PS-3300

Name: PS-3300
Price: 49 USD
Author: Cherry Audio

by Cherry Audio · Synth · Korg PS-3300 semi-modular polysynth

Not rated yet

PS-3300 recreates Korg's 1977 PS-3300, a semi-modular polysynth with three full synth panels, each with resonators and dual LFOs.

It offers up to 24 voices, virtual patch cables, per-note temperament tuning, chorus, echo and reverb effects, and over 360 presets, for $49.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Electronic & EDM, Pop.

Keywords: polyphonic, modular, 70s, hardware emulation, preset-driven, sound design, analog, pads, textures, vintage, clean, crunchy, deep, fat, modern, simple, subtractive.

What it does

PS-3300 is Cherry Audio's recreation of Korg's 1977 PS-3300, one of the rarest polysynths ever made, built with EMEAPP using an original unit. The developer calls it "exactingly faithful" to the hardware, with updates for modern production.

Three panels: three independent signal generator panels, each a complete polyphonic synth, with shared master controls.
Oscillators: one VCO per panel with six waveforms: triangle, sawtooth, rectangle, two preset pulse widths and PWM.
Filters and envelopes: resonant 12 dB/oct low-pass filters with a choice of clean PS-style or crunchier MS-style character, plus ADSR-type envelopes with velocity and VCAs.
Resonators: three 12 dB/oct band-pass resonators per panel for vowel and phasing tones.
Modulation: two syncable LFOs per panel (one with triangle, saw, ramp, rectangle, pink and white noise), plus a master sample-and-hold, a general envelope and two CV processors.
Patching: a semi-modular jack and cable system with unlimited mults per jack and cables you can recolour, fade or animate.
Tuning: 12 per-note tuning knobs per panel, with Equal Tempered, Mean Tone, Hepatonal and Just Intonation presets.

It plays up to 24 voices or in mono with last, low or high note priority, and adds chorus, synced echo and spring, plate and Galactic reverbs, with over 360 presets (a Resonation pack adds 100). A free 30-day demo is available (it plays white noise periodically).

Source: Cherry Audio product page

When to use it

PS-3300 is the pick for huge layered analog pads and resonant, vocal textures with hands-on patching, at a low price. Compared with Diva, it trades a quick fixed layout for three stacked synth panels and patch cables, so it is slower to program but builds denser sounds. Compared with Omnisphere or Pigments, it is a single vintage architecture rather than a multi-engine workstation, but its resonators and per-note tuning give it its own colour. Next to Korg's MS-20 plugin it covers polyphony and layering rather than a mono patch synth. Its 24-voice limit is half the original's 48, which reviewers found rarely matters.

Best for: rich polyphonic pads, vowel-like textures, alternative tunings and patchable sound design.
Genres: ambient, film, electronic and pop.
Look elsewhere if: you want quick, simple patches (Diva or Sylenth1), or a sample-based workstation with a huge library (Omnisphere).
Tip: mute two panels and learn one first, then blend all three; think of it as three identical sections (MusicTech).

What producers say

Reviewers rate it as an outstanding, deep recreation of a rare synth at a very low price.

MusicTech (Hollin Jones, 2023) gave it 10/10, praising its "fat, layered sounds", deep editing and "beautifully implemented" patching; its one con was that simpler presets can sound generic.
MusicRadar (Roland Schmidt, 2024) said it sounds amazing, calling the PS filter "sweet and very usable" and the MS filter "voracious and gnarly"; it noted the 24-voice limit versus the original's 48.
Context: MusicTech notes that only about 50 of the original were made.

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

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