Korg Poly800/EX800 Users

i know one of the motivating factors (or selling points?) of the hawk-800, 
and more-so the aTomaHawk, is that people won't have to drill holes in 
their 800s. i guess that's a concern for some, but not me...

in fact, i just realized the opposite concern; i want to drill *more* 
holes in my 800! but not just for fun... here's my latest wish-list-item 
for the aTomaHawk: input for 6+ voltage dividers, which can be assigned to 
any destination per patch.

for some, that would mean 2 pedal inputs! for some, that would mean a 
bunch of front-panel *KNOBS*! for some, knobs & pedals! maybe even some 
DIY d-beam or theremin controllers?!?! or virtual-reality gloves!?!? 
or....? more ideas here - http://music.columbia.edu/~douglas/pc1600mod/ 
and here - 
http://music.columbia.edu/~douglas/pc1600mod/pc1600mod.sensors.html

the 800 remains a budget synth, and most 800 owners aren't going to buy a 
hardware midi knob-box after upgrading. aTomaHawk support for knobs would 
give tremendous hands-on control, starting at about $2-5 per knob (for 
those inclined to do the extra work).

if this happens, i'd like to see support for 6-8 knobs (nothing wrong with 
more!). by support, i mean having a regulated +/- for the voltage 
dividers, and one input per linear pot. then leave it up to the end-user 
to decide if/how they want to install knobs, motion sensors, flex-sensors, 
light sensors, etc.

for sanity, the output from the knobs will have to have a buffer that 
dumps excess data. for bonus points, the knobs should send CCs to midi 
out... but that might be asking too much.

implementation-wise... if all of the parameters of the synth can respond 
to midi CC, then each patch would only have to add what CC each of the 
knobs is interpreted as. ie, if EG1 attack is tied to CC-73 then the user 
would select the menu for knob "A" and select "73" to control EG1 attack. 
or are we using N/RPNs for midi control? that can still be made to work.


-- 
         ...atom

  ________________________
  http://atom.smasher.org/
  762A 3B98 A3C3 96C9 C6B7 582A B88D 52E4 D9F5 7808
  -------------------------------------------------

 	"Government is not the solution to our problem,
 	 government is the problem."
 		-- Ronald Reagan
 		Inaugural Address, 20 Jan 1981

Well, how about parameter control via the joystick?

Left right motion would scroll through the parameters and up down
motion would increase or decrease the parameter value.

It's true that many Poly 800 owners are not going to own a hardware
MIDI controller. But many will own a PC with an editor of some sort.
So although I understand your desire to drill holes, I am not the one
that will be enabling this addiction of yours this time. :-)

Mike


--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Atom Smasher <atom@...> wrote:
>
> i know one of the motivating factors (or selling points?) of the
hawk-800, 
> and more-so the aTomaHawk, is that people won't have to drill holes in 
> their 800s. i guess that's a concern for some, but not me...
> 
> in fact, i just realized the opposite concern; i want to drill *more* 
> holes in my 800! but not just for fun... here's my latest
wish-list-item 
> for the aTomaHawk: input for 6+ voltage dividers, which can be
assigned to 
> any destination per patch.
> 
> for some, that would mean 2 pedal inputs! for some, that would mean a 
> bunch of front-panel *KNOBS*! for some, knobs & pedals! maybe even some 
> DIY d-beam or theremin controllers?!?! or virtual-reality gloves!?!? 
> or....? more ideas here - http://music.columbia.edu/~douglas/pc1600mod/ 
> and here - 
> http://music.columbia.edu/~douglas/pc1600mod/pc1600mod.sensors.html
> 
> the 800 remains a budget synth, and most 800 owners aren't going to
buy a 
> hardware midi knob-box after upgrading. aTomaHawk support for knobs
would 
> give tremendous hands-on control, starting at about $2-5 per knob (for 
> those inclined to do the extra work).
> 
> if this happens, i'd like to see support for 6-8 knobs (nothing
wrong with 
> more!). by support, i mean having a regulated +/- for the voltage 
> dividers, and one input per linear pot. then leave it up to the
end-user 
> to decide if/how they want to install knobs, motion sensors,
flex-sensors, 
> light sensors, etc.
> 
> for sanity, the output from the knobs will have to have a buffer that 
> dumps excess data. for bonus points, the knobs should send CCs to midi 
> out... but that might be asking too much.
> 
> implementation-wise... if all of the parameters of the synth can
respond 
> to midi CC, then each patch would only have to add what CC each of the 
> knobs is interpreted as. ie, if EG1 attack is tied to CC-73 then the
user 
> would select the menu for knob "A" and select "73" to control EG1
attack. 

> or are we using N/RPNs for midi control? that can still be made to work.
> 
> 
> -- 
>          ...atom
> 
>   ________________________
>   http://atom.smasher.org/
>   762A 3B98 A3C3 96C9 C6B7 582A B88D 52E4 D9F5 7808
>   -------------------------------------------------
> 
>  	"Government is not the solution to our problem,
>  	 government is the problem."
>  		-- Ronald Reagan
>  		Inaugural Address, 20 Jan 1981
>

On Tue, 29 Jul 2008, korgpolyex800 wrote:

> Well, how about parameter control via the joystick?
==============

joystick!?!? what joystick!?!?

no joystick on my ex800, but i can wire one into my pc1600x ;)



-- 
         ...atom

  ________________________
  http://atom.smasher.org/
  762A 3B98 A3C3 96C9 C6B7 582A B88D 52E4 D9F5 7808
  -------------------------------------------------

 	"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is
 	 our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
 		-- George "dubya" Bush, 13 Sep 2001

 	"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't
 	 care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
 		-- George "dubya" Bush, 13 Mar 2002

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Atom Smasher <atom@...> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 29 Jul 2008, korgpolyex800 wrote:
> 
> > Well, how about parameter control via the joystick?
> ==============
> 
> joystick!?!? what joystick!?!?
> 
> no joystick on my ex800, but i can wire one into my pc1600x ;)
>  

Well for those of us with Poly800s I think editing parameters with the 
joystick would be a lot more ergonomic than using the buttons!

its hard to think of not having a midi fader these days...  i think
joystick parameter editing would be a tough thing because of the build
quality of the original.  could it be made to do something as accurate
as this?



--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "zoinky420" <zoinky420@...> wrote:

>
> --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Atom Smasher <atom@> wrote:
> >
> > On Tue, 29 Jul 2008, korgpolyex800 wrote:
> > 
> > > Well, how about parameter control via the joystick?
> > ==============
> > 
> > joystick!?!? what joystick!?!?
> > 
> > no joystick on my ex800, but i can wire one into my pc1600x ;)
> >  
> 
> Well for those of us with Poly800s I think editing parameters with the 
> joystick would be a lot more ergonomic than using the buttons!
>

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Marcus Wilson <JB@...> wrote:
>
> that would totally ROCK!!!
> 
> 

yeah I think some people would be inclined to buy the kit for that 
feature alone, since editing parameters with the buttons is such a drag.

By the way, has anyone thought about offering a service to install 
kits? That is, a Poly 800 owner would buy the kit, have it sent to 
the installer, and ship his Poly 800 (or EX) to the installer, who 
would install the kit and ship it back. There are a lot of people who 
are afraid of or believe they are incapable of soldering.  I would 
think that somebody offering such a service would greatly expand the 
kit's potential userbase.  I'll consider doing it for Canadians after 
I get my kit ordered and installed.  

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "zoinky420" <zoinky420@...> wrote:
>
> --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Marcus Wilson <JB@> wrote:
> >
> > that would totally ROCK!!!
> > 
> > 
> 
> yeah I think some people would be inclined to buy the kit for that 
> feature alone, since editing parameters with the buttons is such a 
drag.
>

On Thu, 31 Jul 2008, zoinky420 wrote:

> By the way, has anyone thought about offering a service to install kits? 
> That is, a Poly 800 owner would buy the kit, have it sent to the 
> installer, and ship his Poly 800 (or EX) to the installer, who would 
> install the kit and ship it back. There are a lot of people who are 
> afraid of or believe they are incapable of soldering.  I would think 
> that somebody offering such a service would greatly expand the kit's 
> potential userbase.  I'll consider doing it for Canadians after I get my 
> kit ordered and installed.
==================

i've had a few people ask me if they could ship me their 800 so i could do 
a slayer/fm mod on it, and i've always just told them to print out the 
instructions and bring it to a guitar/amp repair shop to get a price 
quote. i guess that's worked, because i never heard back from anyone ;)


-- 
         ...atom

  ________________________
  http://atom.smasher.org/
  762A 3B98 A3C3 96C9 C6B7 582A B88D 52E4 D9F5 7808
  -------------------------------------------------

 	"MEATLESS" - US government standards allow the use of the
 	 word "Meatless" to allow up to 2% animal product and/or
 	 meat content.

I've received several requests to do some the HAWK-800 upgrade as well
and I have directed those people to their local music store or
electronics shop to find someone to do it for them.

I am toying with the idea of putting some AtomaHawk-800 modified
Poly's up on my website for sale. But I can't do that until I get the
AtomaHawk finished. If demand is great enough, I MAY consider doing a
return upgrade service. But it would be limited to the US only.

When the AtomaHawk is finished and ready for the Poly public, it may
be worth getting a list of technicians together that become part of a
world wide Poly upgrade community.

Mike.

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Atom Smasher <atom@...> wrote:
>
> On Thu, 31 Jul 2008, zoinky420 wrote:
> 
> > By the way, has anyone thought about offering a service to install
kits? 
> > That is, a Poly 800 owner would buy the kit, have it sent to the 
> > installer, and ship his Poly 800 (or EX) to the installer, who would 
> > install the kit and ship it back. There are a lot of people who are 
> > afraid of or believe they are incapable of soldering.  I would think 
> > that somebody offering such a service would greatly expand the kit's 
> > potential userbase.  I'll consider doing it for Canadians after I
get my 
> > kit ordered and installed.
> ==================
> 
> i've had a few people ask me if they could ship me their 800 so i
could do 

> a slayer/fm mod on it, and i've always just told them to print out the 
> instructions and bring it to a guitar/amp repair shop to get a price 
> quote. i guess that's worked, because i never heard back from anyone ;)
> 
> 
> -- 
>          ...atom
> 
>   ________________________
>   http://atom.smasher.org/
>   762A 3B98 A3C3 96C9 C6B7 582A B88D 52E4 D9F5 7808
>   -------------------------------------------------
> 
>  	"MEATLESS" - US government standards allow the use of the
>  	 word "Meatless" to allow up to 2% animal product and/or
>  	 meat content.
>