I'm lovin' it!
I think it's underrated. It's good value for money, It has lots and lots of usabe patches, especially if you like retro sounds. This is definately one of my favourite synths.

I haven't really used a real M1 but I guess they use the exact same waveforms so it should sound exactly the same.
It sounds so good and nostalgic, it comes with all the original presets and the extra soundbanks as well.

It's stable. Never crash on me.
If you love the sounds of the past. Buy it.

Korg M1 is an old synthesizer, but due to the age one can still hear this synthesizer in many tracks nowadays tho. When this synth came out it was equipped with 100 sampled waveforms, 100 presets, 100 combination's and a sequencer of 4200 notes split up on 10 songs. You could reconfigure it to have 50 presets & combination's to get an additional 3500 notes in the sequencer.

The M1 VST has vastly expanded beyond these boundaries. First of all you have all the cartridges for the M1 built in from the start. Lots of these cartridges has extra waveforms beside the presets and combination's they hold. That's not enough. All the diskettes released for the Korg T1, T2 and T3 synthesizers are also built in. Some of these disks has extra waveforms beside the presets and combination's they hold expanding the sound database even further.

The VST has a special multi mode that lets you use one instance to play 8 presets at once. This replaces the sequencer mode in the original M1. There is the same problem of voices suddenly being silenced due to the fact that you played too many notes at once. Luckily the Korg M1 VST can compensate with up to 256 voices polyphony.

Selecting a preset is simple. You can either do it through the categories available, or you can do it on a cart / disk basis. So if you want a fat electro bass you just click on the bass category, then the fat and synthesized sub categories and you got a list to choose from. A similar process is utilized when you select waveforms.

If you are after a "bread & butter" synth then there is enough marmalade here for you to enjoy it. Although a tad bit oldskool presets there is still enough variation available for you to actually get some decent sounds out of it. Adjust the waveforms and you're ready to go. The price is a theft if you ask me. €199 for all these presets and combination's a definitive bargain with all the benefits this plugin has. If you are after a good hiphop synth then this is the way to go. Looking for a trance / dance synth with all the basic building blocks then this is your best bet.

Over and out.

The M1 comes as a part of the Korg Legacy Digital Collection. After long comparisions and trials I have decided to buy it and trust me, it is really one of the best VST instruments I ever had the pleasure to play with.

Korg has really inserted all their experience in building Hardwaresynths into M1. The sound is clearly, the effects well defined (M-EX) and it is really easy to get into work with it. I never read the manual and I have found my way deep into it.

It comes with a huge collection of presets (Combis, Multis and Programs). And I was impressed how well they all sound! From wonderful pads, great basses to real sounding instruments like saxophone or accordeon: you can find all you need in one synth.

It isn't a soundgem only: the design is really wonderful. You need no guide to find everything you need. The included browser for sounds let you pre-listen how a preset will do and you can filter by instrument category's or by character of the preset. To manipulate a sound you will be confronted with it through an easy section first. If you want to get deeper you can change to the other sections beneath.

The price for the collection is around 220€ now. And I think it is underprized. Never found a better collection of instruments and effects. I love it!