Discussion about the Korg PolySix synthesizer

Hi everyone,

I did a little searching on this topic but came up with a ton of useful but unrelated info.  So I'll ask here.

I bought a broken Polysix (aren't they all broken at some point?).

After playing with it for a while was able to coax some sounds out.  I discovered that there are four keys on the keyboard that work.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that aside from the dead keys the synth/effects engines are fully functional. Inspecting the battery shows that the leakage doesn't appear to be too extensive, but there is a little damage.

So I'm about to undertake the battery repair but I was wondering, could the battery leak cause all those keys to stop working, or might that be a problem with key contacts?

Also, assuming I'm able to get the synth working again, will a computer-based oscilloscope work for tuning the voices?

Thank you!

Hi, and welcome to the group!

On 16 sep. 2011, at 18:24, antithetical2 wrote:

> Hi everyone,
> 
> I did a little searching on this topic but came up with a ton of useful but unrelated info.  So I'll ask here.
> 
> I bought a broken Polysix (aren't they all broken at some point?).
> 
> After playing with it for a while was able to coax some sounds out.  I discovered that there are four keys on the keyboard that work.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that aside from the dead keys the synth/effects engines are fully functional. Inspecting the battery shows that the leakage doesn't appear to be too extensive, but there is a little damage.
> 
> So I'm about to undertake the battery repair but I was wondering, could the battery leak cause all those keys to stop working, or might that be a problem with key contacts?

I would take it one step at a time. Fix the battery first, and as soon as possible to prevent more damage. If the keys are still not working after that, it might just be a matter of cleaning the contacts beneath the keys. In any case, the keyboard scanner is not on the board with the battery.

> Also, assuming I'm able to get the synth working again, will a computer-based oscilloscope work for tuning the voices?

Probably not accurate enough, unless it can do frequency measurements within .1 %. And then you need to do a lot of conversions from frequency <> notes. You really need some sort of tuner. There are now really nice (and cheap) tuners available for iPhone and probably also for other smartphones. I use Cleartune on an iPhone.

Kind regards,
Ben

I would assume first that the key contacts will clean up okay with some
alcohol on a cotton swab. The keyboard scanner/assigner circuit is not on
the board with the battery, and does not usually get damaged. You need to
remove the keyboard and remove the contact circuit board from the bottom.
The contacts are carbon buttons on rubber strips so you need to carefully
remove these strips. The carbon buttons make contact with gold-plated pads
on the circuit board and the gold will need to be cleaned with alcohol as
well. Once you get everything cleaned and back together, most if not all
keys should work. Some may need to be cleaned twice. It's a lot easier to
test other things if you know the key you are pressing is one that actually
works.

 

If some contacts still do not work after a couple of cleanings, it is
possible that the carbon buttons have deteriorated so they are no longer
conductive. I think the fumes from the battery can do this in extreme cases.
If this is the case, my favorite fix is to use the new stick-on carbon
buttons from Bob at Sounddoctorin.net. Not cheap, but work every time. Well,
almost every time. I had one Polysix where somebody had managed to scrub the
gold off the contact board and nothing would make it work again.

 

I haven't used a computer based oscilloscope but I don't see any reason why
it wouldn't work, especially if it can tell you the frequency of the wave it
is displaying.

 

Don Backshall

 

  _____  

From: PolySix@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PolySix@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
antithetical2
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2011 12:24 PM
To: PolySix@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [PolySix] Newbie with the usual questions (dead keys)

 

  

Hi everyone,

I did a little searching on this topic but came up with a ton of useful but
unrelated info. So I'll ask here.

I bought a broken Polysix (aren't they all broken at some point?).

After playing with it for a while was able to coax some sounds out. I
discovered that there are four keys on the keyboard that work. I was
pleasantly surprised to discover that aside from the dead keys the
synth/effects engines are fully functional. Inspecting the battery shows
that the leakage doesn't appear to be too extensive, but there is a little
damage.

So I'm about to undertake the battery repair but I was wondering, could the
battery leak cause all those keys to stop working, or might that be a
problem with key contacts?

Also, assuming I'm able to get the synth working again, will a
computer-based oscilloscope work for tuning the voices?

Thank you!





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Wow!  Excellent replies, and fast! Thanks so much!  This is great info.  It didn't even occur to me that the fumes from the leaking battery might cause problems elsewhere.  One of the working keys was acting like it had bad contact, but I just found it strange that so many of the keys are out.

I'm going to go home and clip out the battery tonight and clean up the board.  I've breezed through OldCrow's repair instructions, I'll read them in detail and begin work, hopefully this weekend.

I'm excited, from what I've heard so far (from my four working notes) the Polysix is right up my alley. Gritty, a little angry. I think that in 2 hours I've played with it so far I've heard about everything it has to offer, but I liked it all. To me simple is good. 32 patches? Who needs more?

Now I'm rambling.  Thanks again, more info to come!


--- In PolySix@yahoogroups.com, "backshall1" <backshall1@...> wrote:

>
> I would assume first that the key contacts will clean up okay with some
> alcohol on a cotton swab. The keyboard scanner/assigner circuit is not on
> the board with the battery, and does not usually get damaged. You need to
> remove the keyboard and remove the contact circuit board from the bottom.
> The contacts are carbon buttons on rubber strips so you need to carefully
> remove these strips. The carbon buttons make contact with gold-plated pads
> on the circuit board and the gold will need to be cleaned with alcohol as
> well. Once you get everything cleaned and back together, most if not all
> keys should work. Some may need to be cleaned twice. It's a lot easier to
> test other things if you know the key you are pressing is one that actually
> works.
> 
>  
> 
> If some contacts still do not work after a couple of cleanings, it is
> possible that the carbon buttons have deteriorated so they are no longer
> conductive. I think the fumes from the battery can do this in extreme cases.
> If this is the case, my favorite fix is to use the new stick-on carbon
> buttons from Bob at Sounddoctorin.net. Not cheap, but work every time. Well,
> almost every time. I had one Polysix where somebody had managed to scrub the
> gold off the contact board and nothing would make it work again.
> 
>  
> 
> I haven't used a computer based oscilloscope but I don't see any reason why
> it wouldn't work, especially if it can tell you the frequency of the wave it
> is displaying.
> 
>  
> 
> Don Backshall
> 
>  
> 
>   _____  
> 
> From: PolySix@yahoogroups.com [mailto:PolySix@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
> antithetical2
> Sent: Friday, September 16, 2011 12:24 PM
> To: PolySix@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [PolySix] Newbie with the usual questions (dead keys)
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I did a little searching on this topic but came up with a ton of useful but
> unrelated info. So I'll ask here.
> 
> I bought a broken Polysix (aren't they all broken at some point?).
> 
> After playing with it for a while was able to coax some sounds out. I
> discovered that there are four keys on the keyboard that work. I was
> pleasantly surprised to discover that aside from the dead keys the
> synth/effects engines are fully functional. Inspecting the battery shows
> that the leakage doesn't appear to be too extensive, but there is a little
> damage.
> 
> So I'm about to undertake the battery repair but I was wondering, could the
> battery leak cause all those keys to stop working, or might that be a
> problem with key contacts?
> 
> Also, assuming I'm able to get the synth working again, will a
> computer-based oscilloscope work for tuning the voices?
> 
> Thank you!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>