Bad Gear - Korg Poly-800 - 80s Throwback Synth 

Yeah, we're born to feel!

@@AudioPilz find me one with 29,95 plus shipping and I will take it

Yeah, it made (somewhat) polyphonic synthesis affordable for the masses

even more ended with that synth ;-)

Match made in heaven. I bought the Porta studio as to learn about multitracking and I've made so much with so little. I love it.

Wish I d got this to eat better at Uni

I usually upload longer versions on Patreon (no plug;)

@@AudioPilz it's hard to make electronic music when you're not plugged in. /dadjoke

@@AudioPilz Well, that's decided then... as soon as payday comes around, I'll be signing up! Your no plug has backfired horribly :)

i still think he should start a separate youtube channel just with his jams/videos 😎😁

Music theory has never been a strength of mine

...aaaaaand JMJ!!!

And don't forget current greats who give a nod to the past, like Drab Majesty. They still tour with one. Bless them.

I'm not sure what other tech differences there were, but the Juno had much richer sounds back in the day.

I doubt Nick Rhodes used it

Do the MoogSlayer mod and filter mod and you get instantly accessible resonance and cutoff as well as adding a 12db that can be toggled between 12db and 24db liven with just a switch. You can get REALLY cool sh*t with the upcoming Atomahawk832 mod.

Great 80s setup!!! You must have been the coolest person around!!!

Thank you!!!

Any albums or tracks where the Poly800 can be heard that you would recommend?

@@ringtangting Cybotron - Clear

@@davidhayes8883 Huh, never realized or thought about an poly800 being used in that one. Will have to give it a spin to hear what you mean. I know the 800 has been used for techno/electro stuff, but I never heard it as such.

another who Atkins used is the Korg 707 .

Interesting, haven't listened to the song for ages

@@AudioPilz I don't tend to seek it out, but I will listen to it from time to time. But, I always end up thinking about that school performance, just because they got so much closer than I could have possibly expected.

Agreed! Very unique sound!

Why did you give it back? ;)

@@AudioPilz i had no choice 😄. But few years ago i bought the « desktop version » of it, which has some extras (but don’t remember which ones). Unfortunately the mojo was gone, not so impressed any more and sold it pretty fast 🙂. If i remember well, you can add a mod (hawk?) to be able to tweak the parameters from a midi box or computer (with a maxforlive or ctrlr interface for example). But i had no energy to do it due to its limited sound…

Thanks! Do it!

I think that stuff was pretty hip back then

7-segment displays looked pretty "futuristic" back then. Nobody seemed to realize that the the future would be in HD.

Maybe make some music with it? ;)

Nice man! I still have a mint Poly 61 sitting on its own stand in my studio room at home. I use it quite a bit actually. I have a Poly 6 too. I'd like to get a Poly 800 though. Also want to get another DW8000

@@AudioPilz It's more rewarding to COLLECT synths and watch them. :-)

I saw ''karma'' and I thought you were talking about the Korg Karma..

That's very kind of him! Very usable tones!

Thanks! Yeah, people were processing the hell out of these things back then

Cheese for days!!!

Which flavour of cheese though? Limburger or havarti? If it's the former, that's pretty damn cheesy. If it's the latter it's only mildly so.

Thanks! The chorus is indeed great!

Yeah, only heard good things about that one

How easy is it to install? I have the EX-800

You have no evidence😅 😅 😅

"Janky" hits the nail on the head!

@@AudioPilz yeah that’s the first word that comes to mind for this thing. Great for low production cold wave type music too.

Super vintage! I'm even older;)

@@AudioPilz i like to think of as as becoming classics in our own rights :)

Not that old. I actually bought one used in 1990. For about $100 (800 Swedish Crowns, SEK)i got the Korg Mono/Poly AND the Poly-800 from a friend who thought they were more or less doorstops that nobody would buy... Of course I sold them a year or so later(Looking at the prices for the Mono/Poly now with great regret).

Interesting technique!

@@AudioPilz used it for years playing a Poly-800 as bass keys in a band. I found that it gave the basses a lot more punch, somehow resetting the waves starting point. Otherwise I'd often lose some of the low end due to phase issues between oscillators.

Thank you so much!

Thanks for the heads up!!!

Are you really sure? Because Korg Poly 800 was released in 1984 , four years after Human League's "Don't You Want me".

Thank you!!!

There's always a need for good drummers;)

I've yet to find out the correct tempo for a full filter sweep in four bars;)

Thank you!

Yeah, I feel the same about many people's analog mixing consoles;)

It makes an ok elicopter sound.

Nah, it wasn't that bad. The Poly800 was one of my first synths, and no, it wasn't as bad as you write. For the low price, it was a collection accessible, entry-level features at a low price in the early days of programmable synths with all of the parameters listed in the panel. I would never buy it as a vintage synth any more than people would buy an iPhone1. But they had their place in time.

🤣

ha ha good point some times you need to have experienced the crap to appreciate something decent >learning curve

Thank you so much!

Thank you!!!

Yeah, the MC-300 is indeed fear-inducing

@@AudioPilz The beige MC series (that a drummer once confused with a fax machine - true story 😯) were actually quite easy to use. Linear rather than pattern based though. Now the Yamaha QX1, as recently seen on Espen Kraft's channel, that's the one to fear!

Great analogy!

Thanks! Bookshelf should be in top shape;)

Nice!

Thanks for the suggestion! Prices for these have already reached the DANGER ZONE!!!

@@AudioPilz Holy smokes! Just checked eBay. Wow!! I have one.

Just picked up a (95% working but cosmetically trashed) CZ-101 and an abused Ensoniq SQ 80 (someone *painted* the damn thing neon green) so I can do some refurbs.. Even in a state that looks like Hulk used them as toothpicks people still want a pile of cash.

The CZ-101 had a big brother with the same engine. I had BOTH of them at one time. What a strange little bird the CZ was. Sadly, I blew mine up with a reversed polarity power supply and that was the end of it. Those strange FM tones were like nothing any other synth was producing at the time... as I recall. I used to layer those high 'buzzy' sounds in an octave or two above a richer and fatter Roland patch. Made for some very cool layered sounds.

Thanks! Digital synths can be really cool!

Isn't it analog?

Thanks! I'm a bassist and former closet-synth-nerd too;)

Thank you!!!

Yeah, totally refreshing!

Yeah, these mods are essential!

Thanks!

I have no idea what happened...

I stick with Cubase. I am at Cubase 11 Pro now

However, I recorded some amazing stuff with ableton.

The UI would certainly be quite offputting on a contemporary synth

I wouldn't say that's accurate despite its appearance. There's a decent amount to the guts of this synth that can churn out great sounds. The problem is the interface as is without mods is uninspiring. The mods really do bring it to life and rectify a lot of the shortcuts Korg took due to budget constraints or due to the lack of competent technology at the time. For instance, the shitty main chip they used to power it.

Thank you!

Thank you!!!

Absolutely love mine

Nothing personal ;) Casio CZ will happen!

Yeah, I like that one too!

Thanks!

Nothing personal;)

Thank you!!!

It certainly isn't the most convenient synth to use but I really like the quirky sound

Make sure you replace the battery since they're prone to leaking and totally screwing the circuit board from the battery acid leaking. This is a very common problem with them easily rectified with a lithium battery.

@Zdenek Absolutely it is great! I bought one in 1985 new when I was 19! I sold it to get a korg T2. Incredibly awesome synth I should of kept it. I still have the T2 but its disk drive went at a point and there was no parts for it. Now the battery that holds the sounds in the bank is gone all the sounds are erased. Anyways, I played many iconic songs of that time with the Poly 800 in a band and loved it!!!! Enjoy. Maybe I will look for another one. Surprised they are still around.

that is the most anyone should pay for one of these!

There is a group musicians who know only one Japanese brand ;)

Classic

It happens to the best;)

Thank you!!!

❤️

The way of the P800;)

Thank you so much!

Thanks! Yeah, Vienna in spring is great! Currently working on the 50k special, stay tuned!

Thanks! Yeah, that thing was a game changer back then

And then there's aftertouch which has gone in the other direction.

Good to know, thanks!

Yeah, the prices are kinda crazy

That sounds like an awesome job, how did you resist not constantly throwing weird jams with all the abandoned gear? (Or did you not? ;P)

@@Yuzuki1337 yes, I 100% did! Unfortunately couldn't just set up a jam because of the elderly strict boss. It would've been something like, if I were to use all Korg, Super Percussion, Poly-800, Super Section, MR-16. Gosh the MR-16 was silly.

@@rickimarvel4080 I just looked them up since they were all before I was born but that MR-16 looks like Korg already made a janky precursor to the Volcas in the 80s! I'm kinda sad that I only witnessed the tail end of these times, I bet hitting up thrift, record and music stores for weird gear and new music must've been a blast! Thanks for sharing your story! :)

@@Yuzuki1337 hitting the record store every couple of days to check if a new shipment was in, going thru it on the 1200s is something i definietly wouldnt want to have missed.

Yeah, total comeback

Thank you!!!

@@AudioPilz you're welcome. 🤙♥️🤙

Thanks! Great 80s setup!

Upload em' or it never happened!

Thanks!

👍👍👍

Wow, didn't know that! Nice! Thanks for posting!

Thank you!!!

Agreed, instant throwback!

Thanks! There are extended jams and longer edits on Patreon (no plug;)

@@AudioPilz Awesome. Thank you!

May I see your basement, please (sounds kinda creepy coming from an Austrian guy;)

Thank you so much, happy to hear that!

Thanks for watching!

@@AudioPilz Thanks for the fun and informative content.

Yeah, the envelopes are definitely on the slow side

Thank you!!!

Yeah, Top Gear!!!

Scientific research proved that it heals the nation

...different;)

That's literally every musical instrument though.

...and Yamaha!!!

Thank you so much!!!

They are both 80s AF

I don't think you made a bad choice.

MGS!!!

Thank you!!!

Thanks for posting. That's always a risk!

Three words: Battery. Acid. Leaking. 9/10 if you replace the battery and if it's not the old school soldered in kind (that's the way to tell it needs replacing), this synth will last for years to come! They're actually pretty easy to repair otherwise. It's that damn battery acid leaking issue that totally fubars the main circuit board. It renders it nothing more than an etched ice rink with no trace in sight from which you can run jumper wires.

@@JayKaufman Totally understanding what you're saying although, the 4 units in question had different problems. My most recent MK2 had a very strange oscillator issue where, only one oscillator sounded on half the keys and the other on the remaining half but never played together. No sign of leakage or corrosion. My very experienced repair guy was totally foxed! I got a reasonable price for spares on ebay though.

Shit happens. I got mine as my very first synth on 24th of November 1984 (birthday #13, MK1 obviously, inverted key version) and it is still almost free of errors except for one key that sometimes triggers double or triple. I have never changed anything, and I used to smoke in my studio for almost 30 years. Hehe, maybe that did the trick :) I cannot imagine to sell this unit. No other synth offers me that feature of having ONE analog filter! What, feature??? Yeah, it somehow is. Having DCO and VCF triggered separately is a little tricky to play, but offers you something special. Play legato and let the VCF come to its end, until you feel the need to open it again. That's amazing. The unit wasn't that cheap at all. 800USD in 1983 translate to 2.400USD today. For that money, you can buy a REV2-16, almost a Prophet10, the PolyBrute and so many others today. Lucky times we have. But if my hearing doesn't lie to me, only the Prophet 10 is able to more or less recreate the sounds of the Poly800 (you need a chorus then), but still without that "feature".

Yeah, mod will happen!

That chord functionality is indeed mysterious!

@@AudioPilz certainly is mysterious and a little clever. The black notes seemed to be the odd ones. I played around with it and came up with some very jazzy progressions with very satisfying harmonic movement! I got a couple of decent songs out of it.

Middle track was class btw

Thanks!

Wow, nice one!

Yeah man I used to live in Japan. It’s all about the sweet Hard Off finds! Do you live there or were you visiting?

@@dustincassidy lived there for years. Switched to Yahoo auctions for better deals. What was your best find?

@@EdwardFist yeah Yahoo auction can have some better bargains. My best find was Zoom Sampletrak for 3500 yen. It’s basically like a dirty little MPC!

Yeah, I've yet to try that one

Good to know. I'm most probably gonna have it done by a pro

@@AudioPilz The kits took quite a while to arrive. Ordered my kits in early December and received them beginning of April. I do vintage repairs and restorations on the side, I’ve been an EE for about 40 years and tacking the wires to existing pins on the DIP IC’s and passive components was tricky, especially with old dude eye sight. I have a magnifying head piece like dentists use with a couple lights integrated, a must now. All my soldering/desoldering/fume extraction is Hakko, good stuff, but pricey. Keep up the great videos, I quite enjoy them!

Big fan of the Poly-800. It's not as overused as other synths from that time but still classic 80s

Great input, haven't thought of that one! Thanks!

Aww, I love my Kronos. There's nothing I can't do with it, besides things that are just plain beyond my ability to start with. But the UI does have a steep learning curve, and there are some bad design decisions in there. In truth, it would be fun to see what the bad gear take on it would be. (On the other hand, I offer up set list mode: why do no other synths have that?)

Didn't the Siel have digital oscillators?

What about the perennial Casio CZ101?

@@AudioPilz so does the poly 800, in a way!

@@AudioPilz The Siel DK-70 has about the same architecture as the Poly-800, including the multiple octaves per oscillator. In my memory the DK-70 was about 10 to 20% cheaper than the Poly-800.

Immer gerne!