Thanks for the info, Mike. You sure know your way around it.
I totally agree about the Osc section limitations, and this is why any way where we could improve it is valuable.
What if we dabble with the wave-shaping section after the MSM5232? That was my line of thought.
However, I think that I would be able to do much more and in a simpler way by mixing into the VCF any external Audio. For instance, I could mix a set of oscillators from the Kurzweil K2500 into the External Audio In, and treat those with the Korg VCF. By connecting the Kurz to the Korg through Midi too, then the Korg's Oscs + the Kurz's Oscs would be mixed and transposed simultaneously.
In addition, the External Audio in would laso allow me to mix in any new DIY Oscs too.
Ideally a new Osc module would be installed within the synth itself.
--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Michael Hawkins <korgpolyex800@...> wrote:
>
> Yes, you could mix them but it wouldn't do anything much at all. Let me
> explain...
>
> The biggest drawback of the Poly-800 design was the tone generator. The MSM5232
> was produced to be used in arcade games and it was used in many, many of them
> too!
>
> So Korg took the MSM5232 and put it into the Poly-800 because they were trying
> to build a low cost synth. They certainly achieved that but in doing so, they
> left the Poly-800 with a very primitive oscillator source. The MSM5232 produces
> pure square wave output. IC4 and IC5 section provides a way to produce a
> slightly, kind of, sort of triangle wave shape by attenuating the four octave
> sources.
>
> Mixing them is not going to achieve anything in my opinion. I hate to disappoint
> you but the MSM5232 waveform generation is THAT primitive.
>
> That's why my focus now (and it's a rather fuzzy focus given my other
> commitments) is on altering the DCO2 clock so that it is far more independent of
> DCO1 (giving us far better phasing). And, I am also thinking about providing a
> kit to completely replace the original TG with a new one so that all eight DCO's
> are fully independent of each other and so that they can produce a far wider
> variety of wave forms (perhaps using a waveform ROM like the DW-8000). But that
> is all just a bit of a wish list right now.
>
> It's actually interesting how a global economic slow down has real effects on
> projects like these (which I consider to be "cultural"). So as economic
> considerations become major to individuals (including me), time on "cultural"
> projects, hobbies etc is pressured or crimped.
>
> But hopefully, I will be able to get the HAWK arpeggiator done this year!
>
> Mike
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: 7yash <josh.nursing@...>
> To: korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wed, July 20, 2011 8:58:53 PM
> Subject: [korgpolyex] Re: External Audio in Mod.
>
>
> Hmmm, interesting. Do you think they are mixable with the original DCOx signal
> without detriment?
>
> --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Michael Hawkins <korgpolyex800@> wrote:
> >
> > Those two chips come after the tone generator.
> >
> > They take the square wave outputs of the TG (16,8,4,2) and buffer them and also
> >
> > provide the quasi triangle wave (by attenuating the higher foots more).
> >
> > This gives four outputs. Two for each DCO. One is square the other triangle for
> >
> > each DCO.
>