Description
The DRV-1000 is a classic, early digital reverb from master keyboard makers Korg. Designed in 1985, when it was essential for product names to sound high-tech & futuristic, Korg pushed the Go button on their newly-installed PNG-3200 Product Name Generator* and came up with DRV (for Digital Re Verb) and 1000 (for esoteric modernity).
The front panel is super-simple with input & output controls, normal & signal overload LEDs, 8-way pattern selector and an 8-way reverb time selector. Final controls are High Damp & Cancel switches. High Damp affects the liveliness of the high end, to mimic the typical high frequency fall-off found in well-damped rooms. The Cancel switch kills the reverb signal, leaving the original signal dry, and this can also be operated via a footswitch
The 8 programs include inverse and gated reverbs – obligatory in the 1980s – and there’s a rear panel jack socket for a footswitch to extend the reverb time to maximum. Korg likens this to a piano sustain pedal and it’s a neat idea, one I’ve not seen before
| DRV 1000 Programs | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Small Hall |
| 2 | Large Hall |
| 3 | Room |
| 4 | Garage |
| 5 | Vocal Plate |
| 6 | Instruments Plate |
| 5 | Gated Reverb |
| 5 | Reverse |
The DRV-1000 is a simple reverb with a limited palette of sounds. But they are 1980s sounds, which we all know are better than those found today…
What I like about older outboard gear like this is that it doesn’t sound smooth & refined, so it doesn’t sound like everything else. If you want to put something in a space that stands out in a track, try an old Korg, Roland or Yamaha reverb or delay – you’ll be surprised
* Some say the PNG-3200 was also responsible for KITT 2000 (Nightrider), T-101 (Terminator) and HAL 9000 (2001 – A Space Odyssey)
