It also helped to establish the idea of the digital workstation as we know it today вЂ“ everything comes back to this thing in one way or another. Released in 1988 as a comprehensive music workstation to tackle the market, the Korg M1 was a digital powerhouse by all standards, utilising PCM samples and AI synthesis to replicate every classic synth sound you could ever think of. Read all the latest features, interviews and how-to columns here. Models such as the Prophet 5, SH-101, Juno-106 and DX-7 helped to define the sound of the decade and are still prominently used by many artists today.Technological developments such as FM synthesis and affordable analogue components helped make synths more affordable to the average musician.After being introduced in the вЂ™60s and further developed in the вЂ™70s, synthesisers became a mainstream sensation in the 1980s and helped shape the future sounds of popular music.Today, weвЂ™re hoping into the time machine to explore the stories behind some of the decadeвЂ™s most famous units and counting down through the classics to bring you the 15 best synthesisers of the вЂ™80s.

If thereвЂ™s any one instrument thatвЂ™s synonymous with the 1980s, itвЂ™s got to be the synthesiser.ДЄn invention of unlimited potential, synths became a dominating force in a decade obsessed with mapping the future and pivoting away from the past, with several synths going on to become genre-defining instruments years down the path. Words by Will Brewster Celebrating the classic hardware of the retro era.

Korg poly 800 speaker