Vintage 1982 Korg Trident MkII Analog Synthesizer

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"In 1981 Korg introduced the Trident, a monster of an analog synthesizer combining a programmable 8-voice polysynth (the guts of which were later stripped down and repackaged as the Korg Polysix), a dedicated Brass synth, and a String synth all in one single keyboard instrument. The original Trident's programmable synth section sounded great thanks to its combination of 16 discrete VCOs (a rarity among polysynths, think Jupiter-8!) coupled to 8-channels of SSM2044 VCFs (the same warm, liquid filters used in the Fairlight CMI, PPG Wave 2.3, and Voyetra Eight). The dedicated String section has it's own 3-stage analog BBD chorus effect similar to those in 70s string ensemble keyboards, and when layered on top of the synth and brass sections makes for a huge sound. Lastly, a choice of the Synth, Brass, or String sections can be routed through the Trident's onboard analog flanger, based around the same Reticon SAD1024 chip at the heart of some of the most highly revered vintage flangers. Many people consider the Trident's onboard flanger to be one of the best ever.

All in all, the original Trident had a TON of vintage hardware inside, and a huge price tag to match its huge sound.

But there were limitations: The original Trident's synth section had only 1 envelope generator that had to be shared between the VCF and VCA (like a Roland Juno). Also, there were only 16 programmable memory locations to store your own sounds.

In response, Korg introduced the improved Trident Mk II in 1982. That is the instrument for sale here.

The Trident Mk II adds an additional envelope generator to the synth section dedicated to the VCF, which really opened up the sonic palette. Also, onboard memory was doubled to allow 32 user sounds. Korg also expanded the number of interface jacks on the back for CV and triggering control over the different instrument sections.

These improvements raised the list price of the Trident Mark II to near $6000 in 1982 dollars...that's like nearly $12,000 today! The exorbitant price tag combined with the introduction of the Yamaha DX7 a year later pretty much led to very few Trident MkIIs ever being sold.

That is really a shame, because just as more and more analog synth enthusiasts have rediscovered the truly massive sonic power of the Trident over recent years, there are fewer and fewer of these incredible instruments to go around. And that's just talking about the original Trident...it is even harder to find the Trident MkII."