I was never a fan of having computers anywhere near the recording process. I've always used the internal sequencer and never had any problems with it. It is easy to use and the internal floppy drive means there's never a worry about running short of space for song data. I have found that over the years, each individual song takes up more memory as the complexity increases (I do a lot of doubled up 16-beat type rhythms which eat up the event memory), but this is not really a problem.

The sounds are great in general, although there are some I prefer to keep away from. I was never a particular fan of the piano sound for example. It works OK for faster dance tunes, and with some playing around with the effects, it is possible to make an acceptable compromise for slower ballad pieces. It's not convincing, and isn't my dream piano sound but it does the job - just. I also tend to find that for melody sounds I get stuck. Some of the guitar sounds are quite nice, but more recently I have turned to my Yamaha DX7 for solo sounds. It never fails to satisfy. Some sounds when played in the higher registers also show signs of digital artefacts. For some applications this can be put to good use, but for others it's an awful shame. One sound to come to mind is (I think) A24 - "Blue Moon". It's one of the guitar type sounds. It sounds great in the bass register and in the mid range but once past about the fourth octave (5th if on an 88 key piano keyboard), you will start to notice artefacts in the samples.

But what this synth excells at is pads. Ever since day one, prog A27 "Analog Pad" has been a favourite and still features on 90 percent of the work I do. I also think synth sounds such as A00 "Ephemerals" are first class. I have heard this sound on various pieces of Trance music over the years. Layer the two together A27 and A00 and you've got yourself a really thick, swirling sound. The drum sounds are also pretty good. The main problem is that there are only four drum kits to choose from, so it can become difficult to make new drumbeats which sound different.

As regards programming, I haven't ever really mastered it. I have attempted on a few occasions, but usually not made a sound worth keeping. I found that altering parameters on the graphic display seemed to not make any changes. The only thing I really ever found out how to do was alter the basic waveform which controls the sound. I made a decent bass sound with a good punch, but this is about the only sound I have used and kept.

As well as sounding great, the 01/wFD also looks the part too. The whole panel is a sheet of aluminium, rendered in an attractive satin black, with sheet steel on the underside and beneath the keys. The only plastic is on the ends and above the FD drive where the joystick is located.

So what is my main gripe about the 01? Pretty much the same as everyone else. What went wrong when the keyboard was designed? I had my 01 for about eighteen months and was terribly upset when I found that some of the black keys started to stick. I found ways of temporarily curing the problem, but there's nothing worse than a key sticking during a quick piano solo while you're recording. Then there was the constant nagging in the back of my mind when I played live with it - will one of the keys jam?

I now use the 01 in conjunction with an 88-note master keyboard which responds better to playing style. Even the piano sound seems to be that little bit more convincing if you're using a weighted keyboard.

My final verdict is a four out of five. I would need better solo and melody sounds to award maximum, but as a synthesizer it creates some of the best synth sounds I can get. No synth seems to ever beat the combination of "WS Analog" and "Raw Deal". Layer these two together and pan one hard left, the other hard right and you've got the best synth stab sound you could possibly ask for. Unbeatable.

Well done Korg - what my compositions would have sounded like without the 01 is a strange thought indeed.