Bad Gear - Korg 707 FM Synth

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
01:32 Overview
05:44 Hate
06:11 Jam 1
07:13 Jam 2
08:23 Finale
08:56 Verdict
10:11 Patreon Vocoder Shoutout (+ Casio Rapman hate;)

Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world's most hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about the Korg 707 FM synth and keytar. Did Korg bring analog feel to FM synthesis???

And no, it has nothing to do with the Roland TR-707 ;)

[AmbiguousMotion]

The more I listen to this channel, the more I come to the conclusion there is no bad gear in music industry.

[Arehexes]

Welcome to Bad Gear, where we watch bad gear perform amazingly.

[DaraM]

Of course, just as the M1 follow up was the 01W (allegedly just the name turned upside down), it seems a shame Korg missed a trick in not calling the 707’s sequel the “LOL”

[joonglegamer]

I discovered an FM Monstersynth here the other day, an HS-6 Electone Organ from the late 80s. It sports a whopping 5 of those YM2414 (similar to YM2164, they both have 4 operators and 8 channels), but the main difference is, the HS-6 which disguises as an "organ", is actually an absolute MONSTER FM synth for rich people back then. 5 of these chips inside - YES - FIVE OF THEM, so like 40 individual FM channels! And what's not even known to most, is that the organs FM sound could be programmed, with a special program menu wheel it had on the side, cumbersome sure - but doable!). As tradition would have it, the Organ ALSO comes with After touch, on EACH keybed. A monster that no one knew how to handle back then!

[alvaroapablaza]

like many of the other viewers, sipping on some coffee and enjoying another episode while my wife makes faces cuze she dont get it. Time for some Roland now, you are forced to do the D-50, i think it may be the only rival to yamaha's 80's fm synths. have a great weekend

[marsupialmicron]

This was my first real synth. My father gave it to me when I was about 15. Then he bought me a Korg SQD 1 sequencer, and that was that to create the monster I am now!!

[Avernalism]

The Digitone showed me that FM synthesis never had to be a pain in the ass, and I wish more synths took an approach like this.

[Beatdrop]

Tracks in this one are really something else. That bass in Jam 2 was incredibly sick.

[loomPEDAL]

i love this show so much. it arrives in my notifications just as I finish work and, frankly, it's a tonic like no other. Plus, this 707 is dope AF - great for old skool detroit techno

[macmanplus]

My first synth setup consisted of two 707, Alesis MMT8 sequencer, and Alesis HR16 drum machine; recorded on a Tascam four track cassette recorder.

[chiefbucknell]

The “Daily Struggle” red button meme with two FM algorithms really made me smile—too perfect, and too relatable!

[SteveEdmondsonUK]

The new opsix also has an approach somewhere between subtractive and FM - the historical line back to the 707 is pretty clear!

[kristianTV]

Sounds like a whole bunch of 80's Atari coin ops - that Sitar sound was quite common on their games IIRC.

[Rompler_Rocco]

Sweet God, the quality of this show never stops blowing my mind! Really digging that 707 and the conclusion that Florian's new neck tattoo was just a lav mic 🤨😌

[foxholeartist]

"Older sibling of Sega Genesis"
Genesis actually was my first notion of synth music. Dune 2 or Soldiers of Fortune soundtracks still bangs

[dynho_b]

Hey Florian, with the 707 you’ve now almost covered my entire synth-collection in bad gear. There are only a few devices left that you have not yet presented so far! I'll scream bingo when you've covered them all! So keep on trying! :-)

[FIXTREME]

Something else crossed my mind today: The Korg 707 really feels like a high-street, designer version of keyboards like the Casio CT470 or the Yamaha PSS460. Those toys also allowed for synthesis via super simple slider/button input.

[timlloydsmithfineart]

Love your show as always. You’re slowly working your way through reviewing my collection lol. Ds8 as we know has same electro guts as 707, but not as cute face. Changing battery fiddlesome - needs de soldering! So when I did mine I added a snap in holder, popular fix. Restored presets via sysex. Up for sale now, regrettably.

[lundsweden]

They should strap all the Casio Rapmans to a rocket on a one way journey to the Sun. The 707, however is alright! I don't even think its cheesy, its underrated, or WAS underrated before this episode!

[KRAFTWERKK]

4 OP may be a compromise due to Yamaha's 6 OP FM synth patent, which didn't allow other synth manufacturers to produce 6 OP FM synths back then.... but i just love the sound of the 4 OP FM synths. It all just totally sounds like the Sega Mega Drive and Adlib sound of DOS games. The Nostalgia is strong. :]