Korg TR88 88 Key Synthesizer Workstation  Dent & Scratch  Item #: DSP KORTR88 

The Korg TR88 keyboard is an 88-key Music Workstation with authentic weighted action.
The TR Music Workstation Series delivers excellent value in a streamlined, cost-effective package, offering a wide variety of high-quality sounds, classic Korg user-friendliness and up-to-date storage and computer connectivity.

The TR88 features Korg’s HI (Hyper Integrated) synthesis technology — the synthesis system that has made the acclaimed TRITON family a worldwide standard. With an abundant 64 MB of PCM ROM containing 470 multisamples and 518 drum samples, the TR is loaded with new sounds that are well-suited for both music production and live performance, including an all-new stereo, velocity-switched piano. The internal memory offers a total of 512 Programs, 384 Combinations (each consisting of up to eight Programs) and 24 drum kits — plus an additional 128 GM programs and nine drum kits.

Two master effects, a stereo 3-band master EQ and one stereo insert effect are available, using 89 different effect types. Effects parameters can be modulated in real time, and can sync to MIDI clock or to the internal sequencer.

The TR88’s 16-track MIDI sequencer holds up to 200,000 notes and 200 songs. Sequences can be recorded in real time or via step entry, with powerful editing tools available. The Cue List feature allows the user to assemble a song from individual elements (intro, verse, chorus etc.), then rearrange them and even store up to 20 variations of the same Song. For songwriters, the Template Song function provides 16 Songs containing pre-chosen programs and effects appropriate to various styles of music, with 16 additional user locations for saving setup favorites. Also included are 150 preset drum patterns that match the provided genres.

For live performance and songwriting, the TR’s dual polyphonic arpeggiators enable the creation and playback of intricate pitched patterns and drum grooves. Korg’s RPPR (Realtime Pattern Play/Recording) function allows sequenced patterns to be triggered from individual notes on the keyboard — useful for difficult-to-play passages, DJ-like performance and quick song creation.

The TR’s performance capabilities are enhanced by an intuitive Korg interface and real-time controllers including a joystick, two assignable switches and four assignable knobs. A dedicated Category key enables the desired Programs and Combinations to be quickly located. A convenient Audition button allows the user to preview Programs using a selection of musically appropriate riffs.

High-capacity (up to 1 GB) SD card storage provides quick and easy storage of user-created Programs, Combinations, Drum Kits, sample data and Songs. The TR also offers integral USB MIDI functionality, for easy connection to computer-based DAW systems (Windows XP, including x64 Edition) and Mac OS X.

Sampling can be added to the TR with the EXB-SMPL Sampling option. EXB-SMPL adds two audio inputs with mic/line switching and a variable gain knob, and supports 16-bit/48 kHz linear mono/stereo sampling. The TR offers sophisticated sample editing functions including graphic waveform display (with a BPM note grid), Crossfade Loop, Truncate, Normalize, Time Slice, Time Stretch, Reverse and even Rate Convert.

The EXB-SMPL supplies a SCSI interface for connection to external SCSI hard disks and removable-media drives in addition to the large SD card storage capability. The TR supports sample data in AIFF, WAV, Akai S1000/3000 (samples and mapped multisamples) and Korg formats. The EXB-SMPL comes standard with 16 MB of sample memory. Users can install a maximum of two 72-pin SIMM memory modules to expand the memory up to 64 MB.

Korg TR88 Details
Turning a great idea into brilliant music takes both inspiration and a solid workstation. Inside the affordable new TR Series you’ll find exactly what you need to take your music from all right to extraordinary.

Start with Korg’s proven Hyper Integrated sound engine – the synthesis system that has made the TRITON a world-wide standard. Add in a comprehensive 64 MB ROM which includes many new sounds - as well as Korg classics. Bring it all up-to-date with totally new features including USB MIDI capabilities and reliable, portable SD card data storage. Package it all in a sleek black body housing Korg’s classic 16-track sequencer, superb effects engine, and top it off with a clear and user-friendly interface.

Introducing the KORG TR Music Workstation; it’s brimming with rich, brilliant sounds for musicians who may not be rich, but just might be brilliant.

Proven HI Synthesis
The TR Music Workstation is based upon the acclaimed HI (Hyper Integrated) sound that made the TRITON series the choice of professional musicians the world over. It boasts 64 MB of PCM data (twice the size of the original TRITON!), and a 48 kHz sampling frequency that exceeds CD standards to deliver highly expressive and professional quality sound. This expansive amount of high-quality PCM data is enhanced by multi-mode resonant filters, abundant modulation schemes and sophisticated effects to create Korg’s distinctively rich and brilliant sound with the warmth and fatness you expect. The new TR is also compatible with many TRITON family sounds and songs.

Abundant 64 MB Sample ROM
The new sampled waveforms include stereo-sampled piano (taken from the same sampling session as used on the OASYS!), electric piano, nylon-string guitar, acoustic guitar and strings. With multi-level dynamics and natural instrument articulations and vibrato, these waveforms produce expressive and realistic sounds. There’s also a full complement of excellent drum sounds and patterns covering a broad range of styles for music production and performance. The TR Music Workstation provides 470 high-quality multisamples and 518 outstanding drum samples, giving you a broad selection to work with.

Modulation Drives Distinctive Sound Creation
Modulation is what creates the motion, nuance and articulation that are such an important part of synthesizer artistry. The TR Music Workstation’s Alternate Modulation provides a total of 42 types of AMS (Alternate Modulation Source) including EG, LFO, keyboard tracking, and joystick (as well as controllers such as knobs and pedals) to create extremely sophisticated sounds. These can be programmed in, or operated in realtime to give your sounds a high degree of expressive life.

High-quality Effect Section
With development borrowed from Korg’s acclaimed D-Series digital recorders and TRITON workstations, the TR offers a broad palette of 89 types of effects to enrich your sound creations. The effect section consists of two Master effects, one stereo Insert effect, and one Master EQ (stereo three-band) together with a sophisticated mixer section that lets you control the routing of these individual components. Many of the effects offer realtime modulation of parameters and tempo-based synchronization, for total integration with your tracks.

Effect settings can be made independently for each Program, Combination, and Song, helping you bring your overall sound to perfect completion. With the optional EXB-SMPL sampling upgrade board installed, you can even sample through the Insert effect for even more sonic possibilities.

A Multitude of Fresh Programs and Combinations
The TR contains a wide range of new high-quality Programs and Combinations created by Korg’s renowned international voicing team. The new stereo piano is velocity-switched between two levels, providing realistic response to your playing dynamics. Even more realistic electric pianos, choirs, guitars, strings, woodwinds and drums are also provided. There’s also a rich collection of synth and sound-effect programs that are ideal for dance music. In addition to the 512 preloaded Programs, there are 128 GM-compatible programs and nine drum kits*. Unlike many other keyboards, all Program locations are RAM so you can adjust sounds to your liking, or replace them as you wish.

* The sound mapping of the nine drum programs is compatible with GM Level 2.

You can use up to eight Programs simultaneously in a Combination to create extremely rich and complex sounds. Combinations can contain “layers” that play multiple sounds simultaneously; “splits” that assign different sounds to different regions of the keyboard; and “velocity layers” that dramatically change the sound or switch Programs in response to your playing dynamics. Control assignments can give your sound and performance even greater impact.

Up to 512 Programs, 384 Combinations, and 24 drum kits that you create can be stored to internal rewritable memory locations. This data can also be stored or transferred to your computer via an SD card. Best of all, the TR is compatible with many sounds available for the TRITON and Karma keyboard products*, so you can enjoy the many commercial and user-created shareware collections available for the best-selling line of keyboards ever made.

* The TR can load sounds made for the TRITON Classic, Le and Karma music workstations – only Insert effect 1 is loaded, the other four are ignored. Karma settings will also be ignored. Sounds created on the TRITON Studio and Extreme can be loaded, but the accuracy/reproduction will vary when the sounds use multisamples/drumsamples that are not available in the TR.

A Comprehensive Music Production System
The TR’s 16-track sequencer provides a capacity of 200,000 notes and up to 200 songs, creating a comprehensive music production system offering superb functionality and excellent operability. You can record in realtime or step time, and a host of powerful editing tools are provided.

Setting up for a new song is easy. Choose a template song (16 preset, 16 user) that has sounds and effects already set up; or use the Auto Song Setup feature to instantly set up the Program or Combination you are currently playing into a new record-ready song, complete with all effect and arpeggiator settings. Either way, you can begin recording immediately, before you lose that flash of musical inspiration.

The Cue List allows you to build your arrangement up in sections (up to 99), and then convert them into a single song for consecutive playback or to create new song structures. You can build songs using 150 preset drum patterns and 100 user patterns, as well as take advantage of the Track Loop function to loop specified regions of measures within each track.

Song data can also be saved on an SD card in SMF (Standard MIDI File) format 0 or 1, letting you exchange data with most MIDI sequencers. Share your ideas with other musicians who are computer-users, or move your songs into your computer for further editing, notation, or integration with other applications. Once again, Song data can be loaded from the TRITON and Karma line of music workstations*, for compatibility with tens of thousand of users around the world.

* Only Insert Effect 1 will be loaded, the other four are ignored. Karma settings will also be ignored, as will Tone Adjust settings from the Studio and Extreme.

Expand Your Creative Song-writing Potential
The TR Music Workstation contains powerful polyphonic dual arpeggiators as well as Korg’s inspiring RPPR feature, offering amazing levels of expressive power and high-impact playing. Performances enriched by these unique composition tools can be recorded directly into the internal sequencer in realtime.

Ultra-powerful Arpeggiator
The richly expressive dual polyphonic arpeggiators generate powerful performances. In addition to five basic preset arpeggio patterns, the TR contains 200 patterns suitable for use with all different types of sounds, either fixed-note drum patterns or variable pitched parts. You can use one arpeggiator in Program Mode, and both arpeggiators simultaneously in Combi mode, and even record their output directly into the internal sequencer.

The possibilities are endless. For example, two different arpeggio patterns can be applied to two separate key-split sounds of a Combination, or you can use velocity to switch between two arpeggio patterns. Together with original patterns that you create, a total of 216 different patterns can be stored in internal memory. Arpeggios can be synchronized with MIDI clock, so they run in time with the internal sequencer, BPM-based effects, and more.

RPPR (Realtime Pattern Play/Recording) Function
The RPPR function lets you record a simple sequenced phrase or pattern, assign it to a key, and then play that pattern back in realtime simply by pressing the corresponding key. This gives you amazing possibilities for realtime performance; you can switch to different patterns with each key (and even use multiple keys to play different phrases simultaneously), or add additional patterns by pressing more keys. 150 preset drum patterns are built in, and 100 more can be created and stored for each Song.

USB Connector for Easy System Connections
The rear panel provides a USB connector (type B) that lets you make MIDI connections with your computer using a single cable – no MIDI interface needed! It’s easy to connect the TR to a computer-based DAW for recording, or to use it with notation software, educational courses and much more. Transmission and reception of system exclusive data is also supported, allowing you to manage sounds and other types of data on your computer for smooth and professional song production.

High-capacity SD Card for Efficient Data Management
The TR Music Workstation uses compact and high-capacity SD cards to save and load sounds, sequences and sample data. The reading speed is extremely fast, so data management is quick and easy. SD card capacities from 16 MB to 1 GB are supported, and you can easily transfer data to your computer via readily-available card readers.

Inviting, Intuitive Interface
The TR Music Workstation is designed to be not only powerful, but also smart and speedy. The 240 x 64 pixel LCD features an adjustable contrast for optimal viewing in any situation. You can quickly and efficiently find the sound you want by using the category select function. Category select is available not only for Programs and Combinations, but also for PCM waveforms and effect algorithms, speeding-up your sound editing. When searching for a desired Program, you can use the Audition key to automatically play a phrase that’s appropriate for the sound being selected.

Controllers Maximize Your Performance Potential
The TR Music Workstation’s 4-way joystick lets you freely vary the pitch and apply modulation effects such as vibrato or wah. There are also four assignable knobs plus two assignable switches and foot pedal jacks that you can use for applying alternate modulation, providing you with a full range of control that is indispensable for burning up the stage or cutting sizzling tracks.

Light-weight and Compact
The TR Music Workstation is light-weight, with the 61-note model weighing only 17.8 lbs. and the 76-note model only 20 lbs. The rich sound and powerful functionality you expect from Korg are now available anywhere, anytime, any place.

Now Available with 88 True Piano-action Keys
The new TR-88 is equipped with Korg's RH2 (Real Weighted Hammer Action 2) 88-note keyboard, which accurately simulates the playing touch of a grand piano, with key resistance getting progressively lighter as you move upward toward the higher notes. It's a keyboard that lets you obtain the fullest enjoyment from the many superb built-in piano and other keyboard sounds.

Upgrade to Full Sampling
Add the EXB-SMPL sampling upgrade option board and transform your TR into a full-blown sampler. The TR’s sampling mode supports 48 kHz 16-bit linear mono/stereo sampling, with a full range of high-end waveform editing functions including time slice, time stretch/compress, crossfade loop, and more. The EXB-SMPL is user installable and lets you connect external SCSI devices to the TR, so you can take advantage of a wide range of storage media as well as CD-ROM sound libraries (ISO9660 and AKAI-format discs are supported). You can load AIFF/WAV files and AKAI S1000/S3000 samples and programs, as well as Korg format data. (For AKAI programs, only key-map related parameters are loaded as multisamples.)

Korg TR 88 Music Workstation Specifications
,
Tone Generator

• HI (Hyper Integrated) sound engine
• 48kHz Sampling frequency
• 64MB PCM ROM
• 470 multisamples + 518 drum samples

• 62 voices, 62 oscillators (single mode)
• 31 voices, 62 oscillators (double mode)

• 88-key weighted (Real weighted Hammer action 2); velocity and aftertouch sensing

• Stereo digital multi-effect system - all usable simultaneously
• 2 Master effects (mono in, stereo out)
• 1 Insert effect (stereo in/out)
• Master EQ (3-band stereo)
• Number of Effect Types: 89 (available for Insert effects or Master effects)

• 512 Programs (512 preloaded)
• 384 Combinations (384 preloaded)
• 24 Drumkits (16 preloaded)
• GM sound map compatible - 128 programs + 9 drum kits (ROM)

• 16 tracks
• 1/192 resolution
• 200 songs
• Maximum Capacity: 200,000 notes
• 20 cue lists
• 150 preset drum patterns/100 user patterns (for each song)
• Supports TR/TRITON format (.SNG file), Standard MIDI Files (format 0 and 1)
• RPPR (Realtime Pattern Play/Recording) function: One set available for each song

• Two arpeggiators, useable simultaneously (Combination, Sequencer modes)
• 5 preset arpeggio patterns; 216 user arpeggio patterns (200 preloaded)

• 48 kHz, 16-bit linear
• Memory capacity=64MB* (when two 32 MB SIMMs are installed, 16 MB SIMM included with the EXB-SMPL)
• 4,000 samples; 1,000 multisamples (128 indexes are available per multisample), Time Slice, Time Stretch/Compress, other editing functions
• AIFF, WAVE, AKAI (S3000/S1000 samples and mapped multisamples only), Korg format sample data loading are available
• Sample data exporting as AIFF, WAVE format available
  *User-installable. Use 16 MB or 32 MB 72-pin SIMM modules that are either Fast Page or EDO-compatible, with an access speed of 60 nsec or faster, 11-bit addressing required.

• Load, Save, Utility, Data filer functions (Save/Load of MIDI exclusive data)
• CD-ROM (ISO9660 level 1, AKAI S-100/3000 format) loading available (when EXB-SMPL installed)

• Joystick
• 2 Assignable switches
• 4 Assignable knobs
• Audition key
• Category key

• Assignable Switch/Pedal
• Damper (half damper supported)

• MAIN=L/MONO, R
• Individual: 1, 2
• Headphones

• USB-B connector (USB ver.1.1 supported)

• SD card slot
• 2.7~3.6 V compatible
• 16 MB~1 GB memory capacities supported

• IN, OUT, THRU

• 240x64 dots LCD display with back-light

• 61-key: 41.14 x 11.89 x 3.74 inches (1,045 x 302 x 95 mm)
• 76-key: 49.53 x 11.89 x 3.74 inches (1,258 x 302 x 95 mm)
• 88-key: 55.67 x 14.37 x 4.84 inches (1,414 x 365 x 123 mm)

• 61-key: 17.20 lbs. (7.8 kg)
• 76-key: 20.28 lbs. (9.2 kg)
• 88-key: 53.13 lbs. (24.1 kg)

• 13 W (when EXB-SMPL and 2/32 MB SIMMs are installed)

• AC/AC power supply

Windows
• Supported OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition/Professional/x64 Edition
• Supported Computer: Computer with USB port and the ability to run supported OS
  
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• Supported OS: Mac OS X 10.2 or later.
• Supported Computer: Apple Macintosh with USB port and the ability to run supported OS

   Korg TR Video Part 1   8.98 MB Windows Media
Part one of this video gives you an overview of the Korg TR line and demonstrates the expansive sound library.

   Korg TR Video Part 2   8.47 MB Windows Media
Part 2 covers all the control that the TR gives you. Each patch includes a number of different real-time controls to aid your performance.

   Korg TR Video Part 3   8.12 MB Windows Media
Part 3 guides you through the easy process of creating song using the onboard sequencer.

   Korg TR Video Part 4   4.93 MB Windows Media
Part 4 features some of the coolest tricks in the TR including One Touch Recording and the RPPR (Real Time Pattern Play and Record) function.

   Korg TR Video Part 5   9.43 MB Windows Media
Part 5 of the Korg TR video covers the construction of the keyboard along with the options for expansion that the TR provides.

   TR Manual  3 MB