Korg Poly800/EX800 Users

First question on the Mk1.

How long should I expect a fresh set of Duracells to maintain the patch memory if I'm always
running the 800 from AC?

If I do the watch battery mod, how long will **that** battery last?

Hubcap Brian

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "Brian Rost" <hubcapbrian@...> wrote:

>
> First question on the Mk1.
>
> How long should I expect a fresh set of Duracells to maintain the

patch memory if I'm always

> running the 800 from AC?

About as long as the batteries would take to loose charge if they were
being stored in a desk drawer.

>
> If I do the watch battery mod, how long will **that** battery last?

I have no idea but I am going to take a guess for entertainment
purposes. I say 2 months. Someone should set it up and we can make a
game out of it, like guessing the amount of jellybeans in a jar.

On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 1:44 AM, zoinky420 <zoinky420@...> wrote:

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "Brian Rost" <hubcapbrian@...> wrote:
>
> First question on the Mk1.
>
> How long should I expect a fresh set of Duracells to maintain the
patch memory if I'm always
> running the 800 from AC?

About as long as the batteries would take to loose charge if they were
being stored in a desk drawer.

>
> If I do the watch battery mod, how long will **that** battery last?

I have no idea but I am going to take a guess for entertainment
purposes. I say 2 months. Someone should set it up and we can make a
game out of it, like guessing the amount of jellybeans in a jar.

On Wed, 2009-01-07 at 04:39 +0000, Brian Rost wrote:

> First question on the Mk1.
>
> How long should I expect a fresh set of Duracells to maintain the patch memory if I'm always
> running the 800 from AC?

As the main batteries? Shouldn't make a difference. If you've got the
mains adaptor plugged in, the batteries are disconnected.

> If I do the watch battery mod, how long will **that** battery last?

Depends how big the watch battery is. The Poly-800 has a coin cell
battery on the motherboard already, which looks like it could be a nicad
(although mine hasn't started leaking corrosive gunk yet). There's also
a crude trickle charger in the power supply stage. What I tend to do is
replace the coin cell or lithium cell batteries in old synths with a
couple of AA batteries - alkalines have a long shelf-life, so they're
ideal for this because you're only drawing a few microamps with the
power off. You do need to check the circuit diagram to make sure that
there isn't a nicad charger trying to charge them up though!

Gordon

On Wed, 7 Jan 2009, Brian Rost wrote:

> How long should I expect a fresh set of Duracells to maintain the patch
> memory if I'm always running the 800 from AC?
>
> If I do the watch battery mod, how long will **that** battery last?

==================

i'm surprised no one pointed out that the HAWK-800 mod doesn't need
batteries (why can i not help thinking of dr emmett brown when i say
that?).

more info - http://patrioticduo.tripod.com/hawk800/

i'm not sure if you'll want to do the hawk mod just to get rid of the
backup battery, but it does add some other useful features too ;)

> My other synths are currently a Yamaha Motif ES and a Korg Radias.
> Synths and home recording are just a hobby for me, but I do gig
> regularly as a bassist.

=====================

welcome aboard. it's not everyday that i meet a guitarist (or bassist)
who's not afraid of synthesizers.


--
...atom

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

"Aerial bombardment is never proportionate, measured or
targeted. It evolves a logic of its own, an escalation
of horror similar to that unleashed by the terrorist.
Like all distant and indiscriminate violence, it breeds
a violent response. It is the dumbest weapon of war."
-- Simon Jenkins
They Opted to Bomb - It Had Better Work

On Thu, 2009-01-08 at 00:28 +1300, Atom Smasher wrote:

>
> welcome aboard. it's not everyday that i meet a guitarist (or bassist)
> who's not afraid of synthesizers.

<waves>

Gordonjcp

On Wed, 7 Jan 2009, Gordon JC Pearce MM3YEQ wrote:

>> welcome aboard. it's not everyday that i meet a guitarist (or bassist)
>> who's not afraid of synthesizers.
>
> <waves>

=================

well, i wish there were more guys & gals like ya'll. i've seen so much
good hi-tech MIDIfied guitar stuff that never got any good follow up
because most guitarists fear the technology, and most synthesizerists
don't bother looking at guitar toys. i guess i can also blame the
guitar-centric companies that made some of those products, and completely
failed to market them beyond guitarists.


--
...atom

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

"Any sufficiently advanced technology
is indistinguishable from magic."
-- Arthur C. Clarke

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Atom Smasher <atom@...> wrote:

> i'm not sure if you'll want to do the hawk mod just to get rid of the
> backup battery, but it does add some other useful features too ;)

I know all about the mod and will consider it after I've decided if the 800 is a keeper.

> welcome aboard. it's not everyday that i meet a guitarist (or bassist)
> who's not afraid of synthesizers.

I'm a geek by day...electrical engineer doing microprocessor designs so I naturally gravitated
to synths a long time ago.

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Atom Smasher <atom@...> wrote:

>
>
> well, i wish there were more guys & gals like ya'll. i've seen so

much

> good hi-tech MIDIfied guitar stuff that never got any good follow up
> because most guitarists fear the technology, and most synthesizerists
> don't bother looking at guitar toys. i guess i can also blame the
> guitar-centric companies that made some of those products, and

completely

> failed to market them beyond guitarists.
>
>

C'mon this isn't 1979 and we're considering burning our Boston albums
because the keyboards make it too much like disco. The musical-genius
playing all the instruments on his album isn't exactly an unusual
senario anymore. In fact, that could be why midi-guitar never took
off. Doing midi on guitar is just silly. You have to play so slow and
deliberately for any of them to track accurately that you'd end up
looking like the worst guitarist around even if you're not. The only
useful application of midi for guitarists is program-change footpedals
to cycle through amp-modelling/effects patches. Those pedals can also
be useful for players of other instruments and usually when the
instrumentalist reaches the limitations requiring it, he finds out
about it. So I'm not so sure there is a significant marketing problem.

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "Alec Jahn" <ocedtotehmax@...>
wrote:

>
> 2 months? Maybe that's why my patches are already toast.
>
> What's the difference between a cr2032 and, say, the slightly

larger battery

> found in other old synths, the latter of which would last many

years?

>

A lot more capacity is the difference. It's like what's the
difference between a triple-A cell and a D-cell. They're the same
voltage, but the D-cell has a lot more power stored in it than the
triple-A (at least theoretically- some cheap D-cells from China are
triple-A's in big mostly-empty D-cell cases, and most if not all
rechargables larger than double-A are just double-A's in bigger
casings).

> On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 1:44 AM, zoinky420 <zoinky420@...> wrote:
>
> > --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com <korgpolyex%

40yahoogroups.com>,

> > "Brian Rost" <hubcapbrian@> wrote:
> > >
> > > First question on the Mk1.
> > >
> > > How long should I expect a fresh set of Duracells to maintain

the

> > patch memory if I'm always
> > > running the 800 from AC?
> >
> > About as long as the batteries would take to loose charge if they

were

> > being stored in a desk drawer.
> >
> > >
> > > If I do the watch battery mod, how long will **that** battery

last?

> >
> > I have no idea but I am going to take a guess for entertainment
> > purposes. I say 2 months. Someone should set it up and we can

make a

> > game out of it, like guessing the amount of jellybeans in a jar.
> >
> >
> >
>

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

>
> --- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "Alec Jahn" <ocedtotehmax@>
> wrote:
> >
> > 2 months? Maybe that's why my patches are already toast.
> >
> > What's the difference between a cr2032 and, say, the slightly
> larger battery
> > found in other old synths, the latter of which would last many
> years?
> >
>
> A lot more capacity is the difference. It's like what's the
> difference between a triple-A cell and a D-cell. They're the same
> voltage, but the D-cell has a lot more power stored in it than the
> triple-A (at least theoretically- some cheap D-cells from China are
> triple-A's in big mostly-empty D-cell cases, and most if not all
> rechargables larger than double-A are just double-A's in bigger
> casings).
>

Sorry, I assumed that the Poly 800 works in a similar manner as the
casio cz-1, in that the batteries in the battery compartment are used
to keep the patch memory, but Gordon's reply suggests that is not the
case. The Poly 800 already has a cr2032 so that's what is keeping
the patch memory, and it can last up to 10 years. Those bigger
batteries in some synths are rechargable ni-cads that get recharged
when the synth is plugged into the wall. They are not suitable for
the Poly 800 without modification to charge the battery. In any
case, there is no need to replace the cr2032 in the Poly 800 if patch
storage works. Replacing it will wipe the current patch memory
(though as Atom Smasher points out, if you use the Hawk kit you won't
need the battery at all anymore).

On Wed, 2009-01-07 at 22:41 +0000, zoinky420 wrote:

> Sorry, I assumed that the Poly 800 works in a similar manner as the
> casio cz-1, in that the batteries in the battery compartment are used
> to keep the patch memory, but Gordon's reply suggests that is not the
> case. The Poly 800 already has a cr2032 so that's what is keeping

I think I had batteries in my Poly-800 *once*. They went flat in about
half an hour, and I never bought new ones.

I don't use batteries in my CZ-1000 either, because it's simpler to just
blat the patches I want across to it whenever I use it.

Gordon

On Wed, 7 Jan 2009, zoinky420 wrote:

> C'mon this isn't 1979 and we're considering burning our Boston albums
> because the keyboards make it too much like disco. The musical-genius
> playing all the instruments on his album isn't exactly an unusual
> senario anymore. In fact, that could be why midi-guitar never took off.
> Doing midi on guitar is just silly. You have to play so slow and
> deliberately for any of them to track accurately that you'd end up
> looking like the worst guitarist around even if you're not. The only
> useful application of midi for guitarists is program-change footpedals
> to cycle through amp-modelling/effects patches. Those pedals can also
> be useful for players of other instruments and usually when the
> instrumentalist reaches the limitations requiring it, he finds out about
> it. So I'm not so sure there is a significant marketing problem.

================

i'm not talking about midi-guitars, as such... i mean more generally
guitar things that use midi; switchers, effects, etc. there have been some
great midi controlled switches that have been exclusively marketed to
guitarists (who, FTMP, don't even want to understand MIDI and stop
listening as soon as they hear "MIDI") but they would also be of great
value to a lot of people doing synth or studio work. i always asked the
guys in the guitar shops why there isn't more stuff like that, and why so
many different companies seem to come out with first generation stuff and
then drop the line... the only good answers i ever got, and this from the
guitar guys in the guitar shops, was that 99% of guitarists don't know
about hi-tech, and don't wanna know about it.

combined with the deservedly bad reputation that was earned by the early
"pitch tracker" guitar->midi converters, most guitar players have an
instinctive aversion to *anything* MIDI.

i'm also sure that the people on this list who make music with strings
tied to a piece of wood are among the 1% who do not fear the technology.


--
...atom

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

"One reason why the United States is held in such low esteem
in other parts of the world today is because we are seen as
hypocritical: We say we favor the rule of law, but we violate
it when it suits us. We are against torture, but we won't
unequivocally commit never to practice it. We pressure
regimes to adhere to international human rights standards,
and then we turn over terrorism suspects to their security
agencies, knowing full well these suspects will be tortured.
We say we favor democracy and human rights, but we ally with
abusive regimes whenever we feel we need to. We vow to
promote individual freedom as the central purpose of our
foreign policy, and then we violate individual freedom with
this secret, warrantless surveillance."
-- Larry Diamond

My Poly800 has no internal battery, and used the batteries for patch storage. I think there is some variation in the Mark 1 models?

They last for ever - the danger is they go old and leaky so you need to be strict and set a date to replace them. I wired the battery compartment up instead to a PP3 connector (same 9v as the original 6 by 1.5V cells) which I found easier to handle.

Cheers
Neil

zoinky420 wrote:

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogro ups.com, "zoinky420" <zoinky420@. ..> wrote:
>
> --- In korgpolyex@yahoogro ups.com, "Alec Jahn" <ocedtotehmax@ >
> wrote:
> >
> > 2 months? Maybe that's why my patches are already toast.
> >
> > What's the difference between a cr2032 and, say, the slightly
> larger battery
> > found in other old synths, the latter of which would last many
> years?
> >
>
>

Sorry, I assumed that the Poly 800 works in a similar manner as the
casio cz-1, in that the batteries in the battery compartment are used
to keep the patch memory, but Gordon's reply suggests that is not the
case. The Poly 800 already has a cr2032 so that's what is keeping
the patch memory, and it can last up to 10 years. Those bigger
batteries in some synths are rechargable ni-cads that get recharged
when the synth is plugged into the wall. They are not suitable for
the Poly 800 without modification to charge the battery. In any
case, there is no need to replace the cr2032 in the Poly 800 if patch
storage works. Replacing it will wipe the current patch memory
(though as Atom Smasher points out, if you use the Hawk kit you won't
need the battery at all anymore).

On Wed, 7 Jan 2009, zoinky420 wrote:

> C'mon this isn't 1979 and we're considering burning our Boston albums
> because the keyboards make it too much like disco. The musical-genius
> playing all the instruments on his album isn't exactly an unusual
> senario anymore. In fact, that could be why midi-guitar never took off.
> Doing midi on guitar is just silly. You have to play so slow and
> deliberately for any of them to track accurately that you'd end up
> looking like the worst guitarist around even if you're not. The only
> useful application of midi for guitarists is program-change footpedals
> to cycle through amp-modelling/ effects patches. Those pedals can also
> be useful for players of other instruments and usually when the
> instrumentalist reaches the limitations requiring it, he finds out about
> it. So I'm not so sure there is a significant marketing problem.
============ ====

i'm not talking about midi-guitars, as such... i mean more generally
guitar things that use midi; switchers, effects, etc. there have been some
great midi controlled switches that have been exclusively marketed to
guitarists (who, FTMP, don't even want to understand MIDI and stop
listening as soon as they hear "MIDI") but they would also be of great
value to a lot of people doing synth or studio work. i always asked the
guys in the guitar shops why there isn't more stuff like that, and why so
many different companies seem to come out with first generation stuff and
then drop the line... the only good answers i ever got, and this from the
guitar guys in the guitar shops, was that 99% of guitarists don't know
about hi-tech, and don't wanna know about it.

combined with the deservedly bad reputation that was earned by the early
"pitch tracker" guitar->midi converters, most guitar players have an
instinctive aversion to *anything* MIDI.

i'm also sure that the people on this list who make music with strings
tied to a piece of wood are among the 1% who do not fear the technology.

--
...atom

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

"One reason why the United States is held in such low esteem
in other parts of the world today is because we are seen as
hypocritical: We say we favor the rule of law, but we violate
it when it suits us. We are against torture, but we won't
unequivocally commit never to practice it. We pressure
regimes to adhere to international human rights standards,
and then we turn over terrorism suspects to their security
agencies, knowing full well these suspects will be tortured.
We say we favor democracy and human rights, but we ally with
abusive regimes whenever we feel we need to. We vow to
promote individual freedom as the central purpose of our
foreign policy, and then we violate individual freedom with
this secret, warrantless surveillance. "
-- Larry Diamond

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, Atom Smasher <atom@...> wrote:

>
> i'm not talking about midi-guitars, as such... i mean more generally
> guitar things that use midi; switchers, effects, etc. there have been

some

> great midi controlled switches that have been exclusively marketed to
> guitarists

y'know I think the companies that make these things tend to be midi-
illiterate and that's a big part of the problem because they design
midi controllers that are kludgy and not very versatile which makes
them hard to use. I think the software plugin boom has done a lot to
improve midi controllers, though, which is kind of ironic since a lot
of people figured softsynths and DAWs would kill midi.

--- In korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com, "electrohead2000@..."
<electrohead2000@...> wrote:

>
> when none of them sound as good as a tube screamer

OOps, yeah, if I had continued the time line that ended my post:

"The only useful application of midi for guitarists is program-change
footpedals to cycle through amp-modelling/effects patches... usually
when the instrumentalist reaches the limitations requiring it, he finds
out about it. "

I would have continued with:

"... then after 6 months of frustratingly trying to dial in his 'killer
tone' on his Line 6 modelling amp but never quite getting there, he'll
end up selling it on Craigslist and buying a Tubescreamer pedal
instead."

Sort of makes me appreciate a guitar player like The Motor City Madman, who uses next to no FX/pedals (and he even points that out on his self-titled debut album). I really question the need/desire to have much more than delay, reverb, slight compression and fuzz. It's called "guitar multi 5" on my Korg D1600. Once I bought that D1600, all of my expensive pedals found a nice place on the shelf.
Between my Strat and Les Paul, I pretty much cover the spectrum. Sad to admit, though, I rarely record anything on the D1600 because it's a pain in the rear to navigate the menus on it's tiny screen! (FL Studio 8 Producer to the rescue)

To: korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com
From: zoinky420@...
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 02:52:08 +0000
Subject: [korgpolyex] Re: guitars, tech & midi

Most synths use either a CR2032 or BR series 3 volt lithium.
I've changed out both styles. These last for years due to the mini-microamps the memory draws when not powered.

The biggest issue is that older batteries NEED to be replaced before they leak on crucial circuits.
If you dont ,there's either a BIG repair bill or a dead synth like the SIEL units I've tried to fix

I found out purely by accident what that scenario looks like. Every AA battery in my microKorg puked (they were evidently dead, much to my surprise). They were Duracell Alkaline coppertop batteries. So, I carefully plucked them out with needlenose pliers, and got busy with a box of q-tips and some white vinegar. The vinegar did a pretty good job of cleaning up the nastiness.

Then, I reloaded the mKorg with rechargeable ni-cads.

Gor

To: korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com
From: painintheamp@...
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 07:32:00 -0800
Subject: [korgpolyex] Re: Mk 1 battery life Q

On Thu, 8 Jan 2009, LARRY HAWKE wrote:

> I found out purely by accident what that scenario looks like. Every AA
> battery in my microKorg puked (they were evidently dead, much to my
> surprise). They were Duracell Alkaline coppertop batteries. So, I
> carefully plucked them out with needlenose pliers, and got busy with a
> box of q-tips and some white vinegar. The vinegar did a pretty good job
> of cleaning up the nastiness.

==============

the *BEST* thing i've found for removing battery crud is a "fiberglass
pen". google for it, and if you can find one they usually cost about
$10US.

you may have to take apart the device being cleaned if the battery crud is
adjacent to plastic parts. the pen is basically a pocket sandblaster, so
go slow at first until you get a feel for it.

after the crud is blasted away, use contact cleaner to flush away the
dust.


--
...atom

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

"Unchecked police and military power is a security
threat -- just as important a threat as unchecked
terrorism. There is no reason to sacrifice the
former to obtain the latter, and there are very
good reasons not to."
-- Bruce Schneier, 15 July 2004