Korg Poly-800 EX | The little synth that could!
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- Опубликовано: 20 окт 2024
- The Korg Poly-800/EX-800 is a wonderful little synth that has a very unique sound. Due to it's quirky set of digital oscillators, paraphonic filter and lots of aliasing, it can be quite charming.
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Big thanks to Anders Enger Jensen for letting me have the EX-800 for a while!
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Growing up I listened to so much synth-pop and it's only natural that my own music takes inspiration from many of the acts I loved back then. I still love them and listen to them!
Howard Jones, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Erasure, Thompson Twins, Tears for Fears, The Human League, Propaganda. FGTH, Ultravox, OMD, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Giorgio Moroder, Jean Michel Jarre, Jan Hammer, Alphaville, A-ha as well as loads of artists doing what is now called Italo Disco. And many more great acts like Nik Kershaw, Spandau Ballet, Wham, Dire Straits ++
I love to use my KORG Poly-61 and EX-800 together. I create a patch on each that is "close-ish". Then I send the audio from each in mono to its own channel, which I pan left and right to make a stereo pair. This creates absolutely massive analog synth brass, string, etc. sounds with gorgeous natural chorusing and beautiful variation. It's pure bliss for a reasonable price with respect to most other vintage analog gear. Great video Espen~!
That's a very nice technique Jack, very useful for others to pick up on too. Thanks for sharing! Cheers :D
Man that is so brilliant of an arrangement. I would love to hear that.
Sounds soooo gooooooood!!
Your channel is a goldmine of beautiful sound and information.
Thanks! :D
Summer lovin', had me a blast
Summer lovin', happened so fast
:)
The first time I used MIDI was with my brand new DX7 and a Poly800 borrowed from a friend. I connected them, played them together with a large smile on my face. Then I mistakenly dumped all the DX7 programs to the Poly800. All programs of the Poly800 were gone! So I quickly recreated some from memory, especially the lushest pads (Filter sweep #31) before giving it back to my friend, with a lot of apologies.
At least you didn't drop and break it. That would be much worse. Gotta be a way to do a factory reset.
Easy - using iPad and sound file on line
I bought my poly 800 mk2 in the nineties. One synth that I can never part with as it has always put a smile on my face. Learning all the functions really can lead to creating some great sounds. Especially 80s pop and Techno sounding 🙂 Great vid Espen 👍🏼
Many thanks! :D
just had a flashback when i got mine in '85
thanks for taking care of the old goodies !
Thank you sooo much for keeping the 80s alive. I know I'm old (51) but I strongly believe the 80's was the making of a fantastic genre of music.
Cheers! :D
I think most synth fans would agree
I used to run the Poly-800/EX-800 together with a DS-8 and a Wasp, budget noise! The sequencer was fun, I used to use it in a barn dance band I played in at the time - a whole room of people dancing to a tape-loaded sequence of folk music in 1985. And it's a synthE module, that unique E on the end. Great stuff as ever, master of your craft!
Cheers! :D
That is one crazy UI but I'd take it over menu diving any day.
I love this little synth.... that's why I have 2.
Thank you Espen! As always take care and be safe.
Thanks Rick, you too :D
I've watched this video before and for some reason it popped up again in my feed.
So I figured, sure why not I will watch again. It will be a nice morning coffee video to watch.
And then it happened. You explained the wave form creation process in the most clear and simple way possible, I guess I missed that when I watched this before.
I love this synth and own 2 of them just in case I need parts in the future.
Cheers!
My first real synth back in 84, after a short affair with the lovely Casio MT-400v...
Swapped three years ago, alongside my DX-27, for the servicing and modding of my MKS-50...
I'll never regret it...
But I still remenber the 'character' of its sound, and I celebrate everytime I program a patch that reminds me one of my old Poly-800 ones...
In those days, the polysynths for the masses were Poly-800 and Juno-106... the third one, that came a year later, was the Casio CZ-101...
Cheers...!!
Cheers!
For many of us, the Poly 800 was the entry into the world of synthesizers. I respect it for that reason as I also learnt it inside out, more so than any other synthesizer I have owned. A lot of fond memories when I 1st got interested in synths. I now have an EX800 with hawk upgrade that was sold as not working as the previous owner never completed it. Your great vid has inspired me to take some time and see if I can get it up and running. Love your videos Espen!
Thanks man! :D
I started with a Poly-800 and a Kawai K4, traded them for a Crumar Bit One back in the 90ies ;-)
There it is ! Thank You Espen for showing this one. :-) I got that one! That one has that SOLID metal enclosure. I played that one in clubs back in the 80s to mid 90s constantly. I could cover many songs with that one.
Cheers!
I was JUST looking at these, crazy coincidence. I've become too spoiled with my hands on synths to input values and parameters like this but the sounds are very cool. Great job as always E man
Cheers! :D
I serious love this plastic 1980's synthi and bought yesterday another one .The one i use everyday is the first version without back up battery inside . Using reverbs and delays letting this oldie shine .
This unit has metal body, not plastic. At least mine has
Had one of these for years 😻
I had one of this for a brief period when they came out, I really loved it especially the string patch, it seemed to match well with an acoustic guitar and a cassette four track, lol!
Great sounds! Watching this with my EX-800 and DSS-1!
Cheers! :D
Awesome. Recently I got the VST " Fury 800 " . Very lovely sound this synth ;-))
Thats a pretty good vst, some of the sounds are close but its not got the 'magic' of the real thing.
I keep hoping Korg will do plugin versions of the Poly 800, DW8000, and DSS-1. Don't think it will ever happen. You might try Cobalt, I think that VST gets the closest vibe to the 80s Korg synths. Still own my DW8000, btw.
We need a Korg Ex-800 vs Poly-61 comparison battle - I cannot think of anyone better to do it as you are the Eighties!
I have no plans to do that, but my TAL sampler pack Vol.2 has sounds from them both. ;-)
Great Sounding Synth , Really easy to program custom patches
The filter sweeps sound real nice.
great video and good demonstration of the synth and sounds 👍 and yes... it made me buy one. i have rereceived my korg ex800 today and i love it! ps: i'm not saying this to brag, i'm just very happy i've got one 😇
Congrats!
I consider myself an audiophile as much as I hate that word. I have a nice small system and your channel makes it sound so good. Thanks for the mind melting music. I wish I had a garbage can full of mushrooms and you as my personal musician.
Cheers! (mushrooms... haha)
I was going to buy EX-800 in 2013, but the seller hesitated and I bought AKAI VX-90. But I bought a Poly 800 mk I in 2018 and I'm delighted with this sound.
Love the VX-90. Been after one for some time.
Wow, so beautiful sounding! Viewers beware, it's been through Espen's hands which potentially make any hollow sounding synth seem lush and useful in the mix.
Just making some sounds. :P
Such a lovely weird charm to the aliasing.
This was interesting. My first synths were a Korg PolySix and a Poly-800, both bought at the same time, in 1987. The PolySix died in the 1990s, but I still have the Poly-800, and it still works.
If you still have the Polysix you should look up Syntaruse or some such
Synth repair shop outta Texas.. they're on youtube
@@darrelldourte9455 Thanks, but even in non-working condition, it was used as a trade-in on other gear. Also, it would probably cost considerably more than its value to ship it all the way over the Pacific Ocean to Texas, even if I still had it.
It’s going to be forever young for sure.
I hope so! :D
Can't wait to pick up your patches!
It will be a while though. Cheers :D
Great sounds coming from that tiny box! I too have a Poly 800, my first synth bought second hand in the late eighties.
I used to own a modular and playing keys... man... I love watching it. But I need to methodically program each note in. Like trial and error ... always impressed by artists who know how to play it and move on so quickly. Super cool
Cheers!
I think the Poly/ex800 can sound amazing when you take the time to really dial in the settings. When you do that, it's pretty awesome.
When it comes to the Poly 800, I personally strongly recommend the MkII. The delay is useful and can do chorusing, and yes it sounds different - but it can also do echo (with or without modulation) and flanging. Also, the envelopes have been substantially improved on the mkII with exponential curves, which makes it much better for “struck” and “plucked” types of sounds, as well as certain bass sounds. Plus, it has more sequencer memory and programmable analog EQ.
I very much like the original as well, but I feel the mkII is a substantial refinement. If you’re comparing the keyboard versions, IMHO the mkII looks way slicker in its jet black housing.
Of course we all have opinions, and I must agree that the analog chorus on the original sounds warmer and more subtle. I’m glad to have a choice!
Good video as always Espen!
There will always be opinions about these things, no problem. I nearly always recommend the first edition of everything as I almost always feel the first editions sounds the best. Cheers :)
Oh yeah! Another great video! The Korg Poly-800 rules just like the EX-800. I love adding some reverb and delay to fill out the sound. Take care, Sam.
Happy Easter Sam! :D
I had a Poly800, think it was the first poly synth i brought. I paid £40 for it, working in a music shop at the time and it came in S/H.
Always wanted the EX800 but not crossed paths with one yet. There is a great free VST plugin out there that sounds really close.
I had one for years paired it with a Juno 60. They worked well together
I bet! ;-)
Another Poly 800 fan here. I've got the mk2 version. Has a unique sound and architecture.
I very nearly bought the Poly 800 MK II as my first real synth. I ended up spending a bit more to get a DW8000 which I still own. It's a nice little synth. I think the pad and poly synth of those era Korg synths are still really nice. Thanks for sharing the video.
Cheers!
Nice video! Thank you! I also used POLY-800II many years before it broken! Amaizing analog sound. System architecture unike and unlike Roland Juno-60\106!
Cheers! :D
I got one that did not produce sound for $189 … from what the seller told me, I figured the battery went and the patches were lost. Sure enough, soldered in a new battery and sysexed some patches in. I love the Ex800 synth.
I had one in the 90s. I picked it up in a car boot sale for £20, kept it a few years and sold it on for the same price. At the time, my other gear included a Yamaha DX7S, a Roland D50, a Korg Wavestation SR, a Hammond XM1 and a Yamaha P150 so the EX800 didn't really add anything to my set-up. I wish I'd kept it though.
It would have added some quite nice pads to that setup but back then it was all about getting a clean hi-fi sound.
I’ve got this but modded, it’s awesome. Love it’s hard tincase box and it’s clicky buttons! Definitely a sado synth 😂
Back in '89 when my PolyMoog was pilfered at a gig, I had a recording session the next day that required a FAT oscillated bass. That EX saved me. More than once I should add. Although it bit the dust long ago, I still have my 800 that I bought in '87 and STILL use it when I feel the need.
Cool story. Cheers
I had the Poly 800 mk II, and today the built-in delay is nothing special, but back then it was like a whole new world having a programmable DD. Something I also liked about the poly 800, was the more complex ADSR. It was great for pads starting percussive and then fading in.
The Mk1 sounds much better to my ears, I didnt like the delay.
Those envelopes are killer. With careful programming you can make these swirling cross fades between the two oscillators, making for very beautiful evolving pads, as well as bizarre percussive sounds.
The Korg Poly/EX-800 deserves a lot more respect than it gets.
I think people hate the sound of it because they are gear snobs, anything good enough for The Human League, is good enough for me.
Didnt know they used one, what did they use it on?
@@maccagrabme They used one early on in their music, on Travelogoue and Reproduction, I believe, but it was probably the Dare album.
I think people like them because they sound great!
Agreed. I love the Human League. Life On Your Own is a masterpiece!
@@mastercylinder1939 I've still yet to listen to their albums! I just have their best of and Dare. Shame on me!
I love my EX800 for its unique sound. Of course its not for everything but if you are into 80s or some special analog sounds in general its a must have. Recently found a mint condition Poly800 bargain for my son.
Nice score. Cheers Matthias! :D
poly 800 is a Unique synth, nothing sounds quite like it. i love mine. I almost changed my poly to the EX module the other day but I felt I would lose expression without the joystick and I realized I wouldn't get any advantage from the only slightly smaller size of the module.
It sounds beautiful. True 80s sound.
Thanks! :D
The EX800 which I still have was my first midi expander module. I don't remember the exact year but it was early 80's & I controlled it from a Juno 106 (which I also still have though now it's got Kiwi mod). Among other things I loved it for its distinctive string & flute sounds. This was just before more familiar sized rack synths mostly 1 or 2u appeared.
The loss of the chorus might explain why the mark II sounds a little thin, which was why I chose the CZ1000 instead as my first synth. Thanks Espen.
Cheers!
HAPPY EASTER ESPEN !!!!
Many thanks! You too :D
polophony! I love it! :D
had a poly 800 as one of my first synths back in the 90ties..
loved that little fella for its bread an butter organ and string/flute sounds.
hated that sometimes it lost all it sounds, before i went familiar with that "datasette" safe procedure..:)
the easy sequencer was a nice addition.
I have one and it works perfect, it’s a lovely bit of equipment.
My cousin had one, back in the 80's. I preferred my juno 106, anyway I later sold it for both a midified poly 61 and a roland mt32. It's doesn't seems to make sense now, but I was so happy with all the polyphony and multi timbral + drums with my atari st running steinberg pro 24!
I had watched a BUNCH of Poly800 videos and always thought it sounded weird and quirky and fun but not worth the cost. Then we got a spotless one in at the music shop I work at and I got to use it myself. Now I’ll never sell it. Nobody told me it’s killer at bass or how fun the sequencer is. I’m way too young to have any nostalgia for it either! What other synth can make lush string pads or “sub oscillator” bass AND sound like a vintage Casio between patches?
Hi again Espen. Could you please tell if the Ex800, being the rack version of the Poly800MKI and by comparison, features the note "hold" function ? I suppose it doesn't feature also the chord memory, does it ?
As always, a pleasure to watch your videos! Thanks!
It does not, neither of these exist on the module. I refer to the manual for comparisons. Cheers!
Aw, nice :-). I had one of these. I think I still might have my custom program parameter sheet for it. It had the capability of some nice analog sounds.
Great performance 👍👍👍 Have a wonderful day and weekend 😊 Greetings Adam 😎
Cheers! You too :D
Forever young!!! 😃😃😃
Forever young
👍
Happy Easterdays!
Thanks! You too :D
Being back the red mic. We, the people, demand it!
It's right here. ;-)
I have the Poly800 mkII. I modded it with the Moog slayer mod. It's kinda cool stuff really for the price ( : Have fun!
Thank goodness I bought one of these before this video came out! I also ordered the Hawk upgrade and the Circuit Benders DIY mod kits. If you're into making some weirder noisier sounds alongside the lush pads, the Poly-800 has had more action in the DIY/circuit bending community than perhaps any other single item.
I actually sold my Poly-800 BECAUSE it was modded. I generally don't like mods that you can see on the exterior. I think it ruins the classic design. The only exception will be a new display, even if I there also prefer the original color scheme. ;-)
I understand. You are the 80s... and I am the 80s lingering into the 90s after a big bender of an acid trip! So our different aesthetics make sense :)
@@IanSaxman Different priorities. Nothing wrong with that.
I used to drool over this when I was so much younger, but ended up with a Juno 106 later on when I had the money
Both are great! :D
Oh, the 106 is SO much better.
@@RegebroRepairs ..I own a Juno 106 and HS-60.. of course the Juno's have sliders but the Korg has a fatter sound.. not saying I would trade one for the other but I am impressed with the Korg
@@normdurkin6425 Korgs Ensemble effects is great. I don't know anyone that has cloned it, it would be really cool to hear a comparison of a Roland Juno/HS-60 chorus and the Korg one.
@@RegebroRepairs ..what is funny is that I never really use the chorus on the Juno 106 or HS-60.. what I like on them is the LFO and reverse envelope to make strange blips, squeaky and reverse acids sounds..
Korg Poly 800 Cool Synth you get one for decent price. I like that little ode to Grease Thanks for all your great work
Many thanks Tim! :D
@@EspenKraft your welcome
I've got one of these - been a while since I've brought it out of storage. Cool that it runs off a standard 9v DC- guitar wall wart
It does sound quite good, though I use my EX-8000 more because its not paraphonic and sounds just as good.
I bought a Poly 800 brand new in 1984 (my first synth!) and I still have it! I got it on sale for $699. I used it mainly for its lush string sound in double mode, I thougth the strings were beautiful. One thing I think you forgot to mention is that you could detune Osc 1 from Osc 2 by different semitones which added to the richness of sound too.
I didn't mention it, but I'm sure I show it? Maybe I cut it out. ;-)
@@EspenKraft I am sorry, I hope I did not cause you embarrassment. I love your videos and would never intentionally say something negative.
No, no worries man. I just thought I showed this in the video, I know I filmed it, but I cut out 2/3 of everything I film and once the video is uploaded I sort of toss it out of memory and move on to the next. ;-)
The Poly-800 mk 1 was my first polysynth (it was all I could afford at the time). I got my money's worth out of it and had a lot of fun, but it had some serious limitations. It really had to be in double mode to sound good, and the paraphonic setup and lack of performance controls limited what you could do. Eventually, the joystick broke, and I trashed it. You had to be careful, or it would sound like a toy.
I wouldn't buy one today, but there's a nice free VST called Fury-800, which is actually better than the original.
I'll lookout for your pack, some of those waveform mixtures sound like they would make great samples for pads.
Coming Tuesday. ;-)
A 256 event sequencer? So a 256 step sequencer if only one note per event? Nice! 👍👍 Can the sequencer be used to control other synths?
I like the analogue chorus! Does the Poly-Ex-800 have an audio input? 👍👍
I really like the string sounds. They sound like they'd cut through in a mix & still retain their character. 👍👍
Still have my poly 800, running strong
I bought my Poly800II back 1986, along with my Kong Sq8 sequencer and the amazing Yamaha MT1X four tack recorder....boy did I have fun, created many tracks....for me creating a wind sound was just the best, I went on to own a Roland D50 ...that was not great in comparison, then bought a Kong M1....then got married, had a child, had to sell the whole lot....did eventually buy one of the first Tritons in Europe....but never a patch on my dear Poly800II........wonder if I can create those sounds in my Logic.....
Funny this video popped up as I was looking at these earlier today on Reverb. I see that Fostex M80! I made a video on that machine on my channel. What are you using yours for? Cheers Espen!
I have the Fostex for a special video I'm making. It's not mine and I will return it after I'm done. ;-)
Un genio. Siempre espero tus videos. Son súper interesantes y útiles. Saludos
Cheers! :D
How you doing sir ,can i buy from you some samples like bass,pads etc..please .I have a yamaha mod 8 but still need others sounds.Thank you
Like I said in end of the video, I have a TAL sampler add-on pack I will release in just a couple of days. All my best Poly-800 sounds will be in it. ;-)
Hey Espen, can you share how you made the filter sweep patch?
The EX isn't hooked up at the moment, so I can't check the actual parameters, but it's made in a very standard way. Inverted ADSR profile on the VCF with long attack and decay so the cutoff is swept.
I had the poly 800 mk II until some years ago, it would have been nice to have the analogue chorus though.
When these were new I played it in a local music store but couldn’t afford it. I had a Yamaha CS01-II which is monophonic and I really wanted a polysynth (even the Poly-800 is paraphonic polysynth). It’s a great synth and nowdays I do have a Poly-800 mkII, which has a more advanced MIDI implementation (responds to midi cc too unlike the mkI).
And clearly somebody has been watching Doug DeMuro... with all the quirks and features. :)
I did pick that of from Doug DeMuro, I love his style. ;-)
i had one of the poly 800s back in the day, and programmed right it was a total beast. I played in a hardcore/industrial band and we got some really killer bass sounds out of this, you could get some REALLY nice sync-style sounds. The bad rap comes from a few things. 1) The factory presets kind of sucked, not particularly musical and very thin. 2) Tweaking it was hard, so most people just used the presets. 3) People wanted stuff that sounded "realistic". Analogue sounds where just not popular at the time. The end result was people just didnt want this thing. BUT BUT BUT, if you actually did get under the hood, and this totally requred reading the manual, you could get some great sounds out of it. Oh for a better user interface....
Its so lo fi to my ears, maybe someone will love it, i personally dont like it too much. It can be useful for retro music, that is for sure.
Retro music is what I do. ;-)
I remember it being used in Photoshoots galore as a prop
My first analog tied synth - I have the korg case for the board
I had an EX 800 many years ago. Sadly, it was stolen. Loved it.
WOW!!! I see A Fostex R8 !! I Just dug mine out of the closet, And looking for some parts to restore its Operation ! ;) I have so many Ampex 456 Grand Master Audio Tapes That I recorded- So much Synth music back in the very early 90's:) been looking to Convert the tracks Into Cubase. So much Retro Music To be Restored !! And- Oh Yea, The poly 800 was recorded and sequenced on so many tracks Too ;)
Maybe I am wrong, Your fostex tape deck has a different front after looking at again, But regardless. I see a Vintage Reel to reel tape Machine in your setup!! :) Awesome!!
This is a model 80. Cheers :)
Sorry again if I missed you mention this, but I heard that the Korg Poly 800 (old keyboard version) is too old to support sysex dumping of factory data, leaving only the cassette option. Is that correct?
It's correct. The Poly-800 cannot dump or receive its banks through sysex. The EX-800 and the Poly-800II can.
ex800 never saw one in the flesh, when i had my first synth 800DV a friend had the ms10 and poly 800, but he had only softsounding sounds on it. i later had the ex8000 and dw8000 but sold it for 100 euros :-(
12:33 sounds EXACTLY like the opening chord in Death Cab For Cutie's song Everything's A Ceiling.
I had one for 4 years in the early 90s. I bought it for $80. Was not a very good companion to my Juno 106. Like the interface, but the sound not so much. Mine was glitchy too for some reason. I feel it had an influence on the DW though, so seems like a necessary step in evolution. Don’t know that I would recommend however.
I forgot that it had attachments for a strap...lol
great video, small correction if I may: the video description says digital oscillators, but these are analog, although digitally controlled, DCO's.
If I missed that word in the video description it's on me. Cheers ;-)
@@EspenKraft haha : )
Your arsenal of synths exceeds Thomas Dolby's and Kraftwerk combined ! Man I wish you'd make an LP !
Virtual synth music made these days with a mouse is too algorithmic !
I have made a full album using 80s hardware synths. ;-)
@@EspenKraft I personally would love to buy your album, can you kindly provide a link ? kewl !!!!
@@dubdoodle7191 All relevant links are in the video description, but here it goes:
espenkraft.bandcamp.com/album/those-days-full-album
Espen, do you consider the Poly 800 (keyboard version) sonically different enough from the alpha Junos, to make a buyer having both, a worthwhile idea?
Definitely. Two very different synths almost every way.
how's the sysex implementation? Is there any? also It's way less noisy than I remember.
It's sysex compatible, but it was early so can be glitchy. There exists two revisions of the EX-800 in terms of MIDI ports. Noise is rarely a problem if you put your sounds together wisely and record properly, but some sounds have a lot of aliasing, which I like. ;-)
Hello, bon noël .. is it a good editor (mac) for ex800 ? for sound capacity, warm harmonic you recommand dw8000 or this one is close .. best vibes
I work directly on the module myself. I would choose the DW-8000 if I had to pick one, but they're both great, for different reasons.
nice for your answer, good christmas :)
Hi Espen, what drum machine have you used at 0.48?, thanks
Samples.
@@EspenKraft please, which snare? :) it´s so cool
I mix all my music as if it was a commercial release. So I'm layering samples, compression, EQ and all that goes into a professional mix. My snares are often made up of 3-4 different sounds. I sell a sample pack of the drums used. You can find it here: thepatchbay.io/product/the-ultimate-italo-disco-synth-pop-sample-pack-by-espen-kraft/
Great you featured that unit. Does it have Chord Memory as the Poly 800?
No chord memory no.