Prices started getting crazy about 3-4 years ago, and continue to rise. So far the Poly-800 is relatively unaffected, but I think that will change. It's gotten a lot of love from some prominent UA-camrs recently.
Hell yeah, cheap stuff, this is my speed 😂 When I covered the EX-800 I felt really similarly, quirks are there but I liked it, especially at the price point. Keep it up!
Lots of people dump on the Poly-800, which is good because they are still one of the cheapest vintage synths you can buy. It can't do everything, but it does certain things VERY well. There aren't many aggressive sounds to be had, but it does lovely analog pads, strings, organs, flutey sounds, and tinkly stuff. The complex ADBSSR amp envelope per oscillator makes complex/evolving sounds possible with careful (albeit tedious) programming. Personally I prefer the Poly-800 II, with its sinister black look, improved envelope curves (much better for struck/plucked/percussive tones), and filthy digital delay with modulation. Any Poly-800 (or EX-800) is a good way to add a second or third synth to your setup for next to nothing.
@thebioticmessage I suppose it’s a relative term. But as it was a very common synth, and it gets a lot of hate, the market price is as close to nothing as you’ll find for a vintage synth.
I really felt everyone’s criticisms when I was looking into this synth, out of more curiosity than anything (I’m too young lol). And I have plenty of great plugins, including the freeware copy of it, so it seemed very not worth But then we got one in at the music store I work in, and honestly it’s so simple to use, fun, and as hands on as hybrid digital 80s synths get! It’s in this fun weirdo spot where it can sound like a cheesy fun Casio or a classic DCO poly synth ? It even has good presets! It’s way cooler than people think, partly because it’s so quirky and affordable!
Me, owning a Polysix in the early 80s: (Poly-61 is released) “Nah, DCOs and a terrible UI“. (Poly-800 is released) “WTF? Paraphonic? And Korg establishing the bad habit to build poly synths with less than 5 octaves? Nah!“ My next synth was a D-50.
Even with the limitations, you'd have to be deaf not to hear that the Polly 800 outclasses a lot of today's synth on sound alone. No, you don't have the bells and whistles...SO PLAY SOMETHING WITHOUT BELLS AND WHISTLES! But as far as a legit synth?.....You better fuck!ing believe it is.
Adjusted for inflation, $799=$2190 in todays dollars. Let that sink in. IMO, the best value in vintage analog poly synths is the JX-8P. To my ears, sounds so much better any Poly 61 or Poly 800. And they are fairly reliable.
I used to have a Jx and the controller. It was an excellent synth. Definetely better than the poly 800 but I dig how light the poly is. I have it as the mini synth.
This was my first synth back in the eighties, along with the cz-101 (that I still own). I loved it a lot, if I found one that's still good and cheap, I would buy it. It was simple and effective, really not bad for the price, very usable.
This synthesizer never get successful not easy to program and it’s not really polyphonic even those days you can find many on the market for less than $200 not very popular by collectors
What I found with this synth, (my first synth - which I still have) is it sits in the mix very well. It’s sound doesn’t dominate and overpower a track. Add a few effects and it starts to make sense. I do get the criticisms, but use it in the right way, its a very capable little workhorse with its own voice.
this is a good comment because i feel like with the amount of solutions based plug ins, there really is no excuse. All sounds in the field today, natural or synthesized can be molded and shapes to sit in within any context.
I used this synth model when it was new and it's nothing special. Anyone buying one today would be far better served by any modern polysynth. Unless you have money to waste on nostalgia, avoid this cheapo.
This synth is underestimated because of its lack of physical controls. I've been collecting such synths as the SCI MAX, Akai AX-73 and using a new device called Electra One which is essentially a screen and 12 pots that can be programmed to control many synths and hundreds of parameters with visual assignments. Now these synths have much better usability and I consider them excellent value for money if you aren't afraid of a bit of solder work every decade or so.
Yep, got it broken for €150. My second vintage synth. Got it working btw. I would like to circuit bend it, 'hot rod' it as Zach said. Any takers in Europe? 100 bucks for the Slayer, FM, Hawk mods + materials and shipping.
There's a freeware plugin of this synth that almost sounds identical. Fury-800. For a synth that lacks controls this is a perfect replacement and maybe even better. Save yourself space, save money and programming pain. This synth is nothing special, go for an Alpha Juno instead, a more versatile synth.
I will say I love the plugin, it sounds great. But I did an A-B test with a patch from the Fury-800 to my Poly-800 and it sounded nothing alike. Had all settings the same and not really close. The overall sound/tone was very close but the settings just didn't translate from VST to hardware.
@@group-music the Alpha Junos have a single oscillator with PWM and sub-Osc, filter per voice, and drastically superior chorus. And they respond to dynamics. Different, sure, but quite far from inferior.
Poly800 was my first synth. I had a choice between it and a Casio CZ. I made right choice. Eventually I also got a MkII and a DW8000. It sounds good, the DCO's and envelopes are quite impressive, filter and LFO are basic, and the paraphony is not bothersome, until you play a better synth, and then Poly800 loses its charm. Yeah, that UI is bad, but if it had sliders and knobs it would cost a lot more. Still, joystick, strap pegs, and if you're lucky, a reverse color keyboard, and you are the coolest keytar player!
Oh come on.....like you could ever get a decent sound out of those "better options" If you can't make this thing Rock for you. find a new hobby.....because I KNOW it's your hobby. (I.E Nobody pays you to make music.)
Lately I was thinking of buying one of these since they are dirt cheap and I'm finally going to go for it. It's not the most versatile synth but it can sound rather nice and also has this vintage charm.
The D-50 never really had it's moment?! Um... Roland sold TONNES of them. It's one of the best selling synths of all time. It's all over records from the time of its release and now. There's a reason Roland re-issued it as a Boutique. It was their answer to the M1 - which also sold in droves.
@@deelux5519 whilst I like my EX-800 (rack version of the Poly-800), it's a rather divisive synth. I wouldn't say the D-50 holds the same amount of hate.
I quite like the Poly-800, I own an EX-800. It can sound pretty thin in 8 voice mode, but its raw tone is pleasing to my ear. I actually like to use mine in a pair with my Poly-61. They are both DCO based, have a mono out, and sound similar. I just pan one 60% left and the other 60% right and make a "samish" patch on each. As you mentioned, the poly-800 is paraphonic, but with an appropriate playing style, they can sound HUGE together! Incredible bang for the buck too as you can acquire both for about $1000. Thanks for sharing!
Its really the last actually affordable vintage synth...for now anyway. You can coax some nice pads and plucks out of it, but the basses are a bit flat sounding and programming it is tedious. I got a pack of sounds for it online that are much better than the factory presets. I wouldn't want to try programming a patch on one from nothing, however. Also the DCOs are somewhat noisy and they can be prone to tuning problems.
Of course it sounds bad if you are dealing with most of electronic music today but it is still really good for many Vintage Pop & Rock genres, which are always timeless. For Vintage Rock, Prog & Pop this thing is still very useful and warm. Geoff Downes from Asia band used it in 2001 / Aura album. It even reads on the liner notes. I would rather take this on any day than most of the crap they are selling today for the same price.
Sounds super awesome, if it had knobs of faders it will cost around 1000 in the present, for sure, but this kind of 80s analog synths that are difficult to program are just a pain in the ***, I just like funny synths, no quality ones, the vst´s now are incredible...thats why synths like the sh 101 or junos are cool, because you can play during hours because theyre cool to play and program
I remember my dad getting one of these when they came out. He was really getting into our church adult choir and taught himself how to read and write music and used it to write original songs for the choir and original Christmas songs as well. I remember he wrote all the music for the Christmas program one year. This little synth was what started my love affair with keyboards. Id sneak in his room when he was gone to work and fool around with it. I messed up one of his patches one day and out of 5 kids( me the youngest) he knew which one did it 🤔. Surprisingly he didn't wear my tail out as bad as i just knew he was going to do. As it was i didnt want to sit down for a little while. Later he got one of casios synths and used it for awhile then in a surprise twist he turned around and gave me the casio and a small amp. I wound up buying a poly800 about 15/16 years ago but never played it much. I think subconsciously i was remembering the butt whooping i got lol. Sorry to ramble but every time i see one of these i think about my dad sitting in his room pouring over his and dozens of music books teaching himself music and patch editing.
Love Korg, including most of their 80s synths. Poly 800 was perfectly sensible for the time for what Korg was trying to achieve.....unfortunately, from modern perspective I don’t think it’s aged well at all....it’s not well made, it’s features are very limiting ( not in a good way) and, to me anyway it doesn’t sound very good, frankly I don’t know why you’d bother with one now....
Between 1985 and 1989 it appeared on all Death in June albums. In fact, many of the sounds present in this video appear in the songs produced during those years.
It's the most whatever synth I've owned, but I really think I would like it a whole lot more if it weren't for the weird multistage envelopes Korg synths had. Has this perfectly clean cut, casio style sound. Still wanna do the moog slayer mod!
@@rwdplz1 Through hole components and batteries are easy fixes, but you'll still be charged at least an hour of repair time if that's the only problem. I'm not against vintage synths, but repairs at this stage have to be factored into the price of these instruments. I just saw a synth repairman comment on another video saying he only buys new synths, because many components and replacement parts are becoming hard to get a hold of.
Real answer: "I actually pay my bills making music and I say YES!"......I'll give you three guesses as to whether this guy does?...Ever had a major label deal there champ???"....I didn't think so......Let the PROS tell you what to play when you want to do sh!t for REAL. When it's "Hobby time" go ahead and ask this guy......OH! And if you don't like what I have to say?.....Go take it up with Freddy Mercury.....HE used one....Do a seance and find out how valuable he thinks your opinion is........STAY IN YOUR LANE BRUH!.....(And hurry up with my fries)
@@clauscombat418 How could you own two of a synth you say "Sadly no" regarding the quality thereof?..that doesn't make sense.Something doesn't add up here.
Also what people b!ch about with this synth, is something they b!tch about in the JX3P......NO LOW END!.......B.S! That's an ADVANTAGE!.....See, if you are actually...Y'know.....PLAYING IN A BAND!....The Polly 800 and JX-3P are pre EQ'ed to "Play well with others"....Try playing a MOOG in an assemble and see how you get fired......People b!tch about the Volca Keys too....But sorry, it's limited, sure....BUT IT SOUNDS GREAT! (Especially with the Moogslayer mod...definitely get that.)
I've been seeing poly 800 cropping up everywhere, why is that? I love mine but I feel it's one synth too many and thinking about selling it...even though there are a bunch of them for sale locally already. i've compared mine with the fury 800 vst, but the vst sounded like the bad quality sound people think the original hardware has: thinner, digital artifacts, different envelopes (settings don't translate)...
Any thoughts on whether the engine in this synth uses some sort of "additive" tricks to create waveforms, as opposed to true analog oscillators? That's my understanding based on what I've read elsewhere. I had one, and liked it, but I don't miss it that much (don't get me wrong, it's nice for the money).
I had one of these as a kid in the 80s. It sounds just a crappy as I remember. I also remember being frustrated with it at the time. Little did I know there was a serious musician within waiting to get out: ua-cam.com/video/ttDHK9Q_t0M/v-deo.html
I got mine very cheap (75 dkr - the equivalent of 12 US$) at a flea market. My luck was that the batteries had died, which erases all the presets and put all the parameters at zero, so it was completely silent and they thought it was broken. I use it mostly for chords and I like the somewhat soft sound it has.
Does Alamomusic perform repair work on a Korg Poly 800? I’ve recently reacquired one that powers on but doesn’t operate as it should. Any help will be appreciated.
i have a library of sounds i developed over time. i also sequenced many interesting lines and would use external effects processors and goof around with the cutoff frequency setting ala Klaus Schultz and multitrack and had some very interesting sonic journeys.
It has a cassette tape with the digital programming on it to reprogram the thing when you change batteries. They don't like to reveal that.....If you can copy it over to a cd or dvd, you can reprogram from there... The Poly 800 is great. The joy stick is the nicest feature.
This was my first poly synth--it was all that I could afford. It was Ok, but it sounds terribly thin, except in "double mode", so it's really a 4-voice synth. Even then, it doesn't sound that great. The lack of controls and single filter is annoying, and the joystick is fragile. I wouldn't bother. The free Fury-800 plugin sounds close enough and is fun to play with.
Greetings to all, someone who can help me with my korg poly 800, connect a charger, I think it has a lot of voltage and it turned off and does not turn on anymore, what happened? could it be the protective diode at the input? Would the internal card be burned because of that? any trick remedy or solution here?
@@morenazo6412 Only true for some plug ins not all , they’re are some real hi quality ones I’ve tested them , it also depends on the waveforms used and if they’re synth generated or sampled.
@@georgegeorgio1751 It's not just the synths, bro, it's also that digital eq and compression. Boosting high frequencies on those digital eq's sounds terrible, but boosting frequencies on a Manley passive massive analog eq sounds like heaven...and that digital compression just😝😝😝 Hell, I like my old Alesis 3630 better, once you open it up and disconnect the noise gate, you've got a pretty good analog compressor that's unpredictable, I like unpredictable in music!
Not sure where you're coming from - keeping a $300 synth working shouldn't be a burden. Usually these things only need batteries, and if they somehow fail more significantly, the most you should ever need to spend is $300, i.e. the cost of a used replacement.
@@infindebula after three trips to my local synth wizard I sold my first one. The second one was a reverse keys one i sold after it's second round of repairs. At £60 an hour for repairs the time between repairs was not long enough. Maybe mine got a hard life, i was gigging them...
@@PorchBass it sounds like you hit some bad luck. I have a mkII and an EX-800. I had to replace the battery in the EX, but they've both otherwise been flawless for years. (I don't gig with either of them, but the mkII does occasionally travel with me for jamming and stuff)
Very basic but nice to own. Definitely not worth some of the crazy prices I’ve seen in recent years. I bought the CZ1000 back in the day. It had a couple of options missing on the Poly800. Likewise, the Poly800 had other strengths. These two and the DX21/27 were lower priced “division 2” synths, that meant as teenagers, (I was 18 in 1985) we could afford to buy one !
This is the first synth I ever bought and despite being a nostalgic guy that has repurchased gear on multiple occasions, I have NEVER considered buying another one of these. That mod kit that used to be available definitely helps but still..... not the best sound, build, or anything else. If you don't have it loaded up with big ole C batteries it won't remember any of your patches and it's ALWAYS in midi omni mode so.... basically useless midi. The MKII was a bit better but you can still do better. It's still better than a Behringer.
@@naneek2 mine definitely had to be loaded up with the c batteries. Either it was flawed or that was one of the upgrades in the mk2. Either way it sucked.
I had a poly 800 for a few weeks around 1989. He was the first serious synth I met, but unfortunately his owner asked him back.. :-) I decided to get one, but ended up going with the DX-7, which I've had ever since. However, I still want a poly 800.. 🙂
Also my first synth; bought brand new and learned everything I know about synths from it. It is limited, shrill and has no organic features (like velocity, portamento and only produces square waves) but it is stable, sits well in a mix and sounds warm through a phaser or flange. Nowadays it's appeal is only for experienced synth guys who already know how to program because they can get the most utility out of its embryonic abilities. If you're new to synths I wouldn't get it. Sorry if this sounds snarky and superior. LOL. Not my intention. LOL
Is it just me or have used synth prices doubled in the past year?!
It’s not just you, they have
Prices started getting crazy about 3-4 years ago, and continue to rise. So far the Poly-800 is relatively unaffected, but I think that will change. It's gotten a lot of love from some prominent UA-camrs recently.
@@infindebula I almost bought a Poly 800 a year or two ago for $100, but spent $350 on a DX7 instead. Both are now about double that on eBay.
Corona did it. People wanted to stay in the dark and play synth. I sold my synths so fast it was insane. I'm just now getting back into them.
Hell yeah, cheap stuff, this is my speed 😂
When I covered the EX-800 I felt really similarly, quirks are there but I liked it, especially at the price point. Keep it up!
Lots of people dump on the Poly-800, which is good because they are still one of the cheapest vintage synths you can buy. It can't do everything, but it does certain things VERY well. There aren't many aggressive sounds to be had, but it does lovely analog pads, strings, organs, flutey sounds, and tinkly stuff. The complex ADBSSR amp envelope per oscillator makes complex/evolving sounds possible with careful (albeit tedious) programming.
Personally I prefer the Poly-800 II, with its sinister black look, improved envelope curves (much better for struck/plucked/percussive tones), and filthy digital delay with modulation.
Any Poly-800 (or EX-800) is a good way to add a second or third synth to your setup for next to nothing.
@thebioticmessage I suppose it’s a relative term. But as it was a very common synth, and it gets a lot of hate, the market price is as close to nothing as you’ll find for a vintage synth.
I really felt everyone’s criticisms when I was looking into this synth, out of more curiosity than anything (I’m too young lol). And I have plenty of great plugins, including the freeware copy of it, so it seemed very not worth
But then we got one in at the music store I work in, and honestly it’s so simple to use, fun, and as hands on as hybrid digital 80s synths get! It’s in this fun weirdo spot where it can sound like a cheesy fun Casio or a classic DCO poly synth ? It even has good presets! It’s way cooler than people think, partly because it’s so quirky and affordable!
Me, owning a Polysix in the early 80s:
(Poly-61 is released) “Nah, DCOs and a terrible UI“.
(Poly-800 is released) “WTF? Paraphonic? And Korg establishing the bad habit to build poly synths with less than 5 octaves? Nah!“
My next synth was a D-50.
It is a lovely synth, very warm and can push your creativity if you get into it. Well recommended. Thank you for the video.
I had one when they came out. Kind of a cheap piece of junk.lol
Very cheaply made indeed, but for $999 new (at the time), there were ZERO other options. These sold well for KORG.
Yee amazing! And also people make Moog Mod ... put potentiometer on panel .. This makes it possible to turn the filter, as on analog synthesizer.
Even with the limitations, you'd have to be deaf not to hear that the Polly 800 outclasses a lot of today's synth on sound alone. No, you don't have the bells and whistles...SO PLAY SOMETHING WITHOUT BELLS AND WHISTLES! But as far as a legit synth?.....You better fuck!ing believe it is.
Adjusted for inflation, $799=$2190 in todays dollars. Let that sink in. IMO, the best value in vintage analog poly synths is the JX-8P. To my ears, sounds so much better any Poly 61 or Poly 800. And they are fairly reliable.
I used to have a Jx and the controller. It was an excellent synth. Definetely better than the poly 800 but I dig how light the poly is. I have it as the mini synth.
This was my first synth back in the eighties, along with the cz-101 (that I still own). I loved it a lot, if I found one that's still good and cheap, I would buy it. It was simple and effective, really not bad for the price, very usable.
This synthesizer never get successful not easy to program and it’s not really polyphonic even those days you can find many on the market for less than $200 not very popular by collectors
What I found with this synth, (my first synth - which I still have) is it sits in the mix very well. It’s sound doesn’t dominate and overpower a track. Add a few effects and it starts to make sense. I do get the criticisms, but use it in the right way, its a very capable little workhorse with its own voice.
this is a good comment because i feel like with the amount of solutions based plug ins, there really is no excuse. All sounds in the field today, natural or synthesized can be molded and shapes to sit in within any context.
I had one of these in high school-absolutely loved it.
I used this synth model when it was new and it's nothing special. Anyone buying one today would be far better served by any modern polysynth. Unless you have money to waste on nostalgia, avoid this cheapo.
The poly800 has a unique string pad sound, which is very pleasant to hear and play. The big problem or limitation is that it's not touch sensitive.
i had it twice, to me this synth is not very exciting. spending just a little more you can get an alpha juno. sounds 1000 times better. again imo.
This synth is underestimated because of its lack of physical controls. I've been collecting such synths as the SCI MAX, Akai AX-73 and using a new device called Electra One which is essentially a screen and 12 pots that can be programmed to control many synths and hundreds of parameters with visual assignments. Now these synths have much better usability and I consider them excellent value for money if you aren't afraid of a bit of solder work every decade or so.
AX-73 RULES!!!
Yep, got it broken for €150. My second vintage synth. Got it working btw.
I would like to circuit bend it, 'hot rod' it as Zach said. Any takers in Europe? 100 bucks for the Slayer, FM, Hawk mods + materials and shipping.
There's a freeware plugin of this synth that almost sounds identical. Fury-800. For a synth that lacks controls this is a perfect replacement and maybe even better. Save yourself space, save money and programming pain. This synth is nothing special, go for an Alpha Juno instead, a more versatile synth.
Came here to say this too! The Fury-800 is one of my favorite software synths.
I will say I love the plugin, it sounds great. But I did an A-B test with a patch from the Fury-800 to my Poly-800 and it sounded nothing alike. Had all settings the same and not really close. The overall sound/tone was very close but the settings just didn't translate from VST to hardware.
@@ricecironi19 Still crappy sounds.
Full Bucket FTW!
I donate yearly....
Björn Arlt is a coding genius.... And everything is free!
Dont dismiss this legend.... seriously .
@@group-music the Alpha Junos have a single oscillator with PWM and sub-Osc, filter per voice, and drastically superior chorus. And they respond to dynamics. Different, sure, but quite far from inferior.
Poly800 was my first synth. I had a choice between it and a Casio CZ. I made right choice. Eventually I also got a MkII and a DW8000. It sounds good, the DCO's and envelopes are quite impressive, filter and LFO are basic, and the paraphony is not bothersome, until you play a better synth, and then Poly800 loses its charm. Yeah, that UI is bad, but if it had sliders and knobs it would cost a lot more. Still, joystick, strap pegs, and if you're lucky, a reverse color keyboard, and you are the coolest keytar player!
They are both worth owning. The CZ-101 is a GREAT synth.....but the Polly 800 is just a little better!
Ugh I had a Poly 800. Hated it. Glad I sold it.
One of the ugliest, cheapest looking synth ever! Love the FullBucket vst though, lol!
Well, you know what they say......what one says about their synths is true of their Mother.
not worth it to me sorry! too many better options
Oh come on.....like you could ever get a decent sound out of those "better options" If you can't make this thing Rock for you. find a new hobby.....because I KNOW it's your hobby. (I.E Nobody pays you to make music.)
Lately I was thinking of buying one of these since they are dirt cheap and I'm finally going to go for it. It's not the most versatile synth but it can sound rather nice and also has this vintage charm.
Was a great synth the gig with as lightweight but still analogue and warm
The D-50 never really had it's moment?! Um... Roland sold TONNES of them. It's one of the best selling synths of all time. It's all over records from the time of its release and now. There's a reason Roland re-issued it as a Boutique. It was their answer to the M1 - which also sold in droves.
The Polly 800 is a legit synth.....The D-50 is NOT! It's digital hot garbage. The Polly 800 is a legit vintage analog.
@@deelux5519 whilst I like my EX-800 (rack version of the Poly-800), it's a rather divisive synth. I wouldn't say the D-50 holds the same amount of hate.
I quite like the Poly-800, I own an EX-800. It can sound pretty thin in 8 voice mode, but its raw tone is pleasing to my ear. I actually like to use mine in a pair with my Poly-61. They are both DCO based, have a mono out, and sound similar. I just pan one 60% left and the other 60% right and make a "samish" patch on each. As you mentioned, the poly-800 is paraphonic, but with an appropriate playing style, they can sound HUGE together! Incredible bang for the buck too as you can acquire both for about $1000.
Thanks for sharing!
Try running it through several guitar pedals. It will become a beast. Poly800 through Earthquaker Afterneath is awesome.
Do the Casio HS-6000 next!
I’m picking one up this weekend, it’s an 8-voice 4 DCO 8 VCF analog polysynth!
Sorry, Casio HT-6000
Freddie Mercury used one of these.......
I rest my case.
Btw in 97 this was being sold for 200.00 on the Recycler mag ads
That's when I got mine and how much I paid. I don't think I'd spend $100 on one today.
Had a MkII back in the early 90s, it never stayed in tune and I moved it on. Have never missed it.
no sounds bad
Its really the last actually affordable vintage synth...for now anyway. You can coax some nice pads and plucks out of it, but the basses are a bit flat sounding and programming it is tedious. I got a pack of sounds for it online that are much better than the factory presets. I wouldn't want to try programming a patch on one from nothing, however. Also the DCOs are somewhat noisy and they can be prone to tuning problems.
Of course it sounds bad if you are dealing with most of electronic music today but it is still really good for many Vintage Pop & Rock genres, which are always timeless. For Vintage Rock, Prog & Pop this thing is still very useful and warm. Geoff Downes from Asia band used it in 2001 / Aura album. It even reads on the liner notes. I would rather take this on any day than most of the crap they are selling today for the same price.
Zack is cool.
Sounds super awesome, if it had knobs of faders it will cost around 1000 in the present, for sure, but this kind of 80s analog synths that are difficult to program are just a pain in the ***, I just like funny synths, no quality ones, the vst´s now are incredible...thats why synths like the sh 101 or junos are cool, because you can play during hours because theyre cool to play and program
How much do these go for now? I paid $90 for mine and right now I'm only seeing them listed for really stupid prices.
I remember my dad getting one of these when they came out. He was really getting into our church adult choir and taught himself how to read and write music and used it to write original songs for the choir and original Christmas songs as well. I remember he wrote all the music for the Christmas program one year. This little synth was what started my love affair with keyboards. Id sneak in his room when he was gone to work and fool around with it. I messed up one of his patches one day and out of 5 kids( me the youngest) he knew which one did it 🤔. Surprisingly he didn't wear my tail out as bad as i just knew he was going to do. As it was i didnt want to sit down for a little while. Later he got one of casios synths and used it for awhile then in a surprise twist he turned around and gave me the casio and a small amp. I wound up buying a poly800 about 15/16 years ago but never played it much. I think subconsciously i was remembering the butt whooping i got lol. Sorry to ramble but every time i see one of these i think about my dad sitting in his room pouring over his and dozens of music books teaching himself music and patch editing.
"Butt whooping" ? For showing an interest in music ?
Christianity in action...😂
Love Korg, including most of their 80s synths. Poly 800 was perfectly sensible for the time for what Korg was trying to achieve.....unfortunately, from modern perspective I don’t think it’s aged well at all....it’s not well made, it’s features are very limiting ( not in a good way) and, to me anyway it doesn’t sound very good, frankly I don’t know why you’d bother with one now....
The rackmount version of it - the EX-800 - is built like a tank. All metal housing.
Pizza Gogo
I'd take the poly 800 over a crappy digital software synth any day of the week...
f
@@morenazo6412 whatever you want to waste your money on is not my concern...
@@pizzagogo6151
Yeah, waves has a sell on their Krammer "analog" tape plugin $29 sounds just like it🤣🤣🤣😆😆😆
Between 1985 and 1989 it appeared on all Death in June albums. In fact, many of the sounds present in this video appear in the songs produced during those years.
Ew gross now I don't want one
the only korg i dident like
It didn't like YOU!....You don't know how to play!
I hate this and the Polysix, owned both. Love Poly61
this guy's voice sound autotuned for some reason... am I trippin?
It's the most whatever synth I've owned, but I really think I would like it a whole lot more if it weren't for the weird multistage envelopes Korg synths had. Has this perfectly clean cut, casio style sound. Still wanna do the moog slayer mod!
Two words: Plastic - 80s !!!
I love it 🎹👍🏻🎶
Has some decent sounds and the prices aren't obnoxious, but I'd hate to pay for a repair, and these things are getting up there in age.
Repairs on equipment of this vintage are usually easy, typically battery or capacitors.
@@rwdplz1 Through hole components and batteries are easy fixes, but you'll still be charged at least an hour of repair time if that's the only problem. I'm not against vintage synths, but repairs at this stage have to be factored into the price of these instruments. I just saw a synth repairman comment on another video saying he only buys new synths, because many components and replacement parts are becoming hard to get a hold of.
Love the series you're making, keep it up! Would love to see the pre-TI Virus ;)
Answer: No, sadly 😔
Real answer: "I actually pay my bills making music and I say YES!"......I'll give you three guesses as to whether this guy does?...Ever had a major label deal there champ???"....I didn't think so......Let the PROS tell you what to play when you want to do sh!t for REAL. When it's "Hobby time" go ahead and ask this guy......OH! And if you don't like what I have to say?.....Go take it up with Freddy Mercury.....HE used one....Do a seance and find out how valuable he thinks your opinion is........STAY IN YOUR LANE BRUH!.....(And hurry up with my fries)
@@deelux5519 The funny thing is: i have two EX800s 😗
@@clauscombat418 Learn how to use them. RTFM
@@deelux5519 I know how to use them, and i really like them (why else own two units?). It is the Poly 800 that's not worth it! Buy an EX800 instead...
@@clauscombat418 How could you own two of a synth you say "Sadly no" regarding the quality thereof?..that doesn't make sense.Something doesn't add up here.
Also what people b!ch about with this synth, is something they b!tch about in the JX3P......NO LOW END!.......B.S! That's an ADVANTAGE!.....See, if you are actually...Y'know.....PLAYING IN A BAND!....The Polly 800 and JX-3P are pre EQ'ed to "Play well with others"....Try playing a MOOG in an assemble and see how you get fired......People b!tch about the Volca Keys too....But sorry, it's limited, sure....BUT IT SOUNDS GREAT! (Especially with the Moogslayer mod...definitely get that.)
If you get the right EFX pedals/chain you can polish almost any turd, LoL, i have an EX800 hawk-mod...
Finally found the Max4live midi editor, and that makes it a controllable beast!
@10:00 you can hear the limitations of a single filter here.
I've been seeing poly 800 cropping up everywhere, why is that? I love mine but I feel it's one synth too many and thinking about selling it...even though there are a bunch of them for sale locally already. i've compared mine with the fury 800 vst, but the vst sounded like the bad quality sound people think the original hardware has: thinner, digital artifacts, different envelopes (settings don't translate)...
In reference to your other video, is the poly 800 worth it if you already own a Roland em-101?
Yes, much more robust, different sounding
Any thoughts on whether the engine in this synth uses some sort of "additive" tricks to create waveforms, as opposed to true analog oscillators? That's my understanding based on what I've read elsewhere. I had one, and liked it, but I don't miss it that much (don't get me wrong, it's nice for the money).
Additive tricks indeed, but still analog! A very unusual design.
Do a video about Kurzweil K2000
I had one of these as a kid in the 80s. It sounds just a crappy as I remember. I also remember being frustrated with it at the time. Little did I know there was a serious musician within waiting to get out: ua-cam.com/video/ttDHK9Q_t0M/v-deo.html
I got mine very cheap (75 dkr - the equivalent of 12 US$) at a flea market. My luck was that the batteries had died, which erases all the presets and put all the parameters at zero, so it was completely silent and they thought it was broken. I use it mostly for chords and I like the somewhat soft sound it has.
My Poly 800 is a wonderful sounding instrument.....really nice if you add a effects box to enhance the sounds.....
I hear a lot of cure songs coming out of this one.
😊
Does Alamomusic perform repair work on a Korg Poly 800? I’ve recently reacquired one that powers on but doesn’t operate as it should. Any help will be appreciated.
spot on
I think a paraphonic mode will be a great addition to a modern synth. It allows alternative playing techniques.
worth it. if you dont already have a bunch of japanese polysynths grab one of these asap.
i have a library of sounds i developed over time. i also sequenced many interesting lines and would use external effects processors and goof around with the cutoff frequency setting ala Klaus Schultz and multitrack and had some very interesting sonic journeys.
My first synth. Not a fan.
It has a cassette tape with the digital programming on it to reprogram the thing when you change batteries.
They don't like to reveal that.....If you can copy it over to a cd or dvd, you can reprogram from there...
The Poly 800 is great. The joy stick is the nicest feature.
This was my first poly synth--it was all that I could afford. It was Ok, but it sounds terribly thin, except in "double mode", so it's really a 4-voice synth. Even then, it doesn't sound that great. The lack of controls and single filter is annoying, and the joystick is fragile. I wouldn't bother. The free Fury-800 plugin sounds close enough and is fun to play with.
Greetings to all, someone who can help me with my korg poly 800, connect a charger, I think it has a lot of voltage and it turned off and does not turn on anymore, what happened? could it be the protective diode at the input? Would the internal card be burned because of that? any trick remedy or solution here?
TLDR; yes ! absolutely yes !
too bad I got one but it was in very bad shape and barely functional.. had to return it and got an M1 instead
Roland d50 is one of the best synths ever. Korg M1 is also a kick ass synth.
My poly800 has different preset. Why??!! :(
I like it so much, I bought a second one to have ready for parts. I never pay more than 150 for one.
Sounds a hell of a lot better than software synths...I'm gonna buy one to use with my tascam 688 cassette recorder
Only if you don’t program much, you’ll be surprised if you learn how to program plug ins can sound pretty awesome.
@@georgegeorgio1751
Too much aliasing...no thanks.
@@morenazo6412 Only true for some plug ins not all , they’re are some real hi quality ones I’ve tested them , it also depends on the waveforms used and if they’re synth generated or sampled.
@@georgegeorgio1751
It's not just the synths, bro, it's also that digital eq and compression. Boosting high frequencies on those digital eq's sounds terrible, but boosting frequencies on a Manley passive massive analog eq sounds like heaven...and that digital compression just😝😝😝 Hell, I like my old Alesis 3630 better, once you open it up and disconnect the noise gate, you've got a pretty good analog compressor that's unpredictable, I like unpredictable in music!
There’s a vst of one of these which is very good!
I've owned two. They are really fun and sound fun.
Keeping them working cost way too much though
Not sure where you're coming from - keeping a $300 synth working shouldn't be a burden. Usually these things only need batteries, and if they somehow fail more significantly, the most you should ever need to spend is $300, i.e. the cost of a used replacement.
@@infindebula after three trips to my local synth wizard I sold my first one. The second one was a reverse keys one i sold after it's second round of repairs. At £60 an hour for repairs the time between repairs was not long enough.
Maybe mine got a hard life, i was gigging them...
@@PorchBass it sounds like you hit some bad luck. I have a mkII and an EX-800. I had to replace the battery in the EX, but they've both otherwise been flawless for years. (I don't gig with either of them, but the mkII does occasionally travel with me for jamming and stuff)
They were built very cheaply. Mine broke in several ways before I finally gave it away.
Once you memorize the parameters it's cool. I like it because it's small and light, sounds way better than a microkorg or a roland gaia.
if you can find this synth for cheap I recommend it getting.
This instrument is on some of my favorite music…
Really one of my favorite channel! Thanks for all these synths videos.
Are you at the downtown location or the west one? I stopped by the west one and...no synths at all :-(
Downtown! So sorry that’s where most of our stuff is!
Very basic but nice to own. Definitely not worth some of the crazy prices I’ve seen in recent years. I bought the CZ1000 back in the day. It had a couple of options missing on the Poly800. Likewise, the Poly800 had other strengths. These two and the DX21/27 were lower priced “division 2” synths, that meant as teenagers, (I was 18 in 1985) we could afford to buy one !
I paid $90 for mine, what do they go for now?
@@naneek2 They sell in the UK for £200-250
This is the first synth I ever bought and despite being a nostalgic guy that has repurchased gear on multiple occasions, I have NEVER considered buying another one of these. That mod kit that used to be available definitely helps but still..... not the best sound, build, or anything else. If you don't have it loaded up with big ole C batteries it won't remember any of your patches and it's ALWAYS in midi omni mode so.... basically useless midi. The MKII was a bit better but you can still do better. It's still better than a Behringer.
it doesnt need c batteries for patch memory. that uses a small internal battery.
@@naneek2 mine definitely had to be loaded up with the c batteries. Either it was flawed or that was one of the upgrades in the mk2. Either way it sucked.
@@VincentPresley must have been defective or damaged because all versions of the poly 800 have an internal battery for patch memory
@@naneek2 good to know. Although that was the least of it’s problems
I had a poly 800 for a few weeks around 1989. He was the first serious synth I met, but unfortunately his owner asked him back.. :-)
I decided to get one, but ended up going with the DX-7, which I've had ever since. However, I still want a poly 800.. 🙂
You were lucky?
Also my first synth; bought brand new and learned everything I know about synths from it. It is limited, shrill and has no organic features (like velocity, portamento and only produces square waves) but it is stable, sits well in a mix and sounds warm through a phaser or flange. Nowadays it's appeal is only for experienced synth guys who already know how to program because they can get the most utility out of its embryonic abilities. If you're new to synths I wouldn't get it. Sorry if this sounds snarky and superior. LOL. Not my intention. LOL