I must admit to being very disappointed when I first got my 2nd-hand Poly-800 out of it's box. I initially wasn't at all impressed by the build quality, and the fact that it didn't have any knobs and sliders on it (well, apart from the Volume knob and tuning slider- but those don't really count). I've grown to love it over the years, though. My P-800 does look a bit battered now, I have to say, but that's more to do with being dropped a couple of times. My EX-800 is still going strong though, and stronger than ever, with the Hawk-800 mod, and hopefully even stronger with the AtomaHawk board (just put in my order).
a|x
--- On Wed, 11/2/09, LARRY HAWKE <
gorgarh@...> wrote:
> From: LARRY HAWKE <
gorgarh@...>
> Subject: RE: [korgpolyex] Re: Jupiter vs Poly
> To:
korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com> Date: Wednesday, 11 February, 2009, 10:04 PM
> I'm not so sure I agree with the "cheap
> plastic" construction opinion of the Poly-800.
> Mine is at least 20 years old, and it's in near-perfect
> condition with wear only near the joystick.
>; I think it's very well constructed, and is at least as
> sturdy as my R3.
>
> Gor
> "Just my opinion....I've been
> wrong...before!" - Dennis Miller
>
> To:
korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com
> From:
korgpolyex800@...> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:01:11 -0800
> Subject: Re: [korgpolyex] Re: Jupiter vs Poly
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>;
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Well, then don't do anything at all but
> rather go hang out with friend entropy. :p
>
> No, I have never had the pleasure of playing a Jupiter-8. I
> guess there's a mystique for me that the Jupiter-8 is
> some sort of prophetic messiah type of synthesizer. Wizard
> of Jupiter-8 kinda thing.
>
> The way you're describing it sounds like the Jupiter-8
> is made out of play doh!
>
> "flying by the seat of your faders" - very, very
> funny!
>
>; "I'll set up an A/B test of the Jupiter-8 sounding
> its brightest vs.
>
> the Poly800 once I get it back in one piece and you'll
> be amazed trust me."
>
> But will I be amazed in a good way?
>
> Mike.
>
>
>;
> From: serotonic_sound <
sero-tonic@...>
> To:
korgpolyex@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 1:16:30 PM
> Subject: [korgpolyex] Re: Jupiter vs Poly
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > OK, I love the Poly but you are going to
> have to explain to me how
>
> the Jupiter-8 is not capable of making which sounds.
>
>
>
> Actually, I don't have to do anything, but I will... :p
>
>
>
> > What sounds can the Poly make that a Jupiter-8 cannot?
>
>
>
> Have you ever played a Jupiter-8 for any length of time?
>
>
>
> Seriously, plain and simple the Jupter-8 is pure creamy
> liquid awesome
>
> drippy oooze, deep, dark and complex.
>
>
>
> The Jupiter-6 sounds totally different, the architecture is
> basically
>
> the same so it sounds similar, but the components are
> totally
>
> different. It is really, totally, totally, fully,
> different
>
> sounding...way way zingier and brighter--more modern, kind
> of
>
> electro-psi sounding by nature and it only has a 24db
> filter which is
>
> too bad...but I still love it...
>
>
>
> The poly-800 when you open up the filter and stack all the
> square
>
> waves up (and perhaps put it in chord mode if you're
> feeling really
>
> sassy) is like this rad kind of cheap but still massively
> huge buzzy
>
> distorted zippy sound that the Jupiter-8 can't even get
> close too
>
> making...By "close", realize that I'm
> speaking in the company of a
>
> bunch of old synth fanatics. :)
>
>
>
> Though, trust me if somebody held a shotgun to my Jupiters
> I'd plead
>
> with them to take me out out first, or use the poly-800 as
> a shield
>
> all the while cursing its cheap plastic construction ;)
>
>
>
> > Do you have any recorded audio of these sounds that we
> could listen to?
>
>;
>
> I just got my poly-800 a day ago, and I'm working on
> the mods (so far
>
> so good), but like I said I';ll make a bunch of patches
> and upload
>
> them.... You sort of have to make patches with this thing,
> instead of
>
> just flying by the seat of your faders---because of the
> horrible
>
> interface... .
>
>
>
> Anyway, I don't often use very complex sounding patches
> for the music
>
> I make...And I like trying to pull the distinctive pure
> sound of the
>
> raw oscillators and filters from different synths...
>
>
>
> I'll set up an A/B test of the Jupiter-8 sounding its
> brightest vs.
>
> the Poly800 once I get it back in one piece and you'll
> be amazed trust me.
>
>
>
> >
>
> > Mike.
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > ____________ _________ _________ __
>
> > From: serotonic_sound
>
> > To: korgpolyex@yahoogro
ups.com>
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 3:47:25 AM
>
> > Subject: [korgpolyex] Hello poly-800 world, my story,
> ( and missing
>
> joystick. :( )
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >; Hey folks, I'm really glad I found this forum!
> Nice work everyone.!
>
> >
>
> > EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: I love this synth! But, I'm
> missing the joystick
>
> and need some info
>
> > on rigging up some resistors to run in tune without
> it.
>
> >
>
> > (Ok first, I'm not totally illiterate, just really
> excited by
>
> good/fun hardware synths)
>
> >
>
> > So, I recently was given a tattered old poly-800 mk1
>; from a
>
> friend...Free is a really good
>
> > price!
>
> >
>
> > I was really skeptical about this unit when I read
> about it and even
>
>; more skeptical when I
>
> > got my hands on it and was loading it into my car
> because it felt
>
> like a total cheap piece
>
> > of sh**t. Plastic unit with crappy buttons and that
> stupid
>
> programming reference stencil
>
> > area that should have been filled with a million knobs
> and
>
> switches...anyway. ..
>
> >;
>
> > I got it home, hacked together a power supply to turn
> it on...and
>
> you know the
>
> > story...nothing, no sound....... ....oh wait if I hold
> the keys down
>
> I heard some kind of low
>
> > fequency something coming in on a really slow
> envelope...I
>
> think...So I quickly referenced
>
> > the manual, which amazingly was part of the deal, to
> put it into
>
> programming mode and
>
> > set up everything to make a simple square wave,
> unfiltered, sane
>
> adsr settings...and sure
>
> > enough...success. ..major success!!! It actually
> worked...nice!
>
> >
>
> > Oh dear, then I read about the battery issue in the
> manual....WHAT?
>
> NO INTERNAL
>
> > BATTERY? You must be kidding me, seriously? come
> on...so I unplugged
>
> the dc power,
>
> > plugged it back in, sure enough, everything was
> erased...no really,
>
> come on, really?
>
> > seriously? come on korg...really? YES REALLY.
>
> >
>
> > First order of business 3v lithium mod... (THANKS
> GUYS!)...works
>
> like a charm... Yes one
>
> > step closer to a "real synth"...
>
> >
>
> > Anyway, this synth, for certain applications,
> absolutely kills! I
>
> love it to death...the factory
>
> > presets are ridiculously bad...seriously all of them
> (even patch 15
>
> ;) This thing sounds
>
> > best when you open it right up loud and pure...I
> REALLY, REALLY,
>
> love the oscillators on
>
> > this thing...and the filter sounds really good, but
> I'm going to do
>
> the 12db mod asap, I
>
> > don't like 24db filters personally for the music I
> make...I prefer
>
> the more acidy sound of
>
> > 12db...
>
> >
>
> > I have a Jupiter-8 and a Juptiter-6, and I hate to
> admit it, but
>
> this thing will make killer
>
> > sounds not possible on those two machines...very
> complimentary.
>
> ..Retro Electro
>
> > madness!!!!! ...
>
> >
>
> > Maybe you can tell...I love old keyboards...
> YYEEEEAAAAAAAHHH
>
> HHHH...
>
> >
>
> > I'll upload some good "housey-technoy-
> elctroey- acidy-discoey-
>
> psy-ee" patches for
>
> > everyone soon...
>
> >
>
> > Ok, long, long, story short. (Thanks for listening)..
> .
>
> >
>
> > THE REAL MEAT OF THIS MESSAGE:
>
> >
>
> > I'm missing the joystick unit completely, its not
> just broken, its
>
> gone, the whole unit... I
>
> > can stare down the square hole and see the connectors
> hanging there.
>
> >
>
> >; 1) I think the pitch of the unit is being thrown off
> because there's
>
> no resistance on the
>
> > pitch mod joystick, it's sounds about 5 tones off,
> yeah?
>
> >
>
> > 2) Would somebody be kind enough to tell me what
> resistors I should
>
> wire up to what
>
> > leads to simulate the joystick being in the center?
>; Please? I'll
>
> buy you a case of beer or
>
> > lunch, or write you a song, or something... I promise.
>
> >
>
> > 3) Does anybody want to sell me a joystick unit? or
> know where I
>
> can get one?
>
> >
>
> > Peace everybody, happy synthing... :) :) :) :) :) :)
>
> >
