Korg Wavstation EX and Wavestation A/D brochure, 1992

 

 

 

Korg Wavstation EX and Wavestation A/D 8-page brochure from 1992.

I gotta tell ya. I'm all Wavestation-ed out. It's been a good run of blog posts, but I think my curiosity has reached its limit.

Actually - I thought I was already done with everything "Wavestation" on the blog. I even ended that last blog post with what I thought was a relatively witty Madonna/Britney Spears analogy that I was quite proud of. All wrapped up nice!  :D

But then I came across this brochure. Gah. Maybe it just looked too similar to the 1991 Wavestation/Wavestation A/D brochure I posted back in December, camouflaged, hiding from the world. Well, too bad. Like a crazy-assed Toddlers and Tiaras mother, I'm gonna shove this baby on stage whether it wants it or not.

Again - I'm surprised this brochure didn't get produced until 1992. I always thought the Wavestation EX came out *before* the A/D, as a response to customer feedback that the original Wavestation didn't include drums and other more basic sounds. The last sighting of the Jan Hammer Wavestation ad that appeared in July 1991 included additional EX ad-copy: "Now with expanded memory and more sounds". Also, the ad that followed in August 1991 featured BOTH the EX and A/D, suggesting they may have come out at approximately the same time. The Wikipedia page for the Wavestation includes 1991 production dates for both, and always seems to list the EX before the A/D in tables and such.

But then why did the Wavestation-Wavestation A/D brochure come out in 1991, but this brochure with the EX didn't appear until 1992? Also, why did the Spec Sheet for the A/D appear in March 1991 but the Spec Sheet for the EX didn't appear until November 1991.

Was it just that the additional awesomeness of the A/D, including an extra RAM bank and analog inputs, give it a leg up in getting promoted over the EX? Huh.

Hey - I seriously just noticed something on that Wikipedia page. Near the bottom of the page, it says that Korg's OASYS and Kronos also include wave sequencing and vector synthesis! I quickly jumped over to Ebay to check prices... oh. nevermind. The OASYS, released in 2006 still commands about a $5,000 price tag, and the Kronos is running at about $2,500.

I think I'll stick with my Wavestation A/D.

Okay, *now* my Wavestation curiosity has come to an end. And just in time - been getting a few requests lately - mostly for Oberheim stuff. Time to jump back into the 80s.

I'll end with a summary of my Wavestation posts. A good run.   :)

July 1990: Wavestation 2-page "Make Waves" intro ad
September 1990: Wavestation 1-page "Make Waves" ad
April 1991: Wavestation "Portraits" Jan Hammer ad (July 1991 version includes EX info)
August 1991: Wavestation A/D and EX "Top Ten Reasons" ad
November 1992: Wavestation SR "15 Sounds" ad
November 1993: Wavestation A/D and SR "5 And A Half Amazing Racks" ad

And, don't forget about the brochures!

1990: Original Wavestation brochure
1991: Wavestation and Wavestation A/D brochure
1992: This Wavestation EX and Wavestation A/D brochure