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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Another quirky one, the oscillators, the envelopes, the polyphony, all weird.
*Had a mid-editing software crash that led to a few strange things, I left in two takes of the filter triggering modes, and some of the images are doubled. Apologies!
I got this on reverb for a great deal as non functioning, all it really needed was a new battery & the patches restored, and I don't believe it to be that unusual. Tons of models from the 80s experience the same thing.
Hope this helps someone make a decision, or helps explain the way this freaky little guy works.
I never mentioned the sequencer, but it works the way you would expect it to, very simple.
This is a great write up about the oscillators :
sequence15.blog...
Here is the user manual :
cdn.korg.com/u...
This is the data sheet for the oscillator chip :
www.citylan.it/...
This is the list I used to find related arcade cabinets :
www.mikesarcad...
Here is one place to learn about the mods done to mine :
synthmod.net/ko...
I reloaded the presets from a youtube video, plugged into the tape input :
• Korg Poly-800 factory ...
Cheers!
Quirky synths like Poly 800 / EX800 are fun, and in the last 20 years of using synths I've used the quirky ones more than the "perfect" ones. The expensive polysynths sound great, but for me they are often boring and the same goes for the done-to-death Moog sound. Sure, the quirky synths are not for your vanilla 70s/80's synth music, but for more avantgarde, alter stuff they work extremely well. While the Poly 800 / EX800 sounds a bit cheesy and doesn't have the punch of say Prophet 5, I find it's sound signature very pleasing, because it's soft, kind of hollow and diffused, yet, very much at the front and big. It's been used in early Detroit techno a lot.
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😂 commented about it lol lol oh yeah baby girl
My friend Zack designed your mod :)
What a cool guy, hope he sees this 👀👀lol
I love the "middle ground" synth angle. I've been collecting and playing synths since 1989. I've always looked for odd, unloved or obscure instruments in the back of music shops, pawn shops, and flea markets. Even today in 2022 with a JUNO-6 fetching $3000, you can still find interesting sounding synthesizers for reasonable prices if you can look beyond the more prestigious Roland and Moog instruments. Companies like Technics, JVC, Suzuki, Lowery and Hohner all put out analogue keyboards in the 80's. For instance, the JVC KB-700 and Technics SX-K300 both have very nice sounding analogue string ensemble sounds. Often, these obscure instruments are more interesting precisly because they don't sound like an OB-8 or Minimoog
The best thing about these is they're super bullet proof. You can even rebuild the tact switches without removing them.
Can confirm! I had to sand down one of the buttons to help it travel freely.
constant nervous laughter and a cough-laff every two seconds.
lol the behringer swing
I should probably take that tape off, lol
Hi. I'm a poly/EX 800 fanboy. Thank you so much for posting ressources in the description, I've been looking for more infos on the chip for years, so glad to finally have the documentation and the list of arcade game it was into !!!
Thank you a thousand time !
Great video! I love the EX-800!
Cheers! I'm really fond of it too, wish I had a good reason to keep mine
It has been a while since I've programmed one, but these envelopes remind me of the Casio CZ synths - I think those might've had something extra like an option to do something like setting multiple breakpoints. On there it was much more useful, because the envelopes could be routed to multiple parameters...I had some cool patches with one oscillator ascending in pitch and the other descending.
I have a CZ-500 Casio. It has an eight step envelope. Interesting. Don’t use it much by way of amplitude. But it’s cool on the filter envelope.
I love my Casio CZ-101. Weird and wonderful little beast.
It has a truly unique parameter structure, and everything from the oscillator to the envelope to the filter is different from a typical synthesizer, and all of them work well to create unique sounds, which is why I've been using it for many years.
Omg shes beautiful…..If you were to plug a standard usb midi cable out of that midi keyboard into a daw…..would it be able to transfer midi back n fourth?? If so im buying this tomorrow lol
I don't think it has usb!
But if you mean one of the cables that are fullsize 5-pin midi out / in that goes to a regular USB on the other end, that should work.
Thanks to my encounters with the Poly 800 as a kid in music stores here in Sydney and subsequently playing a DX7 - which made me think of the Korg as cheap and nasty - I have always had a bias against them. But this? I'd gladly have this in my studio. Nice work, Jorb!
Cheers thank you! Happy to spread the good word.
I have a HAWK-800 mod, the reason it rules is because there's a max4live controller for it. Full midi control on v1 from mod, expensive, but worth it?
i need to buy a second for parts, as it's a little broken and not getting better, LoL
Fun and informative video. Brought back many memories. I started with Unicord (pre-KORG-USA) in 1982 when the PolySix and MonoPoly reigned. Both were killer, best-selling synths in the $1,200 to $2,000 price range. Then the Poly800 made programmable synthesis affordable (less than $1,000) and it was a home run in terms of sales - the NAMM Show demonstrations were legendary. As you mentioned, MIDI was brand new and the Poly800 rode the wave with subsequent revisions that got better and better. They were fun times. Nice work, Jorb.
You know what else has ADBSSR envelopes? The Kronos and Nautilus!
they kept em, smh
Anyone got tips on rack mounting this classic? I just picked one up
I think there's like, separate right angle ears that exist
You persuaded me to keep my Poly 800mk2, by reciting my own arguments back to me! 👍
😂🤣Happy to be a part of it. Admittedly, I miss mine a little bit
Just purchased one myself today! However, I am only getting sound out of it. Every time i try to change it to the according number values, it only continues to give me one sound. Can anyone help?
Hmm, are you in parameter mode & not preset?
Have you loaded the factory sounds, or seen if saving one will change that slot when you come back to it?
Get MIDIox and dump the original sysex patches into the EX800. Also, check the battery. I soldered in a new battery and then did the sysex transfer. Hope this helps!
Dude, great job on this! I think it's wonderful to explain the architecture of a synth in the demo, especially an odd configuration like this one. The Poly-800 definitely has its limitations, but they are also what give it its interesting character. They can sound a little buzzy, but also very unique and usable. Incredible value for money. For those who are curious, the cutoff and resonance mods for this are very easy to do, even for a beginner. There are a ton of instructions and videos online. All you need is $10 in parts and a drill . Essentially what you are doing is bringing a couple tiny circuit board mounted calibration pots to the front panel and connecting it to a full sized potentiometer. Keep up the solid work Jorb, I'll keep watching.
Well said! Especially after spending the time to make this video I really think it's a good sounding, capable piece of kit.
And good point with the mods, disassembly isn't too stressful, and the circuit is laid out so that it's easy to access the parts needed for the mod.
Cheers!
The paraphony and the microwave input is all in the appeal. Especially like the tune knob for slightly detouring patches against others. Great first synthesizer.
This video absolutely makes me smile. The sounds are so cool and your stoke is infectious. Whenever you get excited in the video, I giggle. Thank you.
I just subscribed and ordered a Korg EX-800. Take care, Sam from machiwoomiapoo channel. :)
Enjoy it! They're really fun units
If I remember rightly I was looking for something to add to my Juno 106 & this was my first midi expander. I still have both.
I like the Ex-800 , but I dunno. Compared to what Korg had released previously (The Poly 61 and the DW/EW series) were better.
But thats the thing with instruments I think and feel they all do have some form of uniqueness to them, well generally speaking.
Also nice Behringer Swing!
I agree the earlier synths were better, but it was pretty innovative back then to have a low cost expander. MIDI was new and it was a good way to shoehorn another synth into your rig without the need for another keyboard.
The Verbos Multi-Envelope has an attack decay attack sustain release which has that same weird stutter step quality.
The arcade chip is (I think) what makes this sound truly unique. For an analog, it sounds very chip-tune. The chorus (on the rev 1) takes the sound to a whole nother level. It doesn't sound like a Juno, that's for sure. It has a plastic sound that you either love or hate. Synth snobs will deride paraphony, just because-but I enjoy the aesthetic vibe of it as a player, probably because my first synth was a Korg Delta, which I still own. The EX-800 gets you in the same ballpark as the Juno series, but lacks its refinement and classy character, in favor of a more in-your-face cartoony sound that is to my ears very lo-fi, which renders and records extremely well to a cassette 4 track. My only major gripe is that the envelopes are pretty sluggish. Use it for pads and lead sounds and it's perfectly lovely as a basic bread and butter poly, that definitely has it's own unique (and IMO very desirable) character. Others have said they like it for bass, but for that I prefer my Moogs. I used to own a Juno 106, and had to sell it. I still miss it to this day, but I just can't justify 2k when I have this, a reasonably decent alternative that only cost 400 bucks.
very cool video. I use the Midi In and sysex to upload patches to my EX 800.
I didn't know it would even accept sysex! Just assumed it was too early of a midi implementation
Hi! I Great video. Does the EX 800 has a hold function like the Poly 800 in order to hold the sound of notes that were last pressed ?
Such an overlooked synth, it has a sound of its own for sure :) The keyboard version, the poly 800, was used a ton by Gigi Masin for his earlier ambient work and it's really good.
Good info! With even a slight amount of reverb / delay the pads can be massive, I can understand the choice.
@@JorbLovesGear Forgot to mention the factory chorus effect which is nice to have. Although a bit noisy on my machine, it does add some character. It is parameter 48 if I recall correctly.
It gets a brief demo at like 21minutes in.
Does sound good!
Gigi offered to send me a cassette tape with his poly800 patches on. I’ll keep you posted
I have a broken ex-800 and a modded poly800. Tbh I prefer my poly-61 but I need to the sustain and midi added
I still can't believe I bought the synth used in Gigi Masin's "Clouds" and I also now have the synth that made all the music from Bubble Bobble.
I have acquired the Bubble Bobble synth. I know what I must do.
No way, that's an amazing link.
I would've kept it had I known these 🤣😂
😂
Great video! Just picked up a mk2 for free on craigslist and this was the sort of overview I was looking for. In particular, the sorta-not-really bitimbral aspect I feel is very overlooked on this machine. Im sure there are others that I've never messed with, but separate envelopes on the oscillators is such a bizarre and beautiful feature.
Personally, I love the digital delay as opposed to the mk1's analog chorus. A dedicated lfo for delay modulation -- basically opening it up to being used as a chorus or a mellow flanger -- is just icing on the cake for weird features on a synth that can only be described as a collection of weird features!
I forget it has the delay! Thats such a cool feature, honestly. I'll have to try one sometime!
To me the MK2 can sound a bit fatter than the original Poly-800 thanks to its onboard delay line. I do want an EX-800 though!
My brain hurts just looking at that thing 🥴😂
🤣 😂 After owning it for awhile I might have to agree.
It's actually a very friendly synthesizer.
I recognize that mod. ;) Nice video!
🤣😂Hi Zack. Great work! I tried to. Keep the mod chatter light, don't want to distract.
This is my dream desktop synth
I've always wanted one but never had the Balls to get it.
How cool would be a Volca version of this!
They're not too hard to find, you should go for it!
I would love that, like the modwave, as a new iteration of the dw. A volka ex would be amazing
@@JorbLovesGear did Korg totally abandoned the Volca?
@@BrancoArgenta in not sure, what was the last new one, the NuBass? Or the modular?
Maybe we'll see something from them at Knobcon, early September!
@@JorbLovesGear let's hope so!
I bought one of these just for preset 16 - a kind of spooky organ. It’s broken at the moment though as one of the filter mod pots failed. I opened it up to fix to find a mess of dried battery acid. I’ve cleaned the crud out but the mod is a complete mess (sellotape to insulate wires?) anyway I don’t have time to sort it so need to pay someone to fix up.
Sounds like a nightmare honestly. I've dealt with bad batteries in a few Poly 61s, but my Ex800 just needed a new one, no leakage
curious about the depth of the sequencer. Does it have the ability to sequence its own sounds along with sequencing external gear? If so, across how many channels?
Sadly, just a 1 track internal sequencer.
Ex-800 midi out is only for passing error conditions and memory contents.
These are great for the moodier depths of house and techno. I'm glad more and more people are spreading the word about the values of the quirks. The rhythms and sounds of these beloved genres are well defined for good reason. It's precisely these quirks and how they are mixed, matched and massaged that makes an interesting track. See: Vril.
I picked up an EX800 with rack ears and a TR-707 with missing battery door about 5 years ago for $550. At the time it didn't feel like much of a deal considering they both had to go to my tech for some help. All these years on and of the 30+ synths I have the EX800 is one that I'd keep if I were going minimalist and slimming down to < 5 pieces.
One question I have is if anyone has done the Hawk Mod which I believe adds updated midi features and then allows one to use a Stereoping midi controller. I'm curious if anyone is using it that way and if the value is there. So far mine is unmodified, but that sounds interesting!
hey, yes I have a fully modified EX800 with hawk 800 and atomahawk kit.
I do use an encoder on my sequencer to turn the cutoff of my EX800
do you have any question ?
It's actually very interesting and fun to have limitations you have to work within.
@LouisSerieusement my question was mainly if the Stereoping controller was worth the investment. Subjective opinions welcome.
@@chuckermatinger3794indeed!
This was a great in depth review. I came for the sounds and learned about an oscillator chip i didn't know about. Im really liking your channel.
Cheers, I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Always working on more!
Hi Jorb, you were asking if other synths also had these ADBSSR envelope generators? I know some others had them as well: the Waldorf Blofeld, Korg DW8000, Korg 03R/W. Also Roland and the Yamaha (FM) synths used to have more elaborate EG models such as ADDSRL or ADDDSR variants.
Good info! As a blanket opinion, I of course appreciate more options. But in reality, I just find it sort of tedious to use the more complex envelops.
@@JorbLovesGear these extended EG usually are a bit of a PITA. What does come in handy is a delay before the attack, but only on synths with at least 3 EG’s. It will allow you some more complex modulation options. And a timed hold phase between attack and decay has its merits too. With Korg’s ADBSSR you can mimick this Hold behavior by keeping the breakpoint level at its maximum, and using the slope as a decay. Now the original Decay will act as the Hold phase. When keeping decay at zero, the Poly 800’s ASSR will now act as a regular ADSR. In doing so you simplified the Poly 800 back to simple Envelope ADSR generators.
The dx7 has a similar envelope generator..kinda
And the alpha junos
What do you think of this synth vs the roland alpha juno ?
Alpha juno wins in pretty much everyway.
EX800, while very capable, seems more like a fascination, with the weird oscillators, paraphonic filter etc.
Sounds great! I have a poly 800 MK2 but don't have the original patches
Can I set my Deepmind in a paraphonic filter mode. I’ve been looking to get a string machine for that sound. But if I can use the Deepmind with its filter that way with some other workarounds I can get “close enough”. Especially for gigging.
I dont think there is a paraphonic filter mode, but you can get all of the other aspects figured out. I did a video on copying the solina sound!
@@JorbLovesGear I’ll check it out.
@@JorbLovesGear thank you.
Cool video! As someone's already mentioned, really appreciate the dive into the synth's architecture.
Regarding the EG, I can confirm that at least one other synthesizer, the Korg X50 rompler from the 2000s, uses the same kind of envelope - break point, slope and all. It was my very first synth and I still got that diagram burned into my head (used to find it confusing as hell).
I don't know, maybe it's something peculiar to Korg?
Thanks for the info! While i like the options in theory, the slow me down for most patches in practice.
@@JorbLovesGear I think Behringers DM6 and 12 uses simular envelopes.
Hi Jorb
I had one of these back in the day. I got it to supplement my polysix and ensoniq mirage. I liked it a lot, but too many gigs killed it and I ended up selling it for parts. I still have the polysix but the mirage ended up in landfill :(
Love your vids.keep 'em coming.
Recently got a polysix, am really coming to love it.
The presets are so pleasant, hard to believe they aren't more classic
Jorb I know. That ensemble chorus effect is really special I think and the filter is really nice. At the time I got it it was my only synth but I was able to use it for everything I needed. I used an old Akai DS4000MK2 tape machine to bounce tracks to make a song back then 😀
I’ve the Korg Poly 800 and you make the patches sound awesome 🎹🤟
Do you know if there is a patch editor for the ex 800
I dont use much software, but I know theres some overlays for paid stuff, and i know theres VST's that emulate, and wonder if that interface could be used to just spit out midi? Maybe one day of mapping away.
Good luck!
After watching this I understand why everyone remembers the Juno 6/60/106 so fondly while it seems almost no one talks about the Poly 800/EX-800 :-) If they had just kept it simple and built on the Polysix instead it might have been more successful....
Excellent point.
I think this & the poly 800 do great, with the restriction of being affordable.
Imagine a second generation mono/poly WOW.
$
and this was successful, they sold a ton of these. So I'm sure Korg was not complaining... It's just not iconic now for the reasons he mentioned.
i have an unhealthy love for old and weird gear
Oh me too, I'm really appreciating these weirdos lately.
Love it
I keep seeing this video pop up on TH-cam, so I had to comment on it. I bought mine used back in the late 1980s for about $100.00 ? The corner of it was dented as like some one dropped it. I used it live playing in clubs in the 1990s constantly. I still have it. The major things to remember about this happy module is it has a solid all metal enclosure. Also almost after inception of MIDI (via 5-pin din) this one on of the first mas produced ones with one board MIDI ports. But the MOST important thing about this synth is the onboard Chorus effect that Roland was famous for (some people say it's the same as on a Juno-60). Back in the day, if you had an inexpensive keyboard, buying a chorus pedal or a effects rack that had chorus was 100% needed for that classic 1980s New Wave sound. You are really lucky to have that one, looks like it is in great shape!
- Mr.Tom - Writer/Composer - Performance Rights Organization: BMI Inc. - CAE/IPI #: 833986399
For the algo. Nice work man.
This is the real support, the "game the algorithm" comments. Bless you 🙏😂
Great video, very informative!
Glad it was helpful! I find resources on quirky old gear like this to be essential.
I’m subbed!
Cheers, thanks for sticking around!
Loving that all new Behringer Swing!