Korg DS-8 Digital FM Synthesizer

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The Korg DS-8 is a digital eight-voice FM synthesizer designed using Yamaha components. It introduced an analog interface to control FM sounds and could play different patches on each of its eight voices, making it Korg's first multi-timbral MIDI synthesizer. At the same time, the smaller, portable Korg 707 with 4 octaves came onto the market. The DS-8 is more generously equipped with performance buttons, an effect bypass and buttons to deactivate modulation by pressure or velocity per oscillator. 

The DS-8 is an eight-voice FM synthesizer with multi-timbrality and a five-octave keyboard with velocity sensitivity and aftertouch. It is equipped with two oscillators that have their own four-stage timbre and amplitude envelopes. There is a common four-stage pitch envelope and an LFO for both oscillators. The first oscillator offers the waveforms sawtooth, square, bright sawtooth and bright square, the second sawtooth and square with the option of cross-modulation selection. The timbre EG section has a master level control for timbre, an envelope for timbre shaping, an intensity parameter that adjusts the modulation effect of the timbre EG and a keyboard tracking function to shorten the envelope on higher keys and lengthen it on lower keys. The amplitude EG section offers a master level to balance the volume of the two oscillators, envelope rate settings and keyboard tracking. There is also a spectrum parameter for resonance effects and ring modulation. The DS-8 has performance controls for easy sound editing and for switching velocity, aftertouch, portamento and effects. (Source: Wikipedia)