Legacy Collection for Korg T-series Hardware T1, T2EX, T3EX

[Helicon75]

The Legacy Collection for Korg T-series Hardware is a collection of floppy disk images (and their underlying elements) created for use with Korg's T1, T2EX and T3EX keyboards. The floppy disk images are reconstructions of M1 ROM cards and T-series floppy disks built from the fundamental elements (Sample Waveforms, Multisounds, Programs, Combis and Drum Kits). The elements include all the PCM samples as well as MIDI SysEx files to configure the Multisounds, Programs, Combis, Drum Kits and demo Sequences for each of the disks.
NOTE: The PCM samples are not recordings of the workstation's samples, but the original PCM sample data used in the M1 and T-series' internal PCM ROMs, Korg M1 cards and T-series disks.

Disks
The collection contains a total of 35 Korg T-series compatible floppy disk images in both Raw Sector (IMG) and HxC Floppy Emulator (HFE) floppy disk image formats...

• 21 floppy disk images of reconstructions of Korg M1 Program ROM and companion PCM Data ROM cards:
  • MPC-00P - M1 PRESETS
  • MPC-EX - M1EX PRESETS
  • MPC-01 - MEMORY CARD
  • MPC-02 - SYNTH 1
  • MPC-03 - DRUMS 1
  • MPC-04 - ORCHESTRA 1
  • MPC-05 - PIANO
  • MPC-06 - FRETTED INSTS 1
  • MPC-07 - SYNTH 2
  • MPC-08 - PERCUSSION
  • MPC-09 - ORGAN
  • MPC-010 - ETHNIC 1
  • MPC-011 - BRASS
  • MPC-012 - SYNTH 3
  • MPC-013 - ETHNIC 2
  • MPC-014 - SOUND EFFECTS
  • MPC-015 - DRUMS 2
  • MPC-016 - ENVIRONMENT
  • MPC-11 - AKIRA
  • MPC-12 - WORLD OMNIBUS
  • MPC-13 - BUNMAY
• 11 floppy disk images of reconstructions of Korg T-series expansion disks:
  • TSD-00PI - T1 PRESETS
  • TSD-01 - SYNTH
  • TSD-02 - DRUMS
  • TSD-03 - COMBINATION 1
  • TSD-04 - COMBINATION 2
  • TSD-05 - COMBINATION 3
  • TSD-06 - FRETTED INSTS
  • TSD-07 - ETHNIC
  • TSD-08 - SOUND EFFECTS
  • TSD-09 - ENVIRONMENT
  • TSD-10 - VOICE
• 3 floppy disk images of extra T-series compatible Programs and Combinations.

Elements
The collection includes the individual elements that were used to create the collection's disks...

• Sample Waveforms - A total of 2260 Multisound/Multisample and 810 Drum Sound sample waveforms in Waveform Audio File (WAV) and Korg Sample File (KSF) format.
• Multisounds/Multisamples - A total of 527 Multisound/Multisample definitions stored in both T-series compatible System Exclusive (SysEx) files and Korg Multisample Parameter (KMP) files.
• Programs - A total of 2550 Programs in Korg T-series compatible Program SysEx files.
• Combinations - A total of 2500 Combinations in Korg T-series compatible Combination SysEx files.
• Drum Kits - A total of 143 Drum Kits in Korg T-series compatible Global SysEx files (which includes the Drum Kit definitions).
• Summary document - A summary text file for each disk provides a quick reference guide to the Combinations, Programs, Drum Kits, Multisounds and Drum Sounds contained on each of the disks.
  These elements can be used to manually reconstruct the disks in the collection.

More details about the collection's disks and elements and how to use them can be found in the "README" text file included in the download file.

Download
Download from Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/legacy-coll ... rdware.-7z
Download from gofile.io: https://gofile.io/d/mxyG2M

File Info
File: LEGACY_COLLECTION_FOR_KORG_T_SERIES_HARDWARE.7z
Size: 89574545 bytes (85.42 MiB) (Extracted: 307515489 bytes (293.27 MiB))
SHA256: 16DB845103CFF2CAE0403576610A506EA53D9692A62A3274A6ADC56461DB61A1
MD5: C4DF4A4BAF7384B79AC497660BBACD5F
Note: You will need 7zip https://www.7-zip.org/ (a free and open-source file archiver) to extract the files.

[jorgemncardoso]

Bro....,

This is an outstanding work. Thankyou very much!!

I have the T disks, but i think i have one or two missing.

Are those Wav samples the actual original samples (with the original loop points) from the M and T series internal ROM's, or are they a resample of the waveforms?

My guess is it's the original as i extracted the samples from my disks and it's roughly the same. But till this day nobody had ever been able to extract the actual original sample set from the M1 and T series ROM...

[Helicon75]

This is an outstanding work. Thankyou very much!!

Are those Wav samples the actual original samples (with the original loop points) from the M and T series internal ROM's, or are they a resample of the waveforms?

You are very welcome. This was a hobby project I started a year ago and felt that the result was worth sharing with fellow T-series keyboard owners.

Regarding the samples...
From my findings, the collection's sample waveform sample point values are identical to the originals, except that the first 2 sample points are missing. With the most common sample rate for the sample waveforms in the collection being 31250Hz, it means that the 2 missing sample points equates to 0.000064 seconds (64 microseconds) of missing sample data. Considering that the vast majority of sample waveforms start from a waveform position very close to zero, the 2 missing sample points of near-zero value should have no perceivable effect on tone when compared to the original. The sample waveform loop point positions are in exactly the same positions as the originals.

Hopefully you find that this collection breathes new life into a great late '80s keyboard.

[jorgemncardoso]

This is an outstanding work. Thankyou very much!!

Are those Wav samples the actual original samples (with the original loop points) from the M and T series internal ROM's, or are they a resample of the waveforms?

You are very welcome. This was a hobby project I started a year ago and felt that the result was worth sharing with fellow T-series keyboard owners.

Regarding the samples...
From my findings, the collection's sample waveform sample point values are identical to the originals, except that the first 2 sample points are missing. With the most common sample rate for the sample waveforms in the collection being 31250Hz, it means that the 2 missing sample points equates to 0.000064 seconds (64 microseconds) of missing sample data. Considering that the vast majority of sample waveforms start from a waveform position very close to zero, the 2 missing sample points of near-zero value should have no perceivable effect on tone when compared to the original. The sample waveform loop point positions are in exactly the same positions as the originals.

Hopefully you find that this collection breathes new life into a great late '80s keyboard.

Thanks a lot for the explanation.

I have the 11 original TSD T-series disks (img), but from the M1 i only had the syx from the cards, no samples.

I also have TSDU series of disks (img). I can't remember if they are only Prog/Cobi disks or if they also have extra samples in them

They are the:

TSDU-101
TSDU-102
TSDU-104
TSDU-105
TSDU-106
TSDU-107
TSDU-108
TSDU-109

And also one called just "T3 - bonuspcms", and a few Korg made Prog/Combi extras:

T3_brass_and_orchestra
T3_M1_clone
T3_maximum_organs
T3_piano_and_synth
T3_variety

Is there a way to load the M1 MPC files to the T3 via midi, to save them o n the T3 disk drive?
I don't have a PC disk drive to use Omniflop anymore, unfortunately...

[Helicon75]

I also have TSDU series of disks (img). I can't remember if they are only Prog/Cobi disks or if they also have extra samples in them

I could be mistaken, but I think the TSDU disks are part of the "Workdisk" collection. Looking at the printed piece of paper shown in one of the photos from here, at the top it suggests that the "Workdisks" are for the "T-series (RAM Option)" and the German sentence at the bottom of the page mentions "Multisounds". So yes, if the TSDU disk images that you have are indeed from the "Workdisk" collection, I'm guessing they probably do come with extra samples.

Is there a way to load the M1 MPC files to the T3 via midi, to save them o n the T3 disk drive?
I don't have a PC disk drive to use Omniflop anymore, unfortunately...

Yes, it is possible to load a disk by manually loading the individual elements into your T3 via MIDI. For instructions on how to do this, see the following sections in the collection's "LEGACY COLLECTION FOR KORG T-SERIES HARDWARE - README" text file:

• 4.2. T-series keyboard with no floppy drive
• 5. Loading Elements into the T-series keyboard
• 6.2. Keyboard Programming Tools

I used this method while working on the collection and to create the final disk images. Just be warned that it can take up to 10 minutes to load all the required sample waveforms into the keyboard.

Good luck!

[jorgemncardoso]

I also have TSDU series of disks (img). I can't remember if they are only Prog/Cobi disks or if they also have extra samples in them

I could be mistaken, but I think the TSDU disks are part of the "Workdisk" collection. Looking at the printed piece of paper shown in one of the photos from here, at the top it suggests that the "Workdisks" are for the "T-series (RAM Option)" and the German sentence at the bottom of the page mentions "Multisounds". So yes, if the TSDU disk images that you have are indeed from the "Workdisk" collection, I'm guessing they probably do come with extra samples.

Is there a way to load the M1 MPC files to the T3 via midi, to save them o n the T3 disk drive?
I don't have a PC disk drive to use Omniflop anymore, unfortunately...

Yes, it is possible to load a disk by manually loading the individual elements into your T3 via MIDI. For instructions on how to do this, see the following sections in the collection's "LEGACY COLLECTION FOR KORG T-SERIES HARDWARE - README" text file:

• 4.2. T-series keyboard with no floppy drive
• 5. Loading Elements into the T-series keyboard
• 6.2. Keyboard Programming Tools

I used this method while working on the collection and to create the final disk images. Just be warned that it can take up to 10 minutes to load all the required sample waveforms into the keyboard.

Good luck!

Thanks for both explanations mate

Next time i have some free time i'm going to try and load it on the T3.

Looking at the raw samples, both sample (very short) time, perfect loop points, and especially knowing that great programs that they came up with based on those samples, my respect for the development team went even higher. And this was made in the 80's, when memory was at a big premium and they had just rudimentary PC tools to work with on the samples, compared to what's available today.

A lot of sound designers today wouldn't be able to pull half of what those guys pulled out of that multisample set.

[Helicon75]

Looking at the raw samples, both sample (very short) time, perfect loop points, and especially knowing that great programs that they came up with based on those samples, my respect for the development team went even higher. And this was made in the 80's, when memory was at a big premium and they had just rudimentary PC tools to work with on the samples, compared to what's available today.

A lot of sound designers today wouldn't be able to pull half of what those guys pulled out of that multisample set.

That's exactly what I was thinking while working on the collection. As you said, they used "primitive" audio editing software to somehow perfectly align loop points and trim samples down to their most economical length without loosing the "essence" of the instruments being sampled. And then taking these dry samples, they crafted programs which inspired the musical imagination - with some becoming the distinctive sounds behind many memorable hit songs. Yup, I have HUGE respect for the Korg M1/T-series development team.

On a side note, here's a little "Easter Egg" that I found...
Using a standard M1 or T-series (no cards/disks need to be loaded) do the following:
1. Edit a Program (preferable a piano sound or something else with an envelope with fast rise time).
2. Set the Oscillator Mode to SINGLE.
3. Set Oscillator 1 to multisound: "31 Strings".
4. Play C#-1 (MIDI Note 1) - you will hear a very low strings sound, as expected.
5. Now Play C-1 (MIDI Note 0) - You will hear a sample of strings being played at note G2.

This sample waveform is included in the collection ("\Elements\M1 - CARD 1 - MPC-00P - M1 PRESETS\Multisounds\WAVE\Strings\Strings 01.wav"). I'm guessing this sample was "banished" to C-1 because it didn't pass final quality control (it sounds "raspier" than the other "Strings" samples and the looping is noticeable) and, because it was already in the PCM ROM ICs, they decided to assigned the sample to lowest possible key and relied on "Strings 02" sample to "fill in" the lower keyboard registers.

Anyway, I hope things go smoothly when you attempt to program your T3...

[jorgemncardoso]

Looking at the raw samples, both sample (very short) time, perfect loop points, and especially knowing that great programs that they came up with based on those samples, my respect for the development team went even higher. And this was made in the 80's, when memory was at a big premium and they had just rudimentary PC tools to work with on the samples, compared to what's available today.

A lot of sound designers today wouldn't be able to pull half of what those guys pulled out of that multisample set.

That's exactly what I was thinking while working on the collection. As you said, they used "primitive" audio editing software to somehow perfectly align loop points and trim samples down to their most economical length without loosing the "essence" of the instruments being sampled. And then taking these dry samples, they crafted programs which inspired the musical imagination - with some becoming the distinctive sounds behind many memorable hit songs. Yup, I have HUGE respect for the Korg M1/T-series development team.

On a side note, here's a little "Easter Egg" that I found...
Using a standard M1 or T-series (no cards/disks need to be loaded) do the following:
1. Edit a Program (preferable a piano sound or something else with an envelope with fast rise time).
2. Set the Oscillator Mode to SINGLE.
3. Set Oscillator 1 to multisound: "31 Strings".
4. Play C#-1 (MIDI Note 1) - you will hear a very low strings sound, as expected.
5. Now Play C-1 (MIDI Note 0) - You will hear a sample of strings being played at note G2.

This sample waveform is included in the collection ("\Elements\M1 - CARD 1 - MPC-00P - M1 PRESETS\Multisounds\WAVE\Strings\Strings 01.wav"). I'm guessing this sample was "banished" to C-1 because it didn't pass final quality control (it sounds "raspier" than the other "Strings" samples and the looping is noticeable) and, because it was already in the PCM ROM ICs, they decided to assigned the sample to lowest possible key and relied on "Strings 02" sample to "fill in" the lower keyboard registers.

Anyway, I hope things go smoothly when you attempt to program your T3...

Wow... Cool story
Amazing that after almost 35 years i'm still discovering new stuff about the M1/T3. I'll look it up

Don't know if you 've read this interview before, but this is a cool interview with Jack Hotop, the lead sound designer for many of the Korg flagships (including the M1) talking about the creation of a few samples from the M1 on the Sound On Sound mag:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/korg-m1-retrozone

So many simple stuff, no fancy HIRes multi GB multisampling of premium instruments. I guess it's what made it so unique and different from other sample based kbd's of the time

[Helicon75]

Don't know if you 've read this interview before, but this is a cool interview with Jack Hotop, the lead sound designer for many of the Korg flagships (including the M1) talking about the creation of a few samples from the M1 on the Sound On Sound mag:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/korg-m1-retrozone

Thanks for the article. Its gives a fascinating peek into the M1's development. So they use a sake bottle as the source for one of the samples!

A bit of trivia which I picked up from a 1988 Music Technology article: The pre-production name for the M1 was "731". I wonder if there was any special meaning behind the number.

Let me know if you have any issues when you get round to programming your T3...

[jorgemncardoso]

Don't know if you 've read this interview before, but this is a cool interview with Jack Hotop, the lead sound designer for many of the Korg flagships (including the M1) talking about the creation of a few samples from the M1 on the Sound On Sound mag:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/korg-m1-retrozone

Thanks for the article. Its gives a fascinating peek into the M1's development. So they use a sake bottle as the source for one of the samples!

A bit of trivia which I picked up from a 1988 Music Technology article: The pre-production name for the M1 was "731". I wonder if there was any special meaning behind the number.

Let me know if you have any issues when you get round to programming your T3...

It sure does, very cool stuff. I was especially struck by how they got the Pick Bass sample. So cool and so unique.

BTW, speaking of sampling, a long time ago i assembles a PDF from several SOS mag articles called "The Lost Ast Of Sampling", with sampling history, very in-depth tips and tricks about sampling and sample looping, mapping, and building sample sound libs. Fascinating stuff.

If you are interested in that stuff you can grab it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ys6mhjdn5tr77 ... g.pdf?dl=0

Ok, thanks. I'll sure let you know when i try to upload the sounds to my T3

[Helicon75]

BTW, speaking of sampling, a long time ago i assembles a PDF from several SOS mag articles called "The Lost Ast Of Sampling", with sampling history, very in-depth tips and tricks about sampling and sample looping, mapping, and building sample sound libs. Fascinating stuff.

If you are interested in that stuff you can grab it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ys6mhjdn5tr77 ... g.pdf?dl=0

Wow! Thank you so much for the PDF on The Lost Art Of Sampling. I've only had time to quickly glance of it, but it seems extremely comprehensive and informative. Should be a thoroughly interesting read and worth holding onto for future reference. I can see why you took the time to put the series of articles together.

[Helicon75]

To give the Legacy Collection for Korg T-series Hardware a more permanent home, I have uploaded it to the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/legacy-coll ... rdware.-7z

This will hopefully allow more people to discover and use it in the future.

[Helicon75]

Seeing as the DDOS attacks on the Internet Archive are still ongoing, I have uploaded the file here: https://gofile.io/d/mxyG2M
This is a temporary storage site, so if there is no download activity on the file for a period of 10 days, the file is automatically deleted.
Hopefully Internet Archive will come back online soon.
Enjoy!