wavestation A/D review, but briefly sampled waves can be combined one, two or four at a time into Patches, which in turn can be grouped eight at a time into Performances. Why? And are the new Wavestation EX keyboard or Wavestation A/D rack expander sufficiently different to attract more interest? Beneath its deceptively minimal front panel the Wavestation is a phenomenally powerful, useful and different instrument. The Wavestation, however, being merely an extraordinarily powerful synth, thoroughly well designed, and with a sound to kill for, has remained a minority interest since its introduction. Korg's M1 was deservedly the most successful workstation to date for its power and value for money. Those who did buy one, however, have acquired an instrument that is surely a modern classic.

As Julian Colbeck observes in his survey of the synth market this month (see page 32), the Korg WS1 Wavestation was a missed opportunity for many people, passed over perhaps in favour of more familiar instruments.

Korg wavestation ws1