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. ⏱️ Chapters 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

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