Poly-800
Hybrid analog/digital synthesizer
Aaahh... the Poly-800. This is the synthesizer that made me upgrade to my first "real" synthesizer (a Casio CZ-1000) in 1987. Back then I had a Gem DSK-8 accompaniment keyboard, but a schoolmate of mine had a Poly-800, and I often got to play it. I fell in love with it. It was capable of those gorgeous analog strings and pads that my Gem really couldn't do.
The Poly-800 has a very recognizable sound - typically '80s Korg. The joystick is great and allows the player to add nice touches to performances (and the odd "helicopter/Martian/atomic bomb" effects in between if you bend it down instead of up).
Other cool features include Chord Memory and Hold. There is also a simple sequencer that is very easy to use and a welcome plus at gigs.
The programming is typical DX7-style, mid-80s early digital: an edit button, a keypad, and a myriad of parameters that can be changed - rigorously - one by one. It's easy, but time consuming.
I find this synth to be similar in concept and function to my first synth, the Casio CZ-1000.
The sound, however, is what counts, and the Poly-800 doesn't disappoint. If you can live with the limitations (low polyphony, only one filter, no velocity etc.), this synthesizer will reward you with great sounds.
Factory sequence:
Korg Poly-800 factory sequence - a short demo showcasing the built-in sequencer.
Factory patches:
Stream all preset demos below:
| Preset name with audio demo | My comments |
| 11 Strings | Beautiful, delicate string pad |
| 12 Acoustic Piano | Typical analog piano. |
| 13 Synthe Brass | Totally '80s! This is one of the Poly-800's signature sounds. |
| 14 Flute with Chiff | Well programmed to include the noisy attack portion. |
| 15 Resonant Sweep | An outstanding synthesizer sound with a great acid, slow resonant filter sweep effect. |
| 16 Bowed Cellos | Better used as analog pad. |
| 17 Full Organ | Electric organ sound, pretty cool. Another signature sound. |
| 18 Fat Synthe | Meaty, big-sounding synth, great for chords. |
| 21 Percussive Synthe | Obligatory comp synth a 'la '70s early polyphonic. Useful. |
| 22 Muted Brass | Very '80s! Thus, great. |
| 23 Square Wave Lead | Another "Lucky Man" lead synth. Unfortunately there's no portamento on the Poly-800. Useful nonetheless. |
| 24 1999 | This sound is probably inspired by the Oberheim OB- riff in Prince's "1999". |
| 25 Low Strings | Warm, analog-sounding string pad. The Poly-800 excels at these kinds of sounds. |
| 26 Percussive Synthe (2) | This is probably a typographical error, but in the manual sound 26 is named like sound 21. I renamed it "2" :-) And this is just a great sound! Rubbery, warm and just the right glue for your mix! |
| 27 Bright Perc. Organ | OK Hammond impersonation. |
| 28 Science Bass | Reminds me a bit of the synth bass in "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat. A classic 1980s synth bass sound. |
| 31 "Lambda" | The Lambda was Korg's own string-synth. This excellent preset is composed of gentle bells fading into low strings... excellent for atmospheres, pads, and haunting ambient pieces. |
| 32 OB Cross | Again a reference to the Oberheim OB series (OB Cross, = OB-X), very popular during those years. Cool ana-pad. |
| 33 High Strings | Small string ensemble playing in the high register. |
| 34 Double Crescendo Bass | Says it's a bass but sounds better as brass... |
| 35 Synthe Bass I | The Synthe also was a dedicated bass-synth from Korg |
| 36 Reverse Bowed Synthe | A cool reso-synth. Biting. |
| 37 Jazz Guitar | As usual, the jazz guitar preset is good. An easy instrument to emulate. |
| 38 Helicopter | One of the Poly-800's best tricks is modulation. Plenty of fun to be had with special effects, like this. |
| 41 Double Tongued Bass | Again showing off those envelopes. |
| 42 Synful Eyes | Typically '80s, good for Madonna, Talk Talk, etc. |
| 43 "Wet Ones" | Funny reso-synth. I'm playing a bit with the joystick - opening the VCF modulation. |
| 44 Science Strings | Haunting, mysterious... string/organ! |
| 45 Synthe Bass II | Variation on a theme. Good. |
| 46 Crescendo Brass | Realistic brass ensemble. |
| 47 Chorus Piano | Ok, but with the polyphony down to 4, a bit though to play without dropping notes. |
| 48 Jet Plane | Or sci-fi noises. |
| 51 Synthenelli | Now, what did the programmer mean by "Synthenelli"? |
| 52 Synthe Flute/Brass | Just what it says. |
| 53 Synthicord I | Synthesized Harpsichord. Classical quality. |
| 54 Synthicord II | "Synthi'er" variation of the above. |
| 55 Saxo-Brass | Great fusion lead sound! Think Pat Metheny band. |
| 56 Square Wave Ensemble | A nice, gentle, calming sound! Great for New Age. |
| 57 Chime Piano | Excellent sound! The programming of the "hitting" part is just great, almost FM'ish in character - but all done rigorously in digi-analog subtractive. |
| 58 Pipe Organ | Another Poly-800 signature sound. |
| 61 Bowed Violas | A bit synthetic - otherwise, ok string sound. |
| 62 Digi-Brass | Great trombone sound! |
| 63 Organ Upper Manual | With percussion. Jazzy |
| 64 Obi Brass | Do you think the Poly-800 programmer liked Oberheim synths? :-) |
| 65 Soft Piano | Soft, child memories.. |
| 66 Reverse Sweep | Another good reso-synth. |
| 67 Accordion | Like the jazz guitar, accordion is easy to emulate in analog. Great job, in this case too. |
| 68 Steel Drums | Nice. |
| 71 8-Note Brass | Typical '80s poly. |
| 72 Honky Keys | A nice honky-tonk piano, but again, with 4-voice polyphony, hard to play without note-stealing. |
| 73 Organ Lower Manual | Very cool sound.. however notice how the single filter opens when adding the right hand... |
| 74 8-Note Strings | A bit thin. |
| 75 Reso Synthe | Great, warm, huge analog reso-pad! |
| 76 Echo Synthe | Variant of the above. |
| 77 Black Hole | Disappearing in the hole... |
| 78 Trilling Pipes | One-finger melody. The multi-stage envelopes. |
| 81 Brass in 5ths | Great sound!!! Just like in King Arthur's castle. |
| 82 Percussive Pipe Organ | Clean, crispy and cutting organ sound. |
| 83 Lunar Flutes | Hypnotic, haunting... great sound! |
| 84 Synthe Bass III | Variation again. More "Moog" this time. |
| 85 Vibes | Gentle and unobtrusive. |
| 86 Low Flute | The noise breath attack is too hard. |
| 87 "Who Me?" | Interesting envelope programming. |
| 88 UFO Swoop | The Martians are coming... |
Korg Poly-800.wmv - a video of playing the presets and using the joystick
Korg Poly-800 fly-by.wmv - a short video on the details of the front panel
format: Windows media
the synth
front panel full
package
(source: eBay #
3753538544)
scanned (badly) ... by me.
- small and portable;
- great '80s look;
- warm analog sound;
- can be strapped-on for a total '80s experience!
| Features at a glance | |
| Year of release: | 1984 |
| Polyphony: | 8-voice |
| Presets: | 64 |
| Keyboard: | 49-keys (four octaves) |
| Responds to velocity: | no |
| Sound generation method: | analog |
| MIDI: | yes, in-out |
| Sound expansion capabilities: | No |
| Misc: | on board step-sequencer; pedal input to step through presets |
| Effects: | basic Chorus (delay was added on Mark II) |
| Controls: | joystick controls Pitch Bend, DCO , and VCF modulation |
| Outputs: | stereo L+R |
| Weight: | 10 pounds |
| SITE | Type of resource | DESCRIPTION |
| www.korg.com | Home page | Home page for Korg, one of the three most important Japanese synth manufacturers. |
| www.baudalign.com/poly800.html | User page | Includes filter modification |