From ucivax!jarthur!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!metlay Mon Aug 26 17:24:39 PDT 1991 Article: 21007 of rec.music.synth Path: ucivax!jarthur!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!metlay From: metlay+@cs.cmu.edu (Mike Metlay) Newsgroups: rec.music.synth Subject: Re: Opinions on old Analog Summary: the Polysix Message-ID: <1991Aug25.020418.190672@cs.cmu.edu> Date: 25 Aug 91 02:04:18 GMT References: <1991Aug22.193206.1@cc.helsinki.fi> <1991Aug23.040825.59782@cs.cmu.edu> <1991Aug23.112412.1@cc.helsinki.fi> Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon Lines: 11 Nntp-Posting-Host: organ.music.cs.cmu.edu Enlighten you on the Polysix? Well, kiddo, it's the only synth with six-voice polyphony that uses SSM oscillator chips rather than Curtis, so its sound is unique; it's MIDIable with a Korg retrofit kit that even adds a sustain pedal; and it's dirt cheap for the power you get. Any other questions? -- metlay | The Alesis Digital Recorder is vaporware. xpander-loving old curmudgeon | The Kurzweil K2000 is VAPORWARE. | The Oberheim OB-MX is **VAPORWARE!!** metlay@organ.music.cs.cmu.edu | Metlay's Law STILL applies, no matter WHAT! From ucivax!orion.oac.uci.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!lth.se!newsuser Thu Aug 29 11:28:26 PDT 1991 Article: 21106 of rec.music.synth Path: ucivax!orion.oac.uci.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!lth.se!newsuser From: e85rw@efd.lth.se (Ricard Wolf) Newsgroups: rec.music.synth Subject: Re: Opinions on old Analog Message-ID: <1991Aug28.070654.12203@lth.se> Date: 28 Aug 91 07:06:54 GMT References: <9108221414.AA07780@NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL> Sender: newsuser@lth.se (LTH network news server) Reply-To: e85rw@efd.lth.se (Ricard Wolf) Organization: Lund Institute of Technology, Sweden Lines: 59 In article <9108221414.AA07780@NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL> yuen@NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL (D. Yuen) writes: >Hey Netfolk, anybody out there with opinions or viewpoints on these >aging beasties: > ARP OMNI > KORG POLYSIX > >There haunting me out here. I haven't gotten a chance to hear 'em >yet and I'm curious to know what I might expect. > >By any chance do either or both of 'em have CV and Trigger outs and >ins? > >Thanks! > >Once again I consult the E=lectronic Oracle... > >Dan Yuen Well, I don't know much about the ARP OMNI, however, I've had a few Polysixes in my day (I do MIDI retrofits for them ), and I must say for what it is (a single oscillator, six-voice instrument), it's a damn good machine. There is a chorus unit which creates a powerful "grinding" ensamble effect, which can also be used to create phasing. I find it a bit to powerful; low strings usually sound very muddy. The organ sounds are very good, and I managed to get a pretty impressive harp/lute sound at some point. Then of course, there is unison mode, where all six oscillators are run at the same time, slightly detuned, to make for a really BIG analog sound - great for bass. The instrument has a solidness about it that you won't find in todays digital instruments. Also, there is an individual LFOfor pulse width modulation, which means that you can get some very "moving" sounds using the LFO for VCO modulation, the PWM osc for PWM, and the ensemble effect for a third dimension. The only thing really lacking is a noise generator, but the some convincing noise can be made using a lot of modulation at once....everywhere... Sadly, there is no CV/gate in or out ( there is not even a sustain pedal in!), but MIDI retrofits are available from a Canadian firm called Miditech (I think), and I also used to make MIDI retrofits on a one-off basis. Korg never made a Midi Polysix, although the successor , Poly-61, was endowed with one. But try one out, it is not thin as you would exepct from the single oscillator architecture, but rather suprisingly rich. And then, too, it has KNOBS, lots of them!!!! /ricard -- Ricard Wolf +--------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | Ricard Wolf | Lund Institute of Technology | | email: e85rw@efd.lth.se | If you can't buy 'em - build 'em !! | +--------------------------+-------------------------------------+ From ucivax!orion.oac.uci.edu!usc!samsung!uunet!bonnie.concordia.ca!ccu.umanitoba.ca!bison!sys6626!five Thu Aug 29 11:29:38 PDT 1991 Article: 21113 of rec.music.synth Path: ucivax!orion.oac.uci.edu!usc!samsung!uunet!bonnie.concordia.ca!ccu.umanitoba.ca!bison!sys6626!five From: five@sys6626.bison.mb.ca (skinny puppy) Newsgroups: rec.music.synth Subject: Re: Opinions on old Analog Message-ID: Date: 28 Aug 91 11:48:05 GMT References: <1991Aug25.105212.1@cc.helsinki.fi> Organization: system 6626 BBS, Winnipeg MB Lines: 44 jalkio@cc.helsinki.fi writes: > In article <1991Aug25.020418.190672@cs.cmu.edu>, metlay+@cs.cmu.edu (Mike Met > > Enlighten you on the Polysix? Well, kiddo, it's the only synth with > > six-voice polyphony that uses SSM oscillator chips rather than Curtis, > > so its sound is unique; it's MIDIable with a Korg retrofit kit that > > even adds a sustain pedal; and it's dirt cheap for the power you get. > ------------- > > What power? I can believe it has unique sound. But if all synths had > nothing special (parameter-wise) to offer (only "unique" sound) I could > be as well playing a guitar. > > I didn't play with the Polysix much but I checked all the knobs and > found nothing potently interesting. And the sound - I didn't notice > anything staggering. Perhaps I have bad taste or something. > > > > > Any other questions? > > Not for this moment. > > -- > > metlay | The Alesis Digital Recorder is vaporware. I would have to debate the claim of POWER in the Korg Poly-6, with Metlay. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Poly 6 and am looking for another one! But, parameter-wise, it is NOT a powerful machine. 1 Envelope generator; 1 LFO; and a GATE option on the VCA. This, for modulation posibilities does NOT constitute power. (Want something with power, look at any Oberheim, or the Ensoniq ESQ1/SQ80 synthesizers). The Poly 6 though, DOES have a sound which you are going to have a very hard time finding anywhere else! Lush Chorusing! THICK sounding patches, even though it's only a single oscillator/sub-osc machine. And, when you stack those 6 oscillators on top of each other, in Unison mode, you're talking SERIOUS Lead or Bass Synth sounds! Five --- (skinny puppy) a user of sys6626, running waffle 1.64 E-mail: five@sys6626.bison.mb.ca system 6626: 63 point west drive, winnipeg manitoba canada R3T 5G8 From ucivax!jarthur!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!batcomputer!cornell!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!metlay Thu Aug 29 11:30:51 PDT 1991 Article: 21151 of rec.music.synth Path: ucivax!jarthur!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!batcomputer!cornell!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!metlay From: metlay+@cs.cmu.edu (Mike Metlay) Newsgroups: rec.music.synth Subject: Re: Opinions on old Analog Summary: miscommunication Message-ID: <1991Aug28.223842.213512@cs.cmu.edu> Date: 28 Aug 91 22:38:42 GMT References: <1991Aug25.105212.1@cc.helsinki.fi> Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon Lines: 41 Nntp-Posting-Host: organ.music.cs.cmu.edu In article five@sys6626.bison.mb.ca (skinny puppy) writes: >> In article <1991Aug25.020418.190672@cs.cmu.edu>, metlay+@cs.cmu.edu (Mike Met >> > even adds a sustain pedal; and it's dirt cheap for the power you get. >I would have to debate the claim of POWER in the Korg Poly-6, with Metlay. ALWAYS a bad idea. Fortunately there's no real flap here, as you'll read; my mom, who was raised in Kelvington and Flin Flon (no, REALLY! Look on a map of Canada!) and went to school in Winnipeg, would be upset if I skinned a fellow Manitoban....|-> >Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Poly 6 and am looking for another one! I occasionally get the urge to own one again, especially now that the Korg retro is available and it has a decent MIDI spec and a sustain pedal jack. But I never seem to have the space for it.... >But, parameter-wise, it is NOT a powerful machine. 1 Envelope generator; >1 LFO; and a GATE option on the VCA. This, for modulation posibilities >does NOT constitute power. (Want something with power, look at any >Oberheim, or the Ensoniq ESQ1/SQ80 synthesizers). Well, the MicroWave ain't too slouchy here either, and neither is the WS. However, this is not what I had in mind when I used the word "power".... >The Poly 6 though, DOES have a sound which you are going to have a very >hard time finding anywhere else! Lush Chorusing! THICK sounding >patches, even though it's only a single oscillator/sub-osc machine. >And, when you stack those 6 oscillators on top of each other, in Unison >mode, you're talking SERIOUS Lead or Bass Synth sounds! ....THIS was. For a machine with only one of everything, it does an amazing job of frying your brains at a distance. I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to try a machine with a full front panel at a low cost, and get a good, unique, POWERFUL sound in the bargain. If none is available, try the Roland JX-3P with the PG200 programmer. -- metlay | The good news is that he desires nothing xpander-loving old curmudgeon | more for his music 'rep' than a cameo in | SAVAGE HENRY COMICS. metlay@organ.music.cs.cmu.edu | The bad news is, he's likely to make it. From ucivax!orion.oac.uci.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!deccrl!news.crl.dec.com!anyone Thu Aug 29 11:31:28 PDT 1991 Article: 21182 of rec.music.synth Path: ucivax!orion.oac.uci.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!deccrl!news.crl.dec.com!anyone From: arnold@xero.cbm.dec.com (John E. Arnold, CBM, dtn: 259-7403) Newsgroups: rec.music.synth Subject: Re: Opinions on old Analog Message-ID: <1991Aug29.132007.24932@crl.dec.com> Date: 29 Aug 91 13:20:07 GMT Sender: anyone@crl.dec.com (Telegraph -- News and Notes Server) Organization: DEC Cambridge Research Lab Lines: 20 >>> Korg never made a Midi Polysix, although the successor , Poly-61, was >>> endowed with one. Korg did (does?), however, finally relent and market a MIDI retro-fit for the PolySix that is surprisingly powerful. It provides for more patch memory, a sustain pedal jack, local on/off, omni mode on/off, some MIDI control for the arpegiator, etc. It was a bit expensive but it has provided me with many more years of use for the PolySix that I would have gotten had it never been MIDId. Regardless of which brand-name (or homebrew) MIDI retrofit you may consider, I would heartly recommend MIDIing up a PolySix you already own (or could get inexpensively. It's really great having some of the slow attack, analog sounds fade in on top of a sampled sound source to really fill out the sound. Now if only I had time to write a Macintosh-based editor/librarian for it. Just my opinion, - John -