The Korg Kaossilator was the beginning of the end.
As soon as they figured out how to turn 99 cents worth of plastic into a shit tier 99$ rompler with a touchpad, electronic music began suffering. The Kaossilator was a revelation in an age where DAWs were fast outpacing real hardware synths while its dinky touchpad gave hipster DJ wannabes the idea that they too had a vision worthy of sharing. Countless units were sold. They didn't even sound unique - they were built on libraries of old sounds korg had used as throwaway presets for their keyboards.
Over subsequent years, the build quality of Korg samplers and synths started going downhill. I've taken apart and reassembled every Korg machine I own, having gone through 5 ESX-1 Samplers since 2003. Every time I open up a new Korg product, there's less solder, less glue, thinner wires and more plastic. Less magnetic shielding on the wires so you end up with more line noise in the output. This cheapening is consistent throughout all their products. Those fucks hired must've consultants to gut their overhead, and soon realized they could chintz out on materials. Eventually, Korg reached its final form and began pushing DS apps, finally having shed the need for physical hardware altogether.
It's a pedantic thing to fret about, but the real cost of shit like the Kaossilator is all around you. It's a big part of why skillsets and practice have fallen away from electronic music scenes and it's emblematic of the cut and paste bullshit that people think passes for music nowadays.
