In this episode, I'm joined by John Lehmkuhl of Plug-In Guru, creator of UniFi, and one of the most influential sound designers behind many iconic Korg synthesizers.

John shares his incredible journey into music and sound design — from growing up in a family-run music store to shaping legendary instruments like the M1, Wavestation, Z1, Triton, OASYS, and more. We explore sampling under extreme memory limits, early MIDI days, voicing synths in Japan, environmental recording, and how all of this led to UniFi.

If you're into synth history, sound design, or Korg gear, this one's packed with insight and stories.

00:00 Introduction
00:06 Who is John Lehmkuhl?
01:22 Early musical influences and family music stores
03:09 Discovering synths: Minimoog, tape machines & experimentation
03:36 Learning FM synthesis on the DX7
04:54 Music education, bands & early MIDI workflows
05:48 First music industry job in Seattle
07:20 Selling and demonstrating early synths
07:54 The impact of the Korg M1
09:14 Joining Korg as a product specialist
10:03 Synth clinics, demos & live performances
11:44 Creating custom sounds for customers
12:50 First official Korg PCM card work
13:27 Drum mapping, sampling & Japan trips
14:55 How Korg voicing teams worked
16:09 Sampling under tight memory constraints
17:12 Designing sounds inspired by pop music trends
18:17 First factory Korg products (M3, 01/W, Trinity, Triton)
19:22 The Wavestation & wave sequencing
20:16 Why the Wavestation EX was created
21:10 Programming challenges and workflow differences
22:07 Iconic Wavestation sounds and samples
23:06 Sampling analog synths vs generated waveforms
24:40 Working with artists and albums
25:17 Life as a Korg sound designer in Los Angeles
26:45 Wavestation SR & front-panel-only programming
28:53 OASYS development and DSP engines
29:40 Wavedrum, physical modelling & field recordings
30:37 Environmental sampling and sound design philosophy
31:36 The lost art of creative sampling
33:14 Modern software vs hardware limitations
34:10 Trinity, Triton & KARMA
35:25 Using generative music tools creatively
37:17 Creating personal signature sounds
38:24 Z1 physical modelling synthesis
40:23 Expressiveness in electronic instruments
41:08 From Korg to UniFi
42:11 Layering synths and samples in UniFi
43:32 Favourite synths John has worked on
44:53 UniFi as a creative platform
45:22 Vintage photos & Korg history
47:56 How Korg patch voting worked
48:29 Z1, OASYS & Japan voicing sessions
50:50 Drum libraries & commercial sample work
51:24 Designing UniFi's original concept
52:28 Plug-In Guru libraries & future plans
53:20 Final thoughts & wrap-up